1.     FableJunkyard Groove is all about Ameeth Thomas who is the front man, soul and spirit of the band. He believes that that the only constant existence in the band is him and he is perfectly fine going solo, with band members and instrumentalists changing around him for different projects. All these details aside, if you are reading this, just take a break and listen to the brilliant rock number, one that elevates to a global scale or quality. This is proof that music produced in India is definitely right up there with the rest in these genres popularized by, and originated in the West like Rock. Ameeth’s vocals are nothing short of tantalizing reminding me of great voices like Chad Kroeger from ‘Nickelback’. The vocals keep me glued, as I who claim to be a multi-tasker am struggling to do anything beyond listening to the enticing vocals, thumping drums and electrifying guitars. The writing is excellent and you pay attention to the beautiful words, and the way Ameeth sings “anything we say, anything we want, we can make it up as we go along” with a tinge of falsetto, is memorable. Past the 2.30-minute mark we hear a stunning electric guitar solo by Vikram that perfectly encapsulates what we hear right through. This is not just a ‘Fable’, this is just as Real as it gets. Ameeth plays all other instruments in the track.2.     Baby JaanThis Delhi-Gurugram based band is a coming-together of some supremely talented and experienced musicians and I was mighty impressed with their recent single. Sumit Pratihast has this very likable vocal delivery style which oozes of confidence and style and he also has written and composed this track. There is some very solid support on the drums and guitars by Palash Bedi and Jishnu Banerjee respectively. The vocal harmonies are extremely crucial in this track as they form an inseparable layer right through. The song very vividly reminds me of Shaan’ astronomical hit “Tanha Dil Tanha Safar”. Gavin Pacheco plays the bass guitars and Sumit contributes himself on other musical accompaniments. Anindo Bose at Plug ‘N’ Play Studio does the mixing and mastering for the track. Ths song is just not about the solid instrumental support, Sumit’s singing is excellent at times like the portion where he sings “Teri yaadosh mein dhubke , rehna hai aur kahin na jana hain”. He displays subtle vibrato which is delightful to hear unlike misunderstood rock-styled songs where only decibel levels rise.  The recording engineers are Anindo, Mukul Jain and Abhinav Upadhyay. The artwork illustration is handled by Liana Petri.    3.     The Same Some nice stories need or entail good music as well. This particular short in the anthology series “Modern Love Mumbai” was one of the best showcasing a cute love story set in Thane. If you watch this story, and as it slowly comes to the climax the relevance of this song in the background is apt and clear. Neel Adhikari is the composer and lyricist, and I have featured him before for a Bangla track called “Karon Amar Akashe”. The moment Karsh Kale comes on board as the lead vocalist, the song gets elevated into something else. Karsh has been a very impressive musician/producer and I have featured him many times but his vocals simply never make you feel like ‘It’s the same’.  He has a baritone voice and it suits the English lyrics better for some reason. The synths are straight away reminiscent of the magical 90s Pop and it is Neel on both guitars and synths. The way the scale and notes shift as Karsh sings “the same” just after singing “Now the roof is gone, nothing quite feels the same”, pure magic both in singing and composition. I would pay to just go hear those lines, as Karsh elevates the scale one more time. Karshni Nair comes out of nowhere and makes her presence felt with her low-scaled vocals. Neel and Kelly D’lima back on the vocals in the harmonies, layer that feels not forced but very functional. Yohaan Pissurlenkar is the bassist, and he has been featured for his role in songs like “Kow Your Hail Mary”, and Sanjay Das does the mixing, additional synths and production. The song feels like a chirpy promising love song, and at the same time one which creates some mystery and suspense almost like making you wish the couple got together on screen but unsure about what they would do. Samarth Chawla does the additional production with Matt Jeferies on mastering. 4.     