Here are the best Indian songs of the week 20th November 2022, picked from over 350 song releases across the nation1. Maanegi Kis TarahComposed and Sung: Aasa Singh Lyrics: Aasa Singh, Rishikesh PathakMusic produced: RAWNAKAdditional Production: Aasa Singh Language: HindiGenre: Jazz/Pop Here is the best song of the week it was a song shared by the producer with me to see what my feedback was. I had no words and my only way of responding was to tell RAWNAK that it is good enough to be among the best songs in the country. Aasa Singh has composed, written and sung this gentle, and tender melody. The melody is catchy and Aasa makes it even better with his voice which has a tinge of an Arijit-impression, but is likeable for sure. Aasa has never been featured by me before and I am glad he is discovered now, as he also does backing vocals and mixes and masters the track as well, an all-rounder for sure. The layer of backing vocals doing the humming is great but the most impressive is the genius ID Rao's Saxohone that hits you in the interlude. The arrangements are made such that you hear the sound of the sax, like waves in an ocean, coming at you one after the other relentlessly. Aasa sings in falsetto so beautifully at the beginning of the stanza and you have to love the style and delivery here. The way Aasa experiments and improvises with his vocals is delightful and the outro is just the saxophone and drums in full and free flow. The production by RAWNAK stands out when you hear all the elements together.   @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; border:none;}p {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Times; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; border:none;}.MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} 2. VeadhanePerformed by Srinisha JayaseelanWritten by Rambabu GosalaProduced by Bekkem Venu GopalSrinisha Jayaseelan is a noteworthy performer who has this larger-than-life attitude in her vocals and there is not a genre or style she cannot adapt to. Here she goes all out in Opera style singing. The Piano and the Strings section along with the vocal harmonies create an unforgettable impact. Bekkem Venu Gopal has produced the number with lyrics by Rambabu Gosala. The end of the opening lines brings about some rock flavour with the heavy drums and electric guitar. Listen to Srinisha's singing and how aggressive her delivery sounds and that is she is so skilled as a singer. The moment the stanza starts, she uses a voice laden with sadness to sing, and that is aided by the solo Violin. Srinisha also employs some very mild yet tangible vibrato. @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; border:none;}p {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Times; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; border:none;}.MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} 3. Oceans Written, Composed & Performed by Hanita BhambriProduced: Raag SethiLanguage: EnglishGenre: Indie pop, soft balladThese guys at Compass Box Studios are like an ocean of music, unassailable, vast and deep. If it was Gouri & Aksha with Chirag Todi last week on 'Paper Boats', it is Hanita Bambhri 'Oceans' that Raag Sethi produces and his gang play instruments for this week. Hanita has been around for a while now and I have featured her before but this is probably one of her best yet, as much as her composition and vocals play a role, the production, arrangements and execution of love instruments bear importance and relevance too. Raag plays the guitars and Harmish Joshi is on the clarinet. Hanita's singing is spotless and she sings like a Goddess on a mission who will turn anything into ambrosia. I listen to this line "When you kiss my lips, do you feel the oceans of emotion?", and I could sense the feeling, and that painting become real in front of my eyes was only possible because of the solid writing and even better singing. The moment the line " Do you miss me when I'm gone" ends Harmish is at his sizzling best playing the Clarinet there. The track is mixed and mastered by Protyay Chakroborty and he also lends his voice for the backing vocals. Gopi Vadsak handles the beautiful artwork @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; border:none;}p {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Times; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; border:none;}.MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} 4. The search Produced by RIATSU (Shadaab Kadri)Lyrics/Composition/Vocals by Shilpa AnanthLanguage: EnglishGenre: Synth-popShilpa Ananth is one remarkable artist who I shall blindly trust to make stunning music every time she releases one. I have already featured her two times for songs "fear" and "i dwell" and this time 'the search' (pun intended) for great music ends. She combines all strengths and knowledge of music styles into one and blending things this well is no mean task. The track is produced by RIATSU with mixing by Ishan Naik and mastered by Jett Galindo. The production is ethereal with keyboard programming given some strings in the background and then a repetitive riff that sounds other-worldly. The writing is quite good as well talking about the way power can corrupt a human being and this dilemma and the state of the mind Shilpa is in, is brought out wonderfully through the contemplative voice and eerie background sound and tone. "what will I do in search of power, who will I turn into when it's over?", she asks and the influence of classical Carnatic aalap is visible in many places. Vocal harmonies arranged in the background also work like magic and add to the mystery. @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; border:none;}p {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Times; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; border:none;}.MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}   5. Find love Written, composed and sung by Abji GeorgeProduction by Ashish Kujur - Gray Spark Studio, PuneLanguage: EnglishGenre: Indie PopThis guy seems to be a regular performer and most of the time it is him singing a Michael Jackson number. I am more interested in writing about this beautiful pop melody written, composed and performed by Pune-based singer-songwriter Abji George. Ajay Majethia is stunning on his guitars, like the hero's closest friend on screen. The romanticizing of the sing happens predominantly happens thanks to the acoustic guitars. Ajay also mixes the song and Nitin M Krishna does the mastering at Gray Spark Studio. The artwork is by Shruti Purkar and lyrical video is by Jhanvi Ambasta. The strumming and the tone of the song remind me of "More than words" by the band 'Extreme'. The singing, the chords on the keyboard, and the backup vocals are all coming together so beautifully and it fills the heart with joy listening to them together as well as if you focused on them individually. The acoustic guitar plays second fiddle sometimes to the lead guitars and the combination sounds flawless. The electric guitar is heard playing some fantastic notes in the background and try and listen to that to experience some more musical bliss. The change of the vocal pitch happens without any hiccups and then we have a guitar solo in the end like icing on the cake. @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; border:none;}p {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Times; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; border:none;}.MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} 6. Karumban Inningu VarumoMusic Composed, Arranged and Produced by: M. JayachandranLyrics: Rafeeq AhammedVocals: Narayani Gopan, Nikhil RajLanguage: MalayalamGenre: MelodyEnjoy this energetic number from Kerala composed by one of Mollywood's stalwarts M Jayachandran. he has composed, arranged and produced this song that is bound to get you all pumped up also because of the way Narayani Gopan sings. Rafeeq Ahammed pens the lyrics and Nikhil Raj is the lead male vocalist. It starts off like a pop number thanks to the Keys and western percussions and even the harmonies. Then the brilliance lies in how it shifts to a rural Malayalam folk number thanks to the change of the percussions, and Nikhil's singing. The male chorus team has Arun Gopan, Nikhil Raj, Unni Elayaraja and the female team has Narayani Gopan, Poornasree Haridas, Anna Baby, Neethu Naduvathettu. Kamalakar and Durga Prasad are the flautists with the Mohana Veena and Veena played by Bhavani Prasad. Mithun Maaliyekkal plays the Keys and with Kalyan on rhythm Alap Raju plays the additional instruments. The strings section is obviously enhanced thanks to Cochin Strings' members Francis Xavier, Francis T S, Carol George, Herald and Josekutty. Unni Elayaraja plays the Violin Solo and also conducts the musical session. The interludes are rich and it is where Jayachandran stamps his authority. The recording engineers are Akshay Kakkoth, Sai Prakash, Emin, Mithun Manoj and Avinash Satheesh and the Orchestra Coordinators are KD Vincent and Dawn Vincent. The track is mixed and mastered by Harishankar V. The vocals by both the leads deliver all the right flavours of the land Kerala. @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; border:none;}p {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Times; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; border:none;}.MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} 7. Talli Singers: Bann Chakraborty and Sunidhi ChauhanMusic Composer: Bann Chakraborty Language: HindiGenre: Dance-popThe movie did not make any impression on viewers when it was released on Netflix, but 'Plan A Plan B' has 3 fantastic songs, 2 of which are composed by Bann Chakraborty who was part of the New Delhi rock band 'Orange Street'. I loved both his scores for "Talli" and "Keh do ke" by Bann. The first song is a lovely dance Jazz number and the Horns section is huge plus for the song. Ramon Ibrahim plays the Trombone and he also arranged and programs the Horns section. Rhys Sebastian Dsouza plays the Tenor Sax. I have not heard Bann sing before but he makes singing sound easy and against a celebrated vocalist like Sunidhi Chauhan, he stands his ground quite well. Saibal Basu's guitars drive the song into that peppy mode and other than that the keyboard programming contributed heavily as well and I am assuming it all comes together thanks to Abhijit Nalani's production. Ginny Diwan is the lyricist and she gives as much meaning and energy as the drums and instruments in the song. It reminds me of "Papa Kehte Hain" purely because of the tone. Hanish Taneja mixes and masters the track. The song has a few lines which get repeated, so the trick lies in singing the lines differently every time and Sunidhi smashes this bit. The other song is a slow number that is perfect for some ballroom slow dancing. We have Vivek Hariharan and indie singer-songwriter Maalavika Manoj as lead vocalists, Neil Mukherjee playing the guitars and the song is produced by Aditya Pushkarna. Vivek is a wonderful singer and I have come to hear him so much thanks to composer Anurag Saikia. Maalavika just eases through with her vocals and it makes me glad to hear artists make the crossover into mainstream Bollywood music, just because it gives them more visibility. The song has a very European flavour maybe thanks to the sounds of Accordion that I presume to hear in the background. I loved the outro with the Violins and both lead vocalists singing the lines innovatively. @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; border:none;}p {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Times; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; border:none;}.MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} 8. Sob Loke KoyMusic & Lyrics: Alo The BandProducer: Akash AgarwalaLanguage: BanglaGenre: Rock, Folk fusionThe song is part of the new album called "Baulana" by the popular Kolkatta band 'Alo', and I just loved this song the most. There are 5 songs, which are refurbished gems from Bangla folk and the band just gives a brilliant spin to the originals. Syamantak Sengupta is the front-man on vocals and guitars, Sarthak Paul on drums, Arko Roy on guitars, Bubla on bass, Jaydeep Ghosh on Keyboards, Debasmita Sengupta on backing vocals, Bipra Bala on the Flute. The vocals are phenomenal giving a Baul tone to the song, and the guitars and Sitar decorate the song and there are some fragments of Raag Shanmukapriya that I sense. In the stanza it is all about Syamantak's deeply involved and emotional delivery that stuns me. The second interlude is a bea

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This is the week's best of Indian music across languages and states, covering more than 350 song releases from movie albums and the independent space @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:1; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Helvetica Neue"; panose-1:2 0 5 3 0 0 0 2 0 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; border:none;}p.Default, li.Default, div.Default {mso-style-name:Default; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:8.0pt; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; line-height:120%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; color:black; border:none; mso-style-textoutline-type:none; mso-style-textoutline-outlinestyle-dpiwidth:0pt; mso-style-textoutline-outlinestyle-linecap:flat; mso-style-textoutline-outlinestyle-join:bevel; mso-style-textoutline-outlinestyle-pctmiterlimit:0%; mso-style-textoutline-outlinestyle-dash:solid; mso-style-textoutline-outlinestyle-align:center; mso-style-textoutline-outlinestyle-compound:simple;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; border:none;}.MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} 1. Maaripoye - Jakes Bejoy Music Composed and Arranged by JAKES BEJOY Singer: KARTHI Lyrics: KRISHNA CHAITANYA  Language: Telugu Genre: Synth-pop/ Dance-pop   I, some time ago mentioned that I am happy that Jakes Bejoy is making in-roads into other music industries like Tollywood and he is getting better with every album. This one is a Tamil and Telugu bilingual movie and I had already featured one song in Tamil a few weeks ago. This one is a very upbeat number produced by Jakes Bejoy and Praveen Ninan with Jakes composing and arranging as well. There will be memories of Ilaiyaraja's movie album 'Anjali' with the kids chorus and disco/pop similarities. The kids singing are Kichan, Nandu and Idazhika. The male adult voice belongs to Karthi and the song had many elements which work right like the funky groovy bits, and the programming and production are of supreme quality. Sumesh Parameshwar is just spot on with his guitars, and to add more to the song we have a rap segment as well with Travis A King singing the rap verses in the interlude. The 90's synth-pop is an enjoyable experience and it is Daniel Joseph Antony(assisted by Maneeth Manoj) who prepares and arranges the session. Sumesh's bass guitars provide that oomph at every instance and then obviously Jakes' keyboard and rhythm programming. The track is mixed by Balu Thankachan, with assistance from Hariharan and Paul Daniel. John Gethin masters the track along with Daniel, Midhun Manoj and KK Senthil Prasad as recording engineers.        