This is the weeks 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 250 tracks released in the week ending 5th September 2021, I have rated and reviewed the 15 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. Find the full playlist of 15 tracks on SPOTIFY1. PensarteListen to this track and you will know the kind of talent that exists in the space o music today in India. This track is an automatic chart-topper and it gets one of the highest scores ever by me for singing. Sanjeeta Bhattacharya is probably the busiest artist today juggling a career in acting, modeling and music as we all would have seen her in recent ads by Colgate and Netflx's "Feel Like Ishq". Her greatest asset is her vocal delivery, and check her "Everything's fine" released a couple of years ago. Sanjeeta is a trained Hindustani vocalist but she is exploring genres of music that extend beyond geographical boundaries. Here she composes a soothing ballad and written in Spanish as Pensarte means "thinking of you". She credits Viayra Rivera Carino who worked with her in writing it. This track has Kaushik Manikandan on the guitar and Raag Sethi on the bass but they both play their role perfectly acting as the support cast to Sanjeeta's singing. This is a part of Compass Box Studio's Volume 3 collection of tracks produced by them and it has two more excellent tracks which I will talk about. I don't follow Spanish but I can sense hat she is singing it with impeccable diction and if you love music, none of the words matter. Sanjeeta takes you on a ride that has only ups and this is like a masterclass in singing and she must be applauded for composing this as well. Towards the end she includes the segment called "Zaidi Zaidi" which is apparently a Bulgarian folk tune and then you realize what the world of music has to offer. The team at Compass Box and Raag Sethi especially have to be thanked for bring such music to us constantly. The track is mixed by Protyay Chakraborty and Raag has engineered and produced it. The two other tracks I loved were "Baarish" by Aariz Saiyed who happens to be a stand up comedian, film-maker and musician. This track is all about some splendid violins by Protyay Chakraborty, Jyotirmay Menon on the drums, Chirag Todi on guitars and Meera Desai on the back up vocals. Its a fun track that feels like getting drenched in a nice welcome rain. Finally I love "We Shall Arrive" which is a sober serenading lullaby styled track composed and performed by Abhi Tambe from Bengaluru who was part of band called " Lounge Piranha". This is very much like an American Country song with Shankar Iyer in the guitar, Meera Desai on the backup vocals and Protyay once again creating some magic on the violin. 2. PaaniThis is a very unique track which has elements you will want to focus on every time you hear. Madhav Agarwal has composed, written produced and performed. His vocals are just way too effective in capturing your attention and the message he wants to deliver is impossible to neglect thanks to the vehicle we call singing. The beats are very different and they almost feel like the tapping of the window or knocking of the door but the rustic nature of it works. The Baansuri played by Kartikeya Vashist feels like a remedy to all our sins and illnesses. There are even multiple layers to the Baansuri and it feels like you will surrender to its power. Kabir Agarwal is splendid on the electric bass and you can hear it all through. The portion where Madhav sings in falsetto is remarkable, and it sounds like a sufi styled AR Rahman track which is terrific compliment in itself. The video was shot by Bhumanyu Nehra featuring the flowy, eye-catching dance moves by Seher Noor Mehra. 3. Chukkula MelamMani Sharma is a man on a mission and he has been is terrific form with songs in my list every other week and the best part is that all of them show some diverse style. This is from the album " Sridevi Soda Center" and has Anurag Kulkarni is top-notch form. The track is mixed and mastered by SV Ranjith with recording by Vickey. The guitars, harmonium and the Tabla start things off and then it is all Anurag's show. There is quite a lot of programming on the keyboards and it all comes together well. The Shehnai in the interlude is splendid and it fills your heart with joy. Anurag sings the verse with terrific ease and I love how the song ends in the charanam and lands on the pallavi. Kalyan Chakravarthy is the lyricist and V Venkateswarlu is the music co-ordinator. The secon interlude is a rock interlude with the electric guitar and drums, showcasing Mani Sharma's potential. 4. Miles to ColtraneLeave it to "The Revisit Project" when you want the best Jazz productions to come out of India. They are are band with some of the most talented musicians that India can be proud of and here they show you why. They have roped in Delhi based singer songwriter Chetan Dominic Awasthi a.k.a. Chezin and boy does he actually nail the vocals with Thor's hammer. The song itself is a dedication to Jazz geniuses of yesteryear, Miles Davis the trumpeter, and John Coltrane the saxophonist. Abhay Sharma is the on the sax here and he is a wonder who will just lift your spirits up with his performance. Not just that Abhay also is the man behind the lyrics and the composition of this track just like any of "The Revisit Project" creations. Chezin is on fire here right through as he reminds me of Michael Jackson especially his style of making these stylized vibratos especially the way he does after "Heard of Her". Karan Wadhwa is on his own trip making these splendid contributions on the bass guitar and Kanu Gangahar is on the guitar. Rythem Bansal is on the keys , and in the middle you will hear a super solo sax display by Abhay who simply sizzles. Vrnda Dhar is the female vocalist who is providing the back up here. Aditya Bhagavatula plays the drums and Varun Rajasekharan he percussions which all become very key to the success of this track. Mukul Jain mixes, records and masters the track and Navya Baranwal makes a debut for The Revisit Project as the person in-charge of making this animated video. 5. Mele VaanilRahul Subramanian has been in the business of music-making for a while now , composing for many movie albums in Malayalam, and this one is a testament to his ability. Vijay Yesudas is the singer and he is the ideal choice for this melody. Nikhil Ram's flute interventions are substantial and perfectly timed along with the acoustic guitars and bass guitars by another stalwart in Sumesh Parameshwar. The strings section becomes an essential element of the song thanks to Cochin Strings constituting Francis, Erald, Jain and Josekutty. The background vocals of female chorus sounds lovely during the verse comprised of Badhra, Narayanani and Nanda, and there is quite a lot of lovely humming as well. Sai Prakash does a fabulous job of mixing along with Balu Thankachan on mixing duties. The track is engineered by Nandagopan V and the songs creative excellence emerges as a result of Rahul's programming and arrangements. Joe Paul is the lyricist and Vipin Lal plays the percussion. 6. EventideShe is one of the best vocalists we have in our country today, let us not debate too much on that. Anoushka Maskey is the sizzler from Sikkim and once again proof that North East is the musical hub of India, if I may say so. She is a singer songwriter who can play the guitar and she just weaves magical threads with every note. Here she sings eventide which was composed by Anoushka and Cosmic Grooves whose original name is Pranay Bakshi, amusic producer from Mumbai. The song is about maybe a leaf out of Anoushka's book dealing with the dullness of life when dreams are placed on the back-burner. The bass guitars by Sahil Mathew which are fantastic all along in the second layer, and the drums along with the electric guitar sounds make this one enjoyable track. Swapneal Chatterjee is the music video director. 7. VacationGraduating from the level of just college students playing music Kitanu the 5 member band release their self-tilted debut EP with 3 tracks and I found "Vacation" to be the pick of the lot. All the composition, arrangements, recording and production are by the band. Ok when you read all this, just play the track and don't be confused if you hear the Sarod in the rock genre, well that is A+ for creativity and A+ for execution as well. Rohan Prasanna plays the Sarod with Omkar Raghupatruni on the electric guitars and they combine so well. Guru Ganapathi plays the drums with style and the buzzing bass guitars are played by Arman Handa. Siddhant Sarkar is the vocalist and he is par excellence delivering with passion words he himself has penned. The track is mixed Omkar and mastered by Marc Felish. At the 3rd minute mark enjoy the grooviness of the guitars and drums in the foreground with the Sarod playing backup. 8. Morning StarRaise you hands to applaud one of the finest singer-composers we have in Anupam Roy. His greatest assets are how he can compose contemporary music, also infusing good old melody as well. He also can alternate between a bangla single and an English one and to me his music always resembles bengali kheer kadam with layers of greatness. If you notice, many english songs by Indians, have an unnatural american accent, but that is the only way it sounds good. However Anupam can sing these words with more of a Desi style but he still renders it beautifully and effectively and that is something. he has composed, written and sung this electronic pop. There is a lot of Lo-fi influences and the whole team needs to be congratulated like Shomi Chatterjee on mixing and mastering, Subhajit Mukherjee the producer, Sayan Ghosh who recorded the vocals. Gairik Sarkar has made the video. This is a total trance-like track that is worth your time.9. Tu Na AayaMansa-Elroy as they come together and create music, this looks like a solid team. Mansa Jimmy has written the lyrics and sung this beautiful number, and all the composition and arrangements come under the realm of Elroy Vincent's contributions. There is some influence of Raag Behag in my opinion, with a heavy focus on harmonies and strings section. The whole atmosphere cerated here makes me remember Lukka Chuppi by AR Rahman. Now that I think of it there could also be some element of Raag Maand somewhere in here. Angeline Vincent, Elna Maria Vincent Sangeatha Jacob, Vineetha Jacob, Megha Lijo, Santa Sebastian form the harmonies team. The amazing strings we hear are by Joy Joseph and Anson Francis. John Joseph plays the acoustic guitar, Swaroop Sunil is on the electric guitar and Rithik Valsan accompanies on the indispensable bass guitar. The Cajon is played by Rahul Shenai and while Fredy Johnson mixes the track, Krishna Prasad masters it. 10. Baavre FaqirThe very first sound f the Harmonium makes me think maybe this is set in Raag Bageshree , and even when Kanwar Grewal outstandingly soars into the higher scales. Then as the song just progresses a but I now begin to wonder If it has influences of Raag kafi or Karaharapriya in Carnatic. William Koti plays the guitars in this delightful fusion of sorts and you can hear the savvy strumming. Bhai Manna Singh is the composer with lyrics by Dr. Harnoor Randhawa. Farry and Team (Pankaj, Jatin and Tinka) provide the perfect rhythm and a lot of variety in the instruments. Jyoti Nooran is the female lead vocalist with Nazamjeet Singh and Kasamjeet Singh as assistant vocalists. This is a truly sensational punjabi folk fusion number that will captivate you. Raman Khan is on the backing vocals, and the track is mixed and mastered by Aftab Khan.11. BlindedThere can be only one good thing about toxic breakups or any breakup for that matter. It ends up becoming the fodder for something great like a terrific song by an artist and millions tend to live through their own experiences by listening to the song and viscerally enjoying it. It is not just those words that can do the trick, although Nidhi Wagle needs to be commended for whatever she's written. The song lives on through the notes and singing and instrumental garnish as well and maybe that is why "Blinded" opens your eyes and ears into something wonderful and as the person responsible for writing, composing and singing this track she deserves all the praise and I am just not saying that blindly. The track is produced by Dev Modi with Nishant Mantoo mixing and mastering the track. The chorus plays a nice role and we have Perrin Mehtta, Alvina D'souza and Elaneer. There is a lot of keyboard programmin

  This is the weeks 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 250 tracks released in the week ending 12th September 2021, 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. Find the full playlist of 17 tracks on SPOTIFY1. Lost in TimeThe best indian track of the week is by the duo called Alok & Sukhbir and what a way to release their debut single. The song starts off with some smashing flute solo by Shriram S who has been a regular in many chart-toppers in recent weeks. The guitars, keys and the flute make way for the Hindi lines and what I love about this track amongst other things is the way it alternates between Hindi and English track with a completely different feeling of a romantic ballad and a country song  all within just 4 minutes. Its Rishabh on the keys who is present all through in a very subtle manner. Gaurav Naagar does the recording with Parikshit on the mixing and Kohinoor Mukherjee on mastering duties. The entire deserves credits for creating such a wonderful output with the bass guitar sounds and even some strings in the background all conjoin effectively. Diiva Dhanoya has worked on the shoots for this video. The song is dedicated to Alok's dad on his birthday. 2. RihaThis was a track that immediately appealed to me when I heard it the first time. The Lost Symbols is appearing my list the second time in a very short time period, and their earlier "Khwaab" was a terrific number as well. The Lost Symbols writes, composes and produces this track and the rock band from India has Aman Raj as the lead vocalist Gunjan Soral on the guitars and Arun Singh Naruka on the drums. Aman's vocals is impressive right from the start with the solid strumming by Gunjan. The strings in the background is elaborate and takes away all the attention despite being in the background layers. There comes this interlude on the electric guitar and heavy drums suddenly followed by a pause in percussion and just the acoustic guitar. The end is just a symphony of strings and electric guitar and this makes for some wonderful hearing. The recording, mixing and mastering is by Underroot Studios. The artwork and illustration is by Pallab Baruah while Debasish Sarmah has handled the Animation.  3. Changing cities, RepriseI had no idea that Vishruti Bindal was a musician, and there she was suddenly reaching out to me and sharing he single "Changing cities, reprise". I listen to so many songs everyday and I just seemed to have forgotten about this. Then one fine day I just remembered and clicked on the link without any hope or expectations, because that is How I function and listen to new music. I was struck by awe and shock both in the positive sense and I kicked myself for delaying it, else I could have listened to this beauty much before. Vishruti is a musician from Bengaluru but now she resides in Valencia, Spain. The song clearly talks about changing cities and the emotions involved with that transformation. Her vocals transform too from being gentle and subtle in the low scales to impactful with heaviness in the higher scales. The keys are played Mateo Falgas and are a huge component of this track which is produced by Michael Shanks and Samar Mehdi who himself has appeared in my list and reviews twice for some fabulous numbers. Kanishk Seth and Nicholas Phang are the recording engineers as Michael Shanks does the mixing, Giorgio Schipani does the mastering for the track. Camille Silvero Lopez is the project manager and she is also involved in the artwork along with Rowanne Chang. Vishruti truly shines as a composer anf singer in this track which sort of feels like a collaboration of some global music talent. 4. Ethranaal I have been listening to Mujeeb Majeed many a time , and last year he had a smashing hit called Haram which came in the top 5 of the month of December. This one too is an excellent melody sung by Sinov Raj and Sruthy Sivadas who is slowly by steadily making great strides as a singer. The song is composed by Mujeeb and has some Kaapi Raaga influences. Dan Babu does a fabulous job in the interlude with his guitar solo, and makes it sound like a Latin Dance number. Asha G Menon has penned the lyrics. The song's supporting hero is definitely the guitars with a multitude of interventions. Akshay Kakkoth and Arjun B Nair are the recording engineers and as KP Jayashankar mixes the track, Abin Paul masters it. Antony Nikhil Varghese is the songs editor. 5. Saiyyan ToriMerchant Records keep smashing all records for producing the bets music i the country at break-neck speed and frequency. This one is a semi-classical form of Thumri sung, composed and written by Sharayu Date. She sings it with incredible panache and her vibrato keeps coming in at the right juncture making it stay in your heart for a long time. Saurabh Bhalerao has arranged and produced this beauty and I believe there is some Pilu Raag influence. Tanmay Pawar is unstoppable in his guitar as he strums to perfection all along and especially at the interlude which has a Turkish Clarinet programmed and then a wonderful aalap by Sharayu. The verse is elaborate and well structured and probably has some Bageshri notes in the beginning but it is wholesome with percussion and Keys in the background. Tushar Pandit has mixed and mastered the track6. Obulamma MM Keeravani is a legend in South Indian music and he has composed music for numerous albums, and here he shows he has still got what it takes to score at the best level. He has also penned the lyrics for this one and this is one delightful entry into this weeks list and reviews. Satya Yamini and PVNS Rohit are two rising stars and you will find them frequently singing in the lead in Telugu cinema and when you hear their delivery you will know why that is. The track is mixed and mastered and programmed by G Jeevan Babu and hence a lot of the songs positive impact comes from his contributions. Satya starts things off with her sweet vocals and then Rohit pounds you with his enchanting vocals, only to be drawn further with the stunning Keys. I was tempted to say that this song sounds a lot like "Innum Ennai enna seyya pogirai" by Ilaiyaraja and sung by SPB and Janaki epecially with the title lines( that was set in Gambeera Naatai raaga). But it also probably sounds a lot like "En veetu Thottathil" by AR Rahman and hence having influences of Neelambari Raaga. Dr. Ramachandra Murthy's flute comes and goes in the interludes and the verse is equally strong in melody. The flute and Rohit's singing are standout performances for me in this track. 7. Chal DiyeNilesh Patange sings and composes this beautiful melody and this is definitely a valiant effort for a debut. The singing is definitely pitch-perfect and serenading, but his contribution in arrangements is what delighted me the most. He also produces this track and kudos to him for this. Right at the beginning we can hear so much happening in the background layers, like the strings constantly paying and harmonies intervening. The introduction of the Shehnai is creative and works well along with some lo-fi and vocal sounds as well. The verse is one that is not just a repetition of opening lines, but Nilesh goes into making it different and enjoyable. Siddhesh Patange writes these beautiful lines, and Abhishek Khandelwal mixes and masters the track. Much is expected from Nilesh now , who has score the background music fro a few short-films and jingles. 8. Forced WandererDiyatom Deb is another musical talent coming from NE of India and he hails from one of the most gifted cities a.k.a. Shillong in Meghalaya. He is based in Delhi and is a singer-songwriter who has been part of multiple bands since 2009. The song is touching thanks to some excellent writing which talks about migration of the forced nature. He is trained in western classical and Hindustani classical singing and that is quite evident when you hear him perform. Diyatom also has played the guitars in this one with mixing and mastering duties held by Risshi Sachdev. The song starts off in a peaceful mode with just Diyatom's voice and guitars playing. Enter the wonderful bass-lines by Archit Agrawal and Melodica by Yashi Vikram and we are transported in to tranquility. Diyatom's voice is something that you just cannot stop loving in this track, and it only gets better as time progresses with Yashi also handling the keyboards. Yashi's vibrato on the melodica and Diyatom's falsetto are moments to cherish. 9. Kohra This tranquil track is composed by Moin Farooqui and Roshan Bhat and Moin plays the gentle drums in the track. The singing is from the vocals of Roshan Bhat who is perfect in his delivery and the vibrato too is just about right without overdoing anything. The track is produced by Moin, Kiran Kadadekar and Aditya Mohanan, with Aditya also playing the stylish acoustic and electric guitars in the track and Kiran adding comfort on the bass guitars. The harmonies work so well in this rock ballad of sorts. The union of vocals, electric and bas guitars and the drums is something that you can just enjoy through an auditory experience and i can never do justice through my words. 10. Qafila This Chennai based bad was formed in 2019 and create some good music in the rock/pop genre. The track is about a woman trying to get of external forces that haunt her from the past and take fresh control of her life in search of peace and happiness. Baidurjya Banerjee on the guitars and Paul Livi on the Keys do the curtain raisers even before Deep Das starts singing. Michael Timothy who is well know musician/ composer in Chennai in the indie space plays the bass guitars here in the background as Deep takes a deep dive in to the track singing in the higher scales. You will hear a lot of harmonies in the track as that is assisted by Varun Murali. The interlude is well arranged with Akkarsh Kashyap playing the Violin Solo. Judah Samuel helps guide the tracks tempo shifts brilliantly right through the track. Shashank Tyagi is the lyricist whose words convey the message of Qafila clearly. The outro with Deep's vocals in the base scale and Paul's keys is excellent. The track is mixed by Toby Joseph and mastered by Randy Merrill. 11. Sun Zara    Saptak Chatterjee is one of the first musicians I absolutely loved in the indie space when I doing music reviews since last 2019, as he had some smashing numbers in 2020. His style of fusing Indian classical with something more modern and western works brilliantly and he has one splendid voice which also is well trained which makes it a very potent weapon. This track has some notes resembling Raag Bhimplasi. The track is composed, produced mixed and sung by Saptak, with Madhur Chaudhury is on the bass guitars and Shrikant Biswakarma playing the guitars. Two more important roles are played Ishaan Tyagi on the keyboards and Dimpal Kumar on the drums. When the majority of indie musicians stick to compostions just lasting 3 minutes, it is impressive how Saptak composes tracks that are elaborate and cross the 5 minute mark. The outro on drums, electric and bass guitars is delightful. 12. Oh Kinakkalam

1. Ajab Shaan Singer - Junaid Ahmad Composers - Junaid Ahmad & Ubaid Ahmad Lyrics - Traditional Additional Lyrics - Irfan AliMusic Production & Arrangements - Ayashimusic Language: UrduGenre: Sufi-Rock It is not too often that we find music playlists and rankings devoid of music in India coming from the Merchant Records label. This song is so good that it beats all competition and rises right to the very top of this week's charts. Somebody I knew recently commented that Sufi Music revival and popularity have taken a beating after the fall of AR Rahman. Well, to them I tell it certainly hasn't and the Salim-Suliman brothers have been the guardians of that genre especially. This is a song dedicated to Imam Husain and his immeasurable sacrifice for love and humanity. Junaid Ahmad and Ubaid Ahmad are the composers of the tunes with traditional lyrics. We have the duo Ayan Joe and Srinath S Kumar a.k.a. Ayashi Music who have done a splendid production. The Rabab starts things off played by Ayan and the magnetic vocals of Junaid. Ejaz Husaain plays the Sarangi in the interludes, but the electric guitars and bass by Ayan create a beautiful western layer around the classical Sufi core. Srinath plays the engaging drums and Junaid other than the vocals also contributes through additional production. The humming, backing vocals, create awe and inspiration, but none like the electric guitar solo closer to the end which is truly mesmerising. The track is mixed and mastered by Hanish Taneja with Vatsal Chevli as mix assistant. 2. Varaha Roopam Deiva Va RishtamMusic: B Ajaneesh LoknathVocals: Sai VigneshLyrics: Shashiraj KavoorLanguage: KannadaGenre: Carnatic-Rock fusionWell, what can you write about this song that the world already doesn't know of yet? I am a huge fan of Ajaneesh Loknath and would easily call him one of the top 5 Indian music composers today and there is enough proof of that if you listen to his works or just read my website where I have featured a multitude of his songs. This was a song that mesmerised me as I saw the movie on the big screen. The movie is creating a Tsunami not just a wave, but a lot of the praise must go to the songs and BGM especially. Sai Vignesh who has been singing in Tamil as well sings this Classical Rock number to perfection. It reminded me of the numbers that 'Agam' the Kerala Rock band used to produce, and Ajaneesh here creates awe, and wonder and you will be petrified every time you hear it. The NAdaaswaram by Bala at the beginning is just a curtain-raiser and even that is astounding to hear. I assumed that there was some definite Ragam Thodi and maybe some Ragam Gaanamurthe too. When I later talked to Ajaneesh and Sai, I found that there are elements of Thodi, Varali, Mukari and Kanakaangi(apparently quite close to Gaanmurthe). The singing is beyond compare and I just feel pure divinity when Sai sings the swaras in the middle portion of the song. The use of the electric guitar played by the master Durwin D'Souza is the icing on the cake and it is what ultimately elevates the number to a place where you just surrender your senses to great music. Shashiraj Kavoor is the lyricist. The opening Pallavi and Anupallavi lines come along intervened by a segment on the Solo Violin by the genius Embar Kannan and what follows is pure magic. Ajaneesh even mixes that fabulous shout and howl of the Bhoota Kola dance taking us back to that visual beauty.3. Hymn of DharmaMusic: Nobin Paul Singers: KS Harisankar Lyricist: Nagarjun Sharma Language: KannadaGenre: SufiKannada Music is shining bright and the works of Rishabh Shetty, Raj Shetty and Rakshit Shetty in the movie space are well known now, but it is the music in their movies that deserves as much attention. I have featured 3 other songs in the amazing album called 'Charlie 777' and I am quite sure this will be one of the best music albums of 2022. Nobin Paul has been featured quite frequently since 2019 when I started reviewing and he employs one of India's most gifted vocalists KS Harishankar to deliver this beauty. Manonmani is one of the finest Sarangi exponents in India today and she lends her skills in the opening here, is it not amazing that the first 3 songs in India are all tilting towards classical Indian styles? This too is a beautiful Sufi melody with harmonies by Sanjith Salam, Pancham Jeeva, Pavan Kumar and Prajwal BG. Sumesh Parameswar produces the impactful sounds of the guitars while Josy Alappuzha plays the woodwinds. Sufi music would be amiss without the perfect percussions and who else but Sruthi Raj can fill that void by getting some amazing Indian percussions on board? The interlude has the Oud if I am not wrong, and the combined effect of guitars and bass teasing and playing with our minds. Harishankar is in fine form and he shows how a terrific voice is important to hold even a good song together. Nobin Paul excels at the arrangements and programming and he would have made some yesteryear Indian geniuses proud of this stuff. I cannot write enough about the role Sumesh's guitars play in the outcome of this number. The track is mixed and mastered by Balu Thankachen. Nagarjun Sharma is the lyricist for this Kannada original version. 4. Maybe its loveMusic, Vocals, and Lyrics by NaariProduced by Fink Language: EnglishGenre: Indie Pop, SoulJust as I write about this wonderful song by Nereaja a.k.a. Naari, she has released a full-length album called "Naari" and I cannot wait to finish this article and listen to the other 7 tracks. Some excitement is created right at the beginning with the guitars getting strummed slowly but with elegance. Naari takes over and she sings like a muse and all you can focus on is her shining voice that stands apart. The guitars, Keys and rhythms exist without tampering with the soul of the song which is Naari's delivery. Fink produces this number and he surely must be given credit for these apt arrangements. The introduction of harmonies just gives one more layer of depth to like and experience. The line "My nails were sharp" followed by sharper harmonies singing " sharper than you'' ever see", kudos to the creativity here. The video production is by House of Strength and all the DOP duties are done effortlessly by Paolo Zambaldi. The Piano is played just to lift your spirits and keep you afloat, and none of the brilliance ever comes to a halt. Naari does a fine and subtle vibrato and you will get stunned by the introduction of the Sitar out of nowhere. Just these Sitar notes make me wonder if I heard a bit of Raag Bageshri. This Delhi-based musician has piqued my interest. 5. BaalamaArranged, Composed, Produced and Mixed by Ashwin Shriyan Vocals and Audio Mastered by Aseem Dhaneshwar Language: HindiGenre: Indie PopDiscovering new music is something that tantalises me, and when I find beauty, it makes all the effort worth it. But you know what is even more satisfying? When a musician reaches out to me asking If I could listen to and review his music, and when I do, it stuns me beyond words. Now, this is how the story of "Baalama" transpired thanks to Ashwin Shriyan reaching out to me. He composed, produced and arranged for this number and used Aseem Dhaneshwar for the vocals. This guy is a fantastic musician as well and of late his singles have impressed me and they are in the pipeline for my weekly reviews (Tu Main & Dekhoon Jidhar Bhi). A cluster of brilliant musicians getting together can never get the output into something mediocre and this is proof of that. The lyrics are by one of my favourite musicians of 2022, Anurag Mishra and Prasanna Suresh who have been running hot in the indie charts in Hindi and Tamil does all the additional programming. The way Aseem sings " Baalama Ooo oo Balaama" I was sold and I did find a hint of Raag Bageshree. Daniel Kenneth Rego plays the guitars and Rahul Hariharan is on the drums, the way these two combine is a pleasant joyful ride for the listener. I love the layers of bass guitars and harmonies which add mild but essential layers to the song. Ashwin brings in a nice bridge section to add variation to the tune. For all its wonderful tone and texture the song reminds me of Shaan's old hit "Tanha Dil". Sancheeta Joshi handles all the album artwork with Zariya directing the video art. 6. MaaziVocals: Prachi GholeComposition, Lyrics: Danish AbdiProducer: Varun Murali @theredmusicboxLanguage: HindiGenre: Classical fusionThis is going to be one of the best indie EPs of 2022 released in India, and there will be a dedicated article on that later but for now 'Zard' by The Pariah Kite is just incredible as a debut EP by the duo and I recommend in fact urge all readers to go check out all the 5 songs. This is the second track in the EP I am featuring and people who follow me, know how tough it is to get two songs from the same EP into my weekly Indian reviews of best songs. Varun Murali is the dreamer and visionary who gets the production to such high standards and you can hear what I am talking about when you pay attention to the Keys and the strings in the background. The tune and the idea emerged from the brains of another member in the song a.k.a Danish Abdi. The arrangements are spectacular and they make the song multiple times more valuable than just the tune.  The reason a song becomes impactful and likeable, is the way the notes are written without rehashing older tunes and following a path of predictability. Danish excels at surprising me at every turn because when my mind tells me that the song is headed in a certain direction, there is a twist and that makes it more enjoyable. Prachi and Danish are a duo to watch out for because each of the 5 songs stays different and doesn't follow a similar style or genre. Prachi has to be one of the most impressive and explorative vocalists I have heard in 2022. She doesn't take half-measures and plays safe, and with every song, she tests her limits and comes out successful. Young as well as experienced vocalists should take a leaf off her page and be inspired to keep performing at the highest standards. The Keys are constant and the use of harmonies works quite well in the song. Shrreeya Sudhinndra handles the album art. 7. Manase ManasinaSinger: Varijashree Venugopal Music Director: Praveen - Pradeep  Lyrics: Santa Shishunala Shariff Saheb The song suddenly came out from the thick of the crowd like a bolt out of a clear sky, as I have never reviewed or heard any of the works of composers Praveen-Pradeep. This was a huge surprise as it had another brilliant vocalist who shifts gears between various kinds of musical projects around India viz. Varijashree Venugopal. She is at equal ease singing something very classical and traditional like this and something on the other end of the spectrum as well. This has traces and influences from Ragam Charukeshi. The programming by Varun Pradeep is a very pop-styled layering thanks to keyboard programming and synths. However, the interludes give all the classical Carnatic flavours. Manjunath Naidu does the mixing and mastering and the enchanting words are penned by Santa Shishunala Shariff Saheb. Varun handles the wonderful orchestration and arrangements of live instruments as well. 8. Naanaadada MaathellavaMusic: Arjun JanyaSinger: Sonu NigamLyrics: Jayant KaikiniLanguage: KannadaGenre: MelodyHe is Sandalwood industry's very own and I can only feel happy and thankful that at least some space in the music field recognises the might of this vocalist Sonu Nigam. The vocals of Sonu are something that will melt any heart and to this day he delivers every number with flawless precision and peak emotions. I am not sure if he has learnt Kannada, but if not I think his diction is top-notch, something even a Shreya Ghoshal will be envious of. The guitars, bass and wise choice of rhythms make this a solid romantic number and Sonu's expressionist vocals only glorify it even further. The stanza is just pure bliss as Arjun ramps up the melody quotient with bass guitar and Harmonica as instrumental aides. Jayant Kaikini is the lyricist. The killer second interlude is a breakaway from the song's overall tone, as we have a fast-paced Violin solo. Sonu Nigam becomes brilliantly innovative towards the end, with his delivery and does ghamakas and alterations like you would never predict 9. Koi Bol RamComposed by Sonny Singh Lyrics: Guru Arjan Sahib(5th Guru of Sikhs)Produced by Wil-Dog AbersLanguage: PunjabiGenre: Western/ Folk FusionI did mention how amazed I was by Sonny Singh's Chardi Kala as an album and here is one more track that truly deserves attention. Wil-Dog Abers plays the bass guitars and produces the tracks. The Horns section once again is splendid and just is an example of how great [roduction and instrumental arrangement is crucial to the ultimate listening experience. Sonny plays the trumpet, Warren Huang plays the Tenor Sax and Neelamjit Dillon on the Alto Sax. I loved the message in the song about polytheism and that we call Gods by different names, that is it. Ganavya on backing vocals and pay attention to the mild sounds of the Harmonium adding authenticity to the Indian-ness. Mario Calire plays the drums, Keyboards by Carey Frank, Jonathan Goldberger on guitars, Dominic Johnson on Violin and Jake Leckie on the Upright bass. The track is mixed by Patric Avalon and mastered by Justin Weis. 10. BismillahMusic: Indraadip Das GuptaLyrics: SrijatoSinger: Arijit SinghLanguage: BanglaGenre: MelodyIt is this title track from the recent Bangla movie "Bismillah" and in keeping with the title, the music is divine. Indraadip Das Gupta composed and arranged this song with programming by Shamik Chakravarty. Ashwin Srinivasan's tantalising flute solo set in Raag Charukeshi, atleast that is what I believed, and we get Tapas Roy sizzling on the Strokes.  When I later spoke to the musicians involved in the song, I came to know that it is a very close Raga called Parameswari. Together we are deep into a zone of trance, and then we hear Arijit Singh's vocals which to me are way better here than in most of the recent Bollywood songs. Ardent music fans will be able to spot the connection with another famous song "Teri Umeed Tera intezaar" by Nadeem-Shravan, especially when the opening lines conclude. Arijit is in prime form in the higher scales. Srijato is the lyricist, and Shom Chatterjee does the musical assistance. In the interlude, you can hear the mild Sarod played by Pratik Shrivastava and then the thundering rhythms follow. Subhadeep Mitra does the mixing and mastering, with Amey Londhe, Bhaskar Sharma, Shiladitya Sarkar, Sukanto Singha as recording engineers. The strings are nicely programmed in the background and we have a very typical aalap by Arijit towards the end. 11. Captivate meWritten by Kit ShangpliangArranged and Performed by Summersalt Language: EnglishGenre: Alt-RockWelcome to NE India, where we have India's finest musical acts and artists. Here is a folk fusion band that calls itself "Summersalt", and you will be more than ready to do a few somersaults just to hear them perform. The band consists of singer-guitarist Kit Shangpliang who has also penned the lyrics here. The band has Keyboardist Adorbha Shangpliang, guitarist Gregory Ford Nongrum(who has produced music on his own), vocalist Dawadhok Shangpliang, and bassist Baiaineh Shangpliang. The engineer in charge is Shantanu Hudlikar who has recorded, mixed and co-produced, and we also have Abhishek Khandelwal and Manasi Tare on the project. You just need 5 seconds and the vocals will floor you. The lead, bass guitars and drums create a concoction and right there you start tasting good music. It is not just waterfalls, butterflies and honeybees, but great music like this that can captivate you. One could have just expected the guitarists to take over and go solo, and we got what we prayed for, with a mild yet engaging bridge segment. Ashish Saha does the cover art. The outro is foot-tapping good and so keep playing it till the end. 12. Kabil Singer: Gurnam Bhullar Feature: Isha SharmaLyrics/Composer: Rony Ajnali, Gill Machhrai Music: Chet SinghLanguage: PunjabiGenre: MelodyIs it me who has realised quite late, or has suddenly an influx of good Punjabi music just picked up? I have been listening to all songs from across India over the last 3 years or more, and I must admit production quality improving with a focus on quality over popularity. Gurnam Bhullar is the singer and he has a very typical voice that sounds authoritative and you just cannot ignore it. Rony Ajnali and Gill Macchrai write and compose the melody which isn't something we haven't heard before. It is a rotted folk melody that you always connect with the land of Punjab. The producer is Chet Singh and you must listen to the conjoined forces of the flute, Violin and Keys in the stanza which elevate the song a few notches. The Violin solo accompanied by Strings in the background does even better in the second interlude and this is what music lovers will look for, a few moments of inspiration and creativity. 13. Rooh Written, Composed, Arranged and Performed by: MoongphaliVocals: Soham MallickLanguage: HindiGenre: RockSoham Mallick has been a musician I have been writing about and featuring in the weekly charts of India's best music, but I was never aware that he was part of a band, much less that I expected them to release something in 2022. Here we have the band 'Moongphali' and wow I was tempted because I am addicted to the nut. The frontman uses his vocals here to push forward a beautiful rock number that lasts more than 6 minutes. Joel Lepcha plays the guitars and Dhruv Sarker plays the drums ever so mildly. Soham sings and treads along a falsetto which sounds beautiful and not forced and he is also aided by some backup vocals. The bass guitars by Aradhya Khurana are constant, but it is the electric guitars that glorify the song with some improvised solo interventions. Just at the halfway-mark, we hear a solo piece that showcases Joel's potential thanks to the free-flowing nature of the segment. Yawan Lepcha does the mixing and Debangshu Roy does the mastering. I love this rock number as it feels complete with all the essential elements that tick for a number in this genre, and I hope to hear so much more from the band. This song has some deep inner meaning about a man's conversation with his soul, and it certainly comes out with a lyrical description. 