Moonbrain Shikhar C will immediately grab your attention whether you like it, want it or not. The guitar strokes are particularly strong and imposing and with a voice like that of Bryan Adams (sounded like that to my mind). The electric guitar solo comes in thanks to Melvin Mukerji, but behold the drums by Gaurav Khanna, as he stops just for a second when Shikhar sings “Stop here just for a second”. Soorya Praveen is the bassist, as he proclaims his powers and presence the moment Shikhar finishes the line “Im stuck waiting by the Sea”. The shift in the Octaves when Shikhar sings “Moonbrain” twice, the use of strings and their arrangements in the background by Aman Arakh all are very noteworthy features of this fantastic number. Aman has produced the track along with mixing and mastering and kudos to him for getting all the intricate elements right in the final product.  Shikhar also does additional production, and he sings like a dream.   5.     The OneAishwarya Andrade released her debut album called “Discovery” and it helped me discover a new artist, that I quite like and will probably end up following closely now. Ash Andrade as she is known delivers her best in “The one” according to me as she writes, composes and performs with Brandon Mendes on mixing, mastering and overall production. I love serene the song starts off with repetitive mention of “the one” in multiple layers of vocals. The guitars and vocals are soothing like how the words “you are the one” itself would make one feel, being at the receiving end. The drums probably programmed, gently gain momentum and tempo and you start shaking your head and tapping your feet. As the song progresses, Ash shows greater confidence especially in the bridge singing “You’re running after me, you’re ever seeking for me”.6.     MehroomA lot of the songs this week are extremely well composed melodies with the predominant guitar, yet every one of these is different from each other making it a fantastic list. Raman Negi has written, sung and produced the track. The song starts off like the calm before the storm, but the storm sure does arrive, just past the 1-minute mark when Raman sings “Aarzoo dhunde kushi ke tikhane”, this is some vocal delivery of outstanding quality at the higher scales. Gaurav Chintamani has co-produced the track and he has recorded and mixed the track. The song has a nice shift in notes and trajectory when Raman sings “ Aawaz de mujhe”. The electric guitar solo comes in for a brief while in this wholesome number. Brian Lucey masters the track, and the video is a film by Maan Boruah.7.     Ghum KahinHansika Pareek is a fantastic vocalist and she has been featured on my lists for songs like “Bano” and “Besharam si Nazarein”. Even if you just glance through her Instagram account you will hear wonderful covers of some famous numbers and the best part is that she explores languages she doesn’t speak. Shubham Srivastava is the male vocalist who we hear right from the start and he creates a great platform over which the song then tends to build. Shubham is the composer, lyricist and producer and he must get more than the lion’s share of credits for getting this track the way it from start to finish. The guitars and keyboard programming is effective and keeps the song’s creative value high. There is an electric guitar solo, along with the Harmonica at the interlude after which Hansika goes from 0-100 kmph in no time, metaphorically meaning that she hardly takes time to outperform vocally. The subtle yet stunning things she does with her vocals is truly impressive and the song is a electronic pop song that will be on loop after you hear it once. Lowkey does the mix and master 8.     Dekhlo Wahaan PeIt is a Chandigarh based band and they call themselves a western-classical fusion band. No wonder they have a beautiful name “Gamak” known to be the Vibrato in Indian classical music. The band consists of Mrinal Sippy on lead vocals and rhythm guitars, Gaurav Arora on Lead guitars, Kushal Sood on drums, and Vaibhav Kathuria on bass guitars. The EP that the band released is called “Four Lane”, and I loved this track the most. The guitars lead the way with the mild drums and gathering intensity. The vulnerability in Mrinal’s voice is refreshing as it draws you deeper. But he doesn’t stop there, as he explodes into the higher scales singing “na jaan kyun, aasoon behaye”. His band mates Gaurav, Kushal and Vaibhav provide backing vocals creating a nice layer of harmonies. Just as the name in the band, Mrinal gives those minute gamakas when he sings “mujhko rulaye”. The support on drums and bass by Kushal and Vaibhav is adequate. Gaurav sizzles on the electric guitar in the background past the 2.30-minute mark if you pay attention. The track is mixed and mastered by Mrinal and Gaurav with Kushal assisting. Mrinal Sippy has written and composed the track. 9.     Give Up