2. Tafriyan Music: Sameer Uddin Lyrics: Shellee Singers: Neha Bhasin, Devenderpal Singh Language: Hindi Genre: Lullaby, Soft Melody I never knew or tracked Neha Bhasin when she was part of this all-women band called 'Viva', but in her recent avatar as a solo performer in the indie space, I have enjoyed her music. This is a score by her spouse, composer Sameer Uddin for the Netflix movie 'Jogi', with lyrics by Shellee. Natasha Pinto is the champion of the song driving it forward with her gentle and tender Keys. The harmonies in A Capella style are beautifully executed and arranged with Abhishek Nailwal on backing vocals. Jitender Thakur plays the Violins and Viola, giving it a European or Sicilian flavour. Devendrapal Singh is fantastic as the male lead vocalist giving out the wonderful emotions of this love track and you are sometimes torn between choosing the lead vocals, or the harmonies or the amazing instrumentals. Meir Shitrit plays the Bouzooki and the track has Chris Athens on mastering and Tanishk Lalla as the recording engineer. The song is a masterclass on arrangements of vocals and live instruments. Rashi Bagai is the Executive Producer.         3. Oh Darling Performed by Priyanka Nath Written by Jonathan Edward, Priyanka Nath Language: English Genre: Alt-Rock  Priyanka Nath was very impressive the last time she had a single, and I have been waiting for her next. It is a delight that the latest one is even better in my opinion compared to her previous single "Run". She has composed, written and performed the number that has excellent lead and, backing vocals. The interlude has a nice section on the electric guitar, and when combined with the drums we have a very enjoyable alt-rock number. Just before the bridge section, there is another longer intervention on the electric guitars, giving a lot of weight to the quality of the number. The bridge section takes things into a calmer zone, but the drums perfectly up the ante as we approach the end. Jonathan Edward produces this number.      4. Antaragini  Vocals: Aman Raj Music: The Lost Symbols Language: Hindi Genre: Rock   Their brand of music is just consistently inspiring, as I don't think I have ever featured any other Indian band so many times on my weekly charts. Their album 'Gharq' has had at-least 4 different singles that have made it to the top 10 songs in India during various weeks. Songs like "Khwaab", "Riha", "Surkh" and "Nindiya Re", are reflective of great Indian Rock music and "Antaragni" is one more that breathes fire. Aman Raj is the lead vocalist, with Gunjan Soral on lead guitars and backing vocals. There is also Jubin Choudhary on guitars and Rahul Sharma on bass with Arun Singh Naruka on the drums. The song is supposed to refer to our inner fire and desire and when you hear this number you can feel that sense of desire and passion even without a single word uttered. Kudos to the composition and instrumentals for making that possible. Just let the opening guitar notes flow into your head and you will be drawn immediately. From there on it is Aman's vocals that raise the energy levels. Not for a single moment, the guitars play second fiddle, and the same goes for the drums which just keep the energy pumped on. Just past the mid-way-mark, we have a guitar and strings-based duel and union leading up to the bridge section. The feeling is transcendental in the bridge section with the vocals and electric guitars. Gunjan and Arun make merry in the minute-long outro section.      5. Khan Market gang  Production by Moses Koul Composed, Written : Kraken Genre: Jazz-Rock, Hip-hop Language: English By the title, we know that this is a New Delhi band, and I have never known about them before this single. This band was formed back in 2015, and in this return avatar they have released an entire EP with some very good numbers that don't generally conform to a style. This particular single is as good as an instrumental piece and I loved the guitars and rhythms particularly. Koul plays the guitars and reminds me of Durwin Dsouza's sensational "Ever Young". Suyash Gabriel is brilliant on drums, Vipul Verma is cool and stylish with his vocals. The bassist os Divij Kapoor and Reuben Das does the Keyboard programming. The song is everything you can wish for when you want to just let go of your emotions and break free. The track is mixed by Krishna Rao and Donal Whelan masters it. The artwork is by Hideo Diakoku     6. Paper Boats Composition: Chirag Todi, Gouri Ranjit, Aksha Kini Lyrics: Gouri Ranjit, Aksha Kini Producer: Raag Sethi Language: English Genre: Indie Pop, R&B I have been waiting eagerly for Raag Sethi and Chirag Todi and the usual suspects who work at Compass Box Studios. Here they are but they have raised the bar with two phenomenal singers who go together as 'Gouri & Aksha'. I have featured Gouri Ranjit Aksha Kini in a few reviews of mine and they are nothing short of fabulous. This moving R&B number has the heavy upright bass right at the beginning and it is Chirag Todi on guitars and Raag playing the bass guitars along with his arrangements and production. Harmish Joshi plays the Woodwinds ever so mildly, and there is so much happening in the background with Protyay Chakraborty teasing you with the strings section. Chirag reminds you of some Santana sizzles as he plays the guitars taking us into the world of Latin Jazz. There is also that extended freedom of creativity displayed by the instrumentalists, heartening to see. Gouri and Aksha perform on different pitches and still display such splendid harmony and union. when they sing together. The delightful drums are by SHivang Kapadia who knows exactly how to make his presence felt without drawing too much attention. Drona Acharya mixes and masters while Tushar Kejriwal does the artwork.      7. Tu Hi Nahi  Composition/Lyrics/Vocals by Piyush Bhisekar Language: Hindi Genre: Ballad The union of the pleasant guitar strings being plucked along with the haunting female humming is magical right at the start. Piyush Bhisekar plays the acoustic guitar and he has gone solo in composing, writing and performing this number. Piyush's vocals are soft, but the emotions that come out show vulnerability with that tender shake that he exhibits. Srinibas Misra plays the bass guitar and you can all along hear the backing vocals performed by Shubha Mukherjee. Those amazing lines "Saath chalna tha, par tu hi nahi" show pain and longing vocally and lyrically. As the song moves along Shubha not just hums and she starts singing the lines and enters the fabulous string section. Piyush and Shardul Bapat compose the strings section with arrangements by Shardul. The performers on the strings are Shardul, Arnav Lalsare and Kartik Tarte. Just when you thought this is a fabulous number, it gets even better with the heart-warming Santoor played by Ninad Daithankar. I listened to this song and fell in love with life itself and music as its greatest bounty. Robin plays the electric guitar and Piyush plays the percussions. The track is mastered by Ronak Runwal, and Malay Vadalkar mixes and does the recording.    8. Ghar Jaane De Vocals, Additional Composition and L

This is the week's best of Indian music across languages and states, covering more than 350 song releases from movie albums and the independent space1. Alle  Music: Ramesh Narayan Vocals: Haricharan Lyrics: Beeyar Prasad Language: Malayalam Genre: Melody Maybe this genius of a composer is like one of those Carnivores that only hunt when hungry. I mean Ramesh Narayan is a fantastic composer who is an expert in the field of Indian Classical music and when he scores in Malayalam movies, it becomes something to celebrate and treasure, if only he would give us that pleasure with more frequent projects. This week itself, we have two songs from the album 'Bermuda' with this Haricharan song topping India's charts. Some enticing notes get played on the acoustic guitars by Sanu PS and then Haricharan makes the grand entrance on vocals. He does possess one of the most likable, gifted and technically correct vocals in the Indian music space and it comes on full display here. You just have to nod your head in approval when he asks " Sugam alle" meaning "Yes everything is fine when we hear his voice". The string section is an important part of the sound that we hear in the song and it is by the Inspired Symphony Orchestra in Budapest. These segments in the opening lines remind me of the arrangements and grandeur of "Oh Butterfly" by Ilaiyaraja. We also now hear some strong bass guitar strumming by Brandon Trent, and woodwinds in the background and it is the same Orchestra responsible for the latter. The stanza is a way both these masters Haricharan and Ramesh showcase their skills with Hari showing his vocal range and Malayalam diction, and Ramesh enabling a wonderful tune with even better arrangements especially the strings in the background. The interjection of strings, woodwinds and Keys just takes the song into a different orbit altogether and there are immense contributions from Ajith A George on sound design and Music Programmer Sheron Roy Gomez. The sound engineers are Romy, Vybav, Bharath Arjunan and Pranay with Sujith Sreedhar on mixing and mastering. The second interlude feels like a separate chapter in a symphony and things start off from where they left at the end of the first stanza. Haricharan sounds even freer and tries to improvise with mild vibrato, compared to the first stanza.   2. Madhura Jeeva Ragam  Music: Alphons Joseph Lyrics: Joe Paul  Singer: Mridula Varrier Music Programming: Aby Tom Cyriac  Language: Malayalam Genre: Melody People I knew loved the movie 'Sundari Gardens', and it has Aparna Balamurali who not only has show potential as an actress but also a singer. This beautiful number is composed by Alphons Joseph and sung by Mridula Varrier, with lyrics by Joe Paul. Nikhil Ram plays the flute and the keys are played by Aby Tom Cyriac who handles the programming, mixing and mastering. Mridula's honey-soaked vocals take away all the pains and burdens of life as she sings with impeccable ease and when you wait a bit to hear the title line you are lifted into the heavens. Anu Thomas backs up as vocalist in the harmonies and the whole song feels like a walk in the Japanese Tea Gardens thanks to the tonality of the instruments and production. Nithin Sabu Johnson is the sound engineer with Anandu Pai, Amal S Varghese, Sreehari Raveendran and Feiga Meiphullung Gangmei assisting. The stanza has Mridula reaching into the higher scales and when you hear the strings, flute and rhythm programming and arrangements it is pure delight and shows why Mollywood music space is making the rest of the country feel left out, especially a deficit-stricken world of Bollywood. The outro segment with all the programming, vocals and flute brings a smile to your face.  3. Wajah  Singer: Pawandeep Rajan & Arunita Kanjilal  Music: Ashish Kulkarni  Lyrics: Rahul Kale  I have known Ashish Kulkarni since 2020 and I have been featuring his singles much before he shot to fame in Indian Idol, and it is not only his singing but his composition abilities as well. It is nice to see him provide an opportunity to two other co-contestants at the Indian Idol in Pawandeep Rajan & Arunita Kanjilal for the vocal leads in this number. It is Madhab Deka that shines in the beginning with the grand arrangements of Strings and rhythms and as the lead singers perform the closing stages of the opening lines sound as good as Ajay-Atul's "Yad lagla". It is just before the interlude that we hear Arunita sing a beautiful portion that sounds and feels like Raag Bilawal. The interlude has layers of Violins and Keys accompanying which give a very sober and "pathos" setting to the song. The composition is not straightforward at all, and one can hear all the unpredictable notes in the stanza which is why Ashish can pat himself on the back for trusting himself and not compromising with a mediocre and run-of-the-mill tune. The track needs a lot of effort in mixing and mastering the various segments and layers and this is where Rupjit Das comes into play. The recording engineers are Mrinal Das, Rahul Dayal and Pankaj Kaushik.   4. Pukaare  Composed and sung by: Madhubanti Bagchi Lyricist: Ginny Diwan  Music produced by: Siddharth Amit Bhavsar  Language: Hindi Genre: Indie-pop It is not the first time I am hearing and featuring Madhubanti Bagchi, and after almost a year she is back in my weekly India charts with a stunning indie pop number. It is also interesting to observe a sensational lyricist in Ginny Diwan who Madhubanti herself nicely addresses as her favourite bardess. The song has a very 1990s tonality to it like something that would emerge in a song from Sting. The guitars are resplendent and who else but Ritaprabha Ray and Ishan Das can come up with such sexy strumming? Madhu's tone is a mix of a sweet and a slightly coarse voice which makes the lower-scale notes that much better to listen to, and has this Shilpa Rao texture overall. Siddharth Amit Bhavsar plays no mean role in this song as he is the producer and if you listen to the song's sound it has some excellent rhythm and keyboard programming. I love how the decibel levels and arrangements drop at the beginning of the stanza, when all focus needs to be on the melody and the sharp and emotional delivery of the lines by Madhu. The stanza feels fresh and it has some excellent chords that remind you of the style adopted by Salim-Sulaiman for their scores. Oh and I love the way the stanza ends and the chords progress into the opening lines. Pankaj Borah has mixed and mastered the track at the Pavel Areen Studio. The introduction of the humming at the end is a nice addition to the guitars and rhythms.    5. Kelu Nee Composed and produced by: Narayan Sharma  Singer: Narayan Sharma  Lyrics by: Nagarjun Sharma Language: Kannada Genre: Melody, Semi-classical fusion Some of these musicians are really having a ball and I love it when the same album has a couple or more songs of superior quality. This movie "Nodi Swamy Ivanu Irode Heege", has 2 songs in the week's charts just like the Malayalam movie "Bermuda". Narayan Sharma has been a regular on my page and that is no surprise because he is one of the brightest musicians India has. He is a singer, Violinist and composer as well and he brings in all these facets to the forefront. The song is performed, composed and produced by Narayan with Palee Francis (from WCMT)and Narayan coming together and doing the programming. The initial Ukulele as well as guitars are played by WCMT's Achyuth Jaigopal who also does the music supervision for the track. Observe the bass lines gradually gain ground as the song progresses. I was stunned when the Violin intervenes and it is such a classical interjection into the scheme of things making the song precious within the first 1 minute. After this you will be surprised to hear the title line in a pop style with fast-paced guitars, that is some skilful composition. Narayan excels in delivering the song as he shows his wide vocal range as well. There is a jugalbandi with the Violin notes just following and playing catchup with the vocals. The outro has even better arrangements thanks to the vocal harmonies and catchy rhythms. The track is mixed by Palee Francis and mastered by Vivek Thomas. Nagarjun Sharma is the lyricist.   