1. Ek DinVocals/Guitars: Raman NegiSong Produced by : Gaurav Chintamani & Raman NegiLanguage: HindiGenre: RockEver since the band's frontman Raman Negi left 'The Local Train' in 2022, he has never looked like alighting or even stopping from his destined track towards stardom and excellence. I have featured "Mehroom" and "Koyla" already this year and we now have another single of his and it rises to the top of the chart last week. You once again get that "Sweet Home Alabama" thanks to splendid guitars by Raman and Gaurav Chintamani on bass. Let us not forget the creative Vaibhav Ahuja who just experiments with the drums, without ever getting dull and predictable at any given moment. You cannot stop yourself from singing along once you memorise these lovely lines. the electric guitar solo somewhere near the 2.30-minute mark is inspiring and that is followed by harmonies as well as accompaniments on Keyboards. Raman and Gaurav excel as producers with the latter also mixing and Chris Athens mastering. There is a wonderful introduction of a layer of Horns that make this track truly awesome. This is the kind of song that should make teens, Millenials and Gen X all go wild at parties. Raman is fantastic as a vocalist ranging from soothing to downright aggressive in the delivery. Maan Boruah handles the direction of the project, and the artwork is by Anirudh Bansal. 2. ParavakalPerformed by Chinmayi, Govind VasanthaWritten by Anwar Ali, Govind VasanthaProduced by Govind VasanthaLanguage: MalayalamGenre: MelodyAs a movie 19(1)(a) got some mixed reviews with good acting but slightly weaker writing. However, I am sure none will have any qualms or complaints about the quality of the music for this movie. Govind Vasantha is in prime form and I loved 2 songs in the movie. I would rate "Paravakal" higher than "Badharile" number. You need 5 seconds to fall in love with the number as the solo Violin by Govind destroys your facade of focus and concentration in whatever other task you are doing. If the Violin wasn't enough to convey the gravitas and pathos, Chinmayi bludgeons you with her deeply impactful vocals. Kudos to Govind as he is one of the few who continues to give songs to a singer unjustly punished by the Tamil movie and dubbing artists' space. Govind and Anwari Ali have penned the words, but you don't need to know Malayalam to surrender to the magic happening here. It is like the violin notes are speaking to me and we can hear the Piano and guitar strumming also adding to the effect. A soulful Flute solo in combination with guitars creates a beautiful interlude and then Chinmayee sings the notes that we heard on the opening solo Violin. The last phase is where Chinmayee reaches for the higher vocal scales and she sounds marvellous and keeps your attention glued. "Badharile" is sung by Veetrag, with lyrics by Anwar Ali. Veetrag is phenomenal and one will certainly fall in love with his vocal quality and emotive delivery. It has a Qawwali-styled texture with opening lines sounding like Raag Madhuvanti. Bassist Naveen Napier and guitarist Durwin D'Souza handle the strumming and create eloquence with percussions by Shruthi and Shekhar. The wonderful chorus team consists of Anu Thomas, Angel Anto, Aarya Janardhanan and Preethu Mary George. The recording engineers are Avinash Satish and Praveen, with mixing and mastering by Rajan KS. 3. BelieveWritten, Sung, Composed and Produced by: Vasuda Sharma Language: EnglishGenre: Indie pop fusionVasuda Sharma a couple of months ago was supremely impressive in this single along with Arnav Magoo called "Tere Bina". If she was a vocalist in that number here she has written, composed and produced as well featuring a brilliant violinist Layth Sidiq. He is an award-winning violinist, composer and producer of Iraqi-Jordanian descent and he is the artistic director of the New York Arabic Orchestra. Layth plays the scintillating solo here and aren't we blessed to hear Layth and Govind in the top 3 songs of the week? At the end of the Violin, we hear Jack Haigh on the acoustic guitar and everything else we hear is programmed and produced by Vasuda. Her vocals are accompanied by violin arrangements which are handled by Layth. The interlude is one joyous ride where we just have to close our eyes and listen to the splendour that Layth takes us through. The song has an indie pop flavour but it is the violins that add a classical touch. It is simply a masterclass of how creative arrangements and instrumental aid can elevate a song and I Believe there are resemblances to the Hamsadhwani scale in certain segments. The track is mixed and mastered at KC Studios. 4. Too good to be TruePerformed, Written by Gagan YadavProduced by Gagan Yadav, Saksham DharLanguage: EnglishGenre: BalladIt exactly fits the title, as the more I heard this single by Gagan Yadav, it did feel "too good to be true". He has this magically uplifting voice as Gagan writes, and performs with delectable poise. he does even better with some solid arrangements as we hear the guitars and strings as well. The strong point to note here is that the strings arranged have some specific trajectory that they follow and the notes are not a copy of the main melody. Saksham Dhar has co-produced the number, and just last month he produced a gem called "Imai" composed and performed by Sahana LV in Tamil. Gagan delivers a note-worthy vocal performance as he reaches for the higher scales with some grandness and also explores a bit of falsetto to sound stylish and vulnerable. Anshul Guglani makes his presence felt on drums without ever disturbing the tonality of the song. The lines are beautiful as well as he sings " A thousand years won't change my minds, you helped me see when I was blind, I cross my heart and hope to die with you". Just past the 2.35-minute mark, a violin solo brings on some sadness, but soon enough we have Anshul thumping on drums and add to that Gagn's words and singing provide the shining light of hope. 5. O Kala Music Director: Neelesh MandalapuLyrics: Rakendu Mouli, Nikhat Khan Singer: Chinmayee SripadaMusic Production, Orchestral Arrangement, Sound Design: Raja RasailyLanguage: TeluguGenre: Melody-FusionIs she better than Shreya Ghoshal? Well let us not make it into some kind of competition, but just enjoy what each has to offer. This is Chinmayee's second song of the week and both being in the top 5 is a marvellous feat. With Chinmayee's soft and tender vocals and the guitars by Krishna Pradhan the song begins with a soothing impact. The flute solo arraigns the interlude, accompanied by strings in the background. The stanza continues with an extension of the melody but we have some excellent arrangements in the form of a more predominant strings section and that is thanks to the Budapest Orchestra handled by Kostas Vaporidis. The song is composed by Neelesh Mandalapu but equal credit goes to Raja Rasaily who has done the orchestral arrangements, production and sound design. Once we cross the 3-minute mark we hear a phenomenal segment fusing Western Classical music with Classical Qawwali style. As the strings fade away slowly the Harmonium by Ustad Akhlaq Hussain Warsi and Akshay Jadhav's Tabla take over. This is is the most unexpected twist and Neelesh truly impresses with his score and contributions to additional production and sound design. The vocalists performing the Qawwali are Sameer Khan Royal, Aman Khan, Uzair Ali, Kapil Thapa and Nawaz Ali. If the first section of the song was soothing, we now enter a space of tranquillity. The track is mixed by Farhad Dadyburjor and the recording engineers are Vijay Dayal, Chinmay Mistry and Avinash. Ashwin Raman assists the composer and Shaikh Shamsheer is the musician's fixer. 6. Tere BinSinger : Aditya NarayanLyrics: Nas?raSong Composed, Arranged & Produced by Meghdeep BoseLanguage: HindiGenre: Retro FusionIn Meghdeep Bose I trust, that could very well be a standard tagline for me. He is one of the best producers/composers out there and this song in particular is a masterclass to all those also-rans in the music space who are bereft of ideas and want to recreate a version or music similar to the older hits. Meghdeep has composed, produced, and arranged this wonder that just brought a smile to my face. Meghdeep plays the acoustic guitar and the Mandolin which comes in the opening segments. The Tabla and Dholak are played by Girish Vishwa and Hafiz Khan and we have a fantastic set of performers on the backing vocals viz. Abin Thomas, Anshith Kunwar, Gyanita Dwivedi, Juhi Mahagaye, Parvatish Pradeep, Pritam Senapati and Snigdha Pious. Aditya Narayan who in my opinion should be singing so much more than he is has done a fantastic job in evoking the 1990s Bollywood. Listen to the mild interventions on the electric guitar by Jerson Antony and also we have those delightful Indian hand percussion played by Pratap Rath and Girish Vishwa, while Keyur Barve plays the stick percussions. The line is so melodious as Aditya sings " Sirf tere hi hai, mere raat har din subah" and kudos to Nassra for the lyrics. Meghdeep makes it grand with the introduction of the strings section played by Cochin Strings' members Francis Xavier Devassy, Harald Antony, Josekutty, Carol George, and Albin Jose. The point where I was astounded was when Meghdeep gets that famous hiccup sound reminding us of "Koi disco mein jaayen", and we have to thank Abin Thomas for that performance. The interlude is another excellent symphony on the strings and we have Neelesh Mandalapu and Kostas Vaporidis on the score preparation. These guys are having a great week with 2 songs in this week's list. The female humming reminded me of "Dil Toh Pagal Hai" title song, and this is the whole idea of this number. Meghdeep shows his true skill with an enchantingly melodious stanza and the keyboards and strings all add such vital layers to the song. Enjoy the outro with just Aditya's vocals, Keys and Strings with rhythms and percussions vanishing away. The track is mixed and mastered by Hanish Taneja, and the recording engineers are Raaj Jagtap, Sanket Tole, Anushree Manjrekar, Jonathan Joseph, Lokesh Singh and Pritam Senapati. Gyanita Dwivedi is the Production Executive and Pritam is the Studio Assistant. 7. PayrollMusic Produced: Steve ManovskiProgramming: Steve Manovski Lyrics: RIKA, Steve Manovski, Sam Gray, Maria Hazell, Kemar "Kranium" DonaldsonLanguage: EnglishGenre: Pop/ReggaeSteve Manovski is a multi-instrumentalist and producer who has worked with some astounding musicians and here he works with RIKA and Kemar "Kranium" Donaldson for a cool and enjoyable number. I have featured RIKA before for a song called "Love to you" back in October 2021. I heard this and I was sold thanks to the scintillating delivery by RIKAand some witty lyrics written by a team comprising of RIKA, Steve Manovski, Sam Gray, Maria Hazell and Kranium. I can picture myself driving my vehicle in slo-mo and windows pulled down, listening to this and making a grand entrance at a party. I love the lines " I work for my money oh, I don't need my body on your payroll", something that we all have dreamt of saying, and musically I love the part which goes "So you got a million dollars" which has harmonies backing up. Kranium's vocals come to join later and we just feel the song getting better thanks to some wonderful keyboard and rhythm programming. Steve Manovski has programmed and produced the track with Lex Barkey on mixing and mastering. 8. Best FriendVocals- Perp, Varun AgnihotriProduction- Varun AgnihotriLyrics- Urmila Sivadas (Perp)Language: EnglishGenre: Indie PopI recently attended a live gig by Trishita Recs, who I am a fan of, and there I stumbled upon Varun Agnihotri who not only performed but also played the guitars. I have been tracking him since and this single with Varun teaming up with another talented singer Urmila Sivadas(Perp) certainly caught my attention. Urmila is a fabulous vocalist and she has penned the lyrics talking about her friendship with Varun. I cannot think of a better song for an evening of rest and resplendence. Perp just shines with her Contralto type of low-scale singing and even there she manages to bring a very delightful little vibrato. You better pay attention to the whistle sound that just accentuates the song beautifully. Varun plays the acoustic guitar and the Keys are by Aditya Ahir. Varun later joins with his male lead vocals, and I believe the song's true standout feature is the technically sound vocal harmonies like an A Capella style which have been perfectly arranged. The guitar solo is stunning right towards the end and it feels like Varun's production has left no stone unturned for this one. Dishaan Gidwani has mixed and Ayan Dey has mastered the track. All the artwork is handled by Ashudeep S.   9. Chardi Kala Composed by Sonny Singh Produced by Wil-Dog AbersLanguage: PunjabiGenre: Western/ Folk FusionLet us stand up and give an ovation to this wonderful debut solo album by Sonny Singh. This Brooklyn-based musician has given exactly what the heart and ears want. A very folkish Punjabi song can be modified and decorated into something that resembles a Western Classica/Jazz of sorts is truly inspiring. Sonny sings and composes the tune, and I have loved 2 more tracks in this album also by the same title "Chardi Kala", which I will be featuring and reviewing subsequently. The track is produced by Wil-Dog Abers and the ups and downs the song treads and the very beginning remind me of a Shaadi ki barat. Wil-Dog plays the bass guitars and you can listen to how cool the notes are if you pay attention, he also plays the Mellotron. The Tabla gives a traditional Indian tone thanks to Neelamjit Dhillon and he is on the Alto Saxophone as well. The Horns section is quite elaborate with Sonny playing the trumpet, and Warren Huang playing the Tenor Sax. Just close to the 2nd minute the song has a beautiful twist with percussions dropping away and the Trumpets and saxophone dominating. The high-pitched humming kind of inspires you like an anthem, with Ganavya on backing vocals, and here I sensed some Raag Shivaranjani. The last 1 minute has many live instruments playing like the drum set by Mario Calire, Keyboards by Carey Frank, Jonathan Goldberger on guitars, Dominic Johnson on Violin and Jake Leckie on the Upright bass. The track is mixed by Patric Avalon and mastered by Justin Weis.  10. AnacondaSinger: Gur Sidhu Lyrics: KaptaanMusic: Gur SidhuLanguage: HindiGenre: Dance PopJust leave it to the Punjabis to sound cool and extravagant. Gur Sidhu sings and composes this smashing number that is heavy on the Alt-pop and Alt-Rock space. The heavy electric guitar is accompanied by what sounds like the Esraj to me (it could also be the Sarangi). The singing is energetic which is true for most Punjabi numbers but a minute into the track, there is a beautiful shift to a folkish style guided by Jasraj Lailna's Dhol. I wouldn't be surprised if you stopped reading this and went off to shake your legs. Nav Sandhu is the producer and he gets the tonality spot on. The usual whistles, harmonies, and humming all of which make for a great Punjabi number are present. Kaptaan is the lyricist. The producer uses the Esraj in a few places which are wonderful interventions. The music label is Brown Town Music. 11. KomalloSingers: Sanah Moidutty, Yazin NizarLyrics: Ananth SreeramSong composed and arranged by Simon K.King Language: TeluguGenre: Melody FusionIt's a triparty agreement that you will not want to discount. Composer Simon K King works with vocalists Yazin Nizar and Sanag Moidutty and it is the equivalent of a Tiramisu cake that I will have at any time of the day. A folkish humming is followed by a very current melody probably set in Yamankalyani Ragam. Kalyani Nair, Sushmitha Narasimhan and Padmaja Sreenivasan form the harmonies accompanied by Godfray Immanuel's delectable guitar strumming. Sanah has one of the most attractive-sounding voices in the industry and God does she put it to good use. No matter what language she performs in, she can sound very fresh, original and incredibly sweet. Vasanth David and Kalyan are stunning on rhythms and to my mind, it is one unforgettable highlight of the track. Yazin Nizar is one unique vocalist who chooses his songs wisely and whenever there is a need for a high-pitched delivery Yazin is the man for the job and he shows exactly why during the second stanza. Lalit Talluri plays the woodwinds and he intervenes just at the right moments. The second interlude is where Lalit sizzles, teases and leaves you wanting more. Shilvi Sharon is the music manager. The track is mixed and mastered by Balu Thankachan. Ananth Sreeram is the lyricist12. Tu hi BataSingers: Nikhita Gandhi, Siddhant BhosleSongwriter/ Composer: Siddhant Bhosle, Nikhita Gandhi Lyricist: Shloke Lal, Nikhita Gandhi, Siddhant Bhosle Music Production: Siddhant Bhosle, Somanshu Language: Hindi/EnglishGenre: Indie popIt has been a while since I featured the talented Siddhant Bhosle and I am glad that I got this opportunity to listen to this very pleasing number, and Siddhant teams up with another vocalist who is at the peak of her powers right now, Nikhita Gandhi. My only complaint as a reviewer and music lover is that she probably accepts most projects that come her way without being choosy. Anyway, I am thrilled that Nikhita and Siddhant have written, composed and performed this together. Shloke Lal is someone who is level-headed and when I spoke to him a couple of months ago, I could sense a very honest and hardworking writer at play. The last time I featured his "Din Aur Raatein" I was impressed by how effortlessly Siddhant would move from English to Hindi lyrics and back, a feat not all can do. He does this once again here with another expert in Nikhita. The track is mixed by Abhishek Ghatak and mastered by Jonas W Karlsson. The title line and what follows are just incredibly pleasing to the ears. When Nikhita gets a song like this she will just hit it out of the park and the way the two leads combine to sing together also makes for some glorious listening. Credit must go to Siddhant and Somanshu who have produced the number for getting the sounds just right.  13. Tuta Pull Wahan Singer | Lyrics | Composition- Deepak Rathore Music Produced and Engineered by Angad Singh Bahra @Uneven Studio Language: HindiGenre: Indie PopThis engineer-turned-musician has been on my radar for a while now, and I have been fond of his songs. Deepak Rathore has written, composed and performed the number. This is however the first time I am impressed enough to feature and review a song in the top 15 in the nation for the week. The song has a very likeable tone and with its simple guitars and lead vocals, Deepak holds your focus at every instance. The pause just before the title line is a moment of magic and then when the lines continue, Deepak manages to give us a memorable lullaby and you just feel the emotion when he sings "Tu ghar aaja". The strumming of the guitars is so vital to driving the message, theme and style of the song. Angad Singh Bahra has produced, mixed and mastered the number and credit goes to him for envisaging and executing the sounds to perfection. The humming by Deepak stays in your head long after the song is over. Deepak's vocals and delivery kind of remind me of Lucky Ali and that is meant to be a terrific compliment from my end. 14. RaahiMusic: VenozVocal Composition and Lyrics: Aatif AnzarLanguage: HindiGenre: Melody FusionSurprise packages like these can make one's day, and even if there is an envelope of darkness, shining bright light will find a way. Venoz a.k.a. Aruj Arya has produced this n

Barrack Obama was a great President and more than that a brilliant orator and an incredibly inspiring human being. His words have affected the global economy, and he mattered so much to global cooperation and diplomacy that he was handed out a Nobel Peace Prize back in 2009. These are quite understandable but his words put an Indian singer on the global map and skyrocketed him to celebrity status. Prateek Kuhad is the singer-songwriter whose Cold/mess was a recommendation by Obama as a part of his 2020 must-listen playlist.  It was a lovely song that could cradle you away to sleep, enhancing the level of tranquillity. Ever since Prateek has never looked back and risen in stardom and success. I love a story like that where a new star is born out of nowhere and the lustre incrementally keeps getting stronger. Some of them could fade away, and some never reach that destination that the world and fans predict. If I was being honest, I believe Prateek belongs to this category of popular A-listers who just struggle to live up to that expectation. I have nothing against Prateek Kuhad and I'll be more than willing to give my unbiased honest opinion of his songs, but when the world goes gaga over someone, I will not stand by and join the herd. This article is going to be a brief review of Prateek's "The way that lovers do" (TWTLD), trying to analyse the overall album, and I'll also be recommending my favourite tracks from it. But how good is any criticism, without a solution or an alternative? This is why I'll be reviewing and recommending an alternate album by the singer-songwriter Jaimin called "Cutting Loose". TWTLD would get a score of 6.25/10 in my opinion, and out of the 11 tracks, I liked 4 tracks. My favourites were 'Bloom', 'Just a Word', 'CO2' and 'Favourite Peeps' and I strongly recommend these numbers for some fine singing, lyrics and instrumental arrangements. I could feel love and romance all through my veins when I heard 'CO2', and the song comes off like some fabulous numbers by Keane like 'Everybody's Changing'. 'Bloom' probably stands out as the best track where Prateek showcases his vocal range better and the interplay of Pianos, vocal harmonies and trumpets is just brilliant. 'Just A Word' has a very hummable segment and ring to it with some nice Keyboards to keep you hooked and finally 'Favorite Peeps' has a nice catchy tune aided by good guitar riffs and lyrics. Other than these 4, every other track is passable and you can skip them. Now take Jaimin's 'Cutting Loose' which has 14 songs on the album. I would gladly give it a 7.5/10 and recommend that all music lovers check out the whole album. 7 of the 14 are terrific songs creating pure bliss and with 50% of the songs qualifying to be good enough to be on my weekly charts.  This is much better than a mere 25% for Prateek's TWTLD. Another area where Jaimin scores better is that 6 songs are so good that they would get 8/10 and these are "Shes running late", "Never Mind", "One more night", "She", "Something here to stay", "Wore my heart on my sleeve". The two best numbers that would any day qualify among the best numbers of 2022 are " She" and "Something Here to Stay". Jaimin soars as a vocalist and to me, he wins hands down over Prateek in his abilities as a performer. There are many times I felt that Prateek sounded weak, with no conceivable emotion or even vocal presence. The emotional connection in Jaimi's album is stringer and it is some mind-blowing live instrumental arrangements that steer me towards Jaimin's album over Prateek's.  One has to just closely listen to the writing in "She" and it is a work of a genius in that number along with some glorious Solo on Violins. The commonly found awesomeness in each of these tracks in "Cutting Loose" is the Piano, Organ, Violin(Protyay Chakraborty), Drums (Arjun Chakraborty) and harmonies. The use of the Sitar(Kalyan Majumdar) and Saxophone (Abhay Sharma) in "Something here to stay" will make you go crazy in love for music, and you will close your eyes and lose your senses in the electric guitar solo in " Wore my heart on my sleeve"I have no intention of pitching Jaimin against Prateek, and it is not a silly competition that I am trying to brew. All I am trying to do here is, to encourage my readers and music lovers to go check out Jaimin's album. If you love Prateek Kuhad, I am sure you will find Jaimin equally poignant and lovable. Jaimin Rajani, the Kolkata-based musician brings in a huge array of Indian talent like Rahul Ram, Rohan Ganguli, William Walters and Ralph Pais as bassists, Arjun Chakraborty on drums and percussion along with Aniruddha Saha, Abhay Sharma on the Sax, Billy Cardine on the Dobro Slide Guitar, Subharaj Ghosh on guitars and bass, Deepak Castelino on the classical guitar, Kalyan Majumdar on Sitar, Arka Chakraborty on Piano, Organ, bass Patrick Fitzsimons on Mandolin, Protyay Chakraborty and Rjarshi Das on Violin etc. The list of Vocalists for harmonies is Protyay, Rajshekhar Banerjee, Susmit Bose and Bhibhubrata Acharjee. All songs are composed, written and performed by Jaimin who also plays the guitars, with mixing and mastering by Protyay. 