1.  SuperhumanIt is amazing when you can trust a certain name, and can bet on the quality of their work and output. Tarang Joseph is one of those musicians who falls right smack in the middle of that category. A regular on my rankings thanks to some consistently good composition, flamboyant Piano chops and amazing vocals. “Feeling empty” and “Destiny” were excellent tracks that both got featured among the best in the country and now we have this. Tarang gets RANJ on board, a diva with an attitude that makes most of us envious and she comes in with the savvy Rap portions along with Mary Ann Alexander on vocals. Tarang has written, composed and performed as usual with his unmissable role as the Pianist as well. Doc Awes does the musical production and it is one heck of a track possessing all the perfect ingredients.  You don’t have to be feeling sorry Tarang, maybe you and the entire team can feel superhuman for this effort. Surya Kalyan keeps the song groovy and stylish with his bass guitars. Doc Awes ups the game with the splendid horns section and drums and just when you think “wow, love where this track is heading”, RANJ brings the house down with her Rap rendition and many artists wanting to specialize in Rap/Hip=Hip can learn a thing or two from her. The constant Piano in the background with the rap feels like a deluge of energy. The track is mastered by Stuart G Hawkes and on the video credits side, the producer is Yashas Hegde with Denin Day as DOP, Divya Runwal doing the set designs, Akshaya on styling and Deanne on Makeup. Akshit Bahri handles the subtitles, with Saasmit Chhetri directing the video. 2. Is this that feelingA few combinations are always golden, and they work together like magic. Many months ago we had a composition by Meghdeep Bose which was sung by Shekhar Ravijani called “Boonda Baandhi”, a tranquil melody that perfectly fits the impending monsoon in Mumbai. Now we have nothing tranquil about this song, but is scintillating in quality and impact, bringing in elements of Latino Jazz, Calypso styles. Shekhar has composed and sung it with impeccable bravado and here Meghdeep has produced, arranged and mixed the track. The first time I heard, I couldn’t stop singing the title lines, and I only ended up irritating my wife even though she is a huge Shekhar fan, I probably should blame it on my singing. I just wanted to drive the point that this song is contagious so watch out. Priya Saraiya mixes Hindi and English lyrics so beautifully but the Hero is Shekhar and how he delivers it vocally. Meghdeep can’t be far behind and probably he has elevated a very catchy tune into something of monstrous likability. I over the years have attached great respect and admiration for Meghdeep’s work and he time again surpasses my expectations. The guitars right at the start set you up for something fiery along with the tantalizing riff on the guitars and the basslines. The song has some influences of the Vishal-Sheykhar times. Hear the amazing bass guitar notes along with the percussion when he sings “Jo dil mein reh jati hai”. How eloquently Meghdeep brings in the trumpets and Accordion into the fray of things. It is a joy ride and you need to hear it to believe it. The track is mastered by Christian Wright and Joshua Rodrigues is the mastering co-ordinator3. KhatBig names don’t surprise as much as some new singers and composers, when you suddenly hear their work for the first time. It brings a smile wider than the pacific rim. I specifically loved the guitar strokes by Arbaaz Khan who keeps the romantic quotient very high with his ingenious plucking. The line that is my favorite is “Har dam tu, haan tiu, har haal mein tu”, sung beautifully by Durgesh R Rajbhatt and Deepali Sathe. I cannot make out who among the two is more mellifluous, maybe they both equally are. Durgesh composes a soft and tender melody that oozes rich quality. The sound of the percussion instrument which is mostly a Thavil to my mind is a great addition. The interlude on guitars takes the song forward, and the stanza is a beautiful extension of the melody and the vocalists are truly like an oasis in the desert, rare and priceless. Saaveri Verma cooks up perfectly sensible and emotional lyrics that will make you shed a tear thinking of your loved one. Durgesh does quite well on the arrangements and programing which I am sure includes all the rhythms and the track is mixed and mastered by Pranjal Bohra and the recording is by Rahul Sharma and Sameer. The song does have a mild flavor of “Hey Sona, Hey Sona”, which was incidentally composed by Vishal-Sheykhar.  4. Aur kya (Chapter 1)I don’t remember the last time I featured 3 songs from the same EP in 3 different weeks by any musician from the day I started reviewing music. Is this guy Anurag Mishra cut form a different fabric? The previous songs “Khwaab” and “Dhaage” were fabulous tunes and productions and the effort that has gone into each of these is there for all to see. Every song has a story and a video that depicts a message, like this one here showcases the life of Ganesh Vanare, a photographer and influencer.  