6. Taxi Driver Vocals, Lyrics, Composition: Prerona Producer: Zuboski  Language: English Genre: Alt-pop When Prerona reached out to me asking if I could listen to a new song, I began to without any expectations. Man, Did I get bamboozled by his vocals and the production. This is steamy thanks to the vocal texture and Prerona does a fine job in delivering the vocals with that uber-cool attitude. Just listen to him express  with a sensational set of lungs in the line "Right into the water, sick". Watch out for that drop in drop in pitch for the word 'sick'. I must appreciate the brilliant lines written by Prerona, and these are signs of a star in the making. Amidst the ordinary poetry I come across daily, he stands tall. Check out this line both lyrically and musically and it wants me to keep playing it on a loop, "So play your nightly hymns, I need a religion tonight". The acoustic and bass guitars are just fabulous layers but Zuboski kills it every second with his production. The keyboards and electric guitars come and play a mild interlude near the 3rd minute and then we have Prerona's vocals along with Anubis on backing vocals all through. Art-work is by Soham Joshi and Yaamini. The mixing is done by Zuboski who has also co-composed the track, and mastering is done at Gray Spark Audio.     7. Sab Kuchh Singer - B Praak  Lyrics & Composer - Jaani  Music - B Praak  Language: Punjabi Genre: Melody People who read my page know that I have always been a huge fan of B.Praak as a singer and producer. The fits time as a music reviewer I came across Jaani and B.Praak as composer-producer-lyricist was back in 2019 when I heard the amazing album of "Sufna". This time "Moh" is another testament to the great work these guys are doing in the field of Music in the Punjabi space. I will be doing an EP review of "Moh" pretty soon as I love 3 songs at least in it. This song is B.Praak's fantastic vocals being displayed and there is non like him to emotionally deliver a song. The flute by Paras Nath and the synth and keyboard programming by Gaurav Dev & Kartik Dev is mindblowing. We can also hear some strings in the background and it is this keen sense of arrangement that elevates the quality of the song. There is never a wrong foot kept in the song as every element like the Keys, rhythms and harmonies works so brilliantly to take the listener into an alternative space of tranquillity. The track is mixed and mastered by Gurjinder Guri and Akash Bambar.  8. Hona Mere  Composer & Singer - Dhvani Bhanushali  Music Producer – Abhijit Vaghani  Lyrics - Rashmi Virag  Language: Hindi Genre: Ballad Combinations work, and one can remember the last time when Dhvani Bhansuhali and Abhijit Vaghani worked together to give us that smashing number called "Radha". I sometimes get a little critical when singers pick bad songs to be a part of, like when Dhvani sings songs like "Candy" for Yuvan, and I feel even stronger about it when I hear some fantastic numbers like 'Hona Mere' coming from her own repertoire. Shomu Seal plays the guitars and we also have a layer of electric guitar mildly playing in the background. The strumming sets a very mysterious tone and Dhvani's vocals carry that extra bit of sadness meant in the song's messaging. This is a song on the protagonist thinking about her lover who she is separated from, so all these elements aptly create the scene. I am astounded by her vocal abilities and check out what she does when the line goes" Meri taraf mudh bhi ja", and the vibrato and attitude she brings forward with her voice is spectacular. Abhijit gets all the elements right, with the introduction of the Violins in the background, as nothing speaks pathos like that instrument. Abhijit's programming on keyboards and rhythms is perfect and he chooses moments of pause quite effectively. The track is mixed and mastered by Aftab Khan with Vatsal Chevli as the mixing assistant. The endearing and emotional lyrics are written by Rashmi Virag and the words convey the deep longing as much as the tune, singing and production. 9. Belakali  Music Composed, Arranged and Programmed by: Joe Costa Lyrics: Ramenahalli Jagannatha  Singer: Joe Costa  Language: Kannada Genre: Semi-classical Melody We have a massive list of regional songs this week, especially from the south, and this Kannada number is another semi-classical-sounding melody it is, even more, special because it comes from a composer I have not featured before today. Joe has composed, programmed, arranged and even performed the number with the lyrics penned by Ramenahalli Jagannatha. The song is from the Kannada movie 'Hondisi Bareyiri' and it has some stalwarts working as instrumentalists like Narayan Sharma on the Violin, Bhutto on Flute, and Varun Murali on guitars. The flute in the intro is pleasant and invokes feelings of divinity and I probably sensed some Ragam Kalyani (Yaman in Hindustani). It is accompanied by acoustic and bass guitars and Joe has a voice that suits the semi-classical style quite well. Narayan who already has his own composition in this week plays the stunning Violin solo in the interlude. Joe and Jathin Dharshan who have worked on the programming get the Keys and rhythm programming well executed. The second interlude is pure class with the flute in multiple layers and the Tabla by Venugopala Raju. Warren D Costa plays the additional guitars and the chorus we hear is from Manasa Holla and team. Abin Paul does the mixing and mastering. Towards the end of the second stanza there is a segment with the chorus, and the heart just swells in joy hearing this beautiful segment.  10. Shomudrer Dheu Music Director and Creative Producer: Neet Dutt  vocals: Durnibar Saha, Somlata Acharyya Chowdhury

This is the week's best of Indian music across languages and states, covering more than 350 song releases from movie albums and the independent space1. PariComposer: Gaurav ChatterjiLyrics: Hussain HaidryVocals: Neeti MohanMusic Production: Gaurav Chatterji, Ashish ZachariahLanguage: HindiGenre: MelodyCameos are never to be underrated. They are solid performances that turn around the outcome of an event single-handedly despite never getting the original shining limelight. Gaurav Chatterji to me is one of those unsung heroes who keep playing memorable cameos in Bollywood, and I sincerely hope he gets opportunities elsewhere in India where music composers are worshipped and celebrated. I did feature him in movies like 'Ginny Weds Sunny' where all the media focussed on 3 mediocre songs, but his two songs were fabulous. Even in a movie on Amazon Prime last year called "Jalsa" which was appreciated for the acting performances his music deserved more attention. Now in an Anurag Kashyap direction starring Tapsee Pannu, one can understand why this amazing song got hidden in the rubble of reviews, praise and criticism. The moment I heard this, I knew it was of supreme quality good enough to bag the number 1 spot in India. It starts like a run-of-the-mill number, but once you hit the 45-second mark and Neeti Mohan launches off into orbit with "Zidd hai meri". The guitars are fabulous to even say the least thanks to some phenomenal talents like Hrishi Giridhar and Ashish Zachariah with the former on acoustic and electric guitars, and the latter on nylon and acoustic guitars. The Ronroco is an instrument that looks like a guitar, but to me, it sounded like a Sarod and Tapas Roy enchants you with it in the interlude. The stanza is mesmerising and every cell in your body feels the magic of great music thanks to some amazing strings in the background. The strings are recorded by Roni Seiler and right through we have bass guitars played by Sajal Sharma. I have closed my eyes and nodded with every note and it is all because of the fantastic composition and arrangements by Gaurav. Can you imagine despite Neeti Mohan's steamy vocals, especially when she lands the low-scale notes in the stanza, the mind and ears still focus on all the live instruments around? This is because of the quality of the song, something that an AR Rahman or Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy would be proud of. Gaurav uses the keys in the second interlude predominantly and the bass guitars too come to be noticed more in the stanzas. Gaurav also performs as a backing vocalist in the song. The track is mixed by Alok Punjani, and mastered by Donal Whelan, with Jose Das as the studio assistant. @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Helvetica Neue"; panose-1:2 0 5 3 0 0 0 2 0 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-452984065 1342208475 16 0 1 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; border:none;}p {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Times; mso-fareast-font-family:"Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; border:none;}.MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} 2. Straight out the mud Performed by Ruby VelleWritten by Ruby Velle, Rune WestbergProduced by Rune Westberg, Ruby VelleLanguage: EnglishGenre: Jazz/BluesThis Canadian/American musician establishes her Indian roots with a very deeply religious and more accurately philosophical single. I couldn't think of anything positive when I heard the title, but when I read the message I was pleasantly taken aback. Based on Buddhist teachings the message is clear " The mud is needed for the lotus to grow". I m never a guy who pays too much focus on the lyrics, but this is gold. Ruby Velle & The Soulphonics keep performing together in the US as a band that was formed by Ruby, but this is her solo effort as she writes, produces and performs along with Grammy winner Rune Westberg. The guitars and the Jazzy soulful vocals of Ruby keep me glued, reminding me of greats like Tina Turner. The gospel-like harmonies work terrifically in the background, and when you hear them along with the Horns section, you feel inspired and satisfied listening to this beauty. Vocally, this is a supreme performance by Ruby and I have never heard such strong vocals other than Samantha Noella and Vivienne Pocha, up until now. @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Arial Unicode MS"; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Helvetica Neue"; panose-1:2 0 5 3 0 0 0 2 0 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-452984065 1342208475 16 0 1 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin

1. FishMusic & Performance: Rum and MonkeysLanguage: EnglishGenre: RockThe great music from the Northeast never ceases to amaze me. At the number 1 spot, this week have a young band from Shillong called 'Rum and Monkeys' and I very much enjoyed their new album 'Tales of a Tasteless Kid'. The Shillong-based band has five, fine members, Meban Atom Marbaniang on vocals and rhythm guitar, Anon Cheran Momin on keyboards and synth, Shantre Mandy Lamare on bass guitar, Daniel Dian Kharumnuid on lead guitar and Vivian Kharumnuid playing the drums. I fell in love with the song "Fish" and felt "Blind" was another sensational number. The immediate impact on Synths and Keyboards hits you hard thanks to Anon and you start imagining that you are in the middle of a Coldplay concert. Meban has this voice that ticks all boxes for a rock band frontman, as shifts scale with great ease and has a fine falsetto mode too. Daniel comes on board to sizzle from time to time on the electric guitar and is accompanied by Shantre on bass. Vivian's drums are vibrant, and the best part is after the 3rd-minute when the guitars and drums pause and get smashing when Meban sings " Last fish is in the pool, but I'd rather swim with you" and he gives a sick evil laugh. "Thought I had the upper hand, but you played me like a fool" are great lines with a typical rock howl at the end. Get some face-melting electric guitar solo towards the end and the vocals and drums follow, but it's a finale on Synths, guitars and drums to revitalize you for the whole day. I'll be doing an EP review soon. But do listen to this slightly more fun and punk-rock-styled "Blind". Two things truly stand out for me from this band 1. Funky synths and 2. lyrics that make you smile and think. "They say the beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, but what if I am blind?". Wow, you judge for yourself. @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"?? ??"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"?? ??"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}p {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Times; mso-fareast-font-family:"?? ??"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"?? ??"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"?? ??"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"?? ??"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}p {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Times; mso-fareast-font-family:"?? ??"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"?? ??"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}   2. Gulebakavali Singer: Chinmayi Sripada Music: Chirrantan Bhatt Lyrics: Ramajogayya SastryLanguage: TeluguGenre: Dance A lot of period films depicting great kings get released these days, and music in terms of the background score becomes an essential part to drive the sentiment and portrayal forward. The songs are much less important because I think it is difficult to depict the timeline through modern instruments. 'Bimbisara' is one such example, where I feel the songs don't particularly feel like belonging to 5th century BCE. One can argue that since the movie is about the king time-travelling to modern-day India, the songs need not sound historic. Getting back to the songs I loved " Gulebakavali" and "Eeswarude'. Both these were composed by Chirantann Bhatt who I have featured before for a fantastic song called " Ankhein Mili" from the movie 'Sanak'. Chinmayi sings it like a breeze and I am so glad because more often than not she is handed out serious songs that traverse in the 'pathos' zone. This is supposed to be an item number and wow, you feel the pulsating energy thanks to the tune, rhythms, live instruments and vocals. Ramajogayya Sastry is the lyricist. The best line is the one that goes "dhimi tha dhimi dhhim tara" with lead and backing vocals aiding the delivery. One can hear the strong presence of synths and keyboards. The song also feels like "Chikkini Chameli" but that can only be a compliment because it was composed by Ajay-Atul. In fact, the ghamaka that Chinmayi does right at the end also feels like Shreya's delivery in the Ajay-Atul number. The rhythms and horns section also makes it one flamboyant number that feels like a massive endless party. "Eeshwarude" is another fantastic song and CHirantann brings in composer-vocalist Kaala Bhairava to lend his voice. Shreemani is the lyricist and the tracks are mixed and mastered by Vinod Verma and G Jeevan Babu. The grand orchestral sounds come to life and with a team of backing vocalists, we get terrific harmonies. I do sense some influence of Raag Malkauns(Hindolam in Carnatic). The strings and percussions are magnificent and I hope this album gets Chirantann the much-deserved attention down South. @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"?? ??"