Malayalam cinema rocks to Christchurch-based musician
An exclusive chat with Justin James, who is one of the four members of the music composing team of 4 Musics, which gave Mohanlal-starrer Oppam its super-hit music. 4 Musics won the Asianet film award—the Malayalam equivalent of Filmfare awards—for best music direction of 2016 for the movie on January 20, 2017. Mr James has been living in Christchurch since 2008.
Dreams do come true. If there’s one takeaway for anyone meeting Mr Justin James, it is this.
“I still pinch myself every morning. Just a year ago, we used to watch these award functions on our TV sets. We used to go for Mohanlal-Priyardarsan movies and return in awe of their mesmerising talent,” Mr James said.
But September 6, 2016, changed all that. It was the day Mohanlal-starrer and Priyadarshan-directed (who gave us the Hera Pheri series) Malayalam crime-thriller film Oppam released. Along with massive box office success and critical acclaim, the film’s music also went on to become a huge hit.
For those who are uninitiated in the Malayalam music world, Oppam’s music is composed by 4 Musics, a team comprising four childhood friends—Kochi-based Eldhouse Alias, Jim Jacob and Biby Mathew, and Christchurch-based Justin James.
“For the last few months, where ever we went in Kerala, the music of Oppam was a rage. Hotel lobbies, tea-stalls, restaurants, functions, gatherings, marriages, anywhere you go, you would have heard one of our movie’s songs (4 Musics composed four songs, of which three are in the movie). So we had an idea of its popularity. But winning the award for best Malayalam film music direction for 2016 still hasn’t sunk in,” Mr James said.
The story
As is common in every success story, 4 Musics’, and thereby Mr James story is, of course, of great musical talent, but above all, of perseverance despite all odds.
It started in 2003 when Mr Jame’s elder brother Jimson started a music band called 91 BC. “For two years, we used to travel around Kerala, singing, playing music, and performing. We sang a few jingles as well at that time. Then Jimson left for Ireland in 2005, and the remaining four of us decided to reincarnate the team as 4 Musics,” Mr James said.
Then, while busy with their respective careers, the passion for music still bonded them together, leading to the release of their first Malayalam album Mazhathulli (meaning rain drop) in 2007. Unfortunately, though, the response from the public to their album was not that great.
Then Mr James decided to move to Christchurch in 2008 putting the future of 4 Musics in doldrums. After completing his degree in logistics management from the Lincoln University, he has been working in the supply chain management industry since 2009. Now, when not making music for Malayalam super-hits, he works as the Supply Chain Manager at Wimpex Ltd in Christchurch.
Moving on with his musical journey, Mr James adds, “After I came here, Eldhouse also moved to Saudi Arabia to be an accountant. So, two of our team members were in Kochi, one in New Zealand, and one in the Middle-East. Nobody could have thought that we can make this work.”
But not only did it worked, it did wonders.
Making full use of technology—exchanging musical notes through Whatsapp, having team meetings through Skype and Facetime—4 Musics got their first breakthrough when they gave music for the film Juzt Married. Before this, they also got an opportunity to perform on Asianet Plus, which is a general entertainment television channel broadcasting in Malayalam and based in Kochi. The team also gave music for two devotional albums during those struggling years.
“Juzt Married’s music also didn’t do well, which was a setback. Meanwhile, Jim, who by now had opened an audio recording studio called Noise Headquarters in Kochi, got a chance to meet Antony Perumbavoor, the producer of Oppam. This led to a meeting with Priyadarshan, who gave us one situation and told us to come up with an appropriate composition. We went back with six different tunes, one of which he liked so much that he gave us three more situations to work on, and it was confirmed that 4 Musics would compose music for Oppam. Rest, as they say, is history,” Mr James said.
4 Musics is now the hottest property in Malayalam film industry. Four projects are already confirmed, with many more in the pipeline. These include a yet-to-be-named Mohanlal-starrer and B Unnikrishnan-directed film, and a film named Panchara Palu Mittayi, which will star Gokul Suresh and will be directed by Sharon K Vipin.
“Eldhouse is already back in Kerala for good, and I, too, plan to join them in the near future.
“Our journey started with singing in the church choir when we were all kids. Over time, making music became our passion, and we had set ourselves the goal of becoming film music composers. Now that is happening, we want to be known as someone who creates melodies. Much like what great composer of the past such as M Raveendran and Johnson did. Or what the younger lots such as Bijibal and Prashant Pillai are doing right now,” Mr James said.
