Musically Yours: Clinton Cerejo

Singing ‘Kya Karoon’ from Wake Up Sid “The song ‘Kya Karoon‘ just happened by chance. I was going to Shankar Ehsaan Loy (SEL)’s studio to work on some jingle one day when Shankar asked me to come an hour early. When I reached the studio, Read More">he asked me to do a scratch vocal for thisRead More

Singing 'Kya Karoon' from Wake Up Sid

"The song 'Kya Karoon' just happened by chance. I was going to Shankar Ehsaan Loy (SEL)'s studio to work on some jingle one day when Shankar asked me to come an hour early. When I reached the studio, he asked me to do a scratch vocal for this song. After much hesitation, I agreed to record a scratch and it's hard to believe but they have retained the same version which I recorded as a scratch in the final song. Today when the song is finally out and gaining appreciation I feel glad that I sung the song."

Dominique and I

"When I started dating Dominique, she was an extremely successful jingle singer. She along with K.K. and Shankar Mahadevan were ruling the roost in the 90's, in the world of jingles. Later even before I could make a mark in the world of playback singing, Dominique got some really good breaks with songs like 'Dhoom Again' (Dhoom 2) and the title track of Bas Ek Pal. However, after our marriage, she has become very selective about what she wants to do as we have two small kids to look after. Last year, she really got a great number in Rock On ('Yeh Tumhari Meri Baatein') which went on to become a big hit. She even bagged quite a few nominations for that song."

My Kind of Music

"I grew up listening to a lot of country music and in college it was more of R &B. Then I started meeting a lot of people from the music industry and began listening to a lot of Stevie Wonder, Little River Band, Al Gero, Anita Baker. Nowadays, I listen to a lot more alternative and rock music. I love the Four Fighters' new album 'Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace'- one of the best rock albums I have heard in a long time."

What’s playing on my iPod? “I am listening to Imogen Heap’s new album ‘Ellipse’. I have always been a big fan of her work and in this album she has taken a step further. As I said earlier, I am also hooked on to Four Fighters’ new album ‘Echoes, Silence, Read More">Patience and Grace’. It’s anRead More

What's playing on my iPod?

"I am listening to Imogen Heap's new album 'Ellipse'. I have always been a big fan of her work and in this album she has taken a step further. As I said earlier, I am also hooked on to Four Fighters' new album 'Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace'. It's an amazing rock album and they sound like an old school country rock band but put into a modern context which is what I love about the album."

Favorite singers among contemporaries

"I really like Rashid Ali who sang 'Kabhi Kabhi Aditi'. He is simply brilliant. Even Benny Dayal is simply outstanding. Shilpa Rao is another extremely talented singer. We recently sang a song together called 'Mahiya' in Aage Se Right."

Future projects

"I have sung a song in 'All The Best' for Pritam. I've a sung a very interesting song in Karthik Calling Karthik which again has music composed by Shankar- Ehsaan-Loy. Besides I have also done the vocals for a song in Rahman's new Hollywood project Couples Retreat. I have also produced all the songs for Vishal Bhardwaj's production Ishqiya directed by Abhishek Chaubey. The film has some really interesting music. All in all, I am looking forward to doing more of such exciting work."

First Big Break “I was doing a lot of vocal arrangements for a lot of Bollywood composers such as Anu Malik, Read More">Ismail Darbar and one such day it so happened that one of my arrangements was heard by A.R. Rahman. He heard the harmonies and really liked what he heard. The next thing I knowRead More

First Big Break

"I was doing a lot of vocal arrangements for a lot of Bollywood composers such as Anu Malik, Ismail Darbar and one such day it so happened that one of my arrangements was heard by A.R. Rahman. He heard the harmonies and really liked what he heard. The next thing I know is that I get a call from him and I headed straight to Chennai. The first film which I worked with Rahman on was a Tamil film Mudalvan. After that we worked on Takshak, Lagaan and a whole lot of films. For Lagaan, I put together a choir called 'Voices in the Wilderness' consisting of a group of really good singers. I also conducted a 16 piece Methodist choir for Lagaan in Rahman's recording room in Chennai. I spent a lot of time in Chennai during that phase of my life doing everything from backing vocals to music arrangements etc."

On producing and programming the songs for Kaminey

"It was great working on Kaminey. I had worked with Vishalji on Omkaraas well. For Kaminey I was working along with another programmer Hitesh Sonik. He is a brilliant music producer and arranger and I really admire his work. Kaminey was a departure for Vishalji from his usual sound which is very earthy and folk music. He tried to get a more slick and commercial score this time around. Also, this is probably the first time that someone has given credit to the music producers and arrangers and I am really thankful to Vishalji for that. He is one of the few music directors who realizes' the value that music producers and programmers bring to the table."

What do you call a guy who not only composes music but also does the vocal arrangements, playback vocals, backing vocals, music arrangements and completely produces and packages the music score? Well there can be no other word to describe Clinton Cerejo other than VERSATILE. Currently, Read More">in the limelight for his superb rendition of theRead More

What do you call a guy who not only composes music but also does the vocal arrangements, playback vocals, backing vocals, music arrangements and completely produces and packages the music score? Well there can be no other word to describe Clinton Cerejo other than VERSATILE. Currently, in the limelight for his superb rendition of the 'Kya Karoon' track from Wake Up Sid, Clinton is someone who has indeed come a long way from working on jingles to singing playback songs. Bollywood Hungama profiles Clinton Cerejo in this special edition of 'Musically Yours'.

My Background

"I come from a family that is very much into academics and has no musical background at all. My mum is a professor teaching French, my dad is an engineer, my sister edits medical journals and my brother is a computer engineer in Zurich. I on the other hand, somehow managed a first class graduation in Commerce from R.A. Podar College, Mumbai. So, initially it was difficult for my family to accept the fact that I was going to be a musician."

Early days of struggle

"While I was in college, I started doing backing vocals for a lot of commercials and worked with people like Ranjit Barot, Leslie Lewis, Louis Banks, Ehsaan and Loy. I tried to make a mark as a singer in commercials but somehow at that point my voice didn't have that distinctive feel which is so important for singing jingles. Moreover, even I was interested in more of producing and composing music rather than singing. Back then I knew that I wanted to be a music arranger and producer. I invested money in some equipment and learnt the nuances of music programming and arranging. Initially, I was not getting much work as a programmer and it was my singing assignments that helped me manage the month somehow."