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"?? ??"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}p {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Times; mso-fareast-font-family:"?? ??"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"?? ??"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"?? ??"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"?? ??"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}p {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Times; mso-fareast-font-family:"?? ??"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"?? ??"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} 3. Mohabbat ZindagiMusic: Mikey McClearyLyrics: Ankur TewariVocals: Lucky AliLanguage: HindiGenre: Indie PopI never thought about it that way, but I read that the song translates into "Life is love". I too, like this song's message, am a person who loves to celebrate the smaller moments in life but there is nothing small about this song. Just get up clap your hands and dance and listen to this belter of a song and start celebrating your existence from this moment on. Lucky's voice still sounds the same as it was 25 years ago and it feels like time has stood still. The combination of Lucky Ali and Mikey McCleary is really shaping up to be something ominous and I have featured the duo before with their single "Intezaar" back in April 2022. The Choir team sounds amazing and they are like a secondary soul to this song, the team has Alisha Pais, Ella Castellino Atai, Mimosa Almeida Pinto, Raynah Braganza, Marie Paul and Karen Rebecca Dsouza. The guitars and rhythms play second fiddle to some fantastic lead and support vocals. I just love the lines where Lucky pauses and sings " Suno,ooo oo ooo, ye pyaar sa silsila", and then when he finishes "jo khoya hua" followed by beautiful harmonies arranged and sung by the Choir team. Mikey is brilliant in this number and this feel-good song just sticks to your head for a long time.  @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"?? ??"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"?? ??"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}p {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Times; mso-fareast-font-family:"?? ??"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"?? ??"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} 4. Nammalani UndiMusic, lyrics - Kalyan NayakVocals: Haricharan, Ramya Behra, Kalyan NayakLanguage: Telugu

This is the week's best music from across the nation. Music from every state written in every language, composed as a part of Movies and by Indie artists is listened to and after analyzing more than 350 tracks released in the week ending 24th April 2022, I have rated and reviewed the 16 absolute best tracks in the country. This is truly India's ONLY multilingual music review and music curation page. Week after week, without any breaks you will get the review and links to the best work from musicians all over the country. 1. Swimming They are like the pride of women indie musicians in India and their singing and compositions represent the best of talents we have in this country today. If only Indians who think it is pretty cool to listen to a Ellie Goulding and Selena Gomez just took a few minutes of their lives every day to listen to songs like this!!! Kamakshi Khanna and Sanjeeta Bhattacharya are A-listers and they have been obviously featured on my playlists and reviews numerous times, not because they are popular, but they ooze quality. The duo write, compose and perform together with production by Kamakshi. Kamakshi starts off the vocals with her delectable and soft tones and you fall in love with the song, and just then to make matters worse for your vulnerability Sanjeeta broaches on stage with her Opera-like thrust in her voice. Kamakshi herself plays the Piano that you hear along driving the songs sober and lullaby-like undertone, and she also plays the live Ukulele in the track. Listen to her trembling voice as she singing “against the flowâ€? and you hear notes of the song flowing like the water itself. Ajay Jayanthi kills you with his solo violin playing mildly, almost as if he is putting his fiddle up and when Kamakshi sings “can somebody help me up. Ajay also handles the live strings in the song. This is a well-written song about the female bonding and friendship which gets drowned like needle in a haystack among all the love songs. I love the thump in the drums produced by Karun Karunapilly, and something I felt and noticed was how Kamakshi’s voice sounds vulnerable calling for help, and the assertive Sanjeeta comes to the rescue as her friend and all this gets expressed through the vocals. Adil Kurwa was just here on my list last week with the band ‘The Colour Compoundâ€? is at his best on the bass guitars and Apur Isaac plays the tender acoustic guitar. Behold the moment when Sanjeeta sings “She knows, the tide is lowâ€?, but I felt like I was downing in a high tide of musical goodness. The closing stages are a treat with the vocals, harmonies, strings and drums all in unison. The wonderful mixing for the track is done by Ashyar Balsara. The video is directed by Parizad, with Tithi Rohilla as the AD and Abhinandan Sharma as the DOP, Sonal Garg as HMU. Ashna Katoch does the beautiful choreography with Tanya Suri and Ashna as dancers. Aanchal Rai is the stylist, with Pritiza as the photographer and Akshiena Khanna as the art work specialist. 2. Theher I was so impressed with Gaurav Chatterji for his 2 songs in ‘Ginny weds Sunny’ but unfortunately some of the other songs which were far inferior in quality and pure remixes got more attention. If you haven’t kindly listen to “Phoonk Phoonkâ€? and “Rubaruâ€? from the album. He is now rising with every new composition and “Theherâ€? is the perfect example of his prowess. Shilpa Rao is the perfect vocalist for this endearing yet mysterious number that is rich in emotions and quality. The use of the orchestra and especially components of the strings section really kept me hooked and obsessed and kudos to Gaurav for the score and production. The 3 instruments that stand out are the Violin and Viola played by Jitendra Hansraj Javda, and the Cello played by Leo Olavio Velho. The words and the musical tone and arrangements are apt, as she sings “ Theher, Saas le zindagiâ€?, and the pause is used to fill the void with the flurry of Violin and Viola. The Budapest Art Orchestra deserves applause for this symphonic exhibition with Peter Pejtsik as the conductor, David Lukacs as the Protols engineer, Gabor Buczko as the recording engineer and Miklos Lukacs as the Session Producer. Alok Punjabi does a fabulous job mixing for this track, as it so difficult to get the sounds and amplitudes right amidst all the instruments. Donal Whelan has mastered the track. Jose Das has assisted on the mixing and Sandeep Gaur writes the meaningful lyrics. The outro on guitars and Violin and Viola is stunning and makes you wish it never ended. 3. Njan Aara Avial the Indian alternative rock band can never be forgotten and despite the many changes that have transpired in terms of band members, thankfully their brand of music hasn’t gone through any decay. In the last released album, there are 8 tracks and I found this to be the absolute best. “Who am Iâ€? is the existential question that this song is trying to ask and Tony John's captivating vocals draw you into the number. Rex Vijayan, a composer I have really fancied thanks to some of his scores and production capabilities plays the lead guitar and bassist Binny Isaac and accompanies him. In-fact Rex slays rather than plays, and that would be an appropriate description of his prowess. The lead and bass guitars are so stunning that after the initial vocal segments, it feels like an instrumental on a standalone bassis. Mithun Puthanveetil blasts away on drums as Tony reaches for the high scales singing the title lines, and his precision in the emotion and delivery is befitting the lyrics. There is some synth related sounds as well and that too is by Rex. The harmonies towards the end are well arranged and provide a breather from the other wise hard rock content 4. Moonrain I over the last couple of years have really taken a liking to fusion, especially the Indian classical/ Rock fusion and Param the band falls right smack in the center of this genre. They call themselves a Hindustani Progressive Rock Act and Moonrain is a perfect depiction of that. It starts off with a disco-like duel with Shreyas Urs on lead guitars and Sanketh Kumar on bass. Vijay Hegde then begins his very classical Hindustani delivery and it apparently an extraction of Raag Bhoop which is known as Mohanam in Carnatic music. The percussions are a mix of both Indian and western worlds with Mayur GS on drums and Vishal Kalbad on Tabla. Vijay is simply excellent with every aalap he delivers and nothing seems overdone or forced. The interlude progresses in the disco style but the bass guitar solo is invigorating, just after the completion of the lead guitar bit. Vishal does some magic with his fingers on the Tabla at break-neck speed and the last minute feels like one scintillating ride on the roller-coaster with guitars and drums taking us in to the heart of rock genre. I am eagerly awaiting their next as this one truly won my heart and the whole song is like a fantasy like wondering how it would feel and seem to have rain on the moon. 5. Zameen We complain and crib about the life in a concrete jungle, but its all haphazard like an incoherent though. Listen to sing splendid number that combines the lyrical mastery of Psya and singing and composition of Dhi Harmony. The guitars are splendid and they are not just sidekicks, but equal heroes for the output of this track. Pratyay Mishra handles the guitar arrangements and Anand Masrani can be heard sizzling away on the bass guitars. Shanaia Puskar Shrotri and Prarthana Wagh hit a nice emotional nerve on the harmonies and we get some good accompaniment on the drums thanks to Baajewala’s recording and Aditya Ranga’s Rhythm arrangements. After the 2.30-minute mark we get a full blast rock genre energy and this shift is delightful and inspirational. Dhi is trained in folk and Indian classical music and that shows in his vocal delivery and understanding of music is reflected in the arrangements. Hersh Desai does the mix and master with Sarthak Ray as the recording engineer. And when all the storm perishes, the guitars followed by Dhi a.k.a. Tanmoy’s vocals is pure gold. 6. 'Naina' It Is some inspiring and tantalizing music and an even better story of a Gaurav Rudra who was determine to write, sing and record this despite some great hindrances to his physical being. I heard it from the horse’s mouth and I got a sense of the man's passion. Just listen to this song and that will do enough to please your heart as Gaurav writes and performs and Pallav Jyoti Mahanta plays the guitars and Keys. You might hear fragments of “Iktaraâ€? by Amit Trivedi at least I heard some notes where the scale resembled and I presume there could be an influence of Raag Khamaj. The guitars are like the driving force behind the song whether acoustic in the foreground or electric guitars in the background. “Tu Roothe aaâ€? and the notes here and that follow also remind me of RD Barman’s “Ek ladki ko dekhaâ€?. Amazer Sanger plays the bass guitars and Abhay Dohar is on the drums. The track is mixed by Arpan Jain, with Abhay, and Kartik Ganotra mastering. We can also hear maybe a Ukulele or pluck in the background to soften the emotions up but the moment that truly stuns you is the electric guitar solo in the interlude past the 2nd minute. It is in the stanza that Gaurav explores and exhibits a lot of his vocal range. Vadik Sehra does the lyrical video and Abhay Kalia handles the artwork. 7. 'O Manuja' He has been away for a bit and I really did miss Prashant Pillai’s scores, and finally he is back and that too for a movie that looks exciting just form the title and poster featuring Soubin Shahir. Prashant arranges and has programmed for the track as well. The clear front runner for claps and ovation is Sithara Krishnakumar the vocalist as she sings it in a fashion and tone you wouldn’t have heard or expected from her. I hear a strong sense of Raag Abheri but the background instrumentals are mind-blowing thanks to Prashant and the additional programmers in Sreerag Saji and Rakesh. The way she sings at the low vocal scales is astounding and creates mystery and a sense of a scare, and maybe that is intended. The electric guitar riff is good as it keeps coming about and the track is supremely mixed and mastered by Vivek Thomas, with Rahul Narayan as the recording engineer. Santhosh Varma is the lyricist. 8. Saamna I don't know if I have this before in my reviews, but Vayu is one of the best composers/producers around and just like he is named he breathes air and life into a song. Here he is writing, composing and producing, with Stav Beger co-composing for the track. AKASA who has worked with Vayu before once again performs with gusto and rock-solid delivery here. The song apparently deals with the trauma of separation from a loved one and meeting the person again. The rhythm programming is top-notch and the entire tone of the song is one that oozes of superior production values. What follows here around the 1.20-minute mark is truly stunning. It sounds like a stringed instrument but this programed sound with rhythms in the background is captivating and lets you lose control, and all you want to do is groove and dance. Stav does the programming for the track. You can hear some excellent flute sounds also intervening in the stanza. As a music lover, all I want is a brief episode of magic in every song and Vayu does that for me along with Stav here. Strangely enough, I felt that the tune had a mild influence on Raag Bhimpalasi and Vayu believes it could just have been unintended. 9. Chirakaarnnu Palavazhaiye How do they just keep producing melodies aty this incredible frequency, I am talking about the Mollywood music industry collectively. This one is composed by Rahul SUbramanianan and sung with that coarse husky tone by Narayani Gopan. The two instrumentalists who immensely impress in the opening stages are bassist Anuraag Rajeev Nayan who is killing it in the background and he also plays the guitars for this one. The other one is a composer I like Sachin Balu who plays the Veena, and wait for the interlude bit, to his proficiency. Arun Alat writes the lyrics and Rahul’s arrangements and programming keep the tone fresh with a tinge of pathos that is also apparent in the vocals. Harishankar V has mixed and mastered the track. 