Very impressive screenplay and theme shows the main character getting a letter from his younger version and the idea of the video was to inspire others through Ganesh’s story. Anurag has composed and written this very touching number that rises and ebbs like a wave. When I heard it the first time it reminded me of an Ajay-Atul score and Anurag should be proud of this comparison. The female vocals are by this Ahmendabad based musician, Krishani Gadhvi and she acts as the perfect complement to Anurag’s tantalizing vocals. The strings arranged in the background along with the Piano, and harmonies are like extremely well assembled blocks in a structure giving stability and strength to the final output. Prasanna Suresh who has been a regular for all his composition/ production work of late especially in collaboration with Sanah Moidutty produces this one too, so he must desrve a pat on the back for all the grand sounds we hear and a fine finished good. Jaichu C and Prasanna Suesh have mixed and mastered the track. As far as the beautiful video goes, Bijoya handles the story, direction and screenplay with Abhii Kamble as cinematographer and photography by Rishi Agarwal.5. Who I loveAnanya has been featured before with a A-grade song called “State of the art” and so I recommend that you first listen to that to know what a high bar she had set for herself. Now we know sequels are always difficult for people to enjoy and they never get even remotely close to being a decent effort after the original. But Ananya stuns me with her “Who I love”. It has the striking presence of Sanjay Divecha on guitars stroking away to glory and he also has adequately flaunted his production and arrangement skills on this one. It is a wholesome number that will please the ears in every way possible, so long as you are looking for music in its purest form. Icing on the cake, well who doesn’t love that, and Ananya has that too for us with Brecilla Dsouza’s backing vocals in the number. If I am not wrong Ananya did the same for Brecilla’s single called “Know you Hail Mary” which too was featured and reviewed here. The reason I called this an icing is because I Have reason to believe Brecilla is one of the finest vocalists out there and she brings a fine element in the harmonies thereby enriching Ananya’s wonderful composition. The guitar notes are a separate song in itself and pay close attention to the acoustic and bass guitars, with some very soothing percussions. The humming is like a lovely pack of birds calling out in love. The electric guitar solo is unexpected and turns the song into something more energetic from there on.6. Mehki hawaIt seems to be a new band of boys from Mumbai and they call themselves ‘The Atlas Project’ (TAP), and I am sure with this excellent and exciting new single their name should soon be on the map. Get it? It is a great move to rope in this talented singer-songwriter Ashish Kulkarni to do the vocals. People might know him from the recent Indian Idol but I have featured him a few times even before for some excellent Hindi indie singles. The band is a pop focus group, but the song is very gentle like the blues, and the song literally feels like the cool breeze as the title says. Soumil Pandit plays the guitars, and I love the drums being so gentle like it barely exists. The harmonies are excellent arranged right from the beginning. The electric guitar solo is splendid after the initial vocals, and let us applaud Jignesh Patel for the high-hat drums and even otherwise for being solid. Archit Shah and Ruparel SMit were together as a duo making music and they probably are the brains behind the composition and programming for TAP. Some of the excellent percussion we hear is because of the specialist Omkar Salunkhe and he has been working with AR Rahman and I remember mentioning his name when I reviewed “Jalwanuma” the song few weeks ago. Omkar is a rhythm programmer, percussionist and rhythm producer. The fantastic bass guitars are by Govind Gawli and it keeps it stylist right through. The song has some excellent layers if you pay attention there are so many instruments coming and going, and I think I also heard the slide guitar if I am not wrong. The track is mixed by Vijay Dayal and mastered by Donal Whelan. Ashish truly experiments with his vocals, improvising the notes and he comes out on top every single time he does that. The song is not without a clean and nice theme and message and it is apparently about a bird called “Mehki” and it talks about the journey on flight it is taking against the heavy winds, probably indicating the journey that TAP itself is taking. I wish them a happy flight, and always a safe landing at the destination. 