SHAURYA SINGH THAPA
Colonial Cousins presented fusion in the Indipop scene before anyone knew fusion : Score Indie Classics
Colonial Cousins was the debut album by the duo of the same name , comprising of playback singer Hariharan and singer / composer Leslie Lewis . While Hariharan is quite a common name for anyone who harbours an interest in Bollywood and South Indian playback singing , this side project of his is a distant memory that only people from the 1990s would remember .
The genre was essentially fusion , with Lewis and Hariharan singing in English / Hindi with the latter adding Hindustani and Carnatic ragas . It is to be noted that fusion was still a relatively new concept for Indian music in the late 90s . There was no Coke Studio or Karsh Kale back then with basic blends of multiple singing styles doubling up as fusion .
So , even if Colonial Cousins dropped nascent attempts in the genre , they at least contributed to the earliest phases of the movement . Released in 1996 , their album hit platinum sales in India and was one of the earliest fusion attempts to achieve such success .
The most well-known track from the album might be Krishna , a moving song on preaching love through all schools of faith . In times of communal imbalance and religious extremism , a song like this is probably more relevant than ever . Then , there was the peppy number Sa Ni Dha Pa , a song that found the two artists exchanging verses and harmonising in their bilingual nature .
The album ’ s success proved the marketability of Indian fusion to foreign audiences . In fact , following the release , Colonial Cousins became the first Indian act to be featured on MTV Unplugged .
Since then , the duo has dropped four studio albums even though their debut can arguable be considered as their magnum opus . The Indipop act has also gone on to score two Tamil films in the 2010s .
Hariharan continues to enjoy a successful playback career while Leslie Lewis aka Lezz continues scoring and singing for Tamil and Marathi films . If not together , the two also embark on regular tours , winning over both old and new fans .
The Score Magazine
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