10. Sukoon Last week I mentioned Kashmira Khot the young singer-songwriter who has 3 on 3 of her singles reviewed and featured by me and just like that we have here Neyhal who is a star for the future and just like his 2 earlier singles that both got featured, Sukoon is here to bring a smile to your face. It starts off with some wind instrument magic as Harmish Joshi plays that Clarinet. Neyhal’s vocals are just tranquillity and love encapsulated, and as he sings these beautiful lines that we all can relate to, Meera Desai joins in on the backing vocals adding some beautiful layers. Neyhal writes, sings, composes and plays the guitars, but one cannot quantify the immense contribution of Raag Sethi as he produces, arranges, and also plays the bass guitars. The home of some of India's best music a.k.a. Compass Box Studios is where the magic transpired and got recorded. A brief bridge is introduced where all the drums by Shivang Kapadia come to a halt and only Neyhals voice and guitars guide us through. It is symbolic of the volatile emotions that run through our veins and hearts as we glance at someone we like. This part reminded me very nostalgically of “Papa Kehthe hainâ€?. Kudos to Protyay Chakraborty who does the irreplaceable work of mixing and mastering so many elements and instruments. Neyhal does so well when he alters the notes just a tad to sing Lage sachh tu the second time around. The song simply signs off in memorable and stylish fashion thanks to the clarinet again just like the start.  11. Phase The title of the song is apparently the English words phase, which refers to a period in time, during a feeling of longing for happiness, success or love. I thought the title however was the Hindi word meaning “getting caughtâ€? and since the lyrics come in both English and Hindi and I assumed I was right, because with every second that passed, I was ‘getting caught’ in the song’s web of melody. Sarthak Saksena has written, composed and performed, and his vocals are soft and tender and could just rock you off into sleep. Shahzan Mujeeb has worked on the programming, arrangements as well as mixing and mastering. He does bring some mastery as the Hindi lyrics begin and the percussions take over brilliantly. That is not all, there is a brilliant interlude with a Sitar Solo and it give me vibes of Raag Yamuna Kalyani. The way the song transforms at the end of this interlude like a western Pop is truly scintillating and this where the composer great skill and versatility. Mustafa RK has his contribution in backing vocals and harmonies and he doesn’t miss the target either. The percussion element is the Cajon Box probably along with programmed drums. 12. Zindagi The song is by Goyell Saab Collective and it talks about the pandemic and its lasting impact on humanity. The song has a stylish and cool coloring that mainly oozes from the vocalist’s delivery and attitude. Goyell Saab is the singer and he also has written, and produced this track. The rock styled texture is brought about thanks to Karn Kapoor on drums and Srived Datta on electric guitars. Kunal Kambli is the bassist and he delivers all the oomph non-stop and you can imagine the efficacy of this whole set up when Goyell sings “ koi jeeth na sakeâ€? so casually. The humming too comes off quite well as an extension of the track’s main vibe. 13. Icarus Rushaki Ghosh has written, composed and performed this synth laden and Piano heavy piece and ever since I opened myself up to all styles of music I have appreciated Lo-fi and modern sounds of the electro variety and this song is exemplary in that regard. There are a zillion sounds here and I can only have words of appreciation for Rushaki and Bharg Kale who have produced the track together. They fly high definitely like Icarus towards the sun, but unlike the mythological character, the duo certainly succeeds in reaching higher and higher. The last segment where they sing “That’s what we’ve been told to do, with the Keys, harmonies and all the sounds feels cathartic with a drop of a tear rolling down my cheeks. 14. Entra Adhrushtam Mark K robin produced the best song in India on my list last week with “Reppe Vese Logaâ€? and now he has made it to the list with another out-of-the-box kind of song from the film ‘Mishan Impossible’. He ropes in superstar Haricharan for the male lead vocals and the two do a fabulous job here. It starts off in perfect Reggae or Calypso style with rhythms and bass guitars doing the needful along with the trumpets. Mark composes, arranges and produced the single while also accompanying Haricharan in vocals. Keith Peters is the bassist with David Joseph on drums and Allwyne on percussions. It sounds like a UB 40 song and a good one at that. Mark also plays the Keys and we can hear some excellent interventions on the Harmonica as well. Full marks to creativity! The track is mixed and mastered by Toby and lyrics are penned by Sanapati Bharadwaj. Some of the vocal arrangements and improvised singing is just quite catchy towards the end. 15. Jalwanuma Is it ok to blow my own trumpet? Well fine let me go ahead and still do it. I am quite elated and cautiously proud that Pooja Tiwari, who I rate highly as a singer/ composer, has sung for AR Rahman as the female lead vocalist, but she has featured in my list and my reviews multiple times since 2020 and in fact just last week I reviewed her single amongst the top 5 Indian songs called “Rang Daroongiâ€?. Ok now let me come back to earth, and state this is a fantastic number by the genius, and it has been long overdue. Pooja Tiwari sounds fabulous as she sings it with a mix of tease, sadness and confidence and she sounds nothing like if you hear her talk. I wish Pooja all success from here on in and hope she capitalizes on her big break. The song reminds us and shows fragments of his early works and this has a strong influence on Raag Charukeshi. There is another point I will like to notify here, Sarthak Kalyani who too has been a regular on my lists and reviews does the additional vocals along with Swagat Rathod and the boys easily match up to what is expected of them. Pooja Tiwari blows away in what has to be a golden debut and she has the seasoned Javed Ali on male vocals. The percussion and rhythms are a major component in the success of the song and we have a huge ensemble, comprising Keyur Barve, Satyajit Jamsandekar and Omkar Salunkhe. Satyajot plays the gentle Tabla and heavy Dholak as well, with Ratnadeep Jamsandekar also on Dholak. OMkar and Parag Chhabra conduct the rhythms section and hence a huge round of appreciation to them. I am surprised I am able to write so much considering I have been swooned away by Pooja's high-pitched delivery of the title line. Tapas Roy plays the Bazuki and Mandolin which come to the fore during the interlude but Omkar Dhumal steals the show right towards the end with his Shehnai solo. Be wowed by Pooja's display of vocal range and how she is in the lower scale in the stanza. Chris Jason plays the electric guitar and the technical team is pretty strong as well with Hiral Viradia as the music supervisor, TR Krishna Chetan on mixing along with Pradvay Sivashankar and Pradvay the mastering. The mastering for Apple Digital is done by Riyasdeen Riyan, and the sound engineers are Suresh Permal, Karthik Sekaran, and Aravind Crescendo. Mehboob and Jyoti Nair are the lyricists 16. Try Again SURII is an Indian music composer/producer and he first caught my attention when he featured the singer Sid Sriram called “You’re not aloneâ€?. That totally floored me thanks to some excellent creative vocals by Sid, and to make matters more tempting for the listener it had Shilpa Rao as the female vocalist. This one has endearing and thumping sounds and SURII a.k.a. Surya Giri has written, produced arranged and performed this number. Musicians from Chennai Ashwin Vinayagamoorthy and Sivanesh Natarajan who have been featured multiple times on my website and lists come in with their strong points of mixing this track while Alex Gordon at Abbey Road Studios masters the track. The Chennai duo of Ashwin and Sivanesh are also the recording engineers. SURII’s vocals are mesmerizing, as he goes into falsetto and executes it brilliantly and I am always reminded of Chris Isaak, the American musician who sang “Wicked Gameâ€?. The rhythms are just what the doctor ordered, and the guitars are spectacular and feel like a booster shot to the ears. This is one of the best electro-pop/ dance numbers I have heard in recent times.

This is the week's best music from across the nation. Music from every state written in every language, composed as a part of Movies and by Indie artists is listened to and after analyzing more than 350 tracks released in the week ending 17th April 2022, I have rated and reviewed the 17 absolute best tracks in the country. This is truly India's ONLY multilingual music review and music curation page. Week after week, without any breaks you will get the review and links to the best work from musicians all over the country. 1. Reppe Vese Loga It has been a while since Tollywood music really cranked up things a notch, and finally just as I was getting worried, this smashing number came about. Harika Narayan sings like Tina Turner in Golden Eye OST and her vocals are rousing like an Opera performer. The strings are another highlight in the track and Mark K Robin composes and arranges this humdinger. He also plays the rhythms and guitars in the track. Chennai Strings Orchestra blows you away in the interludes with B Yensone conducting it. The orchestration which deserves massive applause is by Antony Karuna and he also mixes for the track. The strings remind me of an Ilaiyaraja song, that is how magnificent the score is. Harika continues to sing and captivate further in the stanza, despite all our attention on the multitude of instruments. The bass guitars mildly accompany and they are played by Naveen Napier. In the far end, you can also hear that solo violin, making you wonder if this is Britney Spears’ “Toxic�. Sai Shravanam does the Stem mixing and mastering and Harika sings Krishna Kanth’s words. This is one wholesome number and anyone who loves an experience of a symphony of live instruments will fall for this track. 2. Isolated There was a time, maybe a few years ago I used to wonder who Papon is! I was raised in the south and to many like me, Ilaiyaraja was the only musician worth even talking about and so singers like Papon were unknown to me. The reason I entered the field of music reviews was to stop being the frog in the well, and then decide on the best in music. After 3 years now I can say with certainty that there is no one like Ilaiyaraja around, but Papon is a fabulous singer and since 2020 I have also enjoyed his compositions and featured many. This is one more of those splendid vocal performances but a lot of the credit must go to Arnab Bashistha who has produced and composed the music. The way the song carries that attitude and coolness of a modern sound, yet when the lines are sung it transforms into a classical rendition. That piece of Sitar introduced in the interlude is so sudden and sounds magical, with Subhankar Hazarika playing. It follows a soft and pop-like harmony and that is why it amuses me even more. The influences seem very much like Raag Bilaval, but upon speaking with the composer I get that it is based on Raag Khamaj and Raag Desh and the Sitar is aided by string arrangements in the background. Kaysee is the female vocalist in the song. The interlude doesn’t stop here, as there is one more moment of magic with Ustad Murad Ali Khan on the Sarangi. The casual yet very committed way of delivering the lines is why Papon shines. The guitars are played by Ishanu and he also produces the track with Arnab. Pankaj Borah does the mix and master and the sound engineers are Pinku Das, Rajbir Singh, with sound design by Debajit Gayan and assisted by Sulagna Handique. The way the Saramgi continues all along in the stanza and in the outro feels like an angel reaching out from a distance. Hiranjit and Anshuman are the lyricists. 3. Holding on to the hope It feels like good old American country music as Rohan Mazumdar sings with his confident vocals and excellent diction. He also plays strongly charming acoustic guitars. Aditya Ashok on drums has complete control of the tempo of the song and it moves and shifts beautifully from slow to catchy. Aditya also joins Bradley Tellis on vocals with Bradley playing the electric guitar. You can hear those minor yet mindful interventions on the electric guitar. It feels amazing to listen to the singing when Rohan sings “Maybe we could get there� and you really want to feel the hope that the band is expressing through the words, vocals guitars and drums. The faster tempo is symbolic of a scenario of rising hope I guess and Adil Kurwa supports adequately on bass guitars. The Colour Compound as the band is called clearly has heightened expectations for me. 4. Intezaar It has been a long wait or Intezaar for Indie music fans to listen to that man Lucky Ali again. In the 1990s when Bollywood music was sticking to a set formula, musicians like Lucky explored out of the box and gave us fresh resplendent music. It is only fair that legends like him get a shot at the indie scene now, and last year I featured his collaboration with Israeli composer Botzer for a song called “Amaraya�. Here we have Lucky and his old time associate Mikey Mcleary giving us a taste of novelty and breaking away from the monotony. This Chennai born NZ musician has been around making waves in Bollywood movies and commercial jingles. Unlike Amaraya which had a mesmerizing and serious tone, Intezaar is like joi-de-vivre. The acoustic and bass guitars are bursting with energy, but I also particularly loved the resonator guitar which has its unique sound in the mix of things. IP Singh and Lucky write, while Mikey produces and composes the track along with Lucky. It is straightforward but the humming bits and the introduction of the Trumpets and vocal harmonies along with a shift in scale do enough magic to keep your attention hooked. It is shocking to hear Lucky sound exactly the way he did and he hasn’t dropped from his A game in the last 30 years. 