Listen to some true stalwarts of Bollywood music, as they captivate you through their vocals, but don't ever discount new talent as well. We have utter domination with 9 songs in Hindi, and 3 in English, but the surprise package is a Nepali Song from a Darjeeling musician. 1. Jashn-e-GhamMusic Composer: Salim Sulaiman Music producer: Deepak pandit Singer: Pratibha Singh Baghel Lyrics: A M Turaz Language: HindiGenre: Semi-classical FusionWhen you get some serious talent like the one assembled here, what you will end up getting is excellence and superlative performances. No wonder this song rises to the very top and becomes this week's number 1 song in India. Salim and Sulaiman have been unstoppable, especially since 2020 thanks to their phenomenal Indie projects and here they compose the tune which gets produced by another genius Deepak Pandit, for whom I have huge respect. The song seems to be set in Raag Yaman and there are flavours of the composer Sanjay Leela Bansali in this too. Pratibha Singh Baghel is in fine form and you cannot expect anything less from this Diva as she uses every ounce of her ability to mesmerise you. Deepak's production reigns supreme ad you can hear the strings in the background by the Bombay Strings and Chennai Strings Orchestra. Just as the opening lines come to an end we hear the intervention on the flute solo by Navin Kumar and the rockstar Sitar exponent Purbayan Chatterjee goes for the kill with his solo in the interlude. Deepak along with co-producer Gaurav Vaswani bring in the great elements of Western Classical music and conjoin forces with the base melody set in Classical Hindustani. Prashant Sonagra plays the perfect percussional accompaniment on Tabla, and you will feel the weight of the world on your shoulders and Deepak's Solo Violin creates immense pathos. Pratibha's aalap is so mild, and perfectly cooked and is a lesson for some established singers and she uses it like a trump card when needed. K. Sethuraman does the mixing for Dolby Atmos and Stereo. The lyrics are penned by AM Turaz.  2. AndhekiSinger: Sunidhi ChauhanMusic: Puneet DixitLyrics: Shweta BothraMusic Arrangements & Production: Gaurav Vaswani & Shamita Bhatkar Language: HindiGenre: Latin JazzIt took me a few years to realize what a supreme talent Sunidhi Chauhan is. She has this unbelievable vocal quality and it is even more impressive because she can do wonders with that. A few songs here and there have registered even in the Tamil space back in the 2000s but a song like this is where Sunidhi stamps her authority. The song is composed by Puneet Dixit but the production is by Shamita Bhatkar and Gaurav Vaswani who makes it two in a row now this week. Shamita too has been featured in a beautiful song called "Heer ki kahani" last year with Nikhita Ahuja. We immediately feel a Latin Jazz texture thanks to the guitars and percussions, with Shomu Seal and maybe rhythm programming done by Shamita and Gaurav. The introduction of the Trumpets is pure Jazz divinity and the song's tonality also reminds us of some fabulous Bollywood Hits of the 1990s. All the effective backing vocals are designed by Shamita herself and the song's arrangements are a treat with some fantastic interplay of guitars, strings, trumpets and harmonies, the interlude is proof of that. Shweta Bothra is the lyricist who gets the message on point and we have K. Sethuraman working on mixing and mastering and Sanket Tole, and Ezekian Naniwedkar assisting. Rahul M Sharma, Samir Dharap and Tanay Gajjar are the sound engineers. The song has got a simple and relatable tune, and every element that is added as layers has just made this one outstanding number which is a string recommendation from me to your playlist.  3. YaadMusic Composer: Mukund Suryawanshi (Jam8 Studio)Lyrics: Saaveri VermaSinger: Sonu NigamMusic Produced, Mixed and Mastered by Sunny M.RLanguage: HindiGenre: Semi-classicalIt has been one of the best things to happen to music in 2022, and just like how the Bhoomi project by Salim-Sulaiman lights up the scene, Pritam's Roposo Jamroom project has just sizzled. I have now featured 5 of the 9 songs, and this composed by Mukund Suryawanshi has to be right at the top. Sonu Nigam is a natural and his vocals are ideal to suit this style of Ghazal/classical number where he brings out his best and the emotive delivery gets the listener completely involved as well. The Raag influence seems to be either Tilak Kamod or Desh in my opinion. The song has a brilliant mix of some western and some traditional thanks to Firoz Shah on the Harmonium and Udayan Dharamdhikari on acoustic guitars. Sunny MR showcases his class and skill in production, and he also mixes and masters the track. One just cannot keep up with the barrage of emotions that conquer our minds and hearts when Sonu Nigam starts singing with impeccable poise. Saaveri Verma writes these beautiful lines. Chinmay Deore plays the Tabla and percussions in a delightful mode without ever pushing up the adrenaline. We have Prachotosh Bhowmik on electric guitar and Rajkumar Dewan on bass guitar with all arrangements on guitars done by the master Roland Fernandes. Momin Khan's heartening yet slightly melancholic solo on the Sarangi comes in the interlude, and after that, you are lost in Sonu's exhilarating vocals. Dev Modi plays the drums and Mukund himself handles the keys and Synths. The upright piano is played by Rudrik Mistry and there is a wide range of engineers involved viz. Akash Mukherjee, Aaroh Velankar, Subhashree Das, Pranav Gupta, Shiladitya Sarkar and Pramod Chandorkar. As expected in the Jamroom project Brianna Supriyo and Antara Mitra are music supervisors with the latter also helping in curation. 4. ParacetamolSong Composed, Produced & Arranged: Parag ChhabraLyricist: Raj ShekharSingers: Jubin Nautiyal, Parag ChhabraLanguage: HindiGenre: Dance FusionThe movie is a remake of a Tamil hit called 'Kolamavu Kokila' and though there have been some ifs and buts about the Hindi movie, this song does stand up quite well against a mammoth like Anirudh who composed the score in Tamil. The song is nothing new in style or tune but some elements of execution, and arrangements truly had me wanting more. Parag Chhabra has composed, produced and arranged with Vineeth Jayan co-producing and Utsav Nanda being the additional programmer. The flute solo by Paras Nath in the interlude along with the Sitar in the background by Asad Khan and Sarang Vechalekar are truly inspiring and symbolic of what creative music should be like. Parag introduces a wonderfully inventive rap segment in the end written and performed by Soom T. That is not all, as we soon hear a Sufi vocal section as well by Navdeep Dhatra, Manish S Sharma & Pankaj Dixit. While Parag also is a vocalist here along with Jubin Nautiyal's lead, we have Shehnaz Akhtar and Sahil Akhtar on additional vocals. The way the line "Tu Paracetemol gol gol re" the second time around in every segment, the notes change so beautifully reminding me of Raag Revathi in Carnatic. The guitars are played by Utsav Nanda and Dholak by Jayant Patnaik. The track is mixed and mastered by Shadab Rayeen with mix assistants Pukhraj Sonkar & Anup Kumar. Chinmay Mistry and Rupjit Das are recording engineers with Deepak Suganathan as Premix engineer and Executive Producer. Raj Shekhar writes these inventive lyrics for the song. 5. Call You Mine Performed by DhayaWritten by Dhaya TK, Peter HuygelenLanguage: EnglishGenre: Indie popThe song is penned by Dhaya and Peter Huygelen, and performed by the former. A huge highlight that works for me in the song is Dhaya's magnetic vocals and she is stunning in her delivery. The song is aided by some heavy keyboard programming, but credit goes to some effective arrangements bringing in the electric guitars and strings in the background. The use of harmonies and drums sparkle too in the track, and it is as good as any indie pop song I have heard. Dhaya sounds extremely confident in her vocals and she uses the falsetto with terrific ease and efficacy. The song's production stands out. 6. Tum Sang Performed by Gautam KaleWritten, and composed by Prithviraj SinghLanguage: TraditionalGenre: Classical FusionIf you want a specialist Hindustani Vocal coach who not only teaches at the highest level but also keeps composing and performing originals in the indie space, I think there aren't many like Gautam Kale. I have featured him at least 3 or more times with some fabulous semi-classical fusion numbers and this one is right down his alley. This one is probably set in Raag Hamsadhwani. Vishal Khatri has produced the number bringing in some modern touches to this classical rendition, written and composed by Prithviraj Singh. I can hear the Jal Tarang as well as drums and they come and go in the interlude, but we have a more traditional percussion playing right through. The Keyboard programming is excellent giving the song such a different flavour and that is why this number is so high on creativity.   7. AwazVocals, written by Riko LamaMusic by Mall Road & Co.Producer/Engineer -Chandan Tamang (Mall Road Studios)Language: NepaliGenre: Indie RockRiko Lama is the performer in this amazing track that just stunned me when I heard it the first time. It is a fine number by an artist from this Darjeeling-based musician, and he addresses something that continues to irk Indian society. The words are written in Nepali which happens to be a widely spoken language in Darjeeling and Riko here talks about the struggles of the LGBTQIA+ community. His vocals are resplendent but that is not the only plus in this track, as Anuj Pradhan on drums, Gourav Gazmer on bass, Uzzual Sewa and Sailu Rasaily on guitars electrify the setting. The lead guitar notes are written with scintillating perfection and they are played with such amazing poise and heavily supported by the thumping drums. This is one rock number that can stand up against the best we have heard from the West, the face-melting guitar solo at the 4-minute is proof. Chandan Tamang has produced, mixed and mastered the track, and he is not new to me. I featured his production for Apurva Tamang's 'Kahi Kathai' a few months ago also produced at Darjeeling's Mall Road Studios. I will be also listening to the other 3 songs in Riko's EP called 'Kehi Katha Haru'. The voice is just something that will keep you hooked and I later found out that Riko is a contestant doing well in the Voice of Nepal reality show. I seriously hope and believe he can go all the way.  8. Neenu BagehariyadaMusic: Arjun JanyaSinger: Nihal TauroLyrics: Jayant KaikiniLanguage: KannadaGenre: MelodyArjun Janya is creating music at some enviable frequency and I am just glad that I get to listen to and write about these songs. Nihal Tauro is the vocalist and he too has performed for Arjun before. With Jayant Kaikini's lyrics, the song is all about the vocals and instrumental arrangements. The Veena solo followed by the female humming fills up the interlude and there are segments which make me think if the song is set in Raag Kaapi in Carnatic music parlance. The intervention on the strings section and Veena keeps coming and going while the guitars are a constant presence. The second interlude has a mildly intense Violin interlude but a moment that captivated me was the humming accompanied by the strong Indian percussion. 9. DariyaWritten by- Amit GanjooVocals, composition - Ramil GanjooLanguage: HindiGenre: Indie PopRamil Ganjoo has been around for a while now and he has always impressed, with his brand of music and vocals. This one is no different and for some reason, I had this track picked and rated by me but just forgot to write about it in the prior weeks. So here it is, delayed but never denied. The track is composed and performed by Ramil, with lyrics by Amit Ganjoo. There is a magnetic presence of guitars and we have to thank two talented musicians Ritaprabha Ray and Varun Agnihotri for the sensational strumming. I get the feeling of a perennial river flowing when I hear the guitars and this is backed by some vocal harmonies. There are moments with the guitars, harmonies and lead vocals that I feel like flying high into the sky and it is something that you have to listen to and experience yourself. The song has just a few lines that might repeat but the production and arrangements more than make-up for it almost making it like one unavoidable chanting. The track is enhanced thanks to the drums by Bharat and it is mixed and mastered by Utkarsh Amarpuri.  10. I'm not okayPerformed by The Speksy PscyentistWritten by Jyoshma Preema D'souza, Renston Jake FernandesConcept, Lyrics, Tunes, Music Arrangement and Performed by: The Speksy PscyentistLanguage: EnglishGenre: BalladI love it when new bands or artists blow me away, and this is one of them. 'The Speksy Pscyentist' is a duo and when they reached out I had zero bias or expectations, but when the song ended, I couldn't help but play it again a few times. That is the level of captivation I was put through. The duo is formed by Renston Jake Fernandes and Jyoshma Preema D'souza, with the latter writing, singing, and creating the underlying melody, and Renston handling the arrangements, programming, and production. The guitars immediately grab your attention without wasting even a second. This is what great music is made of. I have heard very few performances as good as this and Jyoshma D'souza is someone to really watch out for. The song is dedicated to a departed father and she brings all the emotions on board with her style and vulnerable delivery. The guitars in an interlude, the lyrics and the vocals all remind me of Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven". Vanil Veigas who is a regular producer for Grammy-winning Ricky Kej has worked on the keyboards, mixing and mastering for this track. The track's recording and cinematography are handled by Sebastian. I love the title saying the protagonist is "Okay" (not in brackets) but maybe she's not and the vocals also indicate this hidden emotion. 11. Khabar Vocal, Guitar : ManavLyrics: ManavMusic: Twin StringsLanguage: HindiGenre: Indie PopManav's voice, and his control over his vocals are a testament to his potential as a singer. Just go listen to 'Doorie' by him and the band and I promise that you will witness your heart melt in true appreciation for what you hear. He is the front-man of the band Twin Strings and their music is something I always cherish. The song has some standout performances on keyboards by Sahil and Sagar on guitars and Mohit Deen on drums. It is something that particularly reminds me of the great pop number "Nothing's gonna change my love for you" by George Benson. The texture and tone are similar and I have no problem enjoying this one as much as the older reference. I am glad the band is showcasing its diverse potential to compose songs on either end of the spectrum, and this one feels so different from the semi-classical "Doorie". The guitar solo plays heart-warming notes in the interlude, and the keyboard programming provides a very fine layer below the lead vocals. I love the moment he sings "hai silsila yeh Pyar ka", and the drums have a shift in rhythm by Mohit which deserves praise and attention. The shift in scales which works in most pop songs from the west does work well for me even in this number. Listen to the faint falsetto that Manav beautifully pulls off at the end of the line "pura sa lage jo tu idhar". The track is mixed and mastered by Mohit. 12. Tere NishaanPerformer: Pina Colada Blues & Anumita NadesanLyricist: Ritendra DirghangiLanguage: HindiGenre: Indie pop, Lo-fi, Pina Colada Bluesb a.k.a. Kevin Shaji is one tantalising producer and he always has the pulse of the music lover right on the dot. The Keyboard programming is rich and makes the song much more than its raw melody. I was elated to hear the use of percussion which had a tone that sounded similar to the Tabla and wow that was refreshing. Just then you hear the mild flute intervention, by Mushkan Rajani. The Sitar sounds are spectacularly programmed by Kevin who has composed and produced the number. Ritendra Dirghangi pens the words, while we have Abhishek Sinha on Violin and Akarsh Shetty on additional bass guitars. The interlude notes on Sitar made me believe that there is some Raag Hamsadhwani influence, and that goes true for the mild Violin interventions by Abhishek in the background. he truly excels as the stanza ends past the 2nd minute with a belligerent solo. Hanish Taneja does the mix and master, while Karanjit Narag does the artwork. 13. Mandi aa k NaaSinger: Tyson Sidhu (feat. Simar Kaur)Lyricist: Tyson SidhuMusic: Sir MannyLanguage: PunjabiGenre: Indie popThe song here is a stylish and very peppy pop number performed by Tyson Sidhu and the music is produced by Sir Manny. The lyrics also are penned by Tyson and the performance is evocative of a cool and passionate protagonist. The production and programming are something that elevates the likability of the song and the introduction of Si Kaur as the female lead vocalist also sounds extremely warm and is a welcome to the slightly more aggressive delivery by Tyson. The underlying melody is soothing and that takes care to make this song tick with the listener.14. GuftuguPerformed by Riya KukrejaWritten by Riya KukrejaLanguage: HindiGenre: Indie PopThis is an example of a simple song, done right. Riya Kukreja has written, composed and performed the song, which has the Ukulele as the main instrumental aid. I do hear some excellently arranged backing vocals, and the Organ Piano as well. It is all a sign of some good production work and this is what keeps us hooked. Mayank Saxena does the mixing and mastering. 15. Back To You Performed by Anamertis, Ritvik JakeWritten by Advaith R, Ritvik JacobLanguage: EnglishGenre: Indie pop, Alt-popAnamertis and Ritvik Jake write, compose and perform this pop Alt-pop number driven by some catchy guitar strumming, feel-good drums and arrangements of vocals. The song is pretty straightforward, but I have to admit that it is catchy, and a lot of credit goes to the rhythm programming. 

This week was all about some varied talent in the indie space across the nation. Some of them have been around for a couple of decades while some of them are barely into their 20s. 1. YaadSinger: Shafqat Amanat Ali Music Director: Naveed Nashad Lyricist: Vikram Choudhri Song Programming: Umair HassanLanguage: HindiGenre: Semi-classicalThe song is about separation and the departure of our loved ones. It is so timely because as I write this, I lost a close relative of mine too and the song couldn't have come at a better time. I could let myself take in the lyrics and music and it helped me cope with the situation better than any remedy. Vikram Choudri should be credited for the touching words and my eyes glistened with tears when I heard the line" Khuda ki tarah rehte hain won, mere aas paas". Shafqat Amanat Ali is splendid in delivering these lines and he has this Shankar Mahadevan tonality in his voice. The strings are programmed quite well by Umair Hassan to elevate Naveed Nashad'c composition. We can hear the mild acoustic guitars by Rahill Mirza along with the Cajon by Kashif Ali. The second interlude has a beautiful solo on the Sitar by Turab Ali Khan and this is where I could sense the Yama Raag influence. Shafqat's vocals are endearing and we have Wasif Nashad on the additional programming. Akash Pervaiz mixes and masters the track and Ali Faraz Guddu provides music assistance. 2. Rang De Singer: Sona Mohapatra Composed & Produced by: Ram Sampath Lyrics: Meera Bai Language: Traditional lyricsGenre: Semi-classical fusionRang De stands head and shoulders above the rest of the songs in the EP thanks to its amazing production and arrangements. Just a couple of weeks ago I reviewed the whole EP. Sanjoy Das plays the guitars (watch out for the brief solo) and with Nitish Ranadive on Tabla and lyrics penned by Meera Bai, the song is a charmer. I am not very certain, but maybe there is some Raag Kaapi influence somewhere in the number. The song despite its semi-classical touch sounds amped up in energy thanks to the solid keyboard and rhythm programming. The strings in the background along with the vocal texture and delivery carry that faint bit of pathos in the number. The best line for me is "apne hi rang me, rang de chunariya" both lyrically and musically. The track is recorded by Nitesh Bisht and like all the songs in the EP, Amey Wadibhasme does the mixing and mastering. 3. Easily Lyrics, Vocals, Composition: Shikhar CProducer: Aman Arakh Language: EnglishGenre: Indie pop, Alt-rockI loved the track "Moonbrain" by Shikhar a few months ago, and now this is Easily one of the best Indie songs I have heard in recent times. Shikhar once again impresses with his writing, and composition and his vocals are just dreamy and would make anyone go weak in the knees. He reminds me of James Blunt for some reason, and his falsetto is to die for. Aman Arakh produces the song with perfection, and the arrangements of guitars, drums, strings and harmonies all combine just beautifully. The wonderfully charged bridge section has some excellent electric and bass guitar support making this song one wholesome experience. He sings the line" I lost it so easily" with such ease and this second single from the upcoming EP creates a huge barrage of expectations for what is about to come. 4. High WireComposed, Written and Produced by Ashutosh Phatak Vocals by Vivienne PochaLanguage: EnglishGenre: JazzVivienne Pocha was smashing in a rollicking piece which I featured as one of the best instrumentals of May 2022. It is called "Gimme Some of that" and she worked with Shazneen Arethna on that number. Now Vivienne sings with some impeccable vocals and massive lung capacity in this song composed, written and produced by Ashutosh Pathak. The Baritone Sax played by Shirish Malhotra provides some excellent support and style in an otherwise brisk-paced Jazz number dominated by some scintillating vocals. Adrian D'Souza plays the drums and Ashutosh himself plays the guitars, bass and keyboards. When she sings " Walking on a high wire", once feels so thrilling as if you are walking on one itself. Ian Concesscio plays the Trombone. Then past the midway mark the style sort of changes with the brass section dropping off, and we get only guitars and Vivienne's mellowed-down vocals. I can feel the intensity when Vivienne calls out saying "You hold me, unfold me, you need me, you bleed me, you love me, you tease me, you got me!" This is some fabulous writing by Ashutosh and I can just imagine not dancing to this one. Tala Faral plays the Tenor Sax and Ramon Ibrahim is on Melodica. The song was part of an album that Ashutosh composed and worked with Vivienne on almost a decade ago, and it was performed live in many clubs. I'm thankful a streaming version is finally out. Jovian Soans has done the mixing and mastering. 5. Lost Composition: Ron ChaProduction: Ron, Jit ChalihaLanguage: AssameseLyrics: TraditionalGenre: Folk/Jazz fusionThis guy Ron Cha is one supremely talented composer/Pianist and he released a beautiful project called "Maati" as an EP a couple of months ago. I loved "Lost" the most in this touching intention and project to bring Assamese folk into our living rooms. Ron has produced, composed and arranged along with playing the Keys, but a lion's share of the credit must go to the folk vocalist Kalpana Patowary. There is a lot of similarity to Bangla's Baul folk music, but how brilliantly Ron uses the Piano, and hi-hat drums to give it a Jazz texture. Ferenc Nemeth plays the drums and it is Alexander Toth on bass guitar. The highlight reel is when Mylai Karthikeyan makes an intervention on Nadaswaram and I had my heart growing so heavy that I just wanted to cry listening to the notes probably set in the Charukeshi scale. Ron's genius is in fusing all these different elements, instruments and styles and giving us one masterpiece. Dave Darlington does the mixing and mastering and we have Jit Chaliha who has co-produced this project. Do check out the other tracks in the EP as it will be worth your time. 6. Pyaar ka IzhaarComposer: Shankar MahadevanVocals: Padmini Roy Produced: Ramon IbrahimLyrics: Rahul SethLanguage: HindiThis is one Hindi Melody that takes us back to the gold old days of Bollywood and no wonder it is ravishing, thanks to Shankar Mahadevan's score. Padmini Roy is the vocalist and the saccharine voice does wonders to your eardrums when you listen to this beauty. The use of strings in the background is generous and elevates the song's quality and this is all credit to Ramon Ibrahim who produced the song. I love the use of those percussions along with Keys and guitars. This is just what great music is supposed to sound like. I love the line " dil ki baaton se yun ghabrao na" and how the notes twist a bit. There is something about her vocal texture that makes it sound like a 1970's melody. Rahul Seth writes these beautiful emotional lines. The stanza is excellently composed and Ramon brings his A game using a multitude of instruments and he also mixes and masters the track. 7. MisfitsProduced by Toi IntoateComposed, Performed by Avora RecordsLanguage: EnglishGenre: Punk RockThe talent from North East of India never disappoints and with every new artist or band I feature, excitement and expectation both tend to soar. The band Avora Records was formed back in 2012 and hailing from Mizoram, it has 5 members at the moment viz. Stephen Hnamte, Ruata Renthlei, Khos Hmar, CK and Sanga Ralte. The song starts with some thrusting guitars and drums and it is Khos and Ruata playing the guitars with Sanga on drums. CK plays the bass guitars, but you will just get drawn further into the song thanks to Stephen's vocals. This is the kind of music that would make any western band get up and take notice. Recently when I met a famous music producer he commented that Indian music needs to go global and he would pick anyone from NE India to just perform at the highest standard in English. Just like he said and I agreed, we have this Aizawl-based band sizzle in every possible way. The bridge section is well composed, produced and executed too. Toi Intoate has produced, mixed and mastered the track and the song has been recorded at the Kings and Prophets Studios. There is an electrifying little solo on guitars towards the end and the whole song is one unmissable package.  8. KoshisheinPerformed by Nilotpal BoraWritten by Avinash Chouhan Nilotpal BoraProduced by Nilotpal Bora Rahul GajjalLanguage: HindiGenre: MelodyA recent series on Zee5 called 'Saas Bahu Achar Pvt. Ltd.' did quite well thanks to some simple screenplay and natural on-screen performance by the leads. For me, one thing that stood out was the musical score by Nilotpal Bora. A well-composed melody, this is written by Avinash Chauhan and Nilotpal, and the lines " girega uttega sapna, tootega jodega sapna, haregi na par apni koshishein" is relevant and inspiring at the same time. The vocals are also by Nilotpal along with his composition and production(along with Rahul Gajjal). The song has some excellent use of instruments like the Keys at the beginning and then the lovely guitars, especially the bass, as we proceed further. The solo Violin and the strings section in the background come together in expressing the song's intent and tone quite well. I had mild tears rolling when I hear the solo flute playing the same notes as the opening lines accompanied by strings, in the interlude. At a time when Hindi/ Bollywood music is struggling to keep up with the rest of India, Nilotpal does provide hope for the future. I love the introduction of the drums as the stanza ends and he uses it probably to induce greater confidence and spirit into the theme as well the protagonist's mind. Kiran Vinkar plays the flute, Shomu Seal, Kandar Pakalita, Suraj Rava and Varun Jain on guitars, and Mrinmoy Sarmah Baruah on Keys. I also recommend Sunidhi Chauhan's 'Boondo Ka Jharna' from the same album, which is beautifully composed and sung and probably a pathos set in Ragam Panthuvarali or Puriya Dhanashree.   9. TunnelPerformed by EvadWritten by Rishabhdev PanditProduced by Kabir HiranandaniGenre: Indie Pop, Alt-PopLanguage: EnglishI did a review and feature Evad's song called "Follow", very impressive last year. Evad's composition and vocals were matched equally by Kabir Hiranandani's production and that is exactly the case here too. The guitars and harmonies are two essential elements in the song, but so are the heavy Keyboards, Synths and rhythms. Rishabhdev Pandit has penned the lyrics which keep you guessing and intrigued. Evad's vocals do more than enough to invite you into that Tunnel. 10. Kujh palSinger:- Gurshabad & Mitika KanwarLyrics(punjabi):- Amrit SandhuMusic:- Honey DhillonLyrics(English/Hindi):- Mitika KanwarLanguage: Punjabi/EnglishGenre: Melody FusionThe fusion is just fantastic getting a simple Ukulele Pop song in English and then what we hear is a Punjabi Melody. Mitika Kanwar and Gurshabad are flawless in their vocals and their performances play a huge role in getting this number to become extremely likeable. Amrit Sandhu writes the Punjabi words while Mitika writes in English and Hindi. Honey Dhillon composes the melody while Bhanu Thakur does the mix and master.  11. AlakanandaMusic reimagined by Ravator Music  Lyrics trans-created in Hindi by Swaraj PriyoOriginal Lyrics by Maitrayee Patar & Shankuraj KonwarGenre: FusionLanguage: HindiShankuraj Konwar the brilliant singer/composer from Assam works with Ravator here to re-create an Assamese gem into a Hindi number. I have featured both of these guys on their projects many times, and I have been fond of Ravator's work as a producer. The last time I featured 'Falak' and this project is as worthy as his previous ones. Swaraj Priyo pens the Hindi words against the original Assames lyrics by Maitrayee Patar and Shankuraj. The tune is definitely influenced by Raag Hamsadwani. Bhav Narang on bass guitar and Harshit Shakar on the flute are impressive in giving the necessary layers to the song. Yash Tiwari and Ravator play the guitars and also handle all the instrumental arrangements giving the song some fantastic flavours. The song has a seamless fusion of Melody and classic rock elements and the introduction of drums, and electric guitars ensure the same. Listen to the marvellous solo on the Flute by Harshit Shankar playing at an unimaginable tempo, and he shows he is a phenomenal talent and true disciple of Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia. 12. Sakhiye SaavarisuSinger: Sanjith Hegde Music: Arjun Janya Lyrics: Shashank Language: KannadaGenre: MelodySome combinations are just there for us to treasure, like this one here. It is a song that is composed brilliantly by Arjun Janya and sung by the extremely dependable Sanjith Hegde. The way Sanjith brings style and substance to a song handed out to him is something that not many other singers in India can do at this level of consistency. The use of acoustic, electric and bass guitars in this number glorifies the track and it reminds me of Ilaiyaraja's " Kannan vandhu padugindran" sung by S Janaki. Arjun is a master of using a grand array of live instruments and we must just pay attention to the interlude laden with strings and the solo violin doing wonders. The stanza is softer and sober in comparison and Arjun's Keys help drive the song forward. The introduction of traditional Indian percussion and beats after the stanza ends is worthy of praise. Sanjith does everything in his armoury like using his variations, aalap, etc to excel vocally.  13. KhushnaseebiPerformed by Nanok, Siddharth BasrurWritten by Jai Vaswani, Manish Bhatt, Siddharth BasrurLanguage: HindiGenre: Lo-fi, Synth-popThe rhythm and the synths have a good thing going on, and then this nice enjoyable hook comes along probably played on the keyboard. Siddharth Basrur and Nanok get together for this very endearing number that provides some unique sounds. Manish Bhatt, Siddharth and Jai Vaswani write the lyrics, but unlike the words that say " boring si meri kahani", there is nothing even remotely boring about the song. The use of synths and keyboard programming is heavy in this number, but this song is one perfect example of how modern sounds and influences can still make a song sound terrific without being just moronic and original. The arrangements of vocal harmonies also work quite well.  14. SafarPerformed by SamaMusic/Composition: ADilLyrics: ADil and SamaLanguage: HindiGenre: Indie PopI just got a feeling like I was transported to the early 2000s when we had some enviable by duos and trios like Vishal-Shekhar, Salim-Sulaiman and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. This song composed by ADil had all those lovely elements, a fast-paced texture, adequate guitars and a very solid vocalist in Sama. ADil and Sama both write the lyrics but some fantastic programming on Keyboards and production decorates the underlying tune. The harmonies and bass guitars too stand out for me. The electric guitar solo in the outro segment offers a fitting end. 15. HideWritten & Performed by AnushkaComposed and Produced by BøneheadProduced & Mixed by 7nation_Language: EnglishGenre: Alt-Pop, Synth waveThe song is something that belongs to the synth-wave genre, with the quality and nature of sound depicting fear and horror. Rightly so the song is titled 'Hope' and Anushka sings about "no walls to hide behind, sends shivers down the spine". The track is produced and composed by Bønehead, with mixing by 7nation_ and mastering by Audible Oddities. The vocals are dreamy and the decibel levels are always maintained low thereby creating and adding to the mystery. The accompanying harmonies have an additive effect that stylises the song even better in the chosen genre. 16. GodspeedSinger, Lyrics, Compose - Tyson SidhuMusic - Sir MannyProducer - Avtar Signh HaansNow just get up and do the groove, grind, and shake that body. I haven't heard an uber-cool Punjabi dance song this good in the last few months. I love the Keyboards and rhythms that accompany and they do more than enough to elevate a simple tune with some vocals that carry off the attitude and zest needed for the track.   17. Khi ho gayaSinger - Ronit Vinta , Sirazee Composer - Ronit Vinta, Sirazee Lyrics - Ronit Vinta, Sirazee Music producer - Ronit VintaLanguage: Punjabi/EnglishGenre: Indie popI love Raghav Meattle for their solid work in promoting new talents and good music through the BGBNG label. This is one snazzy Punjabi/English track that you would want to just listen to while walking and maybe do a few steps without minding the public around. Ront Vinta and Sirazee have written, composed and sung this stylish number. Ronit produces the song with additional programming help from DJ Ruchir. Raghav, Harshit Agarwal and Heer Kamdar are involved in the project representing the music label. Bily plays the guitars and the talented Hanish Taneja mixes and masters the track. I have never heard Punjabi words like "Tenu khi ho gaya" sound cooler than this before. Some exciting rhythms, keyboards, harmonies and basslines all keep me hooked on the number. 18. Pehli BaarSinger, Songwriter, Acoustic Guitarist - Jay AnandProduction - Mayank MehraLanguage: EnglishThis youngster has written, sung and played the acoustic guitars on this number. Mayank Mehra produces the number, and I love the use of the harmonies that keep following the lead in continuity. I think what I hear in the interludes are Trombones played just for a brief bit, and just that alone provides hope that this youngster has got a keen sense and I look forward to his work. Mayank must be credited with the programming and arrangements obviously, and these make up for the short duration and the simple melody of the song. Rishab Bose does the mix and master, and Akash Shivakumar is the recording engineer. 

1. Saraswathi 9.5/10 This is pure genius, and I cannot begin to think about reviewing this piece of gem. It is aptly named "Saraswathi" after the Goddess of Education, Knowledge. I believe if I am a music lover or musician, just listening to this piece will enhance my appreciation, and understanding of music multifold. It is probably the best instrumental piece I have heard since my music reviewing project began back in 2019. I have never given any song a rating of 9.5/10 until now. Maybe an even better compliment I can give is that this number feels like something out of Ilaiyaraja's "How to Name it". This fusion band called 'Oxygen' just completed 20 years and hails from my hometown Chennai. The band was formed by founders Girinandh C and Ramana KS back in 2002 when I just graduated and I sort of feel a sense of shame thinking I have never heard of them before. They are now a 7-piece band with members Grinandh on Keys, Ramana on percussions, Bharath Gopal on drums, Carl Fernandes on bass, Akshay Ganesh on Violin, Vijay Ganesan on lead guitars and Lalit Talluri on flute. This album called 'Metagen' originated as an idea during the lockdowns for this band that takes inspiration from Band Shakti. When they started in 2002 they were known as the youngest fusion band in Asia. The song 'Saraswathi' is also called so because it is a classical composition by Vidwan GN Balasubramaniam set in Ragam Saraswathi. The Tenor Strings comprising Violins, Violas, Cellos and Double Bass are in full flow here and all you have to do is enjoy every second and every note. The number is adapted and composed by Girinandh, and Ramana plays the Mridangam. Lalit on the flute drives the composition forward taking the lead role and followed in close quarters by Akshay on Violin. The guitarist Vijay Ganesan and Bassist Carl Fernandes modernise and create the fusion elements intended along with drummer Bharath. The Tenor Strings probably elevate the song by leaps and bounds and kudos to Francis Rozario who conducted the session along with arrangements by Giri. The Violinists are Mohan Rao, Benver Phagen, Fritz, Nicky Rozario, Shaktivel, Bhagat, Sridhar, Seenu, Rhea Sebastian, Ravi and Rather Kumar. Violas are played by Murali Krishna, Bhaskar Rao, Cyril Fernandez and Emilian Fernandez. Cellos are played by RK Vijendran, Kevin Rozario and Stephen, and Double Bass by David and Rahul Rozario. The number is divinity taking musical form and nothing I write about it can do justice to the Himalayan status of the production. Siddharth Das and Bob Phukan are the recording engineers, and Tapas Nayak does the mixing. 2. State Property Farhan Mistry 8.5/10 I was listening to this mind-numbing work the other day and I could imagine a visual of a Hollywood action flick or maybe even 'Baby Driver' where the getaway driver listens to music on his iPod right through the heist. I wonder why Indian movies, especially Bollywood which is facing a massive talent deficit in music especially, don't feature such original music in their movies and this would be a win-win for the musician as well as the movie-maker. The guitars are played feverishly by Farhaan Mistry who also has composed, performed, produced and mixed the track. It is quite retro and tilting towards disco-rock and it is impossible to not move your head and tap your feet to the sounds that originate here. The harmonies that keep coming in the background work quite well maybe like an Abba or Beatles number. That guitar riff past the 2:40 minute mark sounds like an emergency signal when someone steals a State's Property. In the end, there is one scintillating transformation that I least expected and wait for it with bated breath and expectation. The rhythm guitar and drums were just recorded on a phone. The drums here were played by Lakshay Sharma, and the track was mastered by Sanjay Hundi. Farhaan the prodigy from True School of Music in Mumbai, has also played the bass guitars, Harmonica and Tambourine for the number. 3. Anuvas Sky 8.25/10 This is one man's dream and he fulfils it without any second line of defence. Warren Mendonsa the guitarist/producer and multi-instrumentalist composed this number for his debut album back in 2007 called ' Nights in Shining Karma' This live version of the number 'Anuva's Sky' is just a phenomenal piece that deserves a solid 8.5/10 and needs a feature here. It starts with a scintillating guitar reminding me of "Brothers in Arms" by the band 'Dire Straits'. Warren a.k.a. Blackstratblues plays the lead and bass guitars along with the keyboards and the drum programming in the original track. Here in the live version other than Warren on guitars, it is an assembly of stars, Jai Row Kavi on drums, Tajdar Junaid on guitars, Adi Mistry on bass, and Beven Fonseca on Keys. After an enraged guitar-bass-drums unison at work till the midway point, the energy drops just a bit to have the lead guitars take over and the hi-hat drums in focus. This track is a must on your playlist if you love classic good-old rock. The other splendid sombre number that treads along the path of Blues-Rock called "Too cool for Sunday School" is one fine piece in the album 'L.I/O.V.E." that I recommend. 4. The Heist 8/10 Derek Mathias a.k.a. Derek & the Cats, the Bengaluru-based composer/producer had his self-titled debut album and I had already featured a track called "Soul" a couple of months ago. Now I am going to mention two more of my favourites but mainly "The Heist". It gets a score of 8/10 and deservedly so. Abhay Sharma on the saxophone just sizzles away, adding style and substance. he is accompanied by Aditya Bhagavatula on the dynamic drums and Sagar Saluja who plays a show-stopper solo at the end, which just turns the song into rock-styled gold. One more track you should listen to is "Judas" and it is all Derek's production that glitters along with bass guitars, drums and Saxophones by the usual suspects. The Pianos give solace and in tandem with some solid keyboard programming, they all make one delightful concoction. 5. Bilawal 7.75/10 It is a project with immense vision and purpose as "Wheels of Raga" comprising 5 different Raga-based tracks, with an all-female performance cast, and instrumentalists. This one was my favourite featuring Nastya Saraswati on the Violin and set in Raag Bilawal. This is an equivalent of Ragam Shankarabharanam which reminds us of AR Rahman's "Thoda Thoda Malardhadenna". R Sanjay is the composer for each of these 5 tracks and it is Arrivan. Isai who ideated and conceptualised this project. The solo violinist here is a Russian multi-instrumentalist who also reached the finals of the music reality show 'Dil Hai Hindustani'. The violin is mesmerising but Arrivan's production brings in modern-day elements, some lo-fi and so on. The second half of the track shifts from being a Carnatic/Hindustani classical to a Western Classical with a smooth transition and back again. The track called "Bhatiyar" is a beautiful soulful journey with Megha Rawoot's Sitar aided by Keys. I have featured Megha before in varied projects and here she executes the composition so well, with poise and control. The Raag Bhatiyar evokes songs like "Ezhu swarangalukku ethanai paadal" set in Ragam Purvi Kalyani. Upon some basic analysis, I figured Bhatiyar belongs to Marwa Thaat in Hindustani and this is similar to Ragam Purvi Kalyani, hence the similarity is understandable. The track "Bhimpalas" is a straight giveaway within 2 seconds as Carola Ortiz plays the saxophone and Srilalitha Bhamidipati on vocals giving it a nice Carnatic flavour. But the undertone is very eloquent slow-burn Jazz. Haritha Raj is immensely talented and her Veena performance speaks volumes about her potential. I have featured her in numerous movie projects and it is indeed a pleasure to write about her rendition here called "Kalyan". The guitar riffs and rhythms keep the track engaging along with Keys and Tabla. Anything in the Yaman scale is bound to tantalise the listener. The last track is "Chandrakauns" with similarities to Malkauns or Ragam Hindolam in Carnatic. Debopriya Chatterjee is stunning with her flute solo and it is a track that touches your heart, soul and mind. It is impossible to feel the pathos of hearing the flute and the mild yet majestic use of percussion by the exponent Charu Hariharan. A top 10 finalist at Indian Idol, the reality show, Krishnakali Saha comes up with the vocals.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post calling AR Rahman to "Please Stop" making music, and although those were strong words that many thought could have been avoided, they did emerge from a place of strong emotion and connection towards his music. The post did receive some criticism but nothing very harsh, and I could understand the passion of all Rahman fans behind those comments. I am critical of AR Rahman's work these days but also because the bar is higher for him than for the rest of the lot. I will have to clinically analyse a song with greater depth than if it was composed by a debutant and I don't think that it is unfair. I, like many millions of fans, had a smile on my face when I saw this post by AR Rahman sitting next to his mentor, and the absolute God of not just Indian music, but Music itself according to me. But this is not about Ilaiyaraja, but this magical human being Rahman. Despite everything disrespectful and harsh that keeps coming from his teacher Rahman manages to always keep his cool and shows deep humility and respect. We all would have never witnessed the slightest display of arrogance and anger. This is from one of the greatest Indian composers with envious consistency over 30 years. That is why I wanted to talk about not just his traits but his colossal musical record as well. AR Rahman came into the industry at one of the toughest times owing to the dominance of Ilaiyaraja in 1992 and it couldn't have been without his ability or hard work that he rose to such fame leaving others by the wayside. The sounds he created and the digital experience were such a turnaround and nobody come could close. ARR at times broke the structure of songs which had the usual pallavi-anupallavi-charanam and made Indians listen to some of the trending Western pop influences. Anyone who said that he couldn't diversify his styles probably knew infinitesimally less about music. He scored in folk, Carnatic classical, rock, Jazz, hip-hop, and kuthu as well. None of these ventures was hard-core but had Rahman's creative additions to it, like none of us, would have ever heard rap in Tamil before "Petta-rap" but that too wasn't pure rap. He was the musician who made the world of music go upside down back in the 1950s and 1960s when Tamil music was getting influenced by Bollywood, and that changed to AR Rahman either directly composing his originals being copied into Bollywood. The ability to adapt alone helped ARR achieve something which even Ilaiyarja couldn't successfully do despite a few attempts. He then traversed over to global recognition as well with his double Oscar double Grammy, a BAFTA and a Golden Globe award. I remember how surreal it was to watch Denzel Washington in action with "Chaiya Chaiya" in the background in "Inside Man " and Nicholas Cage slowly ambulate with the 'Bombay Theme' in the background in "Lords of War". Rahman not just scored memorable songs, but also helped numerous talented singers showcase their talent without allowing just a few to dominate, a common characteristic under previous composers. I also would have never known the names of all the musicians involved in a song before AR Rahman started giving official credits for their roles. He thus came, saw and conquered the whole music scene not just in India but globally. 'Ponniyin Selvan' was a title given to a famous Chola King as he was the greatest son of Kaveri(the river), and apparently, he was very benevolent, well-behaved towards all people and had one pleasing face. I think for all these reasons and AR Rahman's unquestionable love for Tamil, he should be given that title in this day and age. Now does all this mean that I repent for my earlier statements and that I am walking back on that? No. Everything good comes to an end and a genius like him should know best when to call it a day. I recently saw Serena Williams speak on Centre Court after her 3rd Round loss at the US open. She was retiring because she knew she was in no way close to her best. It was painful to see the greatest Woman Tennis player announce retirement but it is only natural for even greatness to bid adieu. AR Rahman fans pointing to some random songs here and there as a sign of his undiminished genius are cheating themselves because it is like saying that Serena is still great because she won 2 rounds.