An exclusive chat with Justin James, who is one of the four members of the music composing team of 4 Musics, which gave Mohanlal-starrer Oppam its super-hit music. 4 Musics won the Asianet film award—the Malayalam equivalent of Filmfare awards—for best music direction of 2016 for the movie on...
An exclusive chat with Justin James, who is one of the four members of the music composing team of 4 Musics, which gave Mohanlal-starrer Oppam its super-hit music. 4 Musics won the Asianet film award—the Malayalam equivalent of Filmfare awards—for best music direction of 2016 for the movie on January 20, 2017. Mr James has been living in Christchurch since 2008.
Dreams do come true. If there’s one takeaway for anyone meeting Mr Justin James, it is this.
“I still pinch myself every morning. Just a year ago, we used to watch these award functions on our TV sets. We used to go for Mohanlal-Priyardarsan movies and return in awe of their mesmerising talent,” Mr James said.
But September 6, 2016, changed all that. It was the day Mohanlal-starrer and Priyadarshan-directed (who gave us the Hera Pheri series) Malayalam crime-thriller film Oppam released. Along with massive box office success and critical acclaim, the film’s music also went on to become a huge hit.
For those who are uninitiated in the Malayalam music world, Oppam’s music is composed by 4 Musics, a team comprising four childhood friends—Kochi-based Eldhouse Alias, Jim Jacob and Biby Mathew, and Christchurch-based Justin James.
“For the last few months, where ever we went in Kerala, the music of Oppam was a rage. Hotel lobbies, tea-stalls, restaurants, functions, gatherings, marriages, anywhere you go, you would have heard one of our movie’s songs (4 Musics composed four songs, of which three are in the movie). So we had an idea of its popularity. But winning the award for best Malayalam film music direction for 2016 still hasn’t sunk in,” Mr James said.
The story
As is common in every success story, 4 Musics’, and thereby Mr James story is, of course, of great musical talent, but above all, of perseverance despite all odds.
It started in 2003 when Mr Jame’s elder brother Jimson started a music band called 91 BC. “For two years, we used to travel around Kerala, singing, playing music, and performing. We sang a few jingles as well at that time. Then Jimson left for Ireland in 2005, and the remaining four of us decided to reincarnate the team as 4 Musics,” Mr James said.
Then, while busy with their respective careers, the passion for music still bonded them together, leading to the release of their first Malayalam album Mazhathulli (meaning rain drop) in 2007. Unfortunately, though, the response from the public to their album was not that great.
Then Mr James decided to move to Christchurch in 2008 putting the future of 4 Musics in doldrums. After completing his degree in logistics management from the Lincoln University, he has been working in the supply chain management industry since 2009. Now, when not making music for Malayalam super-hits, he works as the Supply Chain Manager at Wimpex Ltd in Christchurch.
Moving on with his musical journey, Mr James adds, “After I came here, Eldhouse also moved to Saudi Arabia to be an accountant. So, two of our team members were in Kochi, one in New Zealand, and one in the Middle-East. Nobody could have thought that we can make this work.”
But not only did it worked, it did wonders.
Making full use of technology—exchanging musical notes through Whatsapp, having team meetings through Skype and Facetime—4 Musics got their first breakthrough when they gave music for the film Juzt Married. Before this, they also got an opportunity to perform on Asianet Plus, which is a general entertainment television channel broadcasting in Malayalam and based in Kochi. The team also gave music for two devotional albums during those struggling years.
“Juzt Married’s music also didn’t do well, which was a setback. Meanwhile, Jim, who by now had opened an audio recording studio called Noise Headquarters in Kochi, got a chance to meet Antony Perumbavoor, the producer of Oppam. This led to a meeting with Priyadarshan, who gave us one situation and told us to come up with an appropriate composition. We went back with six different tunes, one of which he liked so much that he gave us three more situations to work on, and it was confirmed that 4 Musics would compose music for Oppam. Rest, as they say, is history,” Mr James said.
4 Musics is now the hottest property in Malayalam film industry. Four projects are already confirmed, with many more in the pipeline. These include a yet-to-be-named Mohanlal-starrer and B Unnikrishnan-directed film, and a film named Panchara Palu Mittayi, which will star Gokul Suresh and will be directed by Sharon K Vipin.
“Eldhouse is already back in Kerala for good, and I, too, plan to join them in the near future.
“Our journey started with singing in the church choir when we were all kids. Over time, making music became our passion, and we had set ourselves the goal of becoming film music composers. Now that is happening, we want to be known as someone who creates melodies. Much like what great composer of the past such as M Raveendran and Johnson did. Or what the younger lots such as Bijibal and Prashant Pillai are doing right now,” Mr James said.
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