5. Kahi Katai Songs about the mental state and how humans understand and treat those with mental fatigue and depression are thankfully coming in plenty these days. Apurva Tamang has written, composed and performed this lullaby and I don’t follow a word of what is sung in Nepali here, but I’m in 7th heaven. The title line sung in a slightly higher scale with bass and acoustic guitar sounds galore elevate the sentiment and purpose of the track. This song has a fairly elaborate stanza that keeps you wondering where the trajectory of the scales and notes would lead to. This Darjeeling born musician never lets your interest or mood shift away and when he ends the song, his vocals are soothing like a good hot cup of Darjeeling Tea itself. The songs tone and background flourish feel like “Puthu Mazhaiyai� sung by Shreya Ghoshal and composed by Gopi Sunder. The track is recorded, mixed and mastered by Chandan Tamang, and the video is shot and edited by Aahan Mewang Rai. Aadarshika Hangma is cast in the video 6. Chaand Tare 5 of the 6 musicians in this weeks top 6 are new to my page and list and that makes me feel confident about the abundance of talent and my method and mode of song listening and reviewing. Razik Mujawar impressed me within seconds when I hear this track and it does feel like viewing a starry night on top of that when Razik performs we get a full moon to go along with it. This is the 3rd single in his upcoming EP called ’24’ as Razik writes, sings and composes the splendid tune. Ashish Bajpai showcases his abilities with his musical production and he also does the tedious job of mixing and mastering along with it. Strings start things off but soon we hear a pluck and Razik’s ravishing vocals. The array of sounds from the strings section in the background as Razik sings “Janoon itna Main, hua hai pehli dafa, fills your heart with joy and enchantment. The introduction of the Tabla following this line is unexpected and pleasant. The production tends further to a classical style as the Harmonium is played in the interlude. The arrangements of instruments and vocal harmonies both are quite exquisite and well-timed. The song is co-written by Zorawar Sangha, and the guitars are played by Razik himself. 7. 259 This is a one-man show, as Akash Chopra writes, composes, plays the guitar and performs this manic beauty. The man's voice is like an addictive substance/habit you just can’t stay away from. He sings it all in the lower scales and executes every note with utter mastery. He also does a fine job in the arrangements and programming as we hear a strings section in the background along with Keys all acting as eye-catching garnish. A few months ago I had shared my feedback about his strong vocals, and I am glad I got an opportunity to feature and showcase this number to the world. 8. Muklawa When people over-simplify Punjabi music into something that is redundant and lacking creativity, they are entirely right. Here every week the effort is to pick some of the best of Indian music leaving aside any biases and preconceived notions, and when music like this comes through, I hope listeners can break away from their misconceptions as well. This EP "Ve Geetan Waleya" has a few good numbers but "Muklawa" was my favourite. The Keys are just fabulous, and it is just not that the rhythms are impressive Bir Singh uses elements of the strings and brass section that glorify the experience. You can hear even the upright bass and that is this is like no Punjabi Melody you will hear. Bir has written and composed the music with Gurmohh being the producer and Ranjit being the vocalist. 9. Ee Mazha Barkha We have heard him before sing and perform with noteworthy finesse for young composer and the likes of AR Rahman. It is however a new page when someone goes that extra mile to compose a song, and when I opened the song, I was nervous for Sreekanth Hariharan. Within seconds I felt an easing of pressure with his soothing voice and the tone of the song. Sreekanth and Srinath Nair compose and sing the number which has influences of Raag Kalyani (Carnatic). The Keys and the Konakkol merge well and when the humming also begins the beauty of the Raaga comes to the fore. Srinath Nair sings the Hindi lyrics and that feeling of a moist and flourishing rainy season is created in our imagination. The Malayalam lyrics are written by Sreekanth and he also arranges this initial portion, while Srintha arranges the Hindi portion of the song with lyrics by Avinash Sharma. Srinath impresses with his mild aalaps and it feels like listening to a Hindustani Classical piece in Raag Yaman. Sreekanth captivates you with the stanza like we have known him to do as he also produces the number. Balu Thankachan the expert engineer, mixes and masters the track with Avinash Satish, Sanjai Arakkal as recording engineers. Pavisankar works on the album art and Akash Nath does the lyric video. The outro portion with Sreekanth singing, and Srinath accompanying in the deeper layer in Hindi is memorable. 10. Aapki yaad Saacha Sahib was gold, and it just blew me away, and now the second single from his upcoming EP “Surmayi� is here with not an iota of disappointment from Kanishk Seth. So strangely the song reminds me of “Aapki Aankhon mein Kuch� and the first few notes and the first words of both songs are a 100% match. Maybe that is what I am tempted to say that there is some Raag Kedar influence. The words are from the original poetry by Faiz Ahmed Faiz and they simply go speechless. The song is about remembering your loved one, and when music and lyrics are this wonderful what else can once focus on? Kanishk is at his emotive best in his delivery as the vocalist and he also has produced and composed the tune. It is heartwarming to see a global union of musical talent like Luca Bordonaro on the Clarinet, Steven Stoffels on all Orchestral arrangements and Nicholas Phang as the recording engineer for the vocals. The interlude has apathos-laden solo on the Sarangi by Momin Khan and as it ends we have a brief intervention on the Clarinet leading into the antara, and it follows in the background layer with some excellent backup vocals. Some synth programming is heard as we approach the end, but the live instruments take the cake, who would have thought that the Clarinet and Sarangi would go hand in hand this well. Kanishk has mixed and mastered the track. 11. Saiyara Nikhil Dsouza is to my mind quite under-rated as a musician, as I feel he doesn’t get deserved recognition, following and praise. I have featured his song on at least 5 occasions and he never tends to disappoint me as a music listener. This one is composed and performed by Nikhil and truth be told, my expectations are sky high and so I always end up wanting more from the artist. Nathan Thomas produces this very soft number with Pinky Poonawala as the lyricist. Chinmay Harshe does the mix and master for the song. Thank God for his vocals which are not an imitation of some of the major Hindi Vocalists which has now become a regrettable trend. The pain and passion are both telegraphed effectively when Nikhil sings a love song, and it is dreamy how he lands the falsetto. The guitars and Piano intermittently touch on the emotions of love and gravity and Pink does write these wonderful words that touch a nerve. The use of backup vocals in multiple layers works amazingly. 12. Tum Tejas Gambhir is the front man of the Pune based rock band Amritaansh, and he composes the tunes for them. It is like he continues from where left things off in his previous hit single “Muskuraiye�. The vocals straightaway entice you and some clever harmonies aided by Keyboards makes this song a delightful listen. There is a clear attempt to compose a tune, which is just not mundane, with the line “Aisa lagta hai, mere zindag mein� which is a concatenation of notes you wouldn’t have expected. Tejas improvises vocally t many instances and they all comes off quite well. 13. Here I go I aim to go beyond the obvious geographical lines drawn between states, but sometimes it does feel nice that artists from your own backyard go on t achieve great things. I am a Chennai –bred guy, but when Sanjna Banik from Puducherry sings and composes like this, it brings a smile to my face that you cant wipe off that easy. Singer-songwriters these days are immensely mature and when you hear the words and the intention behind the song you are amused how at such a young age, artists like Sanjna want to talk about some intense philosophies of life. “Here I go� is meant to talk about the vicissitudes of life and how human beings should both stop feeling overtly attached and find a away to move on when plans perish. She writes, composes and performs this wonderful number but Mrityunjay Sathyanarayanan composes the portion on the Piano. Jerry Silvester Vincent plays the Piano and he hits things off from the very beginning. Sanjna carries the gravity of the songs message in her vocals and delivers with great honesty. Jerry’s production is fantastic as we also have a wonderful segment on the strings that kind of possesses you. He has programmed and arranged for the track as well and the quality is there for you to hear. Ishit Kuberkar does the mixing and mastering and Joy Srivastava handles the photography. 14. Museum of Innocence Musicians and artists take inspiration from every object around us, and pain, sadness, break ups are as good triggers as love, joy and success. Javaad Ahmed a.k.a. ‘Judy on the run’ names this song after a book which he bought with his girl who left for someone else a little later. Once can feel his pain through the words and the vocal delivery is a reflection of that anguish as well. As a listener, I am stoked as long as good music emanates from any feeling even thought my heart goes onto him. The Piano is strong and guides the track until the sadness sinks, at which point the song moves into more of an exasperated burst of energies bringing in the electric guitar and higher scaled vocals. Sparsh Jain plays the guitars and also is the music producer but the lyrics and composition credits go to Shaq. Manish das has assisted on guitars and he along with Sparsh join on the vocals in the track. The thumping drums are played by Keshav Chopra, and when all these combine it feels like a rock number by American band ‘Green Day’. Rushik Patel and Sparsh do the mix and master and with Atharva Kamat on album art and Joel Joseph on photography 15. Aakasham His music has been featured before and that too twice on my lists and website before with “Veyil� and “Castle in the Sky�, and they were both gems. Aromal Chekaver is a hot talent in the Malayalam indie space and he is living upto that hype. His vocals are really cool and casual without a hint of strain, and you wish you could keep listening to his voice. Aromal writes, composes, produces and performs in the track. The other highlight is definitely the Nadaswaram interventions by Siva Prasad and at cerrtain segments I could hear some Neelambari Raagam. You can also hear a mild Saxophone in the background and all these sync well with the rhythms. Jay Stellar co-produces the track with all additional arrangements by Nivedh CJ. Amal Mithu plays the guitars and Mahenth MB does the vocal supervision. The track is recorded by Jomon Joseph with Arun K Ramachandran working on mixing and mastering. BM Maheck assists on the mixing and Jijo SV is the musician co-ordinator. 16. Badalon se Vishal Khtari and Dhaval Kothari are flagbearers who really work hard and well to get Gujarati folk and indie music up and running. I have featured them individually before in a few tracks and her we have the combined skill set of both artists giving us a fabulous tune. Dhaval composes and performs while a good mix of guitars, Keyboards and harmonies accompany the vocalist. Vishal does the musical production and arrangements and there is an effort to combine some EDM amd modern Lo-fi sounds with a folkish tune. Unnati Shah just sizzles in her lines in Gujarati as here saccharine oozing voice compliments the soothing Hindi Vocals by Dhaval. Muzzafal M generic is the lyricist and Prasad Maha does the mixing and mastering. Palak Jain does all the artwork while the video is directed and conceptualized by Prachi Arya, with Pritesh Patel as DoP. 17. Last woman on earth Mrunal Shankar a.k.a. Mrunal S Dhole writes and performs this fantasy lyrical wondering how the world would see to the last woman on earth. Dhruvan Moorthy has produced, mixed and mastered the track. She ha skind of done it all, been part of a rock band from Pune, performed as a rapper and shes a singer-songwriter. This song requires some very capable singing and Mrunal is upto the task. She moves between English and Hindi lyrics with consummate ease and it is not only the rapping bits, but the high pitched singing which is where I was impressed. The Keyboard and rhythm programming is also amped up for this high octane number. Some of the lyrics are also nicely penned with thoughtfulness.

This is the week's best music from across the nation. Music from every state written in every language, composed as a part of Movies and by Indie artists is listened to and after analyzing more than 350 tracks released in the week ending 10th April 2022, I have rated and reviewed the 17 absolute best tracks in the country. This is truly India's ONLY multilingual music review and music curation page. Week after week, without any breaks you will get the review and links to the best work from musicians all over the country. 1. Payaliya Jhankaar I used to stay away from cover versions of songs and avoid new renditions of golden hits and classics. But that makes no sense, to review a song just because it is called an original. There is always some inspiration and some influence of an olden gem somewhere even in an original. So here is the best song of the week and it tops the charts beating a few others which would have topped the charts any other week. There cannot be a greater moment of pride when your offspring & disciple gives a fantastic rendition of your original composition. Here there are two mind-blowing vocal performers viz. Anjali and Nandini Gaikwad singing the bandish created by their father and Guru Angad Gaikwad. This is a soulful tune set in Raag Puriya Dhanashree, and the Raag itself boasts of a nature that will taunt you and compel you into surrendering to your senses. Kshitij Tarey is the man who re-creates this beauty and what we hear is pure bliss and creativity of the highest order. Modern instrumentals can add a color you never imagined and that is what has happed to this original even Pt. Angad Ji will be proud of. Vinayak Pol blasts away on his drums and Abhishek Dasupta adds function and style with his guitars. The violin solo intervention by Manas Kumar is like the bridge between the traditional and the modern elements of the song. The sisters bring such poise and passion through their voice and the aalap they produce is next to unimaginable in difficulty levels. The track is mixed and mastered by Reena Gilbert and one can imagine the work that has gone into mixing the track with so many elements. Strumm Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. Is the music label. Stop read now and just enjoy the magic and thank the heavens that creativity and fusion music continues to carry our gems to the wider listening audience. 