7. Laage re nainIt is extremely exciting when singers, instrumentalists cross the bridge over into musical composition, just like how actors enter the domain of direction. It is an uptick and a higher run of their professional ladders and it showcases their overall sense and sensibilities in music. Well Paras Nath is a brilliant flautist, just listen to him compete and at times dominate Shreya Ghoshal in “Muraliya” by Salim-Sulaiman released as a part of Bhoomi 2020. Here he as recreated, arranged this song and added some very fine textures and layers to the song. Pratibha Singh Baghel is a walking, singing ‘University of Ghazal style music’, and she nails the vocals. Dilshad Khan’s Sarangi beautifully decorates the interlude along with Pratibha’s swara delivery. The way the song also eludes a Jazz style thanks to the tempo, drums, and bass guitars is a masterstroke. Santhosh Mulekar does the music programming while all the woodwinds and Flute is played by the man Paras himself. The song sounds very much like an influence of Raag Hamsadhwani to my ears. Sameer DHarap does the recording while Elvis Garagic handles the mixing and mastering. The outro with the aalap and flute solo is fitting.8. Have you

1.    YaadeinThey have always been on the radar, have ‘Last Minute India’ a band from Mumbai that primary focuses on Alternative rock as the style. ‘Yaadein’ is a single that belong to the album called” Kaagaz Ki Naav”. The song to me is their best yet, amongst all the ones I have heard so far and it finally shows the true potential of the band. The core strength seems like the lead vocalist Abdul Shaikh and he impresses right off the bat sounding like the stylish and husky Atif Aslam. The band is equipped with all elements and very efficient instrumentalists and we have the drums by Yash Khona and lead guitars by Austin Furtado accompanying Abdul on vocals. The rock quotient is quite high and it hardly takes the band 1 minute to showcase that, as we hear a fabulous and zingy electric guitar solo with Bhumit Gor on Rhythm guitar and Subodh Gupta on bass guitars. The drums and guitars take a back seat allowing Abdul to perform both emotionally invested and charged and when the tempo and energy needs to be raised the pounding drums and crackling guitars set the stage on fire. Subodh also joins in on the backing vocals which form a nice layer and he writes the lyrics as well. The track is mixed and mastered by Jagdish Bhandge and the impressive artwork is by Sanjana Kadam. Very often when we have a rock band, the lead vocalist is more focused on having a high decibel level alone, but here Abdul Shaikh is immaculate in his delivery and all his vibrato and only to be matched by the electric guitar. Darshil Gala is the band’s manager.2.   KaashNatasha Vora reached out to me when she released her new song called ‘Kaash’ and this was her debut Hindi single. I had not heard of her before especially she is settled in Los Angeles, but it took me under 5 seconds to fall in love and be entirely prepared for the magic that was about to unfold. This singer-songwriter who was born in Bhiali, Chhatisgarh went to study economics, and when she decided to quit that to pursue music, a star was born. Being a economics buff myself, I reckon the world has too many of those, but needs supreme musical talents like Natasha. She has written, and sung this song with Akshat Pradhan being the brains behind the production. The song is a guitarist’s delight and we need to stand up in appreciation and approval for Hunter O’dore’s excellence, and he apparently studied at the Musician’s University in LA along with Natasha. She sings like a dream and not just an ordinary one, it feels like a dream within a dream within a dream which I just don’t want to get out of, something like in Nolan’s ‘Inception’. The use of harmonies adds that blues feeling to the song and one can just shut his/her eyes and be transported to New Orleans with Hunter’s basslines. I love the lines “ Toh rukh ja, samja mujhe, oh rukh ja, bas thodi der”, and how the rhythm stops and pauses accordingly. Samarth Dhawan does the mix and master with Katsuya Sezaki doing the recording. Franco Salas is the photographer and Anushka Tendolkar handles the graphic design.3.   KanhaThe giants are back and that too with a bang. Ajay-Atul are probably one of India’s finest composers and I love it when don’t rest on their past laurels but rather create melodies and scores at a rampant consistency like this. The other songs in the album are worth your time and I will be writing a bit about “Bai Ga” also but this one is something that will hold your attention and raise your hair, well it just did for me as I was typing the review.  