This week I was quite impressed with some of the indie music, especially as I came across new bands and artists like ‘The Pariah Kite’, Sera Sanyal, Kukubh and this is what excites me to see fresh talent. However, we can never write off the seasoned stars like Amit Trivedi, Vidyasagar, and Shaan Rahman, who are all making comebacks to show that they have it in them even today. Brilliance also emerged from some usual suspects like Anupam Roy, Sagar Dhote, Kala Bhairava and Jakes Bejoy. I hope you enjoy this collection as much as I did. 1. RangVocals: Prachi GoleComposition: Prachi Gole, Danish AbdiLyrics: Danish AbdiMusic Production: Varun MuraliA few weeks ago a young artist reached out to me by the name Prachi Gole. She was a budding singer and one half of a band called "The Pariah Kite". She came to know about me because I had reviewed a song produced by Varun Murali at The Red Music Box, and he also was a producer for "Pariah Kite"'s upcoming 5-track EP. I was polite thinking maybe ill listen to it leisurely. Since this was a new band with their debut EP, I had zero expectations. So began playing 'Rang', and things starts slowly, but like a masterpiece movie which has its slow moments only to spring upon a surprise, this song just shifted gears from neutral to 6 in 4 minutes. Prachi Gole shows that she is skilled and blessed with a phenomenal voice and more importantly she is putting that to great use. The guitars and percussions probably don't belong together in the same track owing to their relative disparity of style and genre but it works quite well. I can hear strings in the background and that tells me this band is not just about a facade, but a strong foundation as well. Danish Abdi is the co-composer and the duo is to be taken seriously if you call yourself a music lover. I love the arrangements and huge credit must go to the master producer Varun Murali. You can feel the superior quality in the background harmonies, Keys, rhythms etc. Abdi's lyrics are impactful and drive home the message without wasting even a syllable. The song is about the first stage of depression or heartbreak where we always live in denial. That is why the title 'Rang' is chosen and we can relate to how the lines are questioning versions of the truth. The album has 4 songs out and I am already in love with the other 3 songs as well. I strongly recommend you listen to their album called 'Zard' which talks about the 5 stages of heartbreak. This Prog-Rock band from Bengaluru has raised the bar, I have been listening on loop thanks to Prachi's precious talents as a vocalist. 2. Viral ThodatheComposed And Arranged By Vidya SagarLyrics By Vinayak SasikumarSinger: Nakul AbhyankarLanguage: MalayalamGenre: MelodyWhen I keep saying that geniuses should know when to stop, I mean that most sensibly, not just for listeners but also for the performers. Vidya Sagar took a break from music composition and whether it was by choice or he just was not offered many in the last 10 years, I am not sure. When I heard this number I knew for certain that Vidya Sagar is back and after just a splendid song a couple of months ago called "Anandamo" featuring Abhay Jodhpurkar and Anwesshaa. I am glad to see Nakul Abhyankar get an opportunity in Malayalam, as the guy has a fantastic voice and I hope he makes it bigger across multiple languages and industries. His diction to me sounds perfect and the melody in the song is enriched even further by Nakul's singing. The Cochin Strings just hit the ball out of the park with such finesse on the violins, and it is Manonmani's Sarangi that just gives the stamp of Vidya Sagar's ingenuity. It is during this interlude that I sensed a hint of Raag Bihag. Nikhil plays the flute and all the fantastic programming is by Vishnu Shyam and only Vidya Sagar could have given us this rich music that takes us back to Maestro Ilaiyaraja's 1980s hits. The stanza is woven with such brilliant notes, and when the Pallavi starts again, Nikhil sizzles on the flute solo in the background. The second interlude feels like an entire Symphony Orchestra is employed and music like this isn't made often these days. Ganesan is on Rhythms, and it is M T Aditya Srinivasan who has mixed the track with assistance from Lokesh and Vivek Thomas has mastered it. S. Murugan is the recording engineer. There is also a hint of Raag Begada in my opinion. Whatever it is, this is one song to treasure and celebrate if you are a music lover. 3. Woh Galiyaan Singer - Monali Thakur, Shashwat SinghComposed By - Amit TrivediLyrics - Kausar MunirLanguage- HindiGenre- melodyJust like we saw Vidya Sagar displaying his potential after a break, here we have Amit Trivedi who I have been very critical of scoring a blinder. Like any profession, brief breaks can always inspire and help the performer rise higher, and Amit is in terrific form in this song for the album Shabaash Mithu'. Sadly, Monali Thakur doesn't sing many these days, but she grabs this chance quite well, singing with a wide vocal range and impeccable stability. The song is supposed to be like an anthem and so she delivers that oomph and attitude as well. The use of vocal harmonies helps in glorifying the spirit of the song. Shashwat Singh, another fine vocalist takes up the male lead vocals. The use of the flute and violins in the background is very effective and Kudos to Amit for some splendid arrangements and overall production. Kausar Munir is the lyricist who matches the song's intent with his words. The grand sounds of the flute, the strings section and Monali's vocals elevate the song by multiple notches. 4. All we need is loveSinger - Shaan, LopamudraComposer - Sagar DhoteMusic Producer - Sagar DhoteLyrics - Aditya Kalway (Hindi), Nikhil Chinchankar (English)Language: Hindi and EnglishGenre: Melody, Indie PopCan I just call him a sea of musical capabilities? Well, he is named Sagar, so technically that is allowed. He has to be one of the brightest young talents in Indian music and he never disappoints whether it is his composition or just production. Sagar Dhote is a fan of Santhosh Narayanan who to my mind is undoubtedly India's number 1 composer/producer, so I guess one can continue to expect unabating quality from him. The song opens with Lopamudra Bandyopadhyay's vocals and lyrics in English written by Nikhil Chinchankar. It sounds very much like an English pop song and as Shaan joins in as the male lead vocalist, it shines like a pleasant number helped along by Ankur Mukherjee's guitars. We hear some excellent strings in the background, arranged by Samarth Srinivasan. But just when the song turns on its head and the Hindi lyrics begin, that is when it starts sounding even more melodious. Lopamudra's singing is spotless as she reaches for the higher scales and even brings a mild vibrato at the end. Ankur plays the guitar, like a classic electric guitar (like the one played by Abhay Nayampally)or even a Mandolin ( modified and played by the genius Late U. Sreenivas). Aditya Kalway another proficient singer/composer has penned the Hindi lyrics for the song. The song soars into a territory where it just lifts your spirits, helped by the Keys and strings in the end. The track is mixed by Sagar, and mastered by Ajinkya Dhapare. 5. Ki MayaySinger: Shreya GhoshalMusic & Lyrics: Anupam RoyLanguage: BanglaGenre: MelodyWe have another Anupam Roy score here and this is for a movie album. He gets the Diva, Shreya Ghoshal to do the lead vocals and it feels magical to hear her sing in her native tongue. It begins with the classic Shehnai, probably because it is a wedding scene for the song. Rahul Chatterjee is fantastic to get the Sitar solo on point, aided by Joydeep Nandi on Tabla, who also plays the Khol in the track. The instrumentalists are all part of the Anupam Roy band and that is why we also have Kaustuv Biswas on bass guitars. The song, I thought, does have fragments of Raag Charukeshi and though there is only one word I understood "Bhalobeshi", I could see my heart melt thanks to the vocals, score and arrangements.  Anupam says that the song is based on Raag Jaunpuri. The stanza is short and sweet but it is never short of the melodic quotient. I love the second interlude which has a jugalbandi between the Shehnai and Sitar. Shamik Chakravarthy does all the programming and arrangements, with Debojit Sengupta on mix and master duties. 6. PacmanPerformed by Kukubh Mayank SharmaWritten by Kukubh MegwalProduced by Kukubh MegwalGenre: RockA video game that probably every kid born in the 1980s and 1990s played is the title and even inspiration behind this electric number. The song even begins with guitars and you wonder where this track is headed, just like life is threatening and dangerous while playing the 'Pacman'. Kukubh Megwal has performed, written, played the guitars and produced the number. If the rock Gods were listening, they would be proud and more importantly head-banging nonstop. I know one thing for sure, if I was playing Pac-man and listening to this song, I am destined to lose my focus and die out in the game. Mayank Sharma also has performed on this number and I am just glad I discovered this artist Kukubh, making my wait for the next single completely intolerable. 7. MarivilMusic - Shaan RahmanLyrics - Joe PaulSingers - Sanah Moidutty, Harib HussainGenre: MelodyLanguage: MalayalamI am a huge fan of Sanah Moidutty, and anyone in the industry should probably be a huge admirer of her voice which just sounds like a gift from the heavens. She and Harib Hussain are the lead vocalists in this catchy number once again composed and produced by Shaan Rahman who is making it a habit to be featured in these weekly charts. Like always Shaan depends on some fantastic synths, keyboard and rhythm programming. I must say that Harib impresses and it is difficult to shine when you are performing alongside Sanah. The Keys give a great layer with a flute intervention here and there, but there is so much only you can focus on when Sanah kills with her vocals. Joe Paul is the lyricist for the number. The outro is excellent with the flute, rhythms, keys and Sana singing an aalap and swaras. 8. BaateinWritten, and performed by Harish Lakhmani & Siddharth Pathak (Harry & Sid)Language: EnglishGenre: Alt-RockThese two guys who are now a two-piece band were originally a part of a band called 'Wagah Road' that was formed back in 2011. Harish Lakhmani and Siddharth Pathak have written, composed and performed this impressive rock-styled number with some very apt guitars and drums. The singing is exactly what a rock song would demand and the texture of the vocals doesn't let you down as a music lover, even for a second. The acoustic guitar solo in the middle is beautiful, but the electric guitar solo towards the end takes away the cake. This is music that stays true to a genre and can make music lovers believe in the power of good music. The moments of silence when the guitars and drums take a brief pause are as precious and well-timed as their solid re-entry.  9. LehreinSung, composed & written: Shrinidhi GhatateMusic Production: Rhythm ShawGenre: Indie popLanguage: HindiBack in 2019 when I was just beginning to explore new music all over India, I came across this album called 'Aayam' by Shrinidhi Ghatate. When there were so many musicians struggling to get a few consecutive hit singles, this artist gives a fantastic album with at least 5 or 6 memorable numbers. Shrinidhi continues form there in this new single written, sung and composed by her, with Rhythm Shaw, the guitarist producing it. I love the vocals as expected, but also the harmonies and arrangements. Rhythm's guitars can be heard in the background making quite an impression. The way the notes move into an unpredictable trajectory as she sings "jo bhee tha ab hai yaadon mein" stands out for me and once again the underlying spirit of the song changes as it goes "haalat badalange". Pankaj Porah mixes and masters the track and I cannot wait for the rest of the album to release. 10. Nannu Nenu Adiga Singer: Inno GengaMusic: Kaala BhairavaLyricist: Krishna MadineniThe movie did quite well and got rave reviews for the concept and effort. Kaala Bhairava has been in the thick of things and he is one of the more dependable music composers in Tollywood. He gets this singer Inno Genga to perform the lead vocals and he has the exact tonality and texture as Anirudh, the Tamil composer/singer and maybe that is why the song sounds even better. Krishna Madineni is the lyricist. The song has some terrific sounds and arrangements and it ranges from the Synths to strings then notice a nice shift in rhythms in the anupallavi, where some traditional percussion is played. Siddharth S has programmed wonderfully with also doing the mixing. The Violin and Viola are played by Sandilya Pisapati and interestingly the opening has a strumming of a guitar-like sound, but that is Sandilya experimenting by plucking the Viola, kudos to the ingenuity. along with some pleasant acoustic guitars in the interlude. The track is mastered by Shadab Rayeen. Krishna Madineni is the lyricist. The outro is spectacular as well with the Violins and that shrill vulnerable humming. 11. Love is Just a NamePerformed by Citizen Koi, Shreya Bhattacharya, SudanWritten by Hayden ScottProduced by Sudan, Hayden ScottLanguage: EnglishGenre: Alt-pop, Synth-popI have featured the producer Sudan for a few songs where he has worked along with Sidharth Bendi and all have been splendid numbers. He is also one half of the band 'Khoya Firdaus' and he has performed and produced this number as well. Hayden Scott a.k.a. Citizen Koi other than producing and writing, gets vocalist Shreya Bhattacharya to perform on this one. The influence of Lo-fi and techno sounds makes it very relevant today. The vocals of Shreya stick to your mind as she improvises with those mild vibratos and delivers with incredible style. If the harmonies in the background make the song smooth, the outro featured a guitar solo that amps up the interest and likability of the track. 12. Built To Fall ApartPerformed by Sera SanyalWritten by Sera SanyalLanguage: EnglishGenre: Indie popSera Sanyal goes solo in this Piano-laden number, and right from the beginning, the focus is all on the Keys. The introduction of the finger-snapping is very creative and pleasant, and Sera starts to impress with her vocals. The bass guitars and rhythms add beautifully, especially the notes on the bass keep drawing me closer to the song. I love the message and the lyrics of the number especially the title which is a happier version of "destined to doom". I would love to hear more from Sera in the future and I am sure she will only head up that ladder both as a singer and songwriter. 13. Naya EhsaasVocals/Lyrics/Composition: Aseem SharmaMusic Production/ Mix : Udit SaxenaLanguage: HindiGenre: Indie Pop, FusionAseem Sharma is one of the singer-composers who keeps silently coming up with very enjoyable and original music. This one too has all the facade of an indie pop song, but there is a classical undertone to it and in my opinion, it has influences from Raag Yaman. Aseem's delivery style is reflective of these elements and the soft and tender vocals make this a very enjoyable number. The line "mujhe uski chaandni mein rehna hai" is my favourite musically. Udit Saxena has teamed up with Aseem on various projects and he has produced and mixed the track. The song rests on the shoulders of some excellent keyboard and rhythm programming that gives the song an Alt-pop texture. Aseem has penned, sung and composed the tune and Graeme Durham masters the track.14. NeeyonnoralilMusic Composed and Arranged by JAKES BEJOYSinger: Vijay YesudasLyrics: Jyotish T KasiMusic Producers: Jakes Bejoy, Antony, Abjaksh S, Glady AbrahamThe solo violin is brief, but a noticeable curtain raiser for the show to begin and it is played by Raaghavendra. It is then a Vijay Yesudas special and we get a glimpse of his father's mesmeric voice. I have always claimed that Vijay probably should be singing much more than the opportunities he is getting. Jyotish T Kasi writes the heartening words and we have the support of some solid programming and violin interventions to help the song move forward. Jakes Bejoy is the composer and arranger for this and he along with Antony, Abjaksh and Glady Abraham produce the number. It is almost missable but a very brief Carnatic aalap ends the interlude, Daniel Joseph Antony has gotten the session prepared and arranged for it, with assistance by Maneeth Manoj. The recording engineers are Daniel, Jisto George and Midhun Manoj. The stanza has a change of percussion, as we move from programmed rhythms to the Tabla. It is again a nice feeling to have a song with two stanzas separated by 2 different interludes. It is during the closing stages of the stanza that I am tempted to think if there is some Raag Kalyani (Yaman) influence. The track is mixed and mastered by Sujith Hyder 15. TaashPerformed by - Abhijay SharmaMusic - Abhijay SharmaComposed by - Abhijay SharmaWritten by - ReVo LEKHAKGenre: Indie pop/ Lo-fiLanguage: HindiAbhijay Sharma composes, produced and performed this track and this is the second time that I am featuring this young artist. It was 'Sajda' a few months ago and this time Abhijay impresses even more with his tantalising vocals. ReVo LEKHAK is the lyricist and he discusses some of the dilemmas that the protagonist is facing. "Taash chunu yaa tere baatein chunu" Abhijay starts singing. The strength in his vocals and the impressive improvisations to the notes he brings on board are extremely likeable. I just wish this was a longer song with an antara as well. The track is mixed and mastered by Abhijay with album art by Harsh Kandpal. This is a project by The Shastras Music.

1. Maatu MaatalleComposed and Produced by Ronada Bakkesh & Karthik Chennoji RaoSinger – Vijay PrakashLyrics - Ghouse PeerGenre: MelodyLanguage: KannadaI am a huge fan of the band Pineapple Express and their brand of music bordering Alt-Rock, Rock, and Classical-Rock Fusion is something that will feature in some of the most original and inspiring works in India. Just a few weeks ago I featured a song called "Jazbaat" by the band as the number 1 song in India, and it is only later than this Kannada number was co-composed by one of the band members, Karthik Chennoji Rao a.k.a. KC. This outstanding number sung by the stalwart Vijay Prakash has Ronada Bakkesh also working on the score and this is quintessential Alt-Rock. NS Prasad on Mandolin and Ritwik Bhattacharya on guitars along with Narayan Sharma on the Violin, sparkle and help Vijay Prakash make headway into the track. We can also hear Narayan backing with his vocals, and the song just rises a notch when Vijay sings "Naa Ninage" and the instruments just take a pause, and once those words end, we get the drums and guitars back performing but listen to that mild Violin ripping open in the background. The stanza is mild and melodious with some scintillating vocal harmony arrangements, and you can listen to the song multiple times just to understand the plethora of elements at work in the background. This has to be one of the best vocal performances by Vijay Prakash in recent times. Ghouse Peer is the lyricist, and we have Anil CJ and Ronda on mixing, Nick Burchall has mastered the track with Akash Shivakumar, and Rangaswamy has recorded the track.2. DarunMusic, lyrics and vocals – Anupam RoyLanguage: BanglaGenre: Melody, Semi-classicalHis Instagram handle reads @aroyfloyd and damn Anupam Roy is worthy of being a part of Pink Floyd according to me, He is one of the most talented composers in the nation and he delivers every single time. Just listen to this brilliant semi-classical melody set in Raag Bageshree and the moment Abhishek Mullick opens with his Sitar, I guarantee that you will lose track sense of time and place. The Sitar solo is a stamp of the enormously pleasing Raaga, and when a stalwart like Bodhisattwa Ghosh starts playing the electric guitars to follow up on the Sitar, the world just becomes a magical place called paradise. Anupam Roy more than just scoring and writing is also the lead vocalist and even though I have to turn to my wife and in-laws to understand any sort of Bangla, the vocals and the sounds of words coming from the genius' mouth are good enough to titillate me. Kaustav Biswas on bass guitars and Sandipan Partial on drums just energise you with a western/ Alt-Rock influence. The most brilliant segment of the song is when he sings " Ja chowa jaay na, ja paowa jaay na, ja bojha jaay na, Taa toh darun". The electric guitar solo accompanies by Joy Nandy's Tabla is a creative mix to hear. The stanza is simple with just a few variations and then we get to the landing and opening lines, but the song is one joy ride. Nabarun Bose plays the Keyboards and just when you assume the song is over, we have a classical union of the Sitar solo and Tabla in the second interlude. The track is mixed and mastered by Debojit Sengupta, with Atmos mix by Debojit and Tirthankar Mazumder. The recording engineer is Srirup Chatterjee. 3. Aa KanasuMusic composed, produced and arranged by - Midhun MukundanSinger - HaricharanLyrics - Nagarjun SharmaGenre: Semi-classical Fusion, melodyLanguage: KannadaThis week is all about regional languages and they are kicking arse with some very different tones. Take this one by Midhun Mukundan, whos the composer for that critically acclaimed film "Garuda Gamana Vrishaba Vahana". The moment you have a fabulous vocalist and insanely talented instrumentalist on board, the song then just soars higher. We have Haricharan sounding cool, casual and brilliant in this delivery, while Abhay Nayampally plays the classical Electric guitar. The production and arrangements are supreme, and the credits for those too go to Midhun. Abhay sizzles on the guitars in the interlude and it does feel like we are listening to his mentor, the Genius U.Srinivas, and watch out for that solo piece at the end of the stanza. Hriday Goswami has mixed, mastered and recorded the track. 4. Amake NaoSinger: Debayan Banerjee Composer: Pralay SarkarMusic production/Arrangement: Debayan BanerjeeLyricist : Pralay Sarkar, Jyoti HazraGenre: MelodyLanguage: BanglaOriplast Originals is one of my earliest sources of great original Bangla music back in 2019 when I just began doing music reviews and it led me to discover brilliant musicians like Anupam Roy. Here we have one more edition of the project and it is Debayan Banerjee who sings, produces and arranges the track. It is Debayan's vocal texture that makes this song even more endearing. The percussions and harmonies are wonderful and effective additions and Sarangi's intervention along with some Keyboard programming come together quite well. The stanza is rich in melody quotient and so is the title line which sticks to your mind. The track is mixed and mastered by Debayan. 5. AsarPerformed by Anand Bhaskar, Anurag MishraWritten by Anand BhaskarProduced by Hrishi Giridhar & Anand BhaskarLanguage: HindiGenre: BalladIs this a dream collaboration or what? Well, you can call it that, and why wouldn't you when there some of the best musicians line up for a project? Anurag Mishra has a very refined and identifiable voice, amidst a truckload of copycats and imitators. He is also a very competent composer who I have featured multiple times and he sings this ballad produced by Anand Bhaskar and Hrishi Giridhar. Do these two guys need any introduction, I believe not. Anand also penned the lyrics and lent his voice to the track. The sounds of the strings and Keys dominate the background layers. The best line of the song is the one leading up to the title "Asar". Anurag's vocals at the baritone scales are so heartening to hear, and he employs them effectively. I just love the song's arrangements and production, as Anand and Hrishi, also bring in the electric guitars 6. With YouSinger and Lyricist - Vernon D'SouzaComposed by - Souvik Adak & Vernon D'SouzaGenre: Indie popLanguage: EnglishVernon D'Souza writes and performs this enchanting slow sombre number and the words talk about an intimate loving relationship. Vernon and Souvik Adak co-compose the track and we hear a perfect concoction of instruments arranged like a Harmonica. The show just gets better in that interlude piece by Rhys Sebastian on the Saxophone and what we get is something similar to a Kenny G number. Ralph Fernandes plays the acoustic and bass guitars. The track is mixed and mastered by Debaprasad Tewary.  7. Helalu OodareVocals: Pradeep KumarLyrics: K KalyanMusic: Vasuki VaibhavLanguage: KannadaGenre: MelodyIf I have to be honest, I must say that there is a lot of disappointment when I see Vasuki Vaibhav's name in the composer credits. He showed immense potential a few years ago and I would have rated him as one of the best young talents in India. Something happened along the way and he has been more of a lyricist and a singer. If I Have to look past all that, then I am glad Vasuki has composed this beauty, and maybe this is the beginning of his revival. He gets one of the strongest vocalists in Pradeep Kumar to deliver these beautiful notes and words penned by K Kalyan. The acoustic guitars guide the track forward, but the subtle use of bass guitars and strings beautifies the Pallavi and anupallavi. The solo violin in the interlude gives the song a wonderful classical touch. The stanza is a continuation of the elements heard in the opening lines, and towards the end of the charanam, Pradeep showcases his wide vocal range. The second interlude creates such a deep sense of grief with the Violin but it only makes you connect with the melody even more. These are segments which sound very much like a score by Vasuki's compatriot Ajaneesh Loknath. The outro has this beautiful aalap by Pradeep and in this free-flowing rendition, he shows why he is one of the best out there. Also the more I hear the number, the stronger I believe that there is a Raag Desh influence in it. The solo violin was played by Narayan Sharma and he also did arrangements for the guitars and strings. The acoustic guitar was played by Aadarsh Subramanian, and all the rhythm programming was by Hriday Goswami.8. Kahaan Hai KalVocals, Lyrics: Manikaant SuryanProduction: Rijul Victor Language: HindiGenre: Indie PopI heard this song a month or so ago but somehow forgot to include it in my weekly rankings and lists. Thankfully I never misplace any records of the songs I hear, even if it amounts to 400 a week. So here it is, a soothing number with guitar sounds and vocals that strike you, making you forget yesterday and tomorrow, making you ask "Kaahan hai kal". The track is produced brilliantly by Rijul Victor and he has also mixed, mastered and done the recording. 'Yeh baatein jo tu karta hain, kya tu seekha hai, is duniya se', all just amazing words that hit you hard and they especially transmit easily through a clear voice and delivery like Manikaant's and aided by some intriguing sounds in the background. 9. Aaya MausamVocals: Divyam SodhiProduced and arranged by KhwaabLanguage: PunjabiGenre: Classical FusionI have been a keen follower and admirer of Khwaab's work as it is something that fits my musical tastes. When you want something of an old treasure to be completely restored and presented in a delectable fashion, Khwaab the producer is the man to go to. I have featured his work multiple times and like the other ones, this too is an old gem composed by Wajahat Atre and sung by Madam Noor Jehan. Divyam Sodhi has been performing for Khwaab's recreated classics and his voice is one more reason these numbers sound precious. I am not able to place it, but I guess I hear influences of Raag Bihag and maybe some of Raag Bilawal. Subham Kanjilal plays the delightful Mandolin solo in the interlude. Mahavir plays the Dholak taking us back to the fields of Punjab and the production and arrangements reek of Khwaab's impressions. One of my favourite musicians from down south is Rex Vijayan and the man himself has mixed and mastered the track so you can expect some mastery here. Roshan Kumar Sharma Sinha is the recording engineer. 10. Tholi TholigaMusic composed and Arranged by Achu Rajamani Singers - Rahul Nambiar Lyrics - Vasista Sharma Genre: MelodyLanguage: TeluguThis is a sensational number and Achu Rajamani has been a high this past few months with some solid numbers for the movie album 'Janakiram' as well as indie projects. The guitars strumming by Bruce (Is it Springsteen?) and Rahul Nambiar's authority on vocals keep you hooked. I have featured Rahul a few times as a part of the 'Makka Band' and the way he uses those vibratos to great effect works very well in this enthralling number. James on the Accordion intervenes beautifully but all the arrangements and production by Achu are like the secret sauce for the success of the song. Vasista Sharma pens the lyrics. I loved how at the end of the stanza we get the humming, and the traditional percussion gives a folk flavour especially with Rahul singing 'thandana the na na'. Ijaz Ahamed does the mixing and mastering. Achu shifts to western rhythm programming intermittently and it is seamless. The song has some noticeable similarities with "Shukran Allah" by Salim-Sulaiman. 11. Bhalobashi TaiMusic Director- Rupak Tiary Lyrics - Aviman Paul Singer:- Ishan Mitra and Somlata Acharyya.Music Arrangements & Mix Master- Rupak TiaryGenre: MelodyLanguage: BanglaRupak Tiary is a prolific composer and I have always admired his work rate, and also for making the effort to create originals in a land that is still influenced by and in awe of Rabindra Sangeet. Somlata Acharya and Ishan Mitra are the lead vocalists and I have featured both of them before on my website for some fabulous work. The flute and the guitars keep coming and going and all the arrangements by Rupak decorate the track and what we get is a lovely melody setting the mood for romance. The lead vocalists are in prime form and the way they deliver the lines adds to genre specificity. Aviman Paul is the lyricist.  12. Dhoora DhooraSingers: SIDDHARTHA BELMANNU & SHAKTHISREE GOPALANLyrics: PREETHAM TEGGINAMANE & VIVAN RADHA KRISHNA Music Director: VIVAN RADHAKRISHNALanguage: KannadaGenre: MelodyShe has been missing in action, and it was quite a noticeable vacuum for me who always loved her voice and of late her compositions as well. Shakthisree Gopalan is now going to come back stronger after her 1-year hiatus, studying at Berklee College of Music. She is one of the lead vocalists for this number along with another wonderful young talent called Siddhartha Belmannu who I featured 3 years ago in a Kannada song. I loved one of his extravagant and innovative covers using A Capella style for Santhosh Narayanan number, "Vaa Rayil vida polama". Vivan Radhakrishna is the composer and this is his debut album, and he has penned the lyrics along with Preetham Tegginamane. The song begins with some delightful backing vocals, and this is also the voice of Shakthisree who has arranged the backing vocals too. Rithu Vysakh plays the solo violin in the background and we hear Siddhartha's pleasing vocals. Rithu also plays the strings, it is Goutham Hebbar playing the flute. She probably has to be one of the best vocalists who can sound so impressive in the lower scales, and when she has to up the ante and rise to the higher scales, it is done with minimum fuss. Keba Jeremiah plays the guitars and John Solomon handles all the additional programming. Abin Paul has mixed and mastered with Akhil and Sandeep as recording engineers. 13. Ee RaavumMusic - Shaan RahmanLyrics - B K HarinarayananSinger - Akbar KhanIn very quick succession Shaan Rahman has been getting into all the All India charts. This gives me great hope that Shaan is going to keep coming up with the goods. This song begins and for a consistent duration sounds like an early 2000s Bollywood song featuring Atif Aslam. Akbar Khan does probably possess the same vocal tone and texture. The Violin and guitars are fantastic and they are arranged with an exquisite touch. BK Harinarayanan is the lyricist  14. Pothe Chole Jete JeteSinger : Sahana BajpaieMusic Produced by: Samantak SinhaLanguage: Genre: Ballad, TraditionalSometimes you just have to mend your own rules if you want to believe in the ultimate goodness. I have generally always only featured and reviewed original music and not too many covers. This like "Aaya Mausam" in this week's list is not an original song but even if these are re-creations, the effort, the production and creativity need to be appreciated. Samantak Sina produces a blinder here and the sounds are just invigorating right at the start. Sahana Bajpaie rips your heart with that element of Sadness in her vocals. Shubhayu Sen Majumder plays the Esraj, mildly in some spots and takes over the solo in the interlude. Suuny Bhattacharya is the bassist, and the whole listening experience is meditative with inherent pathos. Anindit Roy does the mix and master. The song probably has Raag Khamaj influences  15. HeatPerformed by Archana GopalWritten by Archana Gopal, Evan Linsey, Kayla PichicheroGenre: Indie popLanguage: EnglishArchana Gopal talks about her Queer desire and feels that music is her avenue for expressing any feelings she might have towards this. When you get to the point where the lyrics go "Love me, Till I leave the floor behind, Ill let you" then Archan brings her Carnatic training to full use. The vocals by Archana are aided by some excellent background harmonies, Keys and clap sounds. The song is written by Archana, Evan Linsey and Kayla Pichichero with the latter two producing the number. The song ends once again on a classical note  16. Kadiyalenu Singer: Chinmayi SripadaLyrics: Jayanth KaikiniMusic: Veer SamarthChinmayi is singing more in Telugu and Kannada these days and I am glad she gets to sing some fantastic numbers this included. Veer Samarth uses heavy instrumentals and the flutes and strings all create a wonderful aura something we are used to as '90s kids. Sandeep Vasista is amazing in his Flute solos and Anup R Nair does the programming. The track is mastered by Dhanshekhar, and the lyrics are penned by Jayantha Kaikini. 