2. Theeyanu He is a well-respected and dependable musician in Mollywood and Kollywood and when he shared one of his recent compositions for me to hear, I was thrilled. Most of Jakes Bejoy’s scores have a modern color suiting the tastes of the younger generation, but he never deviates from the core melody, while doing that. This is a mild and teasing melody and he gets one of my favorite vocalists on board in Kapil Kapilan to deliver the lines. The song is produced by Jakes, Alan Joy Mathew and Glady Abrhaham and I have featured Alan multiple times on his forays into indie music. Goutam Vincent starts proceedings on the Melodica, soon enough Godfrey Immnuel’s guitars set the tone and mood. I can only stick to my claim that Kapil is the hottest property now in India amongst all male lead vocalists, and you just need to listen to his singing where he caresses you with his voice. The chorus arrangements are precise and interesting thanks to Amal Anthony Augustine. The stanza is so unpredictable as the trajectory of the notes is like nothing that you can foresee and it is a huge compliment to Jakes’ skill. Napier Naveen plays the bass guitars, and Joe Paul is the lyricist. The line “Ethethan Thottam, Aarum thannalum� is an exhibition of A-grade singing. The song ends on a beautiful pacified note with the Keys. The track Is mixed by Sujith Hyder Thaha and mastered by Pradeep with recording engineer Midhun Manoj. 3. Saiyan More We are amidst greatness, with another genius Purbayan Chatterjee at the helm now composing a thumri in the classical-rock fusion genre. This is set in Raag Charukeshi which is one of those scales which has an innate sadness attached to it. The Sitar played by Purbayan replaces the electric guitar in the usual rock performances and Anusha Mani is the vocalist. Purbayan’s finger dexterity is awe-inspiring and the tempo is maintained by Darshan Doshi on drums and Ishaan Ghosh on Tabla, especially you will enjoy Ishaan’s mastery in the stanza after a massive drop in pace from that we heard in the interlude. Nakul Chugh can be heard playing the Keyboards behind the low scale vocals of Anusha. Can you imagine it is the same person who sang catchy fast pop tunes like “Nafarmani� and “Hua Mera� released in the last year or so. It is a testament to her prowess and diverse skill. Priyani Vani is the lyricist and Megha Rawooot and Joy Sengupta handle videography. 4. Tera Uthke Yoon Here we have duo who simply were one of the best composers/producers in 2021 giving a smash melody every couple of months and each and every one of these slow numbers made a steady and saccharine impact on our hearts. Aabhas and Shreyas Joshi have composed the music for this web-series called ‘Ranjish Hi Sahi’. They continue the trand of creating pathos-laden gems and who better to emote it than Rekha Bharadwaj as the lead vocalist. The Keys play slowly to give context to the emotion but the strings in the background add depth and gravity. The aalap and the way Rekha holds the breath for a few more seconds than you would expect all work so well in conveying the message just like Ravi’s solid words. Every element speaks volumes about the helplessness and vulnerability seeing the metaphorical ‘forbidden fruit’. The song gives you pain that you want to experience time and again! 5. Rang Daroongi Festivals in India are not just about celebration and family gatherings, but also about music and dance. New releases around such events always start rising and Holi is definitely one of them. Here comes one of my favorites Pooja Tiwari who is not just a fabulous singer but also a talented composer. I have featured her multiple times and almost every time she releases a new single it gets featured. Her precocious skill comes out in the refurbished rendition of an old folk song based on Raag Pilu (Kaapi in Carnatic) as she adds a R&B style instrumental arrangement and production. The original is by Ustad Gulshan Bharti but the strong bass guitars and rhythm influences make the song sound uber cool. Bhargav Gandhi works on the production and Advaitham works on the additional production work. The Harmonium along with the bass guitars is something we rarely hear in the same audio output and IM blown away by the creativity. A lot of rhythms follow a Latin Jazz style. The interlude on the Sitar is inspiring and it is so easy to focus on all these elements even though Pooja is simply at her flowy best delivering the lines, making improvised vibrato. She is destined for higher and better things and as we read this Pooja is already makes with the best in Bollywood music. Alena Darmel has worked on the video 6. Canvas Young musicians are fearless and when they have their sight set on the prize, they go straight for it. That can never be misunderstood as haughtiness and this applies perfectly to Kashmira Khot. She now scores a hat-trick with 3 releases and all 3 being featured among the nation’s best music. It is no ordinary feat considering the competition she is facing. What is even more amazing is that ever since her debut single, I have been rising the bar and she just crosses it with great comfort. This one is written, composed and sung by Kashmira and she oozes confidence and quality in each of these aspects. Adity Gopalakrishnan joins the bandwagon with his guitars and drums and he also plays the strings. The composition and arrangements are not run-of –the-mill and it is this intent to create something fresh that sets Kashmira apart. The joy of live instruments shows up in every note and corner her as Ojas Bangale plays the bass guitars, as well as Organ and Piano. We can also hear a layer of background vocals well arranged. There is a short solo on the electric guitar by Aditya and what follows is a terrific detour of notes in the most unexpected fashion singing “Say that you can’t erase�. Aditya has produced, mixed and mastered the track and Canvas is that single which paints a different picture in every listener’s heart. 7. Knight in Shining Armour Klanjan Borah, I’m hearing him for the first time, and this was like a bashing baptism. The song moved from strength to strength as the string guitars, harmonies act as base for Klanjan’s vocals. The singing style kind of felt like a Calypso to me as Klanjan writes, produces and performs this energetic and breezy number. The humming just lets the hearts soar with Klanjan showing immaculate control and his vocals. Kalvin Sinam on bass and Sanket Pahurkar on drums simply elevate the song and stay true to its intent to lighten and inspire the mood. The way he sings “ I…. will always be true� just is an icing on an already delicious cake. Manish Bal and Sashank Sahu are the recording engineers and with Vivek Thomas working on mixing and mastering, Klanjan does all the additional mastering. Vidhi Maheshwaro does the choreography with the Teen Hearts as the cast members comprising of Kimmy, Pranjal, Zillie, Kassi, Bisola and Evelyn. 8. Udhero Na When I listened and picked this song for the week, she was just nominated, but by the time this article is getting published, Arooj Aftab becomes first ever Pakistani Grammy awardee for Best Global Performance. This was a song created back in 2005 but unreleased, and thankfully it finally found the light of day. The project is features Indians artists and half sisters Anoushka Shankar and Norah Jones on the Sitar. The vocals are deep and create a feeling of mystery as Arooj sings in the lower scales. The sitar interventions are apt and to compliment the pathos in Arooj’s voice the instrumentals add some life and joy, so the combination works well. Arooj has produced, composed, written, sung, and arranged for the track. There is also that mild and delightful Harp being played by Maeve Gilchrist and he also plays the Snyth bass. Around the second minute mark the Sitar interludes soud more like Raag Bhimpalasi to me and are just a celebration of great music and life itself for a good minute. She sings ‘Udhero Na’, apparently meaning ‘Please Undo’, but how can this magic and impact of the song ever be undone? There are also bits of the Flugelhorn played by Nadje Noordhuis right at the start of the song. Joshua Valleau has mixed and Damon Whittemore has mastered the track. Petros Klampanis has worked with Arooj on the arrangements. 9. Bill Hilly & Fools will learn This 3 piece Bengaluru based band simply brought me back the good old days of simple, soulful and stunning all at the same time. I really wished I was a guitarist so that I could do this kind of magic and impress people. Anirudh Ravi plays the guitars and sings like he’s walking on the clouds. I can understand and see that it is not easy at all to sing at this break-neck speed and still hit every note perfectly. The whole EP “Rooftops� is probably named so, because the brand of music is simple without any massive complex apparatus needed like how it could be performed on a rooftop. Abheet Anand plays the bass guitars and Bharath Kasyap accompanies on acoustic guitars. The writing is so funny and impressive and that deserves a special mention as well. The best track for me was ‘Fools will learn’, which had a strong and witty messaging snuck into the lyrics. The melody element was rich in this song and interplay of acoustic and bass guitars was more evident and creative here than any other song of the EP. I still strong recommend everyone to check out the EP, especially guitarists and those wanting to get some attention and love! 10. Dhom Thana Aditi Bhavaraju is experimental purely because she not only sings in mainstream Tollywood, but she keeps the listeners engaged wither indie projects. This is her vocal endeavor for the musical score by Achu Rajamani. He also does all the programming and there is that fine introduction of the rhythms, sounding like the thavil, which is proof of the quality of programming. The harmonies and Kazoo also are well interlaced in the interlude with Achu also on backing vocals. Kadali is the lyricist and all the mixing and mastering is done by Ijaz Ahamed. Aditi’s singing is of the highest order with she executing the high scale segment with splendid ease. RR Dhruvan another noted composer does the vocal supervision in this song produced by Neptunes Music. 11. So Late so soon Alan Emmanuel Ebenezer a.k.a. Alan Ebe is a singer songwriter based in the UAE and he plays the guitar for a Dubai-based band called F.I.S.H , and although I have heard some of his songs before this one was screaming for a review in front of my eyes and ears. The song had straightaway taken me to Savage Garden’s “The Animal Song�. The singing along with the guitars is top-notch, but the drums and humming elevate the song. The rhythm and overall arrangements deserve an applause, as I love how the background elements take a breather when Alan Ebe sings “How did it get so late so soon�. Allan Samuel Vetha and Aaron Dev Sherlin and Alan produce the track with Allan also doing the mixing and mastering. Serena Joseph does the artwork and Richie Roberts does the digitization. This is a fresh sounding number that deserves your time. The lovely write up is by Neelima Menon, while the description of the song to press and others is by Shreyaa Lakhminarayanan. 12. Guzarish I have featured them before and absolutely loved it so much that the single was the number 1 song in India for that week for a song called “Sanware�. There is no stopping this composer duo of Garvit-Priyansh and they tunnel through the charts with another fusion number that is bound to steal your hearts. The core melody of a song determines everything else that that song goes on to achieve, and that is precisely what Garvit Soni and Priyansh Srivastava understand and execute to perfection. The Piano at the start creates bliss and sets up the stage for what follows. Priyansh and Garvit serenade us with their vocals, without ever overdoing any portions and Garvit produces the track from start to finish. If ‘Sanware’ was slightly more tilted towards a classical side, his single promises to be a mix of pop and some fragments of classical music. The aalap in the interlude is followed by guitars, drums and the flute, with guitars played by Priyansh, and he also writes these lyrics about continuing on your desired path in life. The lovely artwork is by Rhea Suhag and Abhinandan Bhargava does the video. 13. Ilaveyilolo Nee enn Dr Sunil VT has composed this melody and thanks to Samson Silva’s arrangements, the first minute of the song itself has so much to offer in terms of live instrumentals. Anil Govind’s Flute and Soundara Rajan’s Veena solos make way for KS Harishankar to met our hearts away with that voice. Abin Sagar plays the acoustic guitar and Jackson Jacob is on the bass. Renju S Mosses is on the percussion. The song slowly progresses into somber mode in the charanam with apt lyrics by Dr. Sheeja Vakkom. Harikrishnan R does the mixing and Shadaab Rayeen does the mastering. To me the Veena, Bass guitars and Flute interventions stand out the most. 14. Home July 19 – Hmm not a specific date that I should remember, just a wonderful song title that impressed me so much that I have been looking forward to this singer-songwriter’s next release. Well wait no more, it is here! This Piano-predominant single called ‘Home’ does live up to if not surpass my expectations. Shweta Srivastava stuns you with her vocals and composition. The writing is something that anyone will relate to when you hear it and adds to the likability of the track. The production is clearly the work of Keyboardist/Producer Himonshu Parikh who is one of the main hubs of the wheel called “The Yellow Diary�. The rhythms and synths/keyboards add a texture to the song that reminds me of “Dreams� by Fleetwood Mac. Faraz Haider plays the guitars while AJinkya Dhapare does the mixing and mastering. The album art picture is clicked by Soham Joshi and designed by Neha Rustagi. I could be off and I don’t see if the composer intended it, but I definitely feel a striking resemblance to Raag Hamsadhwani. 15. Freightliner A two-piece rock ensemble come and just move fast and break things, and it sounds like “Dire Straits� performing. Shantanu Shende is the man behind those tantalizing vocals and guitars while the smooth and savvy bass guitars are played by Manas Pimpalkhare. The song if you pay attention has sounds of bikes and trucks on the road and it is apparently the duo’s dedication to such road movies of the 1960s and 70s. Shantanu writes, sings, produces and records the track as well and the do have Harsh Kumbhar to thank for the cinematography. The electric guitar and bass guitar tussle is one to cherish and when you hear the songs tonality feels like “Sweet Home Alabama� as well. The electric guitar solo after the 3-minute mark sets the stereo on fire. The song has some nice harmonies executed and arranged. 16.Run This is a pop number that reminds me of my days as a student in the US back in 2002. These were the days when Avril Lavigne and Vanessa Carlton were scoring and singing great and popular tunes. Priyanka Nath sings, writes this very nostalgic number and her singing is probably even inspired by these stars. I especially love the lines when she delivers “It’s such a shame, what we could’ve been, but you chose to run, from the things we could’ve done�. Sidharth Bendi has mixed, mastered and produced the track. The guitars are played by Sunny Ebenezer and Chris Anderson is on bass guitars. The harmonies in the background also complement well.