The strings section is brilliant and just truly is a representation of their idol Maestro Ilaiyaraja. Ajay-Atul compose, arranged, produce and conduct the brilliant Orchestra as well. Ajay Gogavale is the vocalist and reminds us of some of their smashing hits even before ‘Sairat’. The track is mixed by Vijay Dalal and mastered by Gethin John. Chinmay Mestry is the sound engineer and Guru Thakur is the lyricist. The line “Muralitsa” and the strings that follow will melt you into surrendering to the beauty and powers of music. The fusion of the Konnakol and symphonic strings in the end is fantastic.The other song I do love is ‘Bai Ga’ which sounds a lot like there is a Raag Puriya Dhanashree influence. Aarya Ambekar gives a spell-binding vocal display and it feels like you are on this incredible floating hot-air balloon soaring higher and higher without a worry in the world. You will be enthralled by the world of percussion that Ajay Atul bring you into with Vinayak Netake and Prasad Paddhye on the Tabla, Krishna Musalem Satyajeet Jamsandekar on the Dholki and finally Prarap Rath, Ajay himself and Satyajete on percussion.  The Sitar is played by the genius Purbayan Chatterjee in the interlude supported very ably by the men on Tabla in the stanza. Listen to the mild Keys in the background. Towards the end Varad Kathapurkar plays a dazzling solo on the flute and I remember him from his performance in “Me Vasantrao”. The chorus comprises of Aditi Kulkarni, Maithili Joshi - Panse, Mrunmayee Dadke, Sharayu Date, Sonali Karnik, Shalmali Sukhtankar4.   NilashakalamIn an age when songs hardly extend past the 2.5-minute mark, here is one splendid Malayalam number that spend more than 70 seconds just on the Pallavi and Anu pallavi. The anupallavi portion is probably the best portion with some enchanting assembly of sounds from live instruments. We can hear the strings section by Cochin Strings and played by Francis Xavier, Josekutty, Carol and Albin and a separate solo on Violin by Francis. The Keys play along in the background and they are programmed by Dil Vinu who also does the strings arrangements. Dr. Sandeep R is the composer and he has also produced the number with lyrics by Dr. Sukesh RS. Arvind Venugopal is the singer and he brings a freshness to the table through his vocals. The interludes and the stanza are laden with excellent strings and the track is wholesome for various reasons both vocal and instrumental arrangements. I love how the stanza gains traction, as it starts off slow and pacified but feels like a raging wave as it ends. The mixing and mastering is by Mani Ratnam and Teena Mary joins in on the backing vocal where we hear her humming. The recording engineers are Jisto George and Sanjai Arakkal, with artwork by Roshan Xavier.5.    Tere BinaIf Natasha was studying economics before moving into music, here we a full fledge finance graduate from NYU who decided it was time to take up music whole-heartedly. This is just so positive to hear and read because it is all proof that no matter what you do, you can always work on your dreams and make your way closer to achieving it. His name is Arnav Maggo a singer-songwriter from Delhi and he combines with another precious talent called Vasuda Sharma who studied in Berklee College of Music. It might start off to give an impression of a run-of-the-mill song with guy and his guitar, but be surprised as it elevates with every moving second and note into something magical. As the title suggests the song is about a bond between two people that is heading towards its demise, something we never want to experience but it is one of those inevitable things at times. So the sadness is deep-rooted in the lyrics and delivery styles as well. The song is performed and composed by both these lead artists with Vasuda on lyrics and Arnav on guitars. Arnav does exceedingly well in the baritone kind of scale, and when both of them sing we get so invested in the message like Vasuda asking “tumse juda hokar jayein kahaan”. The strings section is the surprise package and that steals the show giving the song gravity, meat and what not. Severn Duo play the strings, and watch-out for some magic on the strings at the 3-rd minute mark, just before the bridge section. A solo violin plays adding to the pathos and the outro has a well arranged bit with the lead vocalists singing in unison almost making us hope that they never separate but only unite. The mixing and mastering is done by the expert Anindo Bose at Plug ‘N’ play studios. As far as the video goes Shrutiman Deori and Kirtiman Singh do the conceptualization and cinematography. Arjun T Bhardwaj handles the editing and Makrand does the Color grading. A special mention to the Severn duo comprising of Jess Townsend playing the Violin and Tom Mccluskey on the Cello. 6.   