1. Lavinia Performed by Prabhtoj SinghWritten by Aman Sagar, Prabhtoj SinghLanguage EnglishGenre Indie Pop These two musicians just combine and come up with some fantastic music viz. Aman Sagar and Prabhtoh Singh. I have featured their wonderful songs "Angela" and "You belong with me" and I get thoroughly impressed with their work. We have Aman Sagar who recently won the Jio Saavan's SPOTTED contest's Hindi version. He has written, played the guitars, and synths, mixed, and produced the track. Prabhtoj Singh's vocals resemble the wonderful pop of the 1990s that is just supposed to be heard on your walkman sporting baggy Jeans. It takes us back to those good times, and he is also backed up on vocals by Aman. Danik Ghosh plays the funky bass and it is Aveleon Giles Vaz on drums. The electric Piano adds style and purpose thanks to Rythem Bansal and I can imagine playing this song or even singing it to impress my woman if only I could get that coolness quotient of Prabhtoj. I love the bridge version, accompanied by very noticeable changes to the beats on the drums and the harmonies. Prabhtoj has co-written the lyrics and he delivers the lines with incredible style, and the song is right at the top of the charts for these multiple factors  2. IntezaarPerformed by, Composer, Writer: Harshad SatheLanguage: HindiGenre: Rock Classical FusionWell, I heard this track one fine morning as I was walking and this rock-classical fusion number just made me take notice. Harshad Sathe is on fire in this number writing, composing, singing and producing it. The instrumental arrangements give a very pure rock texture. He then sings the best line of the song " Shayad na mile, tere kadmon ki nishaan", and the way he ends the line vocally is bliss. This is the part which made me bet that there is some Raag Cahrukeshi influence in the song, and later when I discussed it with Harshad, he tells me that there are also some definite influences of Bhimpalasi and Bageshri, and the fusion elements reminded me of the great Indian rock bands of the 2000s. The use of another layer of vocals kind of vocals. After we hit 3 minutes, it is all about Bhushan Chitnis the producer/guitarist who just goes berserk on the electric guitar solo 3. Mere Baare Singer - Simran RajLyrics and Composer - JaaniMusic - Hunny BunnyLanguage - PunjabiGenre - MelodyJaani has worked along with B Praak a lot in Punjabi melodies before and they always have sounded fantastic. In fact, before knowing the composer, I commented that Simran Raj has just sung it like a female version of BR Praak, and how right I was. The style of the song bears similarities to the B Praak ones we know, owing to the common composer. Jaani has also written the lyrics and it is Hunny Bunny who has produced the number. But all the lion's share of credits must go to Simran for her outstanding vocals, and it is unimaginable how she reaches for such high notes with delicate ease. The emotional outrage that Simran brings with her appropriate delivery is fantastic. This could very well be one of the best vocal performances of 2022 so far. Hunny Bunny do well on the rhythm and keyboard programming, and Arvind Khaira handles the video direction part. The track is mixed and mastered by Akash Bambar and Gurjinder Guri4. What we could bePerformed, written by Kiara ChettriProduced by Rohan SolomonLanguage - EnglishGenre - Indie PopDo I need to even write and praise this youngster? Well, it is my job, but what kind of words do I use to celebrate her vocals and writing? Maybe my recommendation and just mentioning her name are good enough. If you remember Kiara Chettri's "Why" made it to global Indie charts and that too at the very top. So I was not even a bit surprised by this delivery and her absolute dominance when she sings every note. There is not a flat or dull moment and it is like listening to that young, restless and uber-talented Avril Lavigne perform. Abhijit Sood is scintillating on drums with humongous energy exhibited, but the quality of the end product you hear is thanks to this Hulk of a producer called Rohan Solomon. I strongly urge you guys to listen to his production for other artists, as well as his self-written and composed songs. Rohan has also mixed the track with Dan Millice on mastering. Kiara goes for the kill in the end with some explosive vocals. Devangi Verma takes care of the album art.  5. Koyaliya BoleSingers: Abhay Jodhpurkar and Neha KarodeComposition and Lyrics: Neha KarodeMusic: Rupjit DasLanguage: HindiGenre: Classical-FusionNeha Karode is unstoppable as she experiments non-stop in the classical-fusion genre and we end up getting a very stylised version of a classic. She has composed and written the number and performed along with one of my favourite vocalists Abhay Jodhpurkar. Rupjit Das must be credited with all the production elements. Nantu Mukherjee plays the bass guitar and we have two flautists in Kiran Vinkar and Adwait Kashikar. Abhay's vocals are magnetic, to say the least. I thought that the song has some Raag Bhimpalasi, but Neha tells me it may have some mild similarities, although the song is inspired by Raag Malkauns. The flute segment with the drums and Keys paves the way for the classical fusion. Madhab Deka plays the keys, Shreedhara Chari is on Tabla, and Augustine Chettiar is on drums. Neha sings the second verse and she excels at her delivery moving from a normal scale to the higher end with no stress  6. Always Meant To Be Vocals - Mayank Mittal, Sana AroraProduction - Kapow!Composition, Lyrics - Pratyaksh SharmaLanguage - EnglishGenre - Alt-RockWhat a cool name for a band, right? Yepp maybe they want to hit you hard with their music and maybe their songs pack a punch. I have featured them before and this is a song I was casually listening to in the queue of a boarding line at the airport. It drew me to such an extent that I almost lost my way and forgot to proceed toward the boarding gate. Mayank Mittal, the frontman of the band and Sana Arora are the lead vocalists. Vinod Arora plays the guitars gently but it is Puru who kills you with his bass guitars. The two vocalists start singing in unison, and their textures are different making the combination devastating. Sana's solo vocals are electrifying at the lower scales and it is impossible to not close your eyes and shake your head in total submission. Prakhar Srivastava plays the drums and he dictates the setting alternating between the thumping presence and mild hi-hat sounds. The best portion is when the singers go " When we start to miss it when we look around but there's no one by our side" and here there is stronger strumming of guitars, heavier drums and higher scales explored by the vocalists making it one tasty treat. Mukul Jain does the mix and master and the beautiful artwork is by Annie Hazarika. 7. Chalo Theek HaiMusic Composer & Singer : Amaal MallikLyrics : Kaushal KishoreMusic Produced By: Vaibhav PaniAdditional Music Production: ZeekLanguage: HindiGenre: MelodyIt has been a while since I featured the elder sibling Amaal Mallik, I think it was for the album 'Saina'. This is a single composed and performed by Amaal while it is guitarist/producer Vaibhav Pani who has produced this one with additional production by Zeek. Wholesome numbers like these are the ones that salvage some Hope for Hindi music and maybe Bollywood could still see the light of day, with talent lurking around. Dilshad Khan's Sarangi starts off and synchronously plays alongside western-sounding guitars by three absolute stalwarts viz. Sanjoy Das, Roland Fernandes and Vaibhav Pani. Amaal's vocal tone comes off as a younger version of Shankar Mahadevan. After the opening lines, the rhythm and keyboard programming is spectacular along with Amaal's humming. The stanza is mellowed down after that with some enticing backing vocals arranged and performed by Suzanne D'mello. Hanish Tanejas has mixed and mastered the track, with Ansh Radia as the recording engineer. Kaushal Kishore's beautiful words stand out. 8. Crimson skiesPerformed by Aidah Asrar, The Earflower ExperimentWritten by Aidah Asrar, Astaaq AhmedProduced by Aman SaxenaLanguage: EnglishGenre: Indie Pop/balladI have heard the work of 'The Earflower Experiment' a few times and have been intrigued. This is one of Astaaq Ahmed's better projects and it gets amplified by Aidah Asrar's terrific vocals. Aidah also writes the lyrics along Astaaq and the track is produced by Aman Saxena. The guitars just lay the background work for Aidah's touching performance. This New Delhi-based one-man band goes for a very sober ballad here and Astaaq continues from where Aidah has left off vocally. The combination of the stunning guitar sounds along with multiple layers of lead and backing vocals truly feels beautiful like witnessing the crimson skies. The humming that comes in ten beginning also finds its way towards the end and this is one of the most uplifting segments of the song aided by some mild strings in the background. Dhruv Ganguly handles the artwork for the cover  9. Saang NaVocals by Mugdha KarhadeWritten and Composed by Ketan MohiteProduced by Abhijay SharmaThis Mumbai-based producer, Songwriter has been featured more than a few times on my website for some influential and calming music. Keyan Mohite has an affinity for songs that are vastly influenced by heavy instrumentals and that is one more reason I am fond of this producer's work. Ketan has composed and written this Marathi number and Abhijay Sharma comes on board to produce this. The song is performed with exquisite and pop-styled vocals by Mugdha Karhade and I am reminded of Shalmali Kholgade's beautiful album last year called 'June'. The guitars and Keyboard programming are spot-on. 10. MineWritten, Produced, and Performed by RaaginderLanguage: EnglishGenre: Indie PopIn this 7-track EP, there is some very interesting music but I found this track called "Mine" most satisfying. Raaginder Momi s a California-based producer and violinist and he brings both those facets forward in this number. Saihaj Bajwa plays the guitars and he provides the support, but the focus keeps shifting between Raaginder's vocals, those interesting percussions, the Keyboard programming and most importantly the Violin layer in the background. At the halfway mark, be stunned by the Violin Solo, and that will be constantly playing on your mind and making you want more. The track is mixed by Raaginder and mastered by Kermode.  11. Le ChalComposer, Producer, Singer: Himonshu Parikh Lyrics: Himonshu Parikh, Rajan Batra Language: HindiGenre: Alt-PopThe guy creates sounds that will just elevate your mood and spirits in no time, and he is the producer and Keyboardist for the uber-famous Punjabi Synth-Pop, Alt-rock band 'The Yellow Diary'(TYD). I love his production whether it is his single like this or for other budding singer-songwriters, and here Himonshu has sung, composed and produced. For those who loved 'Kesariya' from 'Brahmastra', I want to bring to their notice that it is Himonshu who produced the song for Pritam. TYD's frontman Rajan Batra has also worked with Himonshu and penned the lyrics. The Keys and rhythms lead into your trance and with Himonshu's charismatic vocals we just want to be carried away into a zone of bliss. Harshvardhan Gadhvi has played the guitars and the track is recorded by Samir Dharap and mixed and mastered by Sid Shirodkar. The song gets your mind travelling to places like the 1990s and early 2000s when some of the best global pop music mushroomed. 12. Scarlet SkiesLyrics and Song Composed by Swati Bhatt  Arrangement and Production by Takar Nabam  Vocals by Swati and TakarGenre: R&BLanguage: EnglishA couple of years ago I featured Swati Bhatt's song called "Reverie" and ever since I have been waiting for her next. Here it is as she combined with another consistent Indie musician who goes by the name Takar Nabam from Arunachal Pradesh. The song is right down that Rhythm & Blues zone and it is helped by Tiziano Bianchi's trumpets. Takar plays the acoustic, and bass guitars and also works on the Synths providing all the necessary instrumental support for this number that feels refreshing like a sundowner. Teji Toko plays the drums while Suyash Gabriel is on the percussion. The lyrics ask us to "slow down" and "stay still" and that is in perfect coherence with the style of the music, singing as well as arrangements. The humming and harmonies along with the guitar solo in the background are as pleasant as they come. Jake Owen has mixed the track and we have Mukul Jain and Haggai Rongmei as the recording engineers. 13. Zoobie DoobiePerformed by Little-Black-DressWritten by Amit Verma Swapnil GogoiGenre: Punk Rock Alt-RockLanguage: HindiLittle-Black-Dress is a band that has been performing for a while now and they specialise in Punk Rock and Alt-Rock. Amit Verma and Swapnil Gogoi of the band have written the song with Amit's lead vocals. It has all the elements that have to be available for the song to qualify as a rock number with adrenaline-pumping electric guitars ad drums and sensational singing. There is a moment where the song pauses, and slows down and we have an interlude dominated by a Piano solo which is more than what you can ask for. 14. Ye Zindagi Performed, written by Shivang AroraA solo effort by Shivang Arora who has written, composed and sung this soft and tender pop. I just love the Piano solo that comes in just past the 1st minute and it leaves a lasting impression on you despite being just barely present for the rest of the track. The guitar, drums and background harmonies add such beautiful layers to a simple song in structure and composition.   15. Khone DoWritten by: Kanika Patawari, Anurvi MehraProduced by: Ysoblue, Kanika PatawariLanguage: HindiGenre: Lo-fi, EDM, FusionIt sounds like one of those Lo-fi and EDM tracks but behold a Sitar playing and slowly gaining traction and decibel levels rising. This just plays out into becoming very enjoyable with programmed Sitar sounds and rhythms. Ysoblue and Kanika Patawari have done the production with the latter performing the number. Anurvi Mehra and Kanika have written the song and the mixing is by Tyler Scott and mastered by Jett Galindo. The song is a foot-tapping dance-pop number  16. Magic PotionMusic/Production - ViepsaLyrics - Viepsa Language: EnglishGenre: Indie popViepsa Arora goes solo, on this breezy number as she writes, composes, produces and performs. I felt like I was listening to a seductress using some magi potion and enticing me through her voice, like the voice of Kaa in Jungle Book. This simply is me complimenting Viepsa's emotive delivery and execution in the singing. I could hear the bass guitars and the beautiful Flute and Woodwinds in the background. The ending lines singing "Don't wanna go home" despite being repeated so often still leave you wanting for more. 

There is a lot of music released these days and some yester-year greats like Hariharan have recently commented on the clutter of music. This is where I chip in and make things easier for music enthusiasts, so that a properly filtered and refined set of songs, and EPs are available. This time I am recommending two excellent EPs by two very different kinds of female artists viz. Pratibha Singh Baghel and Sona Mohapatra. The composers/producers who have worked with them and created these gems are the duo of Deepak Pandit, Gaurav Vaswani and Ram Sampath respectively. I just began reviewing music back in 2019, and very soon the pandemic struck, making me all confused and befuddled about the impact of lockdowns on musicians and their work. It was almost like nothing applied the breaks on musicians and inventive ways of recording artists and instrumentalists separated physically and geographically, and two artists who kept a steady influx of releases were Sona and Pratibha and they show here that it is not just about the quantity but predominantly about the quality. My very first memory of Sona Mohapatra & Ram Sampath is "Ambarsariya" which is of the best Hindi melodies I have known yet and owing to very little exposure, and actual low supply of "Good" Bollywood music, I never paid attention to the genius of Ram, but better late than never I guess. The two EPs that I am recommending are 'Inheritance' produced by the brilliant composer/violinist Deepak Pandit along with Gaurav Vaswani and 'Shut Up Sona' produced by Ram Sampath. Pratibha impresses as always with her outstanding vocal strength and Ghazal-styled delivery, while Sona uses her unique vocal texture to deliver 4 songs with incredible poise. Here is the review of 'Inheritance' firstThe EP has 4 tracks with my favourites being "Hamari Atariya" and "Lakhon Ke Bol", and I would assign them a score of 8.5/10 and 8.25 on 10 respectively to these tracks, with "Babul Mora" getting 8 and "Saiyyan Bina" at 7.5. Overall I would give the EP a very enviable score of 8/10. I had already reviewed "Babul Mora" a couple of weeks ago in the list of India's best weekly music, and would soon be doing a full review of "Hamari Atariya" as well. In terms of a score "Hamari Atariya" is mind-blowing bringing in elements of Western Classical music, and Deepak Pandit along with Gaurav Vaswani probably have just given us one of the best singles of 2022. Tapas Roy plays the stringed instruments with Prashant Sonagra shining on the Tabla. The Budapest Live Symphony Orchestra gives us the grand opulence of the music in all the tracks and Deepak intervenes with his solo Violin at the right instances, creating an Indian classical texture. The second interlude gives me the impression that it is influenced by Raag Keeravani. Pratibha Singh melts your heart with her emotionally charged voice. "Babul Mora" had a very Raag Sindhubhairavi impression and it is closer to the grammar of Indian classical music unlike "Hamari Atariya" which had fused other styles. The song is more pathos-inducing and like the other songs has K Sethuraman on mixing, and Christian Wright on mastering.  "Lakhon Ke Bol" is that track that will just make you sit down and gaze at the sunset without any worry in the world. It most probably has influences from the Raag Maand and it has some splendid strings and Tabla decorating the background, and Pratibha showcasing her full potential. The production by Deepak and Gauarv is simply breathtaking and I can safely say that Deepak Pandit is one of the most talented producers/composers in the nation today. The final track in my order of preference is "Saiyyan Bina" and by most standards, this too will cut among the best performed and produced songs, and this according to me does exhibit some influence of Raag Bihag. The recording engineers are K Sethuraman Sanket Tole, Harshul Khadse, Anushree Manjrekar, Ezekiah NaniwadekarMoving onto Sona Mohapatra and Ram Sampath's 'Shut up Sona', it comes a very close 2nd with an average EP score of 7.75/10. The most impressive numbers were "Rang De" at 8.25/10 and "Piya Se Naina" with a score of 8/10. "Mangal Gaan" too was a very enjoyable number with an impressive score of 7.75/10. I have already featured and reviewed it a few weeks back and this was a refurbished number that Ram Sampath created for the Coke Studio many years ago. Set probably in Raag Desh, this is an energetic number with original lyrics by Hazrat Amir Khusro. John Paul has also produced this and played the guitars with Ram' composing the tune. The flute Solo we hear is by Rajeev Prasanna."Rang De" stands head and shoulders above the rest thanks to its amazing production and arrangements. Sanjoy Das plays the guitars (watch out for the brief solo) and with Nitish Ranadive on Tabla and lyrics penned by Meera Bai, the song is a charmer. I am not very certain, but maybe there is some Raag Kaapi influence somewhere in the number. The track is recorded by Nitesh Bisht and like all the songs in the EP, Amey Wadibhasme does the mixing and mastering. "Lal Pari Mastani" would be rated the last in the EP in my opinion, and here Vrashal Tejasingh Chavan does the additional production, and Munna Dhiman pens the lyrics. The song sounds like a little bit of Raag Bilawal to my mind. "Mangal Gaan" has some powerful singing and lyrics and this is the most serene of the songs and probably this too is set in Raag Desh. The use of drums, bass guitars and the flute is really exciting and elevates the song. This song is also produced by John Paul and Ram, and the Bols by Sona and Nitish Ranadive are inspiring additions. Check out these two EPs and celebrate the work of great musicians 

1. Yeh Jhoota SamaVocals - Shruti DhasmanaMusic – AntarikshLyrics - Kimberley Rodrigues, Varun RajputLanguage - HindiGenre - Rock Antariksh is a very dependable band of musicians who will deliver unadulterated Rock music to thirsty Indian fans. I have featured them before for the track “Kaisi Yeh Jeet”.  and despite listening to their music with a sense of hype I never get disappointed. The electric guitars by Varun Rajput lay the foundation along with Shrikant Biswakarma and Dan Thomas pounding away on drums. These are not just names but star musicians whose sounds are not new to music lovers. Shrikant also plays the acoustic guitars on the track.  A good 30 seconds is spent on giving the energetic intro music, and that itself is a welcome change in a world driven by 1 min music. Shruti Dhasmana is sizzling as the lead vocalist and this too is refreshing compared to the number of male voices we hear in the rock genre. If you look at some of her performances they would be in semi-classical songs and so the way she delivers this is beyond excellent, and it is the attitude and style that she possesses and exhibits that truly captivated me. Sonic Shori is the bassist and if you pay attention you can hear him painting the song with exotic colours, just a bit subtly. It is Kimberley Rodrigues and Varun who pen the words. I would pay money to go and listen to Shruti sing this, check out the line "Mudke Na dekh, aage jeene ki wajah", and after this, there is a segment where she just freely innovates and does something like a Scat singing in Jazz, all to perfection. The track is mixed by M Krishna Rao, and mastered by Steve Nagasaki. Just after the 2:40 second mark Dan Thomas breaks away and changes the beats and the guitarists have their moment from hereon. Welcome Mr Abhay Sharma, and who better to sound sexy on the saxophone than the man himself? This is where you just get up and dance and let all your shyness and inhibitions fly away. The recording engineers are Varun and Gaurav Chintamani, and the track is also produced by Varun. All the lovely artwork is taken care of by Ishita Singh. 2.  Gagan Dhuan DhuanMusic Composed, Arranged & Produced by B PrasannaPerformed by Bombay JayashriLyrics by Preetika DixitLanguage: HindiGenre: Ballad/Western Classical FusionI was invigorated already when I listened to and wrote about the number 1 song, and to follow that up with this number felt like a blessing. You can't go wrong when you have Bombay Jayashri as the lead vocalist, still to get a song to a level of this degree requires some genius at work. I have heard about B Prasanna's might as a composer but sadly this is the first time I am ever reviewing. This just requires a standing ovation. If you don't have time to read my review, I recommend that you just visit his blog or Instagram page where Prasanna has written a "Composer's Note". Those words would suffice and are worth more than whatever I write to describe the beauty of this song. He has composed, arranged, and produced this masterly work and it feels like a dedication or ode to a singing legend called Bombay Jayashri.  She starts slow much like a drizzle or a gentle breeze we feel sitting by our balcony opening. Keba Jeremiah is mild but meddles with style on the Acoustic and Nylon guitars. There is the strings section that is brought into play with some outstanding musicians Lyrit Milgram & Alexandra Lomeiko on Violins, Jossalyn Jensen on the Viola, and Cecilia Bignall on the Cello. That brief interlude ends with a humming and playful Flutes by Lucy Driver. The brass and horns make their way now during the stanza, with Oboes by Cèlia Tort Pujol, Clarinets by Ettore Biagi, Bassoons by Cristian Coliver, Horns by Paul Wolf & Ona Ramos, and Trumpets by Matias Diaz Alfaro. Just get away from all the noise and listen to the incredible arrangements on your headphones and give yourself a treat. Like Prasanna rightly says, the song allows Jayashri to show her full vocal range and I can imagine singers practising and making covers of this phenomenon. The Orchestra is conducted by Joaquim Badia and with John Praveen on bass, Keba also plays the Ukulele. The imposing Synths are handled by Prashanth Techno and the track is mixed and mastered by Prasanna himself. Vishnu M Namboodri and Navneeth Balachandren are the recording engineers, while the video is edited and directed by Sriram Raja. The talented Choir singers are Aabha Soumitra, Karthik Manickavasakam, Maya Bajaj, Mayank Kapri, Nalini Vittobane, Nidhi Saraogi, and Karthik has co-ordinated the Choir.  Preetika Dixit pens these emotionally relevant words. 3.  Love Love LoveMusic, Lyrics - Tough on TobaccoVocals - Sidd CouttoLanguage - EnglishGenre - Alt-RockForget music reviewing, I wasn't even following Indian music on the indie scene back in 2009. It was just 3 years after I moved to Mumbai and was still being bombarded with mediocre Bollywood music. So I spent time lamenting I couldn't hear any good Tamil songs on the FM radio. This was the time an alternative Rock band in India was formed by the name 'Tough on Tobacco' with members Sidd Coutto on vocals and guitars, Niranjan 'Pozy' Dhar on guitars, Bassist Johan Pais, guitarist/vocalist Gaurav Gupta, and Drummer Jai Row Kavi. Anyway fast forward to 2022, I heard this amazing song by the band and later I found out that they were re-releasing their entire catalogue on Apple Music. I just considered myself lucky and had to include it in this list of India's best music. Sidd's captivating voice and I don't know, but I felt a magnetism that I would when hearing Sting or Bono from U2. The guitarists have a merry day with bassline support all just making your hair raise when the drums get punched in and the harmonies turn up. The production is supreme and every second is more mesmerizing than the second gone by. As we approach the 3rd minute, drummer Jai establishes domination with his thumping presence, followed by a tantalizing electric guitar solo. The climax is like musical heaven with all elements coming together and I just look up to the skies, thanking God for music. 4.  Koyla Vocals: Raman NegiSong Produced by : Gaurav Chintamani & Raman NegiLanguage: HindiGenre: Alt-RockA few weeks ago I never had heard of the name Raman Negi, and now he is hugely respected and I'm in awe of his music. I first featured his "Mehroom" and like wine becoming better as time grows, the next single 'Koyla' is a hoot. Gaurav Chintamani of 'Antariksh' has produced this with Raman, and also mixed and recorded the track. His bass guitars are the stable support system, to his vocals and guitars of Raman. This is the sort of music that should be playing in Bollywood movies as OST and I can imagine a Hero introduction with this funky alternative rock. Raman just explodes with his upper vocal limit being put to the test. It is probably India's version of 'Sweet Home Alabama' and Vaibhav Ahuja gets the tempo spot-on with his drums.  The track is mastered by Brian Lucey5. Fight on (acoustic)Vocals: Winston BalmanMusic: Winston Balman & the Prophets of RockGenre: Country RockLanguage: English When the song you hear is mesmerizing you might get distracted and start messing up on some very basic faculties. I kept reading the song's name as "Flight on", maybe because the number was lifting me up in the air thanks to its levitating spirit. It was 'Fight on' and I realized it much later. It is one of the finest songs I have heard in 2022 and I got introduced to the band. Many times when I write my reviews I feel like the song belonged to the Country style of music, but here I was for the time that a band recognises itself as belonging to that genre. Winston Balman and The Prophets Of Rock. Why is it that these COuntry musicians have such resplendent vocals? And Winston Balman owned such a voice. Winston from Dehradun and his bandmates will soothe you in this song that talks about his forgettable past. Bhaskar Dutta hits you with the pathos through the soo Violin and we have Archit Agrawal as the bassist and mix/master engineer. Jonty Indra has done the recording. I would not be surprised if young musicians with just a guitar learn this exciting song and showcase their vocals. The arrangement of the Violin in the multiple layers is phenomenal and keeps you invested, wishing the song never ended. Towards the end, I love how the Violin notes move from being sadness-inducing to inspiring and Bhaskar conjures up more magic dominating the air space. 6. Jodedla BandiMusic: Phani KalyanLyrics : Kittu VissapragadaSingers: Mohana Bhogaraju, Phani KalyanGenre: Melody/ DanceLanguage: TeluguA Telugu song that not only gets your dancing mood on, but also some excellent singing, instrumentals, and a very hummable tune. Phani Kalyan and Mohana BHogaraju are at the peak of their powers in delivering their vocals. Mallikarjuna Eruvuri plays the Nadaswaram in the first interlude which just adds volumes to the song's beauty and the expert Sandilya Pisapati fiddles his way through the second interlude on his Violin. The reason the song feels so lively is because of the rhythm and percussion by Sharath Ravi and the ever-dependable Subhani plays the charming sections on the Mandolin and Banjo. The female chorus fills in and it has some beautiful voice viz. Meghana Sai, Aparna Nandan and Snigdha Sharma. The stanza is just not a few more bonus lines, they too are rich in quality and the second is different from the first.  VS Bharan does all the programming and he is to thank for the sounds that we hear. Nithin M Vinayan is the recording engineer while Ijaz Ahamed has mixed and mastered the track. Phani Kalyan is the composer for this gem and the lyrics are written by Kittu Vissapragada 7. SNDSongwriters: Aditya Rao & Shri SriramAdditional Production: NagaariGenre: Alt-popLanguage: EnglishI recently came across the name Aditya Rao when I heard the music and watched the movie 'Rocketry'. "En Kanmani" in Tamil was incredibly performed and made many of my friends ask "Who is this singer?". It needed a very imposing set of vocals and Aditya Rao just smashed it. He now has this fantastic indie single that got me confused when I read the title. Later when I heard him sing it all became clear like his resonating voice. Aditya and Shri Sriram are the songwriters for this with some additional production by Nagaari. Dan Konopka who also worked on the movie 'Rocketry' has done the mix and master for this number. Aditya just lets himself go free and improvises the notes and does these vibratos and further impresses with his skills as a vocalist. The title 'SND' also refers to sound, maybe the sound of music. The keyboard programming is what delivers a modern sound. The celebrated bassist/composer Sriram plays the Bassolin, an instrument that I am hearing for the first time, invented by the man himself. As I heard segments of the song I felt an influence of Raag Bhimpalasi, and when I checked, the Avarohanam of the Raag does have Sa Ni Dha. 8. Gaaye JaComposed, Produced: Sunny M.R.Sung by Arijit SinghLyrics by Shloke LalLanguage: HindiGenre: Alt-pop, Synth-popThe duo is quite lethal, Sunny M.R. and Arijit Singh, and when one of the time composes/ produces and the other sings rest assured you'll have to listen to some awesome music. They both have been working with Pritam for a while now making expectations and results go hand-in-hand. Once you have a winning formula, you never should mess with it, and you can reap all the great benefits. The starting riff on keyboards somehow gets the dish cooking and from there you will just start liking the song deeper. Arijit Singh's vocals with a tinge of vulnerability and vocal laze work very well here, and the moment he pauses the techno sounds start to dominate. It is all the work of Sunny M.R. and he also joins in as the additional vocalist along with mixing and mastering the track. The recording engineer is Ritvik Shah, with Sukanta Singha recording the vocals. The humming and programming combine quite well and then a sizzling hot solo on the electric guitar by Ankur Mukherjee, takes into trance mode in the interlude. The song gives you a feeling of "Listen and sing along and just done care about a thing in the world",  the exact thing the title says, "Gaaye Ja". The outro is vocals and instrumentals in an unrestrained joyride. Shloke Lal with his interesting words proves once again he is one of the most sought-after Hindi lyricists in the country today. 9. Mhare Hiwade Singer - RahgirLyrics - Shivam ChaturvediComposer- Shivam ChaturvediMusic- Shakti Vishwakarma (Grand Stave Music Production Studio, Jabalpur) @shaktimusicliveGenre: Folk FusionLanguage: RajasthaniThe singer Rahgir has been doing quite well, singing, writing, and composing a song for a recent movie 'Sherdil'. This is a delightful Rajasthani Folk number and much before my trip recently to the state I have been serenaded by their quality. However after my visit, the love has just become multifold, and this number is just a perfect example of how beautiful folk music can sound. Rahgir sings the tune composed by Shivam Chaturvedi who has also penned the lyrics but the production is by Shakti Vishwakarma and he elevates it by more than a few notches. The Sarangi followed by Rahgir's rustic vocals just please the heart. I can sense the influences of the Raag Maand. The Sargam part is sung by Navneet Bairagi and Shakti also accompanies the backing vocals. The use of strings, rhythms, and folk percussions also enhances the genuine texture of the song. 10. Phir Na Aisi Raat AayegiSinger: Arijit SinghMusic Director: PritamLyricist: Amitabh BhattacharyaGenre: HindiLanguage: MelodyThe movie probably didn't fare too well, as mimicking Tom Hanks was never a good plan and to better his acting in "Forrest Gump' was a Himalayan task even for Amir Khan. Leaving all that aside, I was thrilled by Pritam's score for the songs, as I had already featured "Kahani" before, and then this number betters that. Himonshu Parikh who produced "Kesaiya" also works on this number and it is DJ Phukan and Himonshu who handle all the arrangements. It is the line of usual suspects with Arijit Singh on lead vocals and Amitabh Bhattacharya on lyrics. The opening line is extremely rich and it straight away touches a nerve. Tanuj Tiku handles the additional keys with Krishna Pradhan on guitars. Arijit plays around with the notes when he sings the words "aisee raat aaeegee" the second time around. Himonshu does a splendid job bringing in the guitars and rhythms just when the next line "nazadik se raat-bhar" begins making for some wonderful sounds. DJ Phukan and Ashwin Kulkarni handle the excellent sound design and Eric Pillai does the mix and master with assistance from Michael Edwin Pillai. The stanza has some very unique notes that get landed on the Keyboards giving the song a very fresh look. Dev Arijit, Aniruddh Anantha & Akashdeep Sengupta are the vocal conductors and the sound engineers are Ashwin Kulkarni, Aniruddh Anantha, Pranav Gupta, and Harjot Kaur, with Sukanto Singha as the recording engineer. Arjun Chandy adds a very stylish and gentle layer with his backing vocals. 11. Maditho MadhiMusic: Tapas ReliaVocals:  Chandana Bala Kalyan, Vidhya GopalLyricist: Kittu VissapragadaGenre: Melody, Semi-classical, QawwaliLanguage: TeluguThe Amazon Prime anthology had some interesting stories, but the music probably deserves a lion's share of the credits. Tapas Relia has been featured by me on more than a few occasions, and here is scoring the BGM and composing 2 songs. I loved this one sung by Chandana Bala Kalyan and Vidhya Gopal. the latter I have featured multiple times for her enchanting performances in indie singles like "Nadan Dil" recently with Aanchal Shrivastava. The introduction of the male harmonies gives a very Qawwali style making the texture symbolic of Old Hyderabad. There are some fragments of Raag Desh that I could sense, although it could be Raag Tilak Kamod owing to similarities to the famous song "Aaoge Jab Tum" by Pritam. The singing by the duo is incredibly sweet and you fall in love with music all over again. The Tabla, by Prasad Padhye, and the synchronous singing all just add incredible lustre to the song. The backing vocalists are Rishikesh Kamerkar and Rajiv Sundaresan, and the Oud is played by Tapas Roy. The track is produced by Tapas and mixed, mastered by Farhad K DadyBurjor 12. Aaje veSinger: Vishal MishraComposer: Vishal MishraLyrics: Vishal Mishra, Kaushal Kishore & Faruk KabirMusic Arranged & Produced by: Gaurav VaswaniGenre: Melody/ BalladLanguage: HindiI featured a "Rubaru" by Vishal Mishra from the movie 'Khuda Hafiz 2'  a few weeks ago and I could have mentioned this song, but I felt it deserved a separate review, and for the effort and execution of Vishal, I could do this much at least. When I heard it, I could sense all the pathos generated and knew for sure that it had fragments and influences from Raag Charukeshi. Vishal has composed and performed this number with intense passion as always but the song needs a guy like Gaurav Vaswani who has refined it by arranging and producing the number. Vishal doesn't stop there, he has done all the additional arrangements and production and also co-written the lyrics with Faruk Kabir and Kaushal Kishore. Parth Shankar plays the flute solo and Shomu Seal is on the guitars and within seconds you are drawn into the song thanks to Vishal's fantastic vocals. The percussions are by Swaranjay Dhumal and Prashant Sonagra, and the latter also plays the Tabla, which goes exceeding well with the Female Harmonies in the interlude, comprising of some terrific singers like Shreya Gupta, Shreya Phukan, Harjot Kaur & Hansika Pareek. the interludes do feel like a portion of AR Rahman's 'O Paalanhaare'. The closing stages witness a coming together of the female and male chorus which is uplifting. The Male backing vocalists are  Kumar Gaurav Singh, Kaushal Kishore, Abhinav Mishra, Anirudhh Anantha, Aaroh Velankar & Ayush Phukan. The massive array of string instruments gives the song grandeur thanks to Violinists  Dharmendra Javda, Shayam Sunder Javda, Chandan Singh Javda, Jitendra Javda, Naville Franco, Abhijeet Mujumdar, Sanjay Verma & Rajiv Padhiyer, Viola by  Dharmendra Javda, Jitendra Javda, Shayamsunder Javda, Chandan Singh Javda, Rajiv Padhiyar & Sanjay Varma and Cello by Leo. The track is mixed and mastered by Shadab Rayeen with assistance from Pukhraj Sonkar and Anup. Vishal's music assistant is  Kumar Gaurav Singh, and the recording engineers are Trihangku Lahkar, Sethuraman, Sanket Tole & Ezekiah Naniwadekar.  13.  KanavariyatheMusic: Aloshya PeterVocals: Aloshya Peter, Lakshmi PriyaGenre: MelodyLanguage: MalayalamOut of nowhere, I heard songs from the album which was composed by Aloshya Peter for a Malayalam web series called 'Love- Out for delivery'. There were a few decent songs but I loved this one the most and had to review it. The vocals are by Aloshya and Lakshmi Priya. The acoustic guitar strumming and basslines are strong like the backbone of the song and the melody rides on these. A beautifully executes and arranged flute solo stuns you in the interlude and during a well-scored stanza, the strings in the background try and fight for attention. I must admit that Lakshmi sings the lines beautifully and kudos to Aloshya for giving a good score and tantalizing arrangements. I would have preferred if t