This is the week's best music from across the nation. Music from every state written in every language, composed as a part of Movies and by Indie artists is listened to and after analyzing more than 350 tracks released in the week ending 3rd April 2022, I have rated and reviewed the 17 absolute best tracks in the country. This is truly India's ONLY multilingual music review and music curation page. Week after week, without any breaks you will get the review and links to the best work from musicians all over the country. 1. Love Safari Rarely do songs impress you so much that they make you go crazy about it. It is all you can keep playing on your mind and you wait for the first excuse to play them with your headphones. ‘Love Safari’ is right smack at the center of that category and I knew it is going to end up being the best track of the week across the nation. Job Kurian is the man for the job, literally as well and he is in full control of the vocal delivery like he can do no wrong. The emotive singing at the beginning and the swaras he sings in the interlude just feels like a gift from God. Turning to the composer Kiran Jose deserves a huge round of applause for creating, composing, writing, arranging and programming this little wonder. It has come influences of Raag Durbarikanada and Kiran makes this song so worthy that it will find a place among gems for 2022 for sure. The Guitarlele is playing in the background and Arun Krishna not only does that, as he plays the guitars, and plays and arranges the bass guitars as well. The intervention on the saxophone is like an icing on this marvelous cake and it is played Nikhil Ram who we know as a flautist. Subin Kumar plays the Violin while Paachu is on the Tabla and Shree Shankar handles the Melodyne. Shree also has mixed and mastered the track. The highlight of the track is that interlude bit where the song deviates from just be a romantic slow melody into a qawwali, all this shows the skill of the composer. 2. Rongo Koro na This one is a very close second and it would have topped the charts on any other week, if not for ‘Love Safari’ at number 1. The Baul genre of folk music is very addictive and meditative style of music and when you hear someone like Raju Das Baul sing it you will go into trance. I have lost a sense of myself and just kept moving my head every time I play the song. The guitarist Ritaprabha Ray has produced, arranged and of-course played the guitars for this masterpiece. It is written by Ray Kedar with mixing and mastering duties performed by Rhitabrata Kar and all the lovely calligraphy and artwork done by Joyjeeta Bose. The rhythm and percussion right at the beginning along with the guitars possess you and whe you hear Raju sings these lines I feel like all the great miseries of life have vanished. Cizzy just intervenes writing and singing the rap portion and how well it conjoins with the rest of the song. This is an exemplary bit of how Rap should sound, considering all the poor Hip-Hop we hear in the name of expletives and womanizing we hear from many famed celebrity artists. The guitars and all te keyboard programming come together in the background with Cizzy asking you to “Awaaz koro na�. There is some clear influence of Raag Sindhubhairavi ( Asavari in Hindustani). The video is well shot as well with Joydeep Das on cinematography and Rahul Guha on editing and direction. Ritaprabha and Amita Ray produce the video as well. 3. Cicada Anju is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from the US and this song is a number of years of work, planning and creativity and we should be thankful that it has finally seen the light of day. Anju has written, sung, composed and done the string arrangements for this. But she claims she has waited long for this dream team to assemble and Atlas Finch has co-produced and worked on the instrumentation while Leonardo Vásquez Chácon plays the Viola. Within seconds you know the work that has gone into a song, and the guitars and other instrumentation entice you. To make matters worse for you if you were already distracted by the song is that Anju now begins to vocalize and you just need to surrender. Like she says in the song “you linger in my lungs�, this is deeply romantic and also holds true of the effect she creates with her voice, as it lingers in our eardrums. The bass guitars add so much meat even as Anju takes a pause and breath between lines. John Mark Nelson does the mixing while Alec Ness handles the mastering. Lily Xie does all the artwork and this project is symbolic of global music and artistic talent coming together. Anju explores her higher vocal scales and the way she hits the falsetto is like a tough gymnastic move and she lands perfectly. The Viola by Leonardo adds that layer of pathos and gravity and you cannot afford to miss a second of what happens in the audio. Closer to the 4th minute is when we first hear some rhythmic intervention on drums and the instrumental arrangements are truly world class. Cicada the large insect can never be ignored as it will make its presence felt with its massive sounds, just like that Anju and the team have created a number here that can just not be ignored! 4. Theera Nadhi Dhibu Ninan Thomas can do no wrong. At the moment. Here he scores music for the movie “Nadhi� and he gets two dependable performers in Kapil Kapilan and Srinisha Jayaseelan as lead vocalists. The brilliant flute intervention between the lines “Jal jal kolusoli� is Dhibu showcasing his talent and it is played by Nikhil Ram in a teasing fashion. Dhibu composes, programs and arranges as always but this time is with the words of Thamarai. Listen to the savvy Shehnai by Pt. S Ballesh and you will least expect it amidst all the synths and keyboard programming. Keba Jeremiah plays the guitars and plucked strings as well. This segment feels a lot like listening to “Kabeera� by Pritam. The momentum suddenly drops as Srinisha sings and it is only Keba accompanying on guitars and then we are back to a hearing some more catchy lines including one of the best lines of the song in “Theerathathe nam vazhvu thane�. Avinash Sathish and Hariharan are the recording engineers and we have Balu Thankachan mixing and Shadab Rayeen on mastering duties. 5. Zama There is a compromise to quality and hard work, and it reflects in the output. Maybe not in likes, trends and shares but it makes you heart grow fonder when a magician is at work. Here we are talking about composer/producer Meghdeep Bose as he produces this album “Main Tera� by Azaan Sami Khan which has close to 10 songs. He has got pedigree being the son of Adnan Sami but he doesn’t rest on those laurels. Azaan is a celebrity performer in Pakistan and surely carries a voice that you can connect with. I loved this song the most and it immediately made an impact on me. The composition, lyrics and vocals are by Azaan Sami, while Music is by Meghdeep. Zaland Khan is the original lyricist for this beauty, but I wish I understood the meaning of these lovely words. The song has some astounding rhythm thanks to Arun Solanki who has performed percussions. Meghdeep dazzles on the acoustic, bass guitars and all modular synths. The texture is so Middle Eastern owing to the Strings, Woodwinds and Brass all performed by the Turkish Orchestra in Istanbul. This too feels so nice as it is a collaboration of musical talents across nervous and tense political and geographical borders. Hanish Taneja does the mixing and mastering. The interlude is a symphony with the woodwinds first followed by Strings and I feel like Alice in Wonderland. Azaan in the stanza elevates his scale and sounds so fresh and authentic. 6. Dhaage I listen to around 400 songs a week, and if I have to make time amidst my life, profession etc. I have to keep my headphones on during most of my activities. So during one of my recent sessions I keep listening but showed no great interest to some of the mediocre music that was playing. I knew somewhere in the list that there was this new composition by Anurag, but my playlist was on shuffle. The moment this song started played I somehow guessed from the instrumentation and humming and just the feeling that the song created, that it had to be “Dhaage�. I communicated this story to Anurag telling him it was a huge compliment to his brand of music. To me “Khwaab� was a tad more special but this song is not too far off as it has elements that I cherished every time I played it. The humming for starters is pensive and the synth programming is just splendid. Vaibhav Pani a producer and guitarist who has appeared many times on my lists has played a huge role in the output of this song. He has played the guitars and produced the track bringing it to a standard that Anurag’s composition and vocals deserve. Anurag has also written the lyrics with Alok Ranjan Srivastava who provided additional lyrical inputs. The way the notes move and the way Anurag sings “Baaton hi, Baaton mein� is just pure delight for the ears. When I hear “Banaate hai Dhaage� being sung at that higher scale I obtain answers to the question “Why do I even like to do music reviews�. Anurag tells me that he composed this with an intention to explore his own vocal range and feel in shift in energies not tested in some of his earlier compositions. It is a Win-Win for the musician and the music lover! Vaibhav Pani has mixed and mastered the track. It is also a lovely video with Ashish Langade working on Cinematography, Bijoya Mukherji on Screenplay and Rishi Agarwal on Editing. 7. Feels like eternity ‘Catch em young’, they say when you want raw talent and nurture it we end up witnessing the growth of something marvellous. This Mumbai bred singer/songwriter Ruhdabeh learnt music at a very tender age and apparently started writing songs since she was 12. She has self-taught to play the Guitar, Ukulele and even the Piano and that is why is her debut EP �Of Dissonance and Peace� she goes solo and does everything by herself. When I listened to the work there were a couple that really impressed with ‘Feels like Eternity’ being my top pick. Ruhdabeh, has written, composed, arranged, performed, mixed, mastered and recorded all at her home studio. The Keys start things off and Ruhdabeh sings with such eloquence and control hitting every note with poise and perfection. The arrangements of the Strings in the background do wonders to the feeling of the song and truth be told I was dreaming of that song that plays in the concentration camps shown in the movie “Life is Beautiful� giving me all the positivity and strength to carry on with life, unnerved by externalities. 8. Akhiyaan Laiyaan It sounds to me like this splendid number is based on Raag Charukeshi and the elaborate symphony of instruments nail the opening. Dr. Jaspinder Narula is performing at the heights of her powers, producing mild vibrato at will that is sure to kill! Kamran Akhtar has done the music with lyrics by Lt. Ustad Shaukat Manzoor. The Harmonium is played to such great effect, but it is amazing how the electric guitar comes into fray in the second interlude and blows you away. The song’s Executive Producer is Amirr Roshan Nadiadwala with Pramod Kaul as the director. The way the Harmonium and Tabla come together along with Jaspinder’s vocals is just bliss. 9. Teri Baatein Hi Jazim Sharma needs no introduction, as he if one of the finest classical/semi-classical vocalists around and his involvement in projects, ensures there is a reinvigorated spirit and liking for Indian Classical Ragas, but since it is presented with a flavor of modern sounds and tonality it just gets a better acceptance among all demographic Category of listeners. This one is apparently set in Raag Mishra Darbari and Yogesh Rairikar is the composer for this number. Arbaz Khan is scintillating on guitars and Mir Desai oversees the whole project with his production. The original lyrics are by Poet Ahmad Faraz. Ghazal music sounds so delectable with Keys, guitars and drums in the background replacing the harmonium and Tabla. This is where Yogesh exhibits his skill as a composer, as we also a get a brief intervention on electric guitars. All this ornamentation adds beauty but the core strength is the tune and singing. Rakesh Munjariya has mixed and mastered the track with Manvir Kalsi as Project Manager and Kirpal Sain as Director. The outro has a nice harmony portion in the background along with Jazim’s classical aalap as well. 10. Feel How brilliantly this song has been titled! I feel so much when listening to this, a plethora of emotions ranging from hope to despair, love to disdain, and joy to pathos and it is because of the way Yasmine Gill delivers these lines. She is this Italian/Canadian Soul/R&B/Jazz artist but she has an Indian surname. So let us leave aside all that and stop getting confused because none of it matters anyway. Especially when you can write, compose and sing like this! David Vondermort plays the keys teasingly along with Hanzo on drums tapping the hi-hat. Collin Steinz adds every element of funkiness on the bass guitars but David Fischer on Organ creates fresh new perspective of the song. It creates a gateway for the song to deviate from being branded purely as Soul or R&B and even maybe pushes into a genre of Gospel. Fox Graham plays the guitars and the whole project assumes a fantastic form and shape thanks to the production of Andreas Kolakoudakis and he also mixes & masters the track. This song should be what a young aspiring singer should listen to and practice along to attain better vocal strength and stability. 11. Noor Elahi I chanced upon this EP by Rishab Nair and it truly has some outstanding music, and I especially loved “hey Daata� and “Noor Elahi� the most. Vedanth Bharadwaj is the vocalist for the latter and he has this thumping voice that doesn’t let your attention drift even briefly. Rishab gets on board some excellent musicians and singers and it is the collective brilliance of one and all that shines through. The music score and lyrics are by Rishab and although I had a hunch that there were influences Raag Khamaj or even some of Raag Dwijavanthi, Rishab tells me the influence is of Raag Kalyani. The strings in the background catch my attention but then it is the tantalizing drums by Sai Hruday Pidatala and John Paul Frappier on the Trumpet who completely turn the tables upside down on this composition. The Keys provide the perfect medium for tranquility because after that mild interlude the songs energy shifts especially with Vedanth moving to the higher scales. There is a strong chorus team comprising of Sarang Pathak, Omkar Ingale, Rahul Ghoderao, Riddhi Joshi, Siddhi Joshi, Hemant Jawale, Narayani Jawale, Ayushi Shukla, Shreya Reddy & Pratik Rajankar. The use of the Tabla and Dholak by KR Mahadevan, creates a rustic flavor amidst the trumpets in the background. The second interlude past the second minute is just a piece for John Paul to showcase his skill and Rishab maneuvers well to get the track from a Jazz set up to a Classical tone. 12. Russeya Na Kar This is some splendid electronic pop in Punjabi, the kind that will compel you to listen on loop and make you sing if you don’t understand a word. Azaad’s voice is mesmerizing and he almost casts a spell on you and Tasho is the music director with this tune showing glimpses of Raag Yamuna Kalyani according to my limited knowledge. The line especially “Saare zindagi mein tere naal� gave me this indication, although it also sounds like that smashing hit from Coke Studio Season 14 number called “Tu Jhoom� which is apparently set in Raag Pahadi. This song takes you on a high like a chant that won’t leave your mind, and despite all the fancy rhythms and sounds the melody is strong. There is a nice interlude on the Keyboards and Noshrain will take credits for the additional arrangements along with major portions done by Tasho. Azaad delivers the song like he is on penance and he also writes the lyrics. Suyash Singh and Yograj Singh do the mix and master. The project is directed by Karan Maini. 13. Tu The song is a slow melody that is all about the guitars and hence the arrangements bear a huge say on how the song sounds and feels. Amitrabh Barooa and Siddharth Barooa do the arrangements and this gets the guitars and drums and to go ahead in tandem. Simanta Choudhury plays the drums and the Barooa duo work on the mixing and mastering. The portion with the electric guitar solo closer to end of the song is wonderful and shows quite a bit of dexterity on the fingers. The song is written, composed and sung by Aditya Goenka and he also has worked on the arrangements. Rishi Paullah and Pritisha Borthakur are the executive producers, with Priyom Borah as the Production head. 14. Memories This is a rock ballad that one can feel happy and proud of to sing along, play and claim that we have something of our own after listening to some of the great numbers like “Unforgiven� by Metallica and “November Rain� GNR and so on. Anish Nair writes, composes and performs with a deep sense of gravity and passion and the one hearing it will get sucked into the number. I even feel like I’m listening to a bit of “Blackhole Sun’ by Soundgarden, just that this is softer and calmer. Gunjan Soral has produced the track. The voice of Anish and his delivery is exemplary. The energy that the drums build up at different phases of the song is just about perfect and the arrangements of the electric guitars is done so as to not take away any attention from the vocals except that solid solo right at the end. 15. Kahaani I listened to this number and remember telling myself this has to be based on Raag Puriya Dhanasree, then when I had a little chat appreciating Santanu on his score, he told me that it is actually Raag Basant but it is close in structure to my original guess. The song is brilliant delivered by Anirban Chowdhury and if the song is in itself an A in grade, Anirban’s singing and vocal purity makes it an A+. Santanu Ghatak has written, composed this stunning beauty as it reminds me of some od Maestro Ilaiyaraja’s songs like “Andhi Mazhai Pozhigirathu� & “Piraiye Piraiye�. Akshay Menon is the producer and the track is mixed and mastered by Shivam Gupta. The instrumental arrangements, a small solo on the flute and rhythm programming all keep the song fresh despite being a very popular Raga. Rupjit Das has recorded the track, with Chitrangada Satarupa capturing the frames, featuring Kallirroi Tziafeta. 16. Chekele This Delhi based singer-songwriter, Asish Zachariah, takes an old and famous folk song from Malayalam, and presents it on a platter with some exotic garnishes. The song is a modern rendition with heavy synth and keyboard and rhythm programming. I have always maintained that it is good to have such versions to promote and popularize an older gem. The Keyboards are fabulous and it befits a situation with you driving fast and the audio system playing it in full blast and windows rolled down, feeling the wind on your hair and cheeks. 17. Better Subhi has been featured before on this website and I am proud to say that her music has appeared her. She is a singer-songwriter of Indian origin but residing in the USA, who has tried multiple things at music and theatre. Subhi has composed music for Indian movies and series and has been a winner for Chicago City’s musical grants presented to talented musical artists. This song is just a reflection all that she is and there is now amusement when I hear her vocals because she is expected to do that being a trained Hindustani singer, but what is fabulous is that 180-degree shift is style that western pop demands and yet she delivers with better than a 100%. ‘Better’ is written by Subhi and Natania Lalwani who she has worked with before and here the duo write the lyrics with Chris Wright composing and producing the song. The song is about what makes us better every day, well good music especially that unites people, makes me better every day! The guitars tempt me so much that I wish I learnt playing it back in my childhood. The synths jog in as Subhi starts singing “You know me better than I know myself�. Ideally the rhythm and the tone of the song is not one of a romantic love track, but it’s a wonder how Subhi, Natania and Chris have achieved it with their words and melody. Kudos to Subhi as her vocals generate an emotional connect and I immediately picture my partner and wife when I hear it.