Just another pretty face There are different kinds of music lovers, the one who focus on the lyrics, and then those like me who just focus on then music, notes instruments and vocals. Apparently this song was penned by Mithun when he was in a bad place but eventually came out of it with flying colors and the song is a message to everyone out there to cut the bad company and be focused on the good things in life. Such a great thing to hear from a young musician and he is already a Doctor from Manipal who can sing and compose. I am sold in-fact much before I knew all this about the guy, the purity of the song, and its overall production had me captivated. Rajath Rao is the producer who deserves a massive round of applause for giving the song direction and depth. Adesh Vinod plays the guitars and supports the very likable vocals of Mithun Kiran who very ably manages a nice falsetto too. We have another expert in Roshan Sebastian on mixing and mastering, and I loved the bridge portion which only glorified the track further. Let us hope Mithun needs no more disappointments in life to create great music like this. He has written, sung, composed and co-produced. The outro on the electric guitar feels like sweet redemption something that Mithun would have felt at the end of all this.7. Kannil PettoleVishnu Vijay is a dependable musician who will get you some brilliant original music that will not only please listeners at that given juncture but also stay in our hearts for many months together. However in my opinion what separates a great musician from a good, is ones ability to score music across genres and not just be a one trick pony. With songs like this Vishnu rises past the “good musician” category for sure, as this funky brass section-filled musical will make you dance, sing, and revel in joy. Vishnu also sings this number with great efficacy and the Arabic and Malaylam lines on the female vocals are by Irfana Hameed. She has also written the rap lyrics herself. The song is composed, arranged and produced by Vishnu. Subhani plays the Oud, Ruan, Saz and Babu is in-charge of the brass section, which mainly has trumpets and maybe trombone. The song just reminds me of “Sususudio” by Genesis the band, which had Phil Collins. There is one small segment, which acts like an interlude as Subhani plays the Oud at breakneck speed. Deepesh Krishnamoorthy is the manager and vocal producer, with recording engineers being Kashyap Ram Mohan, Prince Joe and Nishant. Sujith Sreedhar is the mixing and mastering engineer.

1.    For who I amI reached out to Arunaja a few days ago, saying how overwhelmed I was listening to this song. I am going to repeat what I told her, so here goes. I was walking back home coming down the metro station stairs, wearing my headphones, going through a massive list of songs pending for listening and reviewing. It was all happening steeped in monotony, and suddenly The Piano and Arunaja’s vocal struck me. I literally lost my balance as my mind was not aware of the events and people around me, but deeply engrossed in the music. I felt like I was listening to some of the greatest musicians the world has known in the pop genre, like a Madonna, Mariah Carey, Vanessa Carlton, Celine Dion, and so many names. Arunaja soars to a level I haven’t heard in a very long time and she definitely occupies the top tier of Indian vocalists with this number. The music drew me in and I was shaking my head, thanking the heavens for giving me the passion to listen to so much of music, just so that I stumble upon a song like this. Arunaja writes, composes and performs this with Keshav Dhar’s emphatic production. This is proof that a voice to kill and a Piano to plunder you can do more magic than David Copperfield. The way she sings and introduces such minute vibrato et the end of each line is worth paying attention to. The title line as she sings “For who I am, for who I am not” you will surrender to the song’s capacity to allure and mesmerize you. A big applause to Sonu Milton who slays the song as he plays the Keys, as it is nothing shot of phenomenal. If you actually pay attention, or even without that Sonu’s Piano has a aggrandizing effect on you and just as much as Arunaja serenades with her vocals, Sonu turns out to be the Pied Piper. The production value is heightened by Keshav’s hand in this along with his expertise in mixing and mastering for the track. Designer Aki does the artwork, with Azhar handles the photography. Arunaja plays it mild and vulnerable, in the lower scales and she performs with full bravado as she sings “would you stay here for a while, is there something holding you back”.  The unison of the vocals, Piano, drums and guitars towards end is an experience you must feel yourself, and watch out for the outro where Arunaja goes full blast on her vocals, and this is where I feel privileged and determined to keep going on as a music reviewer.2.     