The song was a raging hit in all parts of India crossing over 50 million YT hits within days, but that was partly helped by the “Love Storiyan” battle over lyrics. I liked any ingenuity in lyrics so that did not bother me, but apparently, the song in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam became very popular as fans wanted to boycott the Hindi version and listen to the tune in other languages. The song is not something out of the ordinary but it was Pritam in 3rd gear when he is quite capable of moving in the 5th. The song’s likability was boosted thanks to the production by Himonshu Parikh who is also one of the guys behind the success of the Indie group ‘The Yellow Diary’. I am going to rate the 5 versions of the song based on overall likability, singing quality, styles and delivery, lyrical fit with the notes, and finally creativity. Since the song had no changes in the notes and production, all these factors apply to the vocals and lyrics alone. I follow only Tamil and Hindi, so for all 5 languages, I’ll only judge how the lyrical sounds fit the music without going into their meaning and depth. Let me first describe the elements I liked and disliked about each version and shall present my scores in the end. The original was in Hindi and created all the buzz and here I perfectly liked the lyrics including how creatively “love storiyan” was introduced. So I would give solid points for lyrics here. Arijit sings it quite well, and he is bringing his A game for Pritam, although a lot of the aalap he does are quite predictable, if you have heard him enough before. The Ghamakas are fine but without any creativity and so the style of delivery is monotonous. Pritam ropes in Sid Sriram to sing the Tamil and Telugu versions completely, and they sound exactly similar. I wish Pritam used some local knowledge to get someone else to the singing, I feel he just took the easy route and picked a popular singer with a massive social media following at the moment. When I spoke to a few people who understand Telugu, dismissed Sid’s diction and that has been a common complaint. As a layman when I heard Tamil and Telugu, I felt Tamil lyrics fit the song better. There are moments when I got very uncomfortable with Sid’s higher notes (which made me cringe) and his Tamil pronunciation is questionable saying “Ulahe” instead of “Ulage” “Mahala” instead of “Magala”, and “Azhahe” instead of “Azhage”. Some composer has to tell Sid to change his style as it just sounds repetitive with his ghamakas. Having said that the way he brought in swaras in the places which had just no vocal involvement in the case of Arijit. Sanjith Hegde is one of my favourite vocalists and he smashes it. His singing, style, delivery, and creativity all are unmatched making it my favourite version. “Kesariya Rangu” is the best version with a score of 50/60. The lyrics match the notes very well and the mild vibrato that Sanjith brings in is just exemplary. Mayalayal is a close second along with Hindi as Hesham Abdul Wahab scores best on creative ghamakas. Just listen to the closing stages as Hesham does tricks and pauses which gets him solid points. But I did feel in the last outro when the title line is slowed down in singing (like all the other versions too), Hesham alone wasn’t keeping in perfect tempo and I felt he may have skipped a beat here and there. My complaint across Kannada and Malayalam was that Sid Sriram had to be featured in both to do the Swara bit, while I am sure Hesham and Sanjith are capable of doing it on their own. The lyrical fit of Malayalm was pretty good as well. The scores are as shown belowKesariya Rangu 50Kesariya 49Kunkumamaake 48Theethiriyaai 45Kumkumala 43 Best version – Kesariya Rangu – KannadaBest Vocals – Sanjith HegdeBest Lyrical fit – Kesariya – Hindi – Amitabh BhattacharyaBest Creativity – Sid Sriram Best style of delivery – Hesham Abdul Wahab – MalayalamWorst Version – Kumkumala - Telugu

1. Hey Kanmani Music Production: Kailas, Ebin PallichanLyrics: Vinayak SasikumarSingers: Abhijith Anilkumar, Greeshma TharavathMusicians: Francis Xavier, Abhijith Anilkumar, Rafael Freitas (Brazil), Ashik M, Vimal JohnLanguage: MalayalamGenre: Pop Like I promised Kailas Menon's 3rd song from 'Vaashi' has now made it, and like 'Rithuragam' and 'Yathonnum Parayathe' this song too makes it to the very top. It is one of the best movie albums I have heard in 2022 and we hope Kailas can keep raising the bar even higher. The Kazoo is played by the lead vocalist Abhijit Anilkumar himself, and it starts things off. The rhythms, synth, and keyboards keep the song high on energy and relevance and we have to thank Ebin Pallichan, Kailas for their production. Ashik M and Vimal John take care of the additional rhythm. I am so glad to hear Abhijit sing this with brilliant impact and he is one of the very fresh and likable voices from Mollywood. Is the interlude a tribute to Maestro Ilaiyaraja, well it certainly feels like, with Francis Xavier playing a sizzling solo reminding of "Kalakala maga vazhum kathalukku" from 'Punnagain Mannan'. Vinayak Sasikumar is the lyricist. The Kazoo and Keys ornament the interlude further, to be picked up from there by Greeshma Tharavath as the lead female vocalist in the stanza. She maintains a very low scale and delivers it with great style and Kailas and Ebin arrange the instrumentals very well with the violin coming and going in the background. The harmonies are quite catchy but let us not forget the bassist from Brazil, Rafael Freitas who has kept things incredibly groovy. The song has a tone that feels similar to "Ennai Konjum Maatri" by Harris Jayaraj. The recording engineers are Midhun V Dev, Vimal John, Ebin Pallichan, and Amal Mithu with studio assistants Amal Raj, and Stanley. The track is mixed Suijith Hyder and mastered by Gethin John.   2. Deedar e KhudaSinger: Muheet Bharti and Zaheed Damani Composer: Muheet Bharti and Zaheed Damani Lyrics: Alyas Nasiri Music Production: Muheet Bharti Language: HindiGenre: Indie Pop/Fusion Muheet Bharti has been a supremely talented musician and whether a guitarist or singer or a composer he is top-draw. The song impressed me so much that I immediately fell in love, but because of my carelessness, I forgot to include it in my earlier lists. The power of 2 is what I see here as Muheet and Zaheed Damani co-work on both the composition and vocals making this a total chart-buster. The singing is exemplary with intricately laden vibrato, and never overdone to create a cringe. The harmonies are subtle but are substantial in impact because they create a varying style of the Church Choir nature. Cimone Rajan, Muheet himself, and another bright talent in Aditya Kalway constitute the harmonies.  Guitars and rhythms provide a more western touch along with bass guitars but the Sarangi takes us back to our backyard. One can feel the proximity and influence of the Salim-Sulaiman brothers in the composition, but it is only their label involved in this track. The segment with the rendering of swaras is delightful and when the song draws to a close we sense the Qawwali style gaining traction. The track is mixed and mastered by Aftab Khan.   3. Main Kaun Hun Lyrics, Vocals: Shreyas BhartiyaMusic Production: Brince BoraMusicians: Shreyas, Saurabh Lodha, Saket RaoLanguage: HindiGenre: Pop, Alt-Rock Who Am I? That pertinent question everyone has on their minds at some point of time in their lives is this. Shreyas Bhartiya is the musician who poses himself this question now, and whether or not he found the answer, his song helps me gain reason and answers to why I am a music reviewer. Shreyas has written, played the lead and rhythm guitars, and performed the number vocally. The guitars enthrall you along with the Keys in the background. Githin Sam George does a clean job with the vocal production, with harmonies and humming adding some delight. Brince Bora deserves massive credit for the production because the song as one finished product is just brilliant.  The electric guitar solo in the interlude is very intriguing, and although they are the same notes as the song's opening lines, it adds a different flavor. Saket Rao is constantly engaging through his drums and Saurabh Lodha is the bassist. The silence in percussion after the 3rd minute with only guitars and layers of vocals is very soothing. The trumpets and probably trombones programmed are very clever and just surrender to the outro on guitars enhanced by drums, trumpets, and keys making it one spectacular piece. Khsitij Kumar Choudhary has done the mixing and mastering and the song is recorded at the Gray Spark Audio Academy in Pune.   4. VichhdaComposer: Anand Bhaskar Singer: Romy Lyrics: Ginny Diwan Music Production: Hrishi Giridhar Musicians: Ajay Jayanthi, Hrishi GiridharLanguage: HindiGenre- Semi-classical Fusion He is one shining light, in the Hindi music space, and whether it is indie music or scores for movies/series Anand Bhaskar puts his hand up and serves a delicious song. 'Masoom' has probably one of the best BGM scores in Hindi in recent memory along with Ajay Jayanthi's 'Thar'. What do you know, both of them belong to this band called 'Anand Bhaskar Collective. Ajay plays the strings while Hrishi Giridhar is on the guitars. Romy delivers the vocals, and we get that vocal texture of a Divya Kumar or a Sukhwinder Singh, and I do hear traces and influence of Raag Bhimpalasi. The harmonies add a lot of weight to the vocals and it helps in delivering the beautiful lines written by Ginny Diwan. The pace and tempo suddenly drop in the middle of the track, and gives a flavor of a devotional number, helped by additional vocals, Keys, and guitars. The track is mixed and mastered by Prathamesh Dudhane with Krina Shah as the recording engineer. The last 1 minute is where Anand Bhaskar enters familiar territory or the rock genre and it is a tete-a-tete between, vocals, guitars, and drums.   5. Aane Maadi Heluteni Music: B Ajneesh LoknathSingers: Vijay Prakash, Harshika DevanathLyrics: Punith Arya Musicians: B.Ajaneesh Loknath, Shruthi Raj, Kabuli, JosyLanguage: KannadaGenre: Melody One of the finest composers we have in India at the moment is B Ajaneesh Loknath and it is a matter of pride that he and Charan Raj both belong to the Kannada movie industry. With Ajaneesh one can always expect some riveting melodies that would make even the geniuses of yesteryears proud. Harshika Devanath has been singing brilliantly for Ajaneesh of late and this is one more to the list. Josy's bass guitars and Chennai Strings Orchestra in full flow are what delighted me straight away. The humming accompanies the strings and finally the brilliant percussion by Shruthi Raj work like magic.  It reminds me of Ilaiyaraja's "Inji Iduppazhagi" and "Nenjukkulle Innaru". Ajaneesh is on the Keyboards and all additional programming is by Midhun Ashok. To aid the percussion, we have rhythm programming by Ricky D Costa and Ajaneesh. But I would be amiss if I don't credit Ramesh Vinayagam and Ajaneesh who have done the arrangements. CR Bobby co-produced the number along with Ajaneesh which takes us back to the 1990s and it is B Sajayan Kumar who does the mixing and mastering. Vijay Prakash joins late but provides the perfect compliment and shows why he is Kannada's top vocalist even today. The second interlude is a pleasant ride on the flute solo, but the richness of the stanza is what separates Ajaneesh from other also-rans who just impress with a few good lines.   6. Kashmakash Music Composer: Swastika & Sagnik (Jam8 Studio)Lyrics: Shloke LalSingers: Antara Mitra and Mohammed IrfanMusicians:Language: HindiGenre: Indie Pop Here we go, and we have one more song in the same Roposo Jamroom project making it the 5th song to be reviewed. This is showing a marked difference from the song 'Dil ka Kabootar'. It is more of a melody hovering around the pop genre. Swastika and Sagnik are a mother-son duo who have composed this number and how many times have we heard of such a combination before? Zilch according to me. Mohammed Irfan and Antara Mitra are the lead vocalists and there is so much newness to the vocal texture when we hear them sing.  The guitars and drums and vocal harmonies are elegant layers that just elevate the song and we have Roland Fernandes, Udhayan Dharmadhikari on acoustic guitars, Prachotosh Bhowmick, and Roland on electric guitar, and Rajkumar Dewan on bass, Dev Modi plays the drums, Chinmay Deore plays percussions and the chorus team has Subhashree Das, Akash Mukherjee, Aaroh Velankar, Vacha Bipin, Archita Ajgaokar, Sonu Ishteyak Khan and Vaishali Singh and Swastika is on the additional vocals The vocal harmonies are arranged and designed such that they almost sound like a Gospel. Sunny M.R. and ZIA have arranged and programmed with the former completely on mixing and mastering, with Ritvik Shah as the mix assistant. The interlude then introduces the Sarangi by Momin Khan and that is where this whole project has stood apart, in that the songs are very skillful pieces of fusion rather than just unidirectional and predictable. The song has a lot of tonal similarities to 'Zehnaseeb' by Vishal-Shekhar. The best part of the song is the stanza which has immense richness and is sung very deftly by Irfan and this is where the song probably has some traces of Raag Yaman, especially as I can hear similarities to "Ae Hairathe". The last part where the scale is just lifted higher and then the chorus takes over singing the title line works pretty well. Rudrik Mistry plays the upright Piano and Sagnik is on the Keyboards and Synths.  In this project, Brianna Supriyo does music supervision along with Antara Mitra, and the latter also does Curation. The Executive Producers are Shraddha Mohanti and Vikas Nopany, audio engineers on the track are Subhashree Das, Akash Mukherjee, Aaroh Velankar   7. After EffectsLyrics, vocals: JzzyMusic Production: Adam NielsonLanguage: EnglishGenre: Synth-pop This song came as a total surprise to me and the after-effects of the song on me were pretty intense. Ajmat Jasmine Mohammaed a.k.a. Jzzy is a young artist who hails from Ajmer but now is settled in the US. She has written, composed, and performed brilliantly while the song is produced by Adam Nielson. The guitars are resplending and make you wake from any slumber of any degree. With a delivery like that Avril Lavigne Jzzy teases you with her vocals. The production is scintillating by Adam and beefs up the song. There are moments where Jzzy goes into that falsetto zone impressively. This synth-pop number genre in all its glory is heard here.   8. Dil Ka Kabootar Composer: Ana Rehman & Shubham ShiruleSinger: Mame Khan, Nikhita Gandhi and Shubham ShiruleLyrics: Shloke LalMusicians: Salman Khan, Prachotosh Bhowmick, Roland Fernandes, Udayan Dharmadhikari, Raj Kumar Dewan, Ishteyak Khan, Mushtak Khan, Chinmay Deore, Shubham Shirule, Ana Rehman, Rudrik Mistry  Is this one of the finest projects of 2022, I think so. Jam 8 Studio had created this Roposo Jamroom to give music lovers 9 tracks involving different composers, musicians, and a galaxy of live instrumentalists. Shubham Shirule and Ana Rehman who already have been featured with 2 songs once again compose this very different and enjoyable fusion track, while it is Shubham on arrangements and programming. Once again it is Niraj Sanghai on concept and ideation with Pritam as the mentor. Salman Khan's Sitar is the hero at the start and if you were expecting something very classical, just wait for Mame Khan to start singing and be accompanied by Rajkumar Dewan's bass guitars and Roland Fernandes on the Trigggered Electric guitar.  Shubham also joins on the vocals with Chinmay Deore playing the percussion and Tabla. We also hear the constant accompaniment on the chorus by Subhashree Das, Akash Mukherjee, Aaroh Velankar, Vacha Bipin, Archita Ajgaokar, Sonu Ishteyak Khan, Vaishali Singh. Nikhita Singh is probably wasted in so many songs with the songs she is offered and that is what I feel when she performs in this number. Udayan Dharmadhikari plays the acoustic and Prachotosh Bhowmick is on the electric guitar. The song is not very complex with too many variations but the singing, and the choice of percussion in different segments makes it a very interesting song. Ishteyak Khan, Mushtak Khan play the Dholak and the upright Piano is played by Rudrik Mistry . The track is mixed and mastered by Ashwin Kulkarni and the composer duo Ana and Shubham handle the Keys and Synths. As usual in this project, Brianna Supriyo does music supervision along with Antara Mitra, and the latter also does Curation. The Executive Producers are Shraddha Mohanti and Vikas Nopany, audio engineers on the track are Subhashree Das, Akash Mukherjee, Aaroh Velankar   9. TigressComposition, Lyrics, Vocals: ManchildVocals: Sethu KalyaaniProduced by: Best AsokCo-composed by ChidakashaMusicians: Dixon Dennis, Rohit Sanjay, Arjun Subramanian, Krishnan Meep This is the second time I was hearing Manchild a.k.a. Sachin Rajeev and to say that I was thoroughly impressed would be an understatement. The first time around it was a song called "Better" along with Chennai-based Michael Timothy and though the song did have some impressive portions fusing Carnatic and Western styles, I was waiting for something better, and here it was. Sachin has composed, performed, and written the lyrics along with Sethu Kalyaani on vocals alone. Chidakasha has co-composed while Best Asok has produced this outstanding number and also played the guitars and done the additional programming.  Arjun Subramanian plays the guitars and you can hear Rohit Sanjay on the bass. The song is filled with Synth inputs and it takes into a trance mode straight away thanks to Krishnan Meep. Arjun accompanies on additional vocals but you can feel the beautiful fusion with the way the singing has a Carnatic finish and Ornamentation in the way it is delivered. Dixon Dennis plays the drums and he chooses his moments of silence and domination perfectly. There is, according to me, Abher Raag influences in the aalap that we hear past the 3rd minute. Arun K Ramachandran does the mixing and mastering.   10. JeevakashamComposed, Programmed, and arranged: Shaan RahmanLyrics: B.K Harinarayanan Singer: Sooraj SanthoshAdditional vocals: Chitra PaiMusicians: Bharath Sajikumar, AnandLanguage: MalayalamGenre: Melody Why doesn’t he sing all songs in all languages? Well, looks like my liking for Sooraj Santhosh inadvertently got blurted out. He is without any doubt, or debate one of the finest vocalists in India, and has been extremely active in the indie space of late. From time to time when he sings in Mollywood, it ends up being a cracker like this one. Shaan Rahman too has upped the ante and has now probably been on my lists quite periodically. The Piano is not just subtle as it imposing in sound and then the vocals of Sooraj tend to mellow things down. Bharath Sajikumar impresses as the bassist and Anand pounces on you with his Tabla and Dholak. The mild vibrato he injects is exemplary to major artists who overdo it and kill a song. Chitra Pai can be heard accompanying Sooraj in the backing vocals. The Harmonium and Tabla combination is charming as expected in the interlude. The stanza does deviate too far from the pallavi, and the singing and instrumentals do enough to touch your heart. A special mention to Chitra for delivering the humming bits with style and she adds an innocent and sweet charm. The track is mixed and mastered by Balu Thankachan  11. TakhthiyaanSinger: Dhaval Kothari Music Production and Arrangement: Vishal Khatri Composition: Dhaval Kothari and Pulkit Jain Lyrics: Mufazzal MGenericMusicians: Akshay Jadhav, Megha Rawoot, Sanchit Mhatre, Jobin DavidLanguage: HindiGenre: Semi-classical fusion The duo is not new when it comes to these weekly Indian charts, and I have to admit that Vishal Khatri and Dhaval Kothari impress when they work on a project. Vishal has composed, produced, arranged, and played the Keyboards for this one with the lead vocals of Dhaval. The song starts in a very stylish pop style aided by Jobin David on guitars and Sanchit Mhatre on drums. The title line engages you thanks to the singing and guitar notes, not to forget the chords we hear from Vishal on keyboards. The 180-degree shift happens with a soothing Sitar solo by Megha Rawoot and a drop in tempo and energy. Akshay Jadhav accompanies on Tabla and there are moments here where I did feel an influence of Raag Shanmukhapriy

1. Hold on to meVocals, Songwriting- Ruhee AhamedProduction – Jonathan Anand WesleyMusicians – Israel ThomasLanguage – EnglishGenre – Indie Pop This is outstanding singing, something that can give any global celebrity artist a tough fight and a run for their money. I start listening to Ruhee Ahamed and it feels like Celine Dion of the 1990s has landed in Bengaluru. She is not even close to being a novice as she has been involved vocally in many projects since 2010. When a singer is a distinguished A Capella performer you are guaranteed unshakable vocal prowess and that is exactly what she exhibits here. Many weeks ago I called Arunaja’s “For Who I am” one of the best vocal performances of 2022 yet, and now you better add this to that very short list. Ruhee has even been part of harmonies for the Carnatic fusion band ‘Agam’ and she brings in every ounce of that experience and training on board here. I featured “Maybe I'm foolish” back in 2020 and when I told her that the song would be number 2 in India, she had the immense confidence and self-belief to ask me why not number 1 and whose song took that position. Israel Thomas on Keyboards dominates the scene both accompanying and guiding the initial segment along with Ruhee. The song is a lesson for young, aspiring singers to practice and make covers of, and how she progressively raises her energy, during the song is remarkable. Jonathan Anand Wesley has done a brilliant production along with Ruhee of the song leaving no space for flaws and he also mixes and masters the track. Ruhee goes for the kill without even resting on the laurels won in the first 4 minutes and what you hear in the closing section is a hair-raising performance and I can't see any reason why anyone in her life wouldn’t want to Hold on to her. Sumesh Nayadi and Akshaj Balaji are recording engineers. I want to tell Ruhee Ahamed, ‘Hey this time, there is no other song better than yours, you have the number 1 song in the country for the week, and maybe for the month as well”. 2. Nenne TanakaMusic – Arjun JanyaSinger – Sanjith HegdeLyrics - Kavirathna Dr V. Nagendra PrasadMusicians – V Sukumar, Chinna, Subhani, Madhu, Lekshmi Narayan, RajuLanguage – KannadaGenre - Melody  This combination is supreme and one of the most successful and I am referring to Arjun Janya the composer and Sanjith Hegde the singer, and I cannot even begin to count those hits with my fingers right now. This song is from the album ‘Trivikrama’ and is very much down the Arjun alley with a load of live instruments, harmonies, and solid programming. V Sukumar handles the keyboard and rhythm programming to great effect and right from the very start you can hear the mild harmonies comprising Aniruddha Sastry, Supreeth Phalguna, Madhwesh Bharadwaj, and Sriranga Darshan. The bass guitars keep decorating the background layer and Subhani enters in the interlude with the Solo on Mandolin and the Sitar is probably programmed. Sanjith proves right here in every way that he is right up there among India’s best male vocalists with his high-pitched singing, enjoyable ghamakas, etc. Chinna plays the Harmonium and the second interlude oozes richness and melody. The rhythms we hear, are played by Madhu, Lekshmi Narayan, and Raju and D Hariharan join in on all the additional programming. I was glad to see some excellent budding musicians Aromal Chekaver and Rakesh Pazhedam contributing as recording engineers on this song Along with Shiva. The track is mixed and mastered by David Selvam3. KannuSinger: ADHEEF MUHAMEDMusic : JUSTIN VARGHESELyrics: SUHAIL KOYALanguage: MalayalamGenre - Melody Hey Justin Beiber, I have some words of advice for you, well you should take some lessons for composition from India’s own Justin Varghese. He is one of the finest in the country and for those who don't know much about him, listen to the BGM score of the movie ‘Joji’. While at it, Beiber can also take some singing lessons from Adheef Muhammed, because this guy kills it with his performance, especially the spell-binding ghamakas. I don't even feel like spending my time writing about this song, because I would rather close my eyes and just listen to the glorious singing, flute, and overall production. Anyway, Justin Varghese proves here that he is just not skilled at BGM scores but also at creating beautiful melodies. Right from the start, every sound you hear is magical, and then the whistle leads the way. Adheef shows how a song should be delivered even to the so-called superstar singers in India. Just pay attention to the incredible vibrato he attached when he sings ‘Kannu’. Huge credit must also be given to Sankaran S and Sidarthan who have done the sound design, and Vishnu Sujathan who has done the mixing. The EP for the track is Vineeth Shornur. I fell in love with the flute solo in the interlude and the second half of the solo sounded similar to the interlude segment of Ilaiyarajas ‘Manguyile Poonguiyile’ s solo version by SPB in the movie ‘Karagattakaran’. These days songs become a hit just for 1 good line, but Justin gives you even a beautiful melody in the stanza. When the song draws to a close, Adheef once again does that ‘Kannu’ vibrato but here the flute also accompanies in the background, the thing that amazes me most is that he does as much with ghamaka as the flautist does, which according to my limited musical knowledge is quite difficult to achieve vocally. 4. Main Jee RahaMusic Composer: Ana Rehman (Jam8 Studio)Lyrics: Shloke LalSingers: Jazim Sharma and Shilpa RaoMusicians – Roland Fernandes, Rajkumar Dewan, ZIA, Salman Khan, Feroz Shan, Dev Modi, Chinmay Deore, Ishteyak Khan, Mushtak Khan, Vikram Bishwakarma This is an incredible project #RoposoJamroom as they intended 9 songs with different singers and composers, and I have already done 2 a couple of weeks ago, and now for the 3rd. a big round of applause to two people here is called for viz. Niraj Sanghai who has conceptualized the project and Pritam who has mentored every composer for this project. 2 weeks ago Ana Rehman and Shubham Shirule gave us a smashing number called “Raah Dikha De” and now this is composed by Ana, and arranged and arranged and programmed by Shubham. The set-up is similar to the other songs we saw 2 weeks ago like “Heer Meri” where there is a galaxy of live instrumentalists here too. Singers are the vehicle to carry a song from the composer’s ideation stage to the ultimate listeners’ ears and heart, and just like how Mohit Chauhan and Asees Kaur shone, we have two amazing vocalists viz. Jazim Sharma and Shilpa Rao delivering the lines here. Both have been featured multiple times on my charts and reviews and for JAzim this is different from his solo projects which are very classical and slow. Sunny MR has arranged, programmed, and produced the track with all the mixing and mastering responsibilities as well, and you can hear the sound quality and tone being at the highest notch thanks to that. The Tabla and percussion by Chinmay Deore along with the Harmonium by Feroz Khan stand out at the beginning, and the song’s tone and texture have a lot of similarities to Salim-Sulaiman’s “Haule Haule ho jayega Pyar”. Some elements make me wonder if there is some influence of Raag Darbari. Rajkumar Dewan on bass and Roland Fernandes on guitars go about their business as usual, and ZIA does all the arrangements on Keys, with Shubham playing the Keyboards and Synths. Wait for that scintillating interlude on the Sitar by Salman Khan, you will get a hint of a tear in your eyes, but I was also in awe with Jazim’s ghamakas, the way he sings the part “Tere Liye”. Dev Modi plays the drums and it combines so well with the Sitar, and also pays attention to the Tabla Tarang played by Chinmay in the interlude. The stanza has an excellent shift into Sufi style singing “Intezaar ka fal de Maula”. And we have the Dholak played by Ishteyak Khan, Mushtak Khan, Mandolin by Vikram Bishwakarma, and a solid chorus team comprising Vaishali Singh, Subhashree Das, Akash Mukherjee, Aaroh Velankar, Vacha Bipin, Archita Ajgaokar, Sonu Ishteyak Khan. The harmonies sound excellent in the closing stages of the song and the line “Kya bana Pattar dil Maula, Tu..Tu…” is skillfully handled by the chorus team and this reminds us of the great songs by AR Rahman as well. Antara Mitra does the music supervision with Brianna Supriyo and Antara also does the curation. The recording engineers involved are Hemaksh Kalsi, Subhashree Das, Akash Mukherjee, Aaroh Velankar, and Pranav Gupta and the mixing assistant is Ritvik Shah. Let us not forget to credit Shloke Lal for those words that keep ringing in your ears. 5. Bonding SongMusic: Nobin Paul Singer: Pancham Jeeva Lyrics: Nagarjun SharmaMusicians – Rithu Vysakh, Sumesh ParameshwarLanguage – KannadaGenre – Melody I have heard so much about this movie Charlie 777 and it is a must-watch for all dog lovers, but if you are a music lover this is one of the best albums released in 2022 so far. Nobin Paul is one serious talent in the Kannada music space and he has proven himself beyond doubt. I have featured 2 songs from this album and this is the 3rd and every song is as good as the other. Nobin has arranged and programmed along with his score and gets this excellent but underrated singer Pancham Jeeva to do the lead vocals for the song. The keyboard programming comes to the forefront, and with Pancham we have very capable support on harmonies that includes Pancham, Pavan Kumar, Pooja Rao, and Meghana Kulkarni Joshi. That line where the entire group sings “Charlie” is just fantastic and soothing and uplifting. The interlude is pure genius and what else can we expect when Rithu Vysakh plays and arranges the one-man String Quartet. Sumesh Parameshwar is the wingman on acoustic and bass guitars and the song is full of freshness and energy that not even a second fails to boost your spirits. The track is mixed and mastered by Balu Thankachen. The second interlude has some exciting notes performed in the Chorus The apt lyrics for the song that bursts with messages of love and dependency are penned by Nagarjun Sharma.6. JuneWritten & composed by Sidharth BendiCo-produced by Sidharth Bendi & SudanMusicians – Kritskaya TatianaLanguage – EnglishGenre – BalladThis composer/producer Sidharth Bendi, from Hyderabad, has been a regular on my website and if it is not his single like “It's over”, he has also been a valiant producer for “Dear Madeline” by Sai VSR. Kritskaya Tatiana is like the star of the show with her solo on the Cello, and its constant presence is like an enhanced addition of spices and flavours to the recipe. Sidharth has written and composed along with performing the vocals all of which are intriguing. The guitars come and go in significance just like the well-arranged harmonies. This makes sure the lyrics are heard with full attention. The love and heartbreak of the protagonist are well established with words like “It’s the 11th day of June, Two years ago I was so in love with you, It’s the 11th day of June, 4 days to go, Ill be nothing more to you”. Nothing encapsulates pathos like an instrument from the Strings section and that is why Tatiana’s Cello works like magic. Navjyoth Kumar handles the artwork pictures and video with design by Sidharth himself. Sudan is not to be forgotten because he has co-produced the song along with Sidharth and the number wouldn’t be as impactful without some solid arrangements programming and production 7. RubaruSingers: Vishal Mishra & Asees KaurComposer: Vishal MishraLyrics: Manoj MuntashirMusicians – Shomu Seal, Parth Shankar, Ashish JhaLanguage – HindiGenre – Melody/ Semi-classical I never miss an opportunity to heap praise on Vishal Mishra who is like a diamond in the rough when it comes to searching for good composers in Bollywood. Despite the movie getting very average reviews the songs have been excellent and after this song, I will be featuring one more song “Aaja Ve” in the subsequent weeks. The vocals by Vishal and Asses Kaur are perfectly suited to deliver the emotional message of the song. The title line is just the best part of the song and it gets aided by the Piano in the background, but the moment Vishal finishes the line the Tabla by Ashish Jha and the serenading Flute solo by Parth Shankar fill the interlude space and amplify the quality of the song. Manoj Muntashir’s lyrics can give the listener the true picture and theme of the song thanks to his words. The voice texture of Vishal is truly unique and it sounds very apt in semi-classical numbers like this one too which I believe has influences from Raag Desh. Shomu Seal plays the guitars and Gaurav Vaswani has played a massive role along with Vishal in getting the arrangements right along with producing the number. The second interlude is a gem with the brisk-paced flowy flute and guitars, and then we get the low-scale entrance by Asees Kaur. Only during her lines, do we get to hear the bass guitars accompanying with style and substance. The rhythm programming too is excellent in the track as they appear at the right instances with the expected vigour in the track. The lead vocalists singing in unison is a great segment, but then the Niazi Nizami brothers, Imran and Hasan, strike gold with their Qawwali part in the end. The track is mixed and mastered by Shadab Rayeen with assistance from Pukhraj Sonkar and Anup Gandharla. The music assistant is Gaurav Singh and Trihangku Lahkar is the recording engineer.8. NashaWritten, composition, Vocals – Shevya AwasthiProduction – Varun Jhunjhunwala, Shankara SrikantanLanguage – HindiGenre – Indie Pop, SoulAfter some Indian semi-classical, it is time to shift to another genre 180 degrees apart, and that is why Shevya Awasthi helps us with this groovy number that makes you want to let loose, settle down after a long day and turn the lights down listening to her sing. She has written, composed, and performed, while the production by Varun Jhunjhunwala and Shankara Srikantan get the sounds spot-on. The keyboards and synths are doing their thing. The rhythm and keyboard programming does skip a beat and they are wonderfully supported by bass guitars, electric guitars, and harmonies that follow the lead vocals with a lag. The last 1-minute is also something that steals the show with the solo on electric guitars.9. MaayagangeSinger: Arman MallikComposer: B Ajaneesh LoknathLyrics: V Nagendra PrasadMusicians: Midhun AshokLanguage: KannadaGenre: Melody Many people use the word Pan-India while others also despise it these days, as just calling it Indian is good enough. Staying away from that debate, I think Armaan Malik is not just an Indian but a global icon thanks to his forays into global music. I believe he is a very capable vocalist who possesses a likeable voice and the fact that he now sings in Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu with excellent diction has magnified his value. Here he performs for one of my favourite composers B Ajaneesh Loknath and delivers this breezy number with superb ease. When Loknath is the composer, you can expect quite a lot of instrumental support and arrangement and here we have the Chennai Strings performing live with Yensone as the conductor and KD Vincent and Jagannadhan as the co-ordinators. The strings are fantastic and create a grand aura something that reminds me of Ajay-Atul’s “Yaad Laag la” from the movie ‘Sairat’. The rhythm programming is by Ajanessh while all the additional keys are by Midhun Ashok. CR Bobby should be equally credited with the final output of the song thanks to his production work along with Ajaneesh. Unlike his usual songs, he has employed more of a modern soundscape with synths and Keyboards. Armaan Malik’s singing in the stanza is truly a testament to his vocal strength and virtuoso. The second interlude on the saxophone is a nice deviation from the other sounds we hear. Overall Armaan truly elevates a song that could fit many moods and times of the day. Biju James and Amey Londhe are the recording engineers and with Renjith Vishwwanathan on mixing, Mazen Murad masters the track. 10. Paalvarnna KuthiramelMusic Composed and Arranged by: Jakes BejoySinger: Jakes Bejoy, Libin Scaria, Midhun Suresh, Swetha AshokLyrics: Santhosh VarmaMusicians: Sumesh Parameswar, Daniel Joseph AntonyJust listen to this song and the sounds on offer, and it reminds me of AR Rahman's “Oruvan Oruvan Muthalali” and the opening brass section there. One of the premier composers in the land today is Jakes Bejoy he creates a thumping song here as a composer and arranger and he works with Praveen Ninan on production. The Orchestra session we hear is prepared and arranged by Daniel Joseph Antony and assisted by Maneeth Manoj. Then in truly Santhosh Narayanan style, the trumpets come on board helped by Derick’s rhythm programming, and the song transforms into a folk fusion. The vocalists are Jakes Bejoy, Libin Scaria, Midhun Suresh, and Swetha Ashok with lyrics by Santhosh Varma. The interlude past the mid-section has some nice strings as well and Sumesh Parameswar is on guitars right through. The female vocals and male vocals come one after the other in the stanza and that sounds brilliant, especially with the vocal textures that all of them exhibit. Balu Tahnkachan must be appreciated for mixing and mastering this interesting number with so many layers. I could be wrong but many segments of the song do exhibit some influence of Raag Sindhubhairavi. 11.    Haq Tumko HiSinger: Abhay Jodhpurkar, Saheb Biswas, Senjuti DasLyrics: Mayur PuriComposed, arranged, and produced by: Bharat-HitarthMusicians – Shomu Seal, Hitarth, AtulLanguage – HindiGenre – Melody We have already seen one song a couple of weeks ago from this album, sung by Shalmali Kholgade called “Mr. Malang” and I have praised the composers Bharat-Hitarth, and they deserve more with this track. Abhay Jodhpurkar is a mighty force vocally and how can one not fall in love with his voice? The duo has composed, arranged, and produced the track and we have one more song from this album coming in the next week. The guitars are tender, played by Hitarth Bhatt and Shomu Seal, and they add a romantic element other than the beautiful vibrato as only he can. That serene flute solo in the interlude played by Atul makes this melody shine even more and then the guitars take over. The composers have added a nice layer of the Sarod which always is a very classical addition to the scheme of things. The track is mixed and mastered by Prithvi Sharma and the recording engineers are Ikramuddin Lochoor and Pankaj Bohra. The use of harmonies also must be noted here and they in no way harm the delicate rendering of the melody it is only enhanced thanks to Saheb Biswas and Senjuti Das. Mayur Puri touches your heart when he says “Dil dukhane ka Haq tumko hi”. The outro section is almost like a bridge deviating from the rest and it exhibits the composers’ skill further. Some lines remind me of that great number “Aaoge Jab Tum” and hence maybe there is an influence of Raag Tilak Kamod or maybe some Khamaj.12. QisseSong Co-written & Co-produced – Gaya, Reiner ErlingsLyrics – GayaLanguage – HindiGenre – Lullaby/ Ballad Gaya a.k.a. Gayathri is on fire telling her story and message in this song ‘Qisse’ and if taking a break can get you to deliver with such brilliance, then breaks are what we all need. Gaya released her last music 5 years back before I ever started reviewing music. This number is co-composed and co-produced by Reiner Erlings and her and I was astounded at once, so strong enough that I felt the urge to immediately connect with her and give her my words of appreciation. It is just the guitar and her perfect vocals at the beginning show in every note. Just listen to that subtle but tangible ghamaka as she sings “ Jhoote sacch Bolke”. Within the first 1st minute she offers so much both musi

1. Naan Ninage KaavalugaaraComposed – Charan RajProduced – Charan Raj, Narayan SharmaSingers – Ankita Kundu, Sanjith HegdeLyrics – Chethan KumarMusicians - Narayan Sharma, Sunil Sylvester, Narayan Sharma, Nathan, Shruthiraj, Shadaj GodkindiGenre – MelodyLanguage - Kannada He is known as ‘Power Star’, and he passed away, way too young in his 40s. Puneeth Rajkumar, is the son of a mega star Kannada actor and he had become a massive figure, but when he died people from all over India and the world poured their commiserations because he was a simple, modest man and that was his biggest asset. Anyway, this song is a tribute to the man and is composed beyond brilliance by Charan Raj. Charan is one of my favourites from South India and he proves exactly why! The song is slow but it hardly takes a few seconds to impress and woo the listener. The reason lies in the quality of vocalists and the array of live musicians on board, in the project. I remember Ankita Kundu from one of the Indian singing reality shows she was quite good as a young girl, and here her vocals are next to perfect. Sanjith Hegde is a vocalist who according to me comes in the top 3 Indian singers are the moment, so I was not surprised even a bit by what I was hearing from him. Even before Ankita utters a note, there is so much happening with the Piano by Narayan Sharma and strings which Narayan himself arranges in a mind-blowing fashion. Ankita brings in those delicate ghamakas and I couldn’t control the mild tear that rolled down my cheek in pure joy and admiration for the music. Only after Ankita rocks you to sleep with her vocals do we get the title line sung by the majestic Sanjith, accompanied by the delicate Tabla played by Shruthiraj. Sanjith’s fabulous vocals are also aided by well-arranged harmonies. The interlude hits you hard with an Ilaiyaraja-styled flute solo played with extreme finesse by Shadaj Godkindi and your heart swells with love listening to the glorious notes. Nathan handles the Woodwind arrangements and Sunil Sylvester can be heard playing the acoustic guitars, especially in the stanza as all the percussion stops for a while. The stanza ends nicely with that line from the anupallavi and this time both Ankit and Sanjith sing it together. Narayan Sharma is also the bassist in the song and the mixing is done by Charan, with Sujith Sreedhar on mastering. I love the title line in the end sung by Ankita where she modifies the notes a bit and all I can feel is sadness in that the song is coming to end. Deepesh Krishnamurthy is the music supervisor and Divine Joseph, Kashyap, and Sree Shankar are the recording engineers. When I was listening to this, I felt some resemblance to “Sonnathu Nee thaana” by MS Viswanathan, and hence believed this to be a Raag Jaunpuri influence. However, when I had a word with Narayan Sharma he tells me this is more of a Natabhairavi influence.2. RithuragamMusic: KailasLyrics: Vinayak SasikumarSingers : Keshav Vinod, Sruthy SivadasMusic Production: Ebin Pallichan, KailasMusicians – Rithu VysakhLanguage – MalayalamGenre – Pop, R&B A few weeks ago Kailas Menon’s amazing number “Yathonnum Parayaathe” was on this list among the best songs in the country and more than 1 song from the same album rarely appears on my list. Kailas does that handsomely as, after “Rithuragam”, there will be one more song also featured in the subsequent weeks. This song is funky, and groovy, and makes you want to slow dance, thanks to its tone, scintillating keyboard programming, and bass guitars. A round of applause to Ebin Pallichan and Kailas for their production and Keshav Vinod for all the additional programming is necessary. The male lead vocalist is Keshav and he is cool in his delivery. The interlude has the backing harmonies performed by Keshav, Kailas, and Sruthy Sivadas. The stanza is where Sruthy makes the entry as the female lead vocalist, but the harmonies and bass guitars give a texture of R&B to the song. Rithu Vysakh takes over in the second interlude and he is the single man playing the String Quartet adding a very classical flavour to the song. Sruthy singing in the lower scales and Keshav opting for the higher scales is the game-changer for the song and when you hear the outro over the last 1 minute or so, the song just elevates itself with the humming, and Piano all coming together. Now, this is fantastic 1-minute music. The track is mixed by Balu Thankachan and mastered by Gethin John, with Midhun V Dev, Vimal John, Vipin G Kumar, Ebin Pallichan, and Amal Mithu as recording engineers.  3. MeherbaanComposer, Producer – Sagar Dhote Singer: Sneha Astunkar, Abhay JodhpurkarLyrics: Aditya KalwayMusicians – Shomu Seal, Satyajit Jamsandekar, Shweta SrivastavaLanguage - HindiGenre – Indie PopWhen you see a certain logo, you are bound to form an opinion even before trying it out, and this is based on established trust. Yes, and when I see the ‘M’ stylized in red, I know that the Merchant Records label will ensure this song is of wonderful quality. Sagar Dhote is having his stock price rise with every song release and my respect and admiration for him as a composer is not looking back at all. A couple of months ago he composed and produced a very melodious number called “Bas Yun Hi” sung by Sneha Astunkar and he uses her again along with an additional force that goes by the name of Abhay Jodhpurkar. When you hear the first line maybe you won’t even be that thrilled, as it seems like a very run-of-the-mill melody. But wait for Sneha to finish singing “Do aankhon ka yeh silsila”, as she traverses like a step-function into the higher scale. The subtle ghamakas are so beautiful and sound very difficult to execute. Shomu Seal plays the guitars and Sagar does all the keyboard programming. The stanza has Abhay singing in his usual serenading style with some gentle delivery and an even gentler Tabla played by Satyajit Jamsandekar. Sagar exhibits skill in scoring some very unpredictable notes from here as Sneha’s segment has twists and turns with the Keys and acoustic guitars guiding and aiding, and he cleverly lands back in the opening lines of the song. Let us appreciate Shweta Srivastava, the singer-songwriter, who has designed all the vocal harmonies, and Sneha and Abhay who have just added layers of beauty to the tune through their expressive vocals. The track is recorded, mixed, and mastered by Ajinkya Dhapare with assistance from Virat Bhushetty. Two more wonderful young talents have worked on this project viz. Aditya Kalway is the lyricist and Shivansh Jindal is the executive producer. 4. FaqueeraComposer: Anand BhaskarSingers: Jatinder Singh, Anand BhaskarLyrics: Ginny DiwanMusic Production: Ajay JayanthiMusicians – Hrishi Giridhar, Ajay Jayanthi , Mihir DesaiLanguage – HindiGenre – Folk Fusion Ignore him at your peril! Well, that is what I can say, about Anand Bhaskar. If you think you can ignore his music, we know who is losing out. He is one of the finest composers I have been reviewing since I began doing this and It gives me great satisfaction that a guy of his abilities is finally getting a lot of real opportunity in the movie/web-content space. The album ‘Masoom’ has some excellent singles along with a terrific background soundtrack. This song to me seems like possessing an influence of Raag Jog (Naatai in Carnatic) in the beginning but as we go along, there is some Raag Bhimpalasi according to my understanding. Jatinder Singh is emphatic and explosive in his vocals and he holds the song on his shoulders. Ajay Jayanthi who is part of the team ‘Anand Bhaskar, is scintillating on the strings and he also produces this number. The

1. PareshanWriter, Composer and Performer: SuzonnMusic Producer: Anubhav GogoiEngineer: Rob Murray (Wilderfox Studios, Vermont, USA)Language – HindiGenre – Indie Pop This youngster Suzonn was featured for a beautiful melodious track called ‘Humse Khafa’ back in Nov 2021. Please do listen to that song once before you hear this, as it sets a certain standard of expectation for you, and when you listen to his latest number “Pareshan” you will feel the exact opposite of the title words – Pure Bliss. As a listener, your music appreciation will tell you that Suzonn has hugely outdone himself in this song and is deserving of the number 1 spot it occupies across all the 400 songs released in the week. Suzonn a.k.a. Sujan Sinha has written, composed and performed the number with Anubhav Gogoi producing it. These men are the pride of Assam and a testament to the lineup of musical talent the state has been producing like a conveyor belt. This song would have made Anurag Saikia, Shankuraj Konwar and Papon proud. He starts off in an extremely mild fashion, as though he just is making an attempt to slowly get comfortable and sing aloud. The Keys are just like the North Star giving the song direction and then the beautiful line “bewajah rehta pareshaan”, sung and composed like a waterfall dropping and landing with grace. The strings are becoming more prominent in the background during the humming, and they are like an unstoppable force right through. The song picks up in tempo with the Piano also more free-flowing now than before, but Anubhav Gogoi decorates the song with impeccable beauty thanks to his production. I haven’t heard such an amazing strings arrangement in 2022 so far with over 7000 songs already that have been heard and analyzed by me this year. Suzonn introduces a nice bridge section as well just after a minor interlude on strings and Piano, singing “mann tu bataa, Main kaun hoon maujood”. The track is mixed, mastered and recorded by Rob Murray. 2.   MannimpuComposer, Singer : Ranina ReddyLyrics: Rakendu Mouli | Rambabu GosalaMusicians Asad Khan, Arshad Khan, Pradyumna, John Paul, Nakul Abhyankar We have heard of songs where the message is apology and repentance maybe to a lover or a friend, but how about to Mother Earth. Ranina Reddy has composed and sung this number which originated in creation during the lockdowns and it is set beautifully in Raag Yaman. Asad Khan opens the song with his Sitar solo gravitating upon us the mood of the song. John Paul who is a master of the art., strums the guitars and with Arshad Khan’s Sarangi solo giving away the Raag influences. The rhythm programming is excellent as all credits of arrangements and programming go to the famed musician Nakul Abhyankar.  After the opening lines by Ranina, and some harmonies in the background, Arshad Khan stuns you as the notes take a trajectory and deviate like you wouldn’t predict. The Sitar, electric guitars and drums combine into a pacy and energizing interlude. The stanza is all about Ranina’s low-scale vocals, supported by Pradyumna on Tabla and John’s basslines. The song’s message aligns with Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev’s message of “Save Soil” as Ranina expresses the sorrow of having destroyed Mother Earth and its natural resources. John Paul explodes with an electric guitar solo in the second interlude and it all adds such diverse elements to the song’s wholesomeness. Nakul solidifies the track’s output with all the arrangements as Asad’s Sitar solo plays a fitting end to the song. The track is recorded by Hariharan, while Balu Thankachan mixes and masters the track. 3.   Vishay cutMusic Director, Producer : Advait NemlekarSingers : Aanandi Joshi , Advait NemlekarLyrics: Akshay ShindeMusicians – Hrishi Giridhar, Lavine da costa, Ninad MulaokarLanguage – MarathiGenre - Melody It has been a while since we heard a nice Marathi melody, and like we hear when it rains, it pours. This week we have a few and they all strike you like Thor’s hammer. I hope the Marvel fans will pardon me for this comparison and if I have used any words incorrectly. To me, however, this song has the power to move mountains and seas with its stunning melody and instrumentals and kudos to Advait Nemlekar the producer, composer and vocalist. Hrishi Giridhar plays the guitars with such eloquence accompanying the lovely vocals of Advait and Aanandi Joshi. Ninad Mulaokar plays the flute solo and he intervenes with magical perfection, romanticizing the tune even more. Lavine da Costa, who is a legend and worked with stalwarts like Salim-Sulaiman, does an enviable job in orchestrating and arranging the Strings section which dominates the interlude like a Western Classical bit and the flute lifts you up in the air. I am so excited to hear Advait sing and compose because I have never heard his work before, but this creates a massive wave of expectation for me. The track is mixed and mastered by Ajinkya Dhapare and recorded by Aslam Khan with Bevin Fernandes’ assistance. 4. Mr MalangSinger: Shalmali KholgadeLyrics: Mayur PuriComposed, arranged and produced by: Bharat-HitarthBacking vocals: Amrita TalukdarMusicians - Prachtes Bhowmik, Hitarth Bhatt,Language – HindiGenre –Rock n RollOut of the blue, a song comes up and takes you by so much surprise, that you just can’t proceed to do anything that you were originally working on. I was so impressed with Bharat-Hitarth they do and I very much enjoyed two more songs in this little know movie album called “Titu Ambani”. When I did some more research I found that the duo is famous in the jingle world creating music for many famous brands and their advertisements. This is a welcome foray into the world of movies and I urge music enthusiasts to listen to the songs in the album. Shalmali Kholgade is a rock star and I can think of no one else to deliver this demanding song with incredible ease. Bharath and Hitarth compose, arrange and produce this song giving it a touch of 1960s Rock ‘n’ Roll much like Elvis Presley’s gems. Just listen to her vocals, as she incredibly alters her delivery style to suit a retro Hindi style as well. Amrita Talukdar provides the backing vocals but also gets enthused by Hitarth Bhatt’s and Prachotosh Bhowmik’s guitars which are snazzy. I can hear some Ukulele as well. The humming and vocal harmonies are well arranged, and there is a barrage of instruments from the Horns and Brass section, maybe Trumpets and Trombones and French Horns, but they all come together quite well. It is a massive task for the mixing engineer and Prathamesh Dudhane comes out on top in mastering as well. The stanza is where Shalmali takes it mild and gentle before once again moving the ante and adrenaline up. The second interlude with the guitars and Piano is a straight influence of old classic songs from Hindi as well but the song is a hit thanks to the singing, harmonies, arrangements and production. It feels like spotting an oasis in a desert when Bollywood music is going down the drain for lack of quality and originality. The Recording engineers are Ikramuddin Lochoor and Aamey Londhe. I will be reviewing two more songs from the album in the subsequent weeks.5. BetahashaSinger: Akanksha BhandariComposed, Written, Produced - Nilotpal SinhaMusicians- Mehtab Ali Niazi, Shahrukh Khan, Sharafat HussainLanguage – HindiGenre – Semi- classical I was blown away by the number, and as I have always been told, when I see the symbol “M” denoting Merchant Records, I know there is going to be some superior quality ahead. Nilotpal Sinha composes, produces and also writes this semi-classical number that just doesn’t stop oozing richness. The way Akanksha Bhandari sings is just phenomenal, with a mild sense of vulnerability in her voice depicting the message of the song. Shahrukh Khan’s Sarangi is stunning right from the beginning, and it drives the classical elements forward along with Sharafat Hussain’s Tabla. The interlude has joyful notes played on the Sitar by Mehtab Ali NIazi, and simultaneous the pathos is derived from the Sarangi. The delivery by Akanksha is just perfect in terms of her decibel level and energy as well, and I can feel a woman wanting to be loved with subtle and gentle expressions of romance. Shivansh Jindal who is an up-and-coming indie musician is the Executive Producer for the track and the song is mixed and mastered by the masterful Kohinoor Mukherjee. The song seems to be having influences from Raag Desh in my opinion. 6. Raah dikha deMusic Composer: Shubham Shirule and Ana Rehman (Jam8 Studio)Lyrics: Shloke LalSingers: Mohit Chauhan and Asees KaurMusicians - Sunny M.R. and ZIA, Utkarsh Dhotekar, Suresh Lalwani, Jitender H Thakur, Mohan, Ram Chandran, Dev Modi, Chinmay Deore, Sharmilee, Rajkumar Dewan, Roland Fernandes.Language – HindiGenre – Indie Pop, Melody Let me tell you straight away that songs like these are a rarity, especially in Hindi, songs which make you fall in love with the idea of music without having to destroy your ears with a high noise level of dance beats or having to listen to cuss words and offensive and degrading language. This song composed by Shubham Shirule and Ana Rehman is priceless. Apparently, their mentor is Pritam and now you know where they have taken inspiration from. The most supreme talents like Sunny M.R. and ZIA have arranged and programmed along with Utkarsh Dhotekar, and right from the start the sounds give you a hint that it is the work and production of Sunny M.R. and listen to the impactful strings even before Mohit Chauhan begins singing. Jitender H Thajur plays the Violin while they are arranged by Suresh Lalwani. Jitender is accompanied by Mohan on Viola and Ram Chandran on the Cello. It really feels like you just got to feel the fresh air in your lungs after being suffocated to death, when you hear Mohit’s voice after listening to some very mediocre singing and a million of them mimicking Arijit Singh. Dev Modi on drums and Chinmay Deore on percussion start making an impact with strings just interjecting at every instance. The arrangements couldn’t have been better and often do we hear so many live instruments all in one place, and this deserves huge applause to Ana, Shubham, Sunny, Zia, and Utkarsh. The title line “Raah Dikha De” is just magical not just when Mohit sings but an extremely inspiring chorus does it that includes Subhashree Das, Akash Mukherjee, Aaroh Velankar, Vacha Bipin, Archita Ajgaokar, Rudrik Mistry, Sonu and Ishteyak Khan. Shloke Lal clearly brings his A game with his lovely lyrics. Let us also pay attention to the Piano played by Sharmilee and as ZIA arranges the keys, we have the Keyboards and Synths handled by Shubham and Ana. Asees Kaur proves that she owns a powerful and likeable voice that probably is wasted many times. Here when she opens the stanza with a very cool and laidback approach you start enjoying the minute yet meaningful vibrato she introduces at just the right places. Roland Fernandes is on guitars with another very common name on bass viz. Rajkumar Dewan. Everything goes silent when Asees performs giving all the spotlight on her, and then the bass, guitars, drums and keyboards along with the harmonies beautify the background. It is amazing to just hear the way Asees moves into the opening lines after the stanza as she seamlessly moves to the higher scale with ease. We can all just stand up and thank Niraj Singhai who is responsible for the concept and Ideation. The song is a celebration of music and how every player has a role to play in the ultimate sound and output, and we get more proof when that aggravated and upbeat drum bit leads us into one final “raah dikha de” moment, this time with the entire chorus. The audio engineers who have worked on the project are Hemaksh Kalsi, Subhashree Das, Akash Mukherjee, Aaroh Velankar and Pranav Gupta. Antara Mitra and Brianna Supriyo handle music supervision, with Antara also doing the curation.   7. Chaal ka badaleliSinger: Abhay JodhpurkarMusic Composed; Arranged - Hrishikesh, Saurabh, JasrajLyrics: Jitendra JoshiMusicians - Shriram Sampath Kalyanee MujumdarLanguage - MarathiGenre - Melody Like I mentioned a while ago, it is pouring Marathi and another pleasing number is here for us sung by the serenading Abhay Jodhpurkar while it is the brainchild of Hrishikesh, Saurabh and Jasraj as the trio composes and arranges the track. The song is from this album called “Medium Spicy” and what a great way to begin the track, free flowing strings and a strong-lunged whistle. Abhay proves once again that he is probably one of the best Indian vocalists who can sing beautifully across languages. The guitars and bass start playing the mild impact along with the flipping sound of the fingers acting like percussion. Hrishijesh, Saurabh and Jasraj also do all the programming and arrangements. Kalyanee Mujumdar is simply sensational on the Violin solo in the interlude and she is supported on the Flute by Shriram Sampath. The guitars complete the outro and the song is mixed and mastered by Tushar Pandit, Kittu Myakal and Tishar also on recording. 8. TruceWritten, composed, Vocals – AnamiProduction – Varun Murali @ The Red Music BoxLanguage – EnglishGenre – Indie Pop, Ballad This Bengaluru-based singer-songwriter has been featured on my website with a brilliant track called “Vultures” and now she’s back with a ‘truce’. Before you start reading this or listening to the song go musically prey on “Vultures”, wow I love how I wrote that ironic line. Anami is next to perfect in her vocals in this song and a very close second to her is the song’s production and programming and who else but Varun Murali of ‘The Red Music Box’. He does a stupendous job of production, arrangements, mixing and mastering. The guitars at the beginning with the rhythms set a beautiful tone and sound and it is like Anami’s vocals and the production sounds are find Truce and entertaining us equally without competing for our attention. A brilliant line both lyrically and musically is “We’re caterpillars learning to be butterflies” where Anami just sings the line with immense passion, and skill, if you observe the rise in scale as she sings the first part and her delivery and breath adjustment when she sings the second part. ‘This is a truce with the voice inside you” is how we all try and lead a happy life and Anami summarizes it perfectly. The guitar riff is simple but it gives a song texture like the “Dream is collapsing” by Hans Zimmer. There is a nice portion where Anami plays and teases just with the word try, maybe like saying try harder, or keep trying different ways, all symbolic and encoded. The song makes the shift upward to a higher scale and only some artists and songs achieve it without looking forced, Anami does it well. The strings in the background are mild and give a nice layer to the tone.9. RaaiSinger- Rekha BhardwajMusic Director-Sravan BhattacharyyaLyrics- Ritam SenMusic Production and sound design- Dev ArijitMusicians Debashish Halder,Language - BanglaGenre – Ballad, Semi-classical This is a Rekha Bharadwaj special as she does a beautiful, soulful aalap at the start and when everything around you must stop. The Piano is the only accompaniment with some mild percussions, but the arrangements are perfectly done to make sure we don’t get distracted away from Rekha his vocals. Sravan Bhattacharya and Dev Arijit are the arrangers with Sravan being the composer. Slowly you start hearing the acoustic guitars but the Sarangi Debashish Halder makes a lasting impression. Alok Punjani and Abhimanyu Chatterjee are the recording engineers. The song gives me a flavour of Raag Desh and we have Subhadeep Mitra on mixing and mastering. 10.  Babul MoraMusic Produced by Deepak PanditSinger: Pratibha Singh BaghelMusic Co-Produced by Gaurav VaswaniMusicians – Deepak Pandit, Prashant Sonagra, Tapas RoyLanguage – HindiGenre – Semi-classical, fusion The Queen, Diva whatever you want to call her, she is the voice of Ghazals and any influences of that brand of music, a voice which AR Rahman said he always listens to a.k.a. Pratibha Singh Baghel. She has worked with composer/Producer Deepak Pandit and whenever they have a song is generally brilliant in sounds, sense and substance.  The song felt like Raag Sindhubhairavi in Carnatic and Tapas Roy can be heard playing the stringed instruments like maybe the Harp and we have the Live Orchestra from The Budapest Live Symphony Orchestra in charge. Pratibha just keeps you glued with her vocals and you can’t help but close your eyes, and shake your head in approval of what you hear. Deepak is a master in producing such tracks with a fusion of Classical Indian music and Western Classical styles. The strings section is heavenly in the background and in the interlude. Prashant Sonagra plays the Tabla ever so delicately and the Piano adds the extra element of Western influences to the mix just listen to the stunning humming just before the second Antara starts.  Gaurav Vaswani also co-produces this track and it is a mystery how this classical song could be even envisioned with such wonderful western sound support and arrangements. Deepak also plays the violin solo and the track has recording engineers K. Sethuraman, Sanket Tole, Ezekiah Naniwadekar, Harshul Khadse and Anushree Manjrekar. The track is mixed by K Sethuraman and mastered by Christian Wright. There is more in this EP called “inheritance” and I shall review more in the subsequent days. 11.  Heer MeriMusic Composer - Shahzan MujeebLyrics - Mandy GillHook Lyrics - Shahzan MujeebSingers - Ash King, Shalmali Kholgade, Shahzan MujeebLanguage – Punjabi/ HindiGenre – Indie PopMusicians - Roland Fernandes, Rajkumar Dewan, Tejas Vinchurkar, Vishal Pathak, Ishteyak Khan, Rudrik Mistry, Chinmay Deore, Dev Modi,    It is that project again ideated and conceptualized by Niraj Sanghai, where some excellent young musicians mentored by Pritam are composing originals and presenting for our listening pleasure. It is called Roposo Jamroom. If it was Shubham- Ana for “Raah Dikha De”, it is Shahzan Mujeeb for this catchy number. Ash King impressed me immensely with that high-pitched delivery and what do I say about Shalmali Kholgade. This is her second song ins this week’s list and she is a superstar vocalist once again proving it here. We have heard Tejas Vinchurkar on flute before but he only arranges that portion on flute played by a young Vishal Pathak. Vishal keeps intervening nicely in the opening segment itself. Rajkumar Dewan the bassist and Roland Fernandes on guitars do their thing as usual. The title line “Oh Heer meri” is sung to perfection and with a mild but lovable ghamak by Ash. Gibson George does an outstanding job producing the track and he also does the arrangements here which you can understand is a mighty task for a song with so many levels of live instrumentals. Ishteyak Khan plays the Tabla, while it is Dev Modi on drums and Chinmay Deore on percussion. The chorus team once again impress like the previous song, and that includes Subhashree Das, Akash Mukherjee, Aaroh Velankar, Vacha Bipin, Archita Ajgaokar, Sonu and Ishteyak Khan. The upright Paino is played by Rudrik Mistry and Gibson Georges's production thanks to the Keys and Synths sounds like the work of geniuses Salim-Sulaiman in many places. The recording engineers are Subhashree Das, Akash Mukherjee, Aaroh Velankar and Aniruddh Anantha, with Ashwin Kulkarni on mixing and mastering, Akash Mukherjee and Subhashree on BTS Mixing. Once again here too is Brianna Supriyo and Antara Mitra on musical supervision.  12.  Don’t shut your eyesVocals: Niranjan MenonComposition: Niranjan Menon, Sarthak Ray, Kanishk DiwakerProduction: Niranjan Menon, Sarthak RayLyrics: Niranjan MenonLanguage – EnglishGenre – Indie Pop/ Ballad/ Alt-Rock How very unique? Is it an irony? Who cares just listen to this number that encapsulates some western pop/ballad and b

1. I don’t sleep enoughVocals – Anubha KaulWritten, Composed – Anubha KaulProducer – Aman Jangwani The duo has just been one of the best when they work together on various projects. Aman Jagwani and Anubha Kaul have done phenomenally well and that is why I have always featured their work like “This Place” and “Hope” at the top of the India charts. Now, this is a hat-trick of features and before listening to this, I strongly urge you to listen to the other two tracks I have mentioned in the lines above. Anubha is just insanely good with her vocals and I get tensed here thinking how she will hit the notes on the way down in the lower scale, but she does it like a walk in the park. The keys come along and decorate the background, and the way she hums it lingers on in your head, just before those beautiful lines “I dream a little too much, and I still don’t sleep enough”. Aman has excelled in leaps and bounds in production and the quality of output is a testament to the man’s work. The layers of vocals behind the main track are interesting and create an aura of infinite space and hence add to the mystery and intrigue of the message in the song. Aman also mixes the track, while it is Ayan De on mastering.2. Ilamazha ChattinMusic: PS JayhariSingers: Pradeep Kumar, Nithya Mammen, Amrita JayakumarMusicians  - Charu Hariharan, Sandeep Mohan, Varun Kumar, Rithu Vysakh, Abin Paul, Avinash Satish, Donal WhelanLyrics – Santhosh VarmaGenre – MelodyLanguage - Malayalam I just read the names of the vocalists, and then I knew the song will be an absolute belter. It is a shame that Pradeep Kumar doesn’t sing more in other languages, as he hands down have one of the most pleasing voices in the industry. The Pallavi is as pleasant as one can find any romantic song with Sandeep Mohan aiding on guitars. The anu pallavi part where he sings “ariyum kuttalam aruvi thullatam” is beauty packed into a few lines. The introduction of the Ghatam by Charu Hariharan adds a nice local and rustic flavour even before the interlude start. Varun Kumar plays the flute in the interlude and then we are served a treat with Nithya Mammen singing those lines in the moderately higher scales. How can one sound incredibly sweet like a truckload of sugar dumped on you?  I wonder what Def Leppard would do singing “Pour some sugar on me”, if he heard Nithya sing. Here in the charanam is where I felt there was a tinge of Shankarabharanam Raagam. Paulson gives a tease in the background with his solo on Sitar towards the end of the stanza, but I love how the anupallavi is used to connect the charanam and pallavi once again, especially when it is the most melodies line in the song. Paulson goes beyond just a tease in the second interlude, and we have Amrita Jayakumar on vocals in the humming. How skilled is PS Jayhari the composer for having two completely different tunes for the 2 stanzas and there is so much he has offered like the way songs in movies have been in the 1980s and 1990s? I am supremely impressed with PS Jayhari and this is the second time after his song in Tamil “Sellama” a couple of months ago. He also has done keyboard and rhythm programming. Rithu Vysakh plays the strings as a constant support element throughout the song, with Sandeep also playing the bass guitars and Mandolin. Avinash Satish, Sai Prakash and Akshay are the recording engineer, and with Abin Paul on mixing, Donal Whelan does the mastering.3. Sun Bhi LeComposer - Vishal Mishravocals- Arijit Singh & Vishal Mishra, Prateeksha SrivastavaLyrics - Raj ShekharMusicians – Shomu Seal,Language – HindiGenre – Light, melody I have told many times that Vishal Mishra is a shining light amidst all the darkness surrounding Bollywood music, and he proves it yet again. The movie could be small and low-budget called ‘Ittu si baat’ but the generosity of music is big and abundant. For starters just notice how the poster has the words “Vishal Mishra Musical” and sadly barring South Indian Cinema nowhere else will you find such huge importance given to a music composer. I am glad Vishal smashes this one and after a long time, we have Arijit Singh's number that touches your heart. The last time that happened was back in May when we heard Somesh Saha’s “Maan le”. Prateeksha Srivastava gives a Rajasthani/Gujarati folk tone with her vocals at the beginning, and the Shehnai sounds like an influence of Raag Saranga. Arijit then just strikes you hard making it impossible to focus on anything else. The Keys and programming of all sounds are just phenomenal and all that is thanks to Vishal himself who takes care of arrangements too. Stop everything you do and just listen to an AR Rahmanesque interlude with the humming, guitars and strokes by Shomu Seal. It does probably have a flavour of Raag Yaman Kalyani here and I could just play this part on loop a million times. The rhythm programming will bring a smile to your face by getting the right elements like the Dholak, Kanjira etc at the right time. Shadab Rayeen does the mix and master with Pukhraj Sonkar and Anup assisting. Trihangku Lahkar is the recording engineer while Kumar Gaurav Singh assists Vishal. 4. Ultay Hor ZamaneMusic Producer, Composition & Singer - Kanishk SethPoetry - Baba BullehshahMusicians - Wei Xiao, Ricky YoungKanishk Seth is someone I eagerly look forward to when he releases something, because he has the knack to fuse classical Indian music along with techno and modern sounds, without corrupting either and he only lets the lines between them naturally blur. It is a skill that not many can claim to be good at, and here is another proof of his sublime expertise in doing that. I fell in love with the live instrumentals used here as they delivered a very fresh sound and the fusion is even better because it gets global exponents an opportunity to exhibit their work. Kanishk has composed, sung and produced this number while the original poetry belongs to Baba Bullehshah. Wei Xiao’s Violin and Ricky Young on the electric guitar just make this one heavenly experience. The swaras are by vocalists Yatharth Sharma and Devashri Manohar. The opening lines to me had some Shivranjani Raag influences. The interlude is filled with the fantastically haunting Violin and the guitars soon follow suit. The outro is magical with the concoction of the Violin, the swaras, the programmed sounds and a mild humming. Kanishk truly excels here even at the mixing and mastering, especially because there are too many components to coagulate perfectly. 5.  Osaarilaa RaaMusic – Rahul RajSinger -  Sid Sriram Lyrics: Rehman Musicians – Sumesh Parameshwar, Haritha RajLanguage – TeluguGenre – Light, Semi-classical, melodyRahul Raj is a fantastic composer and I have been thrilled to listen to his brand of music always. This is not the first time I am featuring this brilliant musician, but definitely his first foray into Telugu. Rahul infuses melody and that too with a mix of classical Raagas and it just not only makes the listening but the reviewing process too way too much fun for me. Sid Sriram becomes a natural choice as the lead vocalist for such melodies whereby he can bring his Carnatic experience to the table. I could definitely hear Aabheri and Sri Raagas, but Rahul says there is also Madhyamavathi in the mix. Sumesh Parameshwar is just killing it with the acoustic and bass guitars especially. Haritha Raj is just a supremely talented Veena exponent and she just breezes through competing with the westernized guitars. Rahul’s arrangements are breathtaking in that he introduces the bass guitars and Veena almost non-stop in the stanza and it keeps the whole segment fresh and catchy. Any words like catchy, would not do enough justification to this beauty but this is loop-worthy beyond doubt. Let us not forget the rhythm programming too, which is quite impressive. The track is mixed by Harishankar V and mastered by Pablo Schuller. 6. Aa Brahmanenba Music – Bharath BJSinging – Mehboob SaabLyrics – V Nagendra PrasadMusicians – Keerthy Narayanan, Siddhart Kamat, NelsonLanguage – KannadaGenre – Pathos, semi-classical Bharath BJ has been featured on my page for a fabulous Kannada song a few months ago called “Rangu Raate” sung by the indomitable Vijay Prakash. This too is from the same movie called ‘Wheelchair Romeo’ and is sung by Mehboob Saab with heaviness and a sense of Pathos which is very much intended. The song is definitely having some mild influences on Raag Maand, especially in the Pallavi. Siddhart Kamat who has been featured a few times plays the guitars but a lot of credit goes to Keerthy Narayanan who does the programming. Nelson plays the solo on the Violin in the interlude and Bharath Bj tells me the number is loosely based on Raag Khamaj, and you can easily sense that with the way there are similarities with the super famous Bollywood number “Zindagi maut na ban jaye” sung by Sonu Nigam in ‘Sarfarosh’. The track is mixed and mastered by Bharath himself.  The second interlude is grand in style and execution like a symphony and Bharath does exceedingly well in getting the basslines in place to add groove and funk to a semi-classical slow song. Mehboob Saab gets all the emotive elements on the dot with his delivery and impressive but under-played vibrato.7. Babul - Richa SharmaPerformed by: Richa SharmaWritten, Produced: Dhruv GhanekarLanguage – HindiGenre – Folk FusionJust a couple of weeks ago I showered praise on Dhruv Ghanekar for his splendid show and only saviour for the movie ‘Dhaakad’. The title track sung by Vasundhara Vee was emphatic with solid energy and orchestral grandeur. This is the second track I am recommending and this is no less. Clearly, the album is one of the best we have heard in Bollywood in 2022 and although that is not a very difficult thing to achieve considering the quality of Bollywood music, I can assure you that Dhruv’s score is as good as any we have heard in Indian movie albums in 2022. Richa Sharma is flawless in her delivery and the song starts off like an old classic song from the 1960s steeped in pathos. Then Richa just blasts away and Dhruv’s creative use of electro and techno sounds to modernize works just as well. The Punjabi folk tone becomes apparent in the production where Dhruv dominates the scene. Dhruv tells me that the folk is based on Raag Bhairavi, although with my limited knowledge I also heard some Raag Revati. Richa’s expression and modulations are hugely influential ingredients in the outcome of the song.8. Confide Composer, Producer – Moosa SaleemLyricist, Vocals– Moosa Saleem, Jeremiah de RozarioLanguage – EnglishGenre – Country, PopMoosa Saleem is one of the busiest music producers around and if I am not wrong, he has produced at least a dozen tracks in 2022, which is phenomenal and I must admit this is the first of those I am featuring and reviewing. Jeremiah de Rozario is a highly rated singer and for the first time, he is featured here singing for another musician’s production. Rozario brings in that element of western vocals that is apt for a song like this and the guitar riffs merge very well into the tone of the track. I feel there is the slide Guitar in use as well and that is why it belongs to the Country style of music we hear a lot from the US. The hummin and the vocal arrangements create a mesmeric effect .

Soul 8.5/10A saxophone player’s delight, as it is a trip that is certainly going to pump enough adrenaline into your bloodstream. I have been fascinated by this wind instrument ever since Kadri Gopalnath played it in DUET by AR Rahman, but who else but Gautam David can do wonders like this. I consider him one of the two best along with Abhay Sharma obviously.  This is SOUL-stirring music that you cannot just fail to occupy your brain with. The Keys played by Derek are on point, and along with the bass guitars by Vishal Varier and drums, by Jason Sharat, we have something very complete. Look out for the electric guitar solo by Adesh Vinod in the middle and portions where there are interventions. Just let loose and dance, drive, groove whatever. Your SOUL needs this! At 8 minutes this is long and pure like Test-match Cricket. The track is written, composed and produced by Derek Mathias, with Nirmit Shah mixing, and co-producing. Drona Acharya masters the track and Anand Murali plays the Keyboards, watch-out out for his solo effort around the 5.45-minute mark which reminds me of Maestro Ilaiyaraja’s works.Maya 7.5/10This is Indian electronica at its best, as Alboe introduces us to something mesmerizing, trance in full mode and you will fall subservient to the commanding powers of the Sitar sounds, and EDM influences here. The “Oh Maya” humming will be meditative to hear, I guarantee. Kenzani and Tech Panda are two more artists who have worked on and helped release this gem. Pinkoblue has done the artwork with Sathyadev Pius working on the motion.Lunar month 7/10The Bodhisattwa Trio are legendary for their rock music, with Bodhisattwa Ghosh being the frontman and lead guitarist, Premjit Dutta on drums and Shonai on Piano. I have featured Bodhisattwa many times for his work in Bangla music but the first time the trio is getting featured. Just like how the northern part of the Moon was named “The Sea of Tranquility”, this track called “Lunar month” feels like bathing in the sea of tranquillity with intermittent moments of high-octane energy and relative calmness as well thanks to the soothing Keys. There are segments where I was also reminded of Hans Zimmer’s “Dream is collapsing” from the ‘Inception’ OST.Sax on Drumz 8/10 God was watching and gave me a sign when I committed a grave error. I just mentioned that Abhay Sharma and Gautam David were the best saxophone players in India, but how can I ever forget ID Rao. This multi-instrumentalist is seasoned and incredibly potent and when his track found its way to my ears, I believe the Universe sent me a sign. This brilliant number is composed and arranged by Mann Bipin who plays the drums. ID Rao smashes away with the flute solo and saxophone solo and it takes an immense effort by Aslam Khan on mixing and Aftab Khan on mastering with assistance from Vatsal Chevli. You will just nod your head in approval as the flute and sax play cat and mouse and dominate proceedings, with the drums providing the tempo and energy to sustain this long track. It is recorded by Benvin Fernandes with assistance from Elvis Fernandes.Odyssey 8/10It's funky, groovy, out-of-the-world hip in every way possible. Of the 5 tracks we have seen for May that make the cut for Best Instrumental pieces, this one here is the most stylish, probably one of most in 2022 yet. It has some cool electric guitar notes with basslines and electronica additions just amplifying the level of likability for this track. There are similarities with Santhosh Narayanan’s “Bujji song”, thanks to some amazing guitars, but there is also a similarity with “International Suruli” from the ‘Jagame Thandhiram’ OST composed by Santhosh. The similarity begins and ends with the inspiring funkiness and there is a Michael Jackson-like grunt in both. Shashank Alamuru is the producer and he gives the track direction it deserves. Just near the 3rd minute, we have a drop in tempo as things pacify and Baidurjya tries to ease up a bit giving us milder shades of the track. The final outro is once again a fitting end on keyboards, and guitars and the piece deserve to be played all around the nation on weekend nights in pubs/discotheques. Neha Sharma does all the excellent artwork.

1. Oh MamaComposer – Anurag SaikiaSinger – Neha KarodeLanguage – EnglishGenre – Pop, JazzMusicians – Ishan Das, Gauranga Shekhar, Arabinda Neog, Dipakshi Kalita, Pratikhyaa Sarma, Bishal Sharma, Nawaz Hussian, Jitendra JavdaMovie - Anek It really feels amazing when you rate a musician highly and constantly review and feature their great work, and soon enough one of the best composers in the land uses that singer for one of his/her scores in a big banner movie album.  OK let me break all the suspense, the singer/musician I am talking about is Neha Karode and she just sang for Anurag Saikia in the recently released “Anek”. Neha has been featured multiple times on my music reviews and Indian playlists and she always makes it right to the top. Go check out her number 1 songs of the past like “Lat Uljhi” and “Piya Bin”. Anurag never ceases to impress and where he makes several strides as a composer in this album is the diverse styles that he brings to the table. The song is sung by Neha and Anurag, with Anubhav Sinha, the director himself writing the lyrics. This is a vocalist’s dream come true to be able to get a song that demands so much from you vocally and Neha smashes it like a nut with a hammer. Oblong Sioni and Ishan Das produce the track and though I haven’t seen the movie to judge the point where the song comes, it still has a considerable impact on the listener. The sounds are unique along with some fabulous backing vocals by Gauranga Shekhar, Arabinda Neog, Dipakshi Kalita, Pratikhyaa Sarma, and Bishal Sharma. The keys and bass guitars combine to add gravity but the strings elevate the song which is owned by Neha for her impeccable delivery. How she manages to sing a song with such westernized Jazz influences might be new to some but, for those who have heard her production of classical-Jazz fusions, this is right down her alley.  The juxtaposition of the drums, electric guitars and humming just energizes the song.  Ishan plays the guitars and Nawaz Hussain is on the drums. The Violin and Viola have been brilliantly played by Jitendra Javda. The track is mixed and mastered by Pankaj Borah with Pranjal Borah as his mix assistant. Rupjit, Pranjal, Ashish Anand and Utkarsh Parab are the recording engineers and the drums alone have been mixed by Akash Sawant.2. Bekal - Aditya KalwayComposer, Singer, Lyricist – Aditya KalwayLanguage – EnglishGenre – Pop, Semi-ClassicalMusicians – Muheet Bharti, Salim Sulaiman  I always get thrilled when I see Aditya Kalway’s name because he is the man behind “kalabaaziyaan” a song that probably instilled belief in me that excellent music still exists and indie musicians have taken that mantle away from Bollywood at least. He doesn’t disappoint me at all and even after that massive number Aditya got featured for 2 more of his wonderful numbers “Aasman ke raaz” and “Aakhri zarra”. This one here is loaded with stars like a galaxy of its own and every musician here has been featured multiple times even before you listen to the track on the Spotify link below, your expectations should be reaching a steady rise. Aditya has a voice that can make many vocalists jealous and thank God he is not one of those Arijit Singh copycats who I am tired of. As a music reviewer, it is a delight listening to his music and even better writing about it as he sticks to the knitting of what good music is all about – Melody. Great words and instruments aside a good tune will always connect well and create the necessary impact and ‘Bekal’ is exactly proof of that. Muheet Bharti is another phenomenal musician, and I will be featuring his new single soon here, and he plays the guitars with the Strings by the Violin/Viola duo called Severn Duo which I recently featured in. The Keys along with guitars guide the structural backbone of the song with Aditya's delightful voice taking over every ounce of our attention. Look at how he sings these lines “Mann ye zyada bekal sa, Tera chehra ek hal sa” with those delicate vibratos. In the subsequent lines, you can hear the splendid strings as they intervene in quick bursts, arranged by Salim Sulaiman. The bridge segment begins with “baat me teri itna asar kyun hai’ and this is when the strings amp up in the background. Ajinkya Dhapara does the mixing and mastering for the track with Virat Bhushetty’s assistance. The song written, composed and sung by AdityaKalway is the answer to your dull and uninspiring day and it has some fragments of similarities to “Kuch na kahom Kuch bhi na kaho” by the gigantic RD Burman, and I don’t think Aditya will mind that comparison one bit.3. I thought you were the oneBand - PeachLanguage – EnglishGenre – Pop, Alt-popMusicians – Shristee Bhitri Kothi, Vimarsh Pandita, Ali Armaan Zaivi, Archit Agarwal, Himanshu Rawat  I have heard this expression often referring to something as ‘Peach’, almost calling it the best of the lot. Well, This 3-member band from Dehradun sure sounds like a ‘peach of a band’ who goes by the name ‘peach’. The band is just over 1 year old but they seem to be creating and performing at a level that to me by astonishing. We as lovers of music can only be thankful that 3 individuals gave up their professional careers in other fields and have decided to give their everything for music. Vimarsh Pandita is the lyricist and composer, and he along with Ali Armaan Zaivi are the guitarists with Ali also being the producer. Shristee Bhitri Kothi is the vocalist, and together they cook up something tasty. Let us hope the other tracks in their debut EP ‘Confluence’ turn out to be as good and even with half as good as this, they would be worth our time. The bass guitars do the bulk of the heavy lifting at the beginning of the track, and soon enough Shristee charms her with that voice. Peculiarly the opening lines very much follow a scale that reminds me of “Take me home” by Phil Collins. The Keyboards by Archit Agarwal, bass guitars by Himanshu Rawat and drums provide all the necessary support but Shristee truly sounds enchanting. Listen to the guitar notes strumming about when the lines go “With every passing hour, wonder if you think of me”, and I felt like the guitarists just wanted to get noticed by the listener saying, “hey you music lover, did you think of us”. Prakhar Kumar does the mastering for the track.4. I’m TiredComposer, singer, and lyricist – TrishaLanguage – EnglishGenre – Pop, BalladProducer – Krimson Avenue Studios This is a teenage sensation, and I am not just saying that. Trisha prefers the lowercase t, and at an age when Indians in America participate in spelling bees, this 14-year-old just released a fantastic single written, composed and sung with exuberance unlimited. If this is how she scores and sings when she’s tired, wonder how the music would sound at the peak of her energies. Krimson Avenue Studios plays a vital role in the production of this song and when you hear you will know the value of a strong and dependable production house. The Keys are on point and the way they play generates the impact a ballad needs to create. The strings in the background are nothing short of perfection as they pull the strings attached to our hearts moving us and letting the sadness transmit from her voice and lyrics to our ears and hearts. Her way of singing reminds me of indie singer-songwriter Aditi Ramesh who is a superstar vocalist herself.5. BaadalComposer, singer, producer– The RedMooneLanguage – HindiGenre – Pop, MelodyLyricist – Rupali MogheMusicians – Rithu Vysakh, Rahul Narayan, Vivek ThomasAlan Joy Mathew who goes by the name The RedMoone has been featured many times for his indie projects as well as being a part of some phenomenal productions in the Mollywood album space, especially for the composer Jakes Bejoy. The guitars and Alan’s vocals are all that you hear and these come in various layers, but wait till you get bowled over by the one-man string quartet played by the one and only Rithu Vysakh. The vocal harmonies are executed and arranged to create a wavy feeling where the waves keep hitting the shores one after the other without ever catching a break. Vivek Thomas does the mixing and mastering and Rahul Narayan is the recording engineer.6. One Love Composer & Singer: Hemachandra Vedala (He/Him)Executive Producer: Teerdha Palagummi (She/Her)Lyrics: Kittu Vissapragada (He/Him)Genre – Indie popLanguage – TeluguMusicians – Joel Sastry, Aditya GajulaHemachandra Vedala is one of those composers who doesn’t just sit idle waiting for movie projects, as he keeps himself busy with indie singles every now and then. The last time when I featured him was for the mesmerizing number called “Rabba”. The song has some excellent guitars played by Joel Sastry who also plays the bass, and he strums in exquisite fashion. The lines “chusa chusa” along with harmonies are such a delight to hear, and rap lines are done by Pranav Chaganty. Vedala composed and sang the song with lyrics by Kittu Vissapragada. The more you hear, you will feel that Joel is like the protagonist and even the sound design is such that the guitars are not playing the supporting role but are very much the lead. The song is refreshing and creates an effusion of love, romance and all associated feelings. The outro with the swaras probably is influenced by Raag Maand. Aditya Gajula has mixed and mastered the track. Finally, we have a good song about love irrespective of your gender and sexual orientation. 7. Jaza Composition, lyrics, vocals & instruments: Nishant MittalLanguage – HindiGenre – Pop, MelodyTracking, mixing, mastering & production: Abhishek Pawar This guy, Nishant Mittal is a Master of many trades, not just a Jack. He has been a successful entrepreneur and owned many start-ups, but what impresses me the most is his talent as a composer. A few months ago I did feature him for a song called “Sahi” and just like the name, everything was just right about the number. It ended up being one of the best Indian songs released in October 2021 and was picked from over 1500 songs released. If that song had some rock tendencies, this one is just pure melody and delight to the ears. If I ever could sing half as well, and play the guitars 10% as good as this, I still would pick this song to impress a woo-a-girl. The strumming of the guitars is what we hear from the beginning and it is like a feeling of wind on your cheeks, with the windows of your car rolled down. This brilliance on guitars is accompanied by the slightly coarse vocal delivery of Nishant. The bridge is a wonderful deviation and the

Gautam Agrawal, a young musician has recently released a new song Uljhanein. It tells his experience in the last two months, as he mentioned in the video description. He also said that his music is just going to get better from now on and I wish the best to him.   Now let’s talk about how I felt when I listened to this song. Talking firstly about the music, I felt it was engaging and mysterious. The background scores kept me occupied with the song and made me listen to it till the end. There is a similarity to the uber-hit called “ Tanha Dil” by Shaan released back in the 1990s. The song is loaded with synths and keyboard programming along with vocal harmonies in the background.  Next comes the video which starts with Gautam’s friends asking him "is he alright" and why he keeps listening to a particular song, in reply to which he answers that he feels connected to this song and it’s time to tell everyone his hearts desires or ‘dil ki baatein’. Even in the song, he mentions many times, that from now on he is going to say what his heart feels and also asks the people to not take it seriously by the line ‘dil pe mat lena inhe’. The video consists of snippets of Gautam alone. The places he is at are all empty. I think this resembles his heart. How he feels may be alone in his heart. The walk shows his efforts in trying to get out of this sadness and the window scene tells how he is feeling stuck.  Talking about the lyrics of the song and something that I pay most attention to. Lyrics always tell the story of a song. And the message that Gautam wanted to give through this song is clear. The song ‘Uljhanien’ tells about the problems that he is stuck in. He is trying to tell that he is in a dilemma but now he is deciding to do what he wants. The thing that confuses me is to who is he dedicating the song? My assumptions are that he is either talking to god, society or an ex-lover, through this song. But I can’t quite make which one it is. But maybe that is what he tried to do. That is what the song is - to make your own assumption and connect it the way the listener wants. Another bonus point I would like to add is that I really liked the way he added small dialogues/ phrases between the song. The dialogue  ‘Log kehte haiKuch bhi do baar soch ke bola karoKyun do baar soch ke boluEk baar Kaafi nahi?’ is something I really liked. It shows his will, his power, and his decision to not listen to others anymore and say what his heart feels, do what his heart feels. And isn’t it right? Sometimes by waiting to think twice before speaking anything we lose the importance of the words and the situation. Isn’t it better to say what you feel, instead of keeping it inside and regretting later !!? And then it continues as : ‘Log samajhte hai mujhe kuch aata nahiPar ye waqt hai ki ab unhe batana haiKi mujhe Kya kuch nahi aata’  These lines are also very motivating. In the end, he has finally made a decision to stand up for himself and show others what he is capable of. This was my review on the song go give it a listen yourself.  

1.   Jazz KalluJust a few days ago I had one of my Liv sessions on Instagram with a talented composer/singer called Ajesh Ashok and I compared him to some of the best talents in India like Sushin Shyam, Charan Raj, Ajaneesh Loknath and others. Sweekar Agasti was in that list as well, and here he is making me proud and justifying his talent and potential by composing the best song in India for the week. This as the name suggests is a brilliant rendition in Jazz style of music and since I am a fan of the genre I have a high bar. Sweekar crosses that with splendid ease and he is helped enormously by a magical sounding Damini Bhatla. She has a tailor made voice for this and I am happy for this opportunity that she has landed like a perfect 10. The singing is a masterclass in Jazz vocals and we have some very crucial support on the Keys. Sunil Abraham, Phil and Sweekar are the programmers, and they bring about the perfect harmony of the Piano and drums. Shravvya Kothalanka is the lyricist and Sweekar plays the guitar. The interlude is studded with the Saxophone solo by Weber Marley and Rajesh, but don’t forget to pay attention to the groovy bass guitars by Dan Gallagher. I wonder where Damini got the inspiration and idea to deliver vocals with such tenderness in certain places and at times with coarse punches. The track is mixed and mastered by AM Rahmathulla 2. PAATHAI - KEVA wonderful Tamil song comes up at the number 2 spot in the country thanks to some excellent collaborative work from artists around the nation. The song is written by Anand Kashinath who has featured many times here and my articles for Tamil numbers on Behindwoods. He also has produced this brilliant number. Kev and Anand collaborated and worked on this song back in 2020, and like great Tech companies were born out of garages, songs like these originated in rooms during lockdowns. In-fact go read up on this bizarre yet inspiring story of how Kevin Paul a.k.a. Mr. Kev stayed inside his room vowing never to come out till he finished composing an entire album. Kev does the vocals in the first half with Vaisakh Somanath singing the latter part. Kev plays the electric, acoustic and bass guitars, with Baidurjya Banerjee relishing the solo in the middle. It is Vinay Ramakrishnan. I will be listening to the other tracks from this album pretty soon. The track is mixed and mastered by Sajin A Stanly. The electronic sounds from some solid programming adorn the track and then Vaisakh takes the track to a newer high with his vocals.  The drums are not just run-of-the-mill, but Vinay is outstanding especially combining that solo along with Baidurjya, and this segment is pure magic, good enough to outclass any global rock single. The song has a texture and tone resembling “Aaromale” by AR Rahman.3. ASCEND - EVENODDThese Indian musicians have moved base to the US, founders Debojit Kaushik and Karan Chowdhary, but they are not only living the American dream but also keeping the dream of many Indian musicians alive by continuing their musical project under Evenodd. Zorran Mendosa has produced the track. This is like the Rock Gods have descended upon earth to perform ‘Ascend’ for us. The electric guitars are scintillating with upbeat drums and the lead vocals are nothing short of dreamy. The kind of rock music that stuns you, uplifts you and at the end of it all when you are ready and locked, energizes every cell in you. Just listen and let go of the meandering and mesmerizing music. 4. BEQANAB - WADALII remember featuring and writing about Lakhwinder Wadali in a song produced and composed by Salim-Sulaiman a few months ago. This is another Ghazal-styled melody, just a brisk faster in tempo. Wadali ji has composed the song along with singing it but the song is produced by Aar Be. The song thanks to some excellent production has a mix of western and Indian classical sounds as well. The guitars are a strong presence with drums and Tabla in unison, it feels like fresh air hitting the cheeks. The interludes are laden with instrumental arrangements and the bass guitars provide a beautiful layer underneath the vocal strength of Wadali ji. Just watch out for that brilliant landing into the opening lines, form the antara aided by terrific drums. MS Abid is the lyricist and the track is wonderfully mixed and mastered by Sameer Charegaonkar.  5. HELPLINEKalpana is an artist who has spent time in the US and India and like many indie artists, it only helps implement facets of the art that is specific to either hemisphere. The song impressed me at the get go and there are not many who can do that when I am hearing their name for the first time. The singing is pitch-perfect, but as you can see the song is not supposed or meant to inspire from the very beginning. It treads a story in itself with the title giving away precious amounts of hints about the theme of the song. The guitars are like the heartbeat of the track thanks to Andrew Deepak. The production is immense in effort and impact and that is the sole reason we can hear such amazing sounds beyond the hymns and cries of Kalpana. I categorize it as ‘cry’ because she displays the vulnerability in her voice. Sanjai Shine and Balaji R Krishnan have gotten the elements in place to produce something soothing and substantial, knowing exactly when to let Kalpana’s vocals dominate and when to interject with layered sounds on the synths and Keyboards. It might have sounded low and mellow at the start, but she does ante up vocally and to the listener it feels like Help is on the way and hence the pumped up adrenaline. The vocal arrangements are never to be ignored in this number and we have Sanjai, Balaji and Nora Alexy working on those. The track is mixed by Pushkar Srivatsal of ‘Second Sight’, and mastered by Thomas Juth. Amulya Kundran and Yashna Tulsiani have handled album art, photography respectively 6. DHAAKAD The man has been in the papers for having returned to composition after a while, Dhruv Ghanekar. For a man who has 20 years of experience in composing, producing and playing with some of the global greats, he has had very little opportunity to prove his mettle. I did not have great expectations when I knew this was one mediocre movie, but the music simply amazed me. I'll be featuring the title song here but in the subsequent week I'll be mentioning the other amazing songs in the album plus I will be doing an album review as well. Dhruv Ghanekar has composed, arranged and produced the track, with lyrics by Ishitta Arun. This is no ordinary number as the song feels like an elaborate orchestral piece in itself. I have probably never seen so many live instrumentalists used in a Bollywood number in a very long time. Vasundhara Vee is the lead vocalist and she performs with incredible zest and control as always expected from a singer of her caliber. The last time I mentioned or featured Dhruv was last year when he produced Vasundhara’s “Run”. The flute is just majestic and mesmerizing right at the start and it is all part of the FILMharmonic Orchestra in Prague conducted by Adam Klemens. The guitars are a very western movie sounding like something out of “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”. Dhruv himself plays the Keys and acoustic guitar and bass along with the mercurial Mohini Dey . Neuman Pinto, who I have also featured in some lovely indie singles, has done the vocal arrangements and backing vocals for this track. I can go on and write about every element like the strings, the horns and so much more and this truly is what music should be like. The title line is sung with pumped up energy by Vasundhara and ably supported by backing vocals. Jai Row Kavi plays the drums while there are many percussionists involved viz. Taufiq Qureshi, Dipesh Varma, Khwab Haria and Shikhar Naad, Taufiq have done the percussion arrangements. The song flows like a river with varying intensities and all the strings we hear right through, is orchestrated by Steve Turner. The solo Sitar is played by Ravindra Chary and I listen to him sizzle in the end at break-neck speed. P.A. Deepak is the mixing engineer assisted by Vincent Joseph, and the track is mastered by Rueben Cohen. 7. ENTHA CHITRAMWhat did I just write or mention at the beginning of this article? I talked about some of the new-age composers in South India who are dominating the scene, and just like Sweekar Agasthi made it, at number 1 this week we have the other name Vivek Sagar composing here. His earlier single in the same movie sung by the legendary Carnatic artist Aruna Sairam was also featured and reviewed. This song has an Irish feel to it thanks to the multitude of fiddles and it feels like that song in Dhanush’s debut score by Yuvan Shankar Raja called “ Nenjodu ''. Anurag Kulkarni is at his best, exploring his full range vocally. Just listen to some tantalizing vocals in the chorus by ‘EL Fé’ with vocal arrangements by Roe Vincent. The fiddle is played by Ray Legere and Vivek himself plays the acoustic and electric guitars while Keba on bass. Lalit Talluri plays the flute solo to some delight in the interlude and Abhijeet Gurjale plays the Violin. The stanza has Keerthana Vaidyanathan singing the female lead vocals and many lines are sung in harmony by the lead vocalists which sounds fantastic. The second interlude is beautifully scored as well with Abhijeet playing the Violin solo. The notes are truly reminding me of Maestro Ilaiyaraja especially in the closing segment of the stanza. Sanjay Das does the mixing and mastering which would have taken a toll considering all the vocals, harmonies and instrumental layers in this song. The lyrics are written by Ramajogayya Sastry with additional programming and Synth by Vivek. 8. DUREAfter a brief gap, according to my understanding, Papon makes a comeback in Bangla after many forays into indie music in Assamese and Hindi. Rohan Roy’s strings welcome the listener in this slow and somber melody composed by Indraadip Das Gupta. I get a sense there is some Raag Khamaj in places, and to make matters even more touching and moving Iman Chakraborty jo