Nadichaa NadichaaJust last month Osho Venkat impressed with a fantastic dance song in Tamil, and that was featured by me. In an age where dance music is simply perceived as a collecti9n of remixes and heavy percussion, Osho did a wonderful job with his song “Baby nee sugar”. He ropes in two amazing singers in Chinmayi Sripada and Amala Chebolu. The electric Veena played by Haritha shows some influence of Abheri Raagam. Srikrishna is the male vocalist for the song and he has this tonality which sounds like SPB Charan, but it all starts with Chinmayi’s voice.  Osho’s programming and Synth bass is spaced right through. Sandy’s solo violin comes in at the interludes and joined by the Veena making it one stunning epoch in the song. Amala brings her A game as well as the table, and the moment in the stanza when thee singers sing in union is breathtaking. The instrumentl arrangements are exemplary with Shuba on acoustic guitar, Jobin on Clean guitar, and Tanish Krishna on Bouzouki. The talam is performed by Arun Subramani, with Abhiikya, Sruthi Shivakumar & Dharshini on chorus. Pukhraj Sonkar has mixed and mastered the track. 3.     2 ChordThis 2 –man act called Itra hails from Bengaluru and they have been producing some good singles in Hindi. The duo of Vinod Patney and Naren Thota met back in 2015 and they have been performing quite well, although this is the first time I’m hearing their work. It didn’t take me more than 10 seconds to love the track as it had all the right elements straight off the bat. Vinod plays the guitars, and he has composed, written and performed the lead vocals while his partner Naren does the production, arrangements and sound design. The guitars sound way too cool, and matching that with Vinod’s oomph on the vocals creates a super setting for a drive. The vocal harmonies in the background and the drums and electric guitar sounds are just too fabulous to ignore or be indifferent to. The drums have a certain way about them and I love the beats where they hasten and increase the count without altering the tempo. The song totally feels like something out of the “Rock On” album by Shankar Ehsaan Loy, and this is meant to be a ravishing compliment on the Itra. Decaville is the mixing engineer and Andres Mayo does the mastering. The video animation is thanks to Priyanka Thampi, Kaushik Mandal and Rahul Tampi  4.     BechariYou may call her the Bpraak of the female world, or why? Just know her name, and you will probably not get such an impactful voice like hers even if you look hard. She is Afsana Khan. She sings like she has not 1 but two pairs of lungs and listen to her in full flow here at unimaginably high scales. The melody is composed by Nirmaan and lyrics too and Goldboypro does the production and arrangements. Apoorv Ghai and Mansi Singh conceptualize and execute the project. The string instrumentals maybe along with the percussion and the humming add to the beauty in the interludes. This is one song that will impact you with the depth and sadness as it plays along.  5.     Colors I seeA year or so ago I have featured her and then after a brief hiatus she’s back, Pritha Ghosh.  The artist has written, composed, produced and performed this stunner, with Karthik Nair also producing, mixing mastering and recording. She does some unbelievable vocal jugglery in certain instances but the way her voice captivates you and doesn’t let you lose attention for even a second is what mystifies me, listen to her sing “If only you’d understand”. The guitars have a strong presence and more than just fill the gaps when there is a vocal pause. The art work is by Afifa Eram.  6.     SnowThe EP called “Gramophone Goodbyes” has some good music, but ‘Snow’ thrilled me the most. Arka Saha has written, composed and sung this while Varun Murali produces this at his studios ‘the red music box’.  Tulip handles the photography and Tarun Mishra does the cover art. I write this on a Wednesday dated 1st June, when two artists on either end of the spectrum of achievements died, one being KK the singer and another being this young Indian Frank Sinatra called Sheil Sagar of just 22 years. Arka Saha’s singing and the Organ make my heart swell in sadness. The guitars and string section in the background add such layers of depth maybe to signify life just like music is beyond the simple truths that we can comprehend. There is a nice vocal arrangement as well where the backing vocal follows the lead with a very mild marginal lag. Arka’s singing is emotionally apt singing “When the winter comes, you’ll understand”. The bridge segment is even more powerful “I know, you know my pain, but your pain is too much” with the strings intensifying. Like he says, it is ludicrous! 7. KhamakhaGive a album/song to this guy and he will compose a score, that absolutely befits the theme and message. This is a story of a cricketer who arrived very late in to the scene after many years of struggle and hard-work and obviously there had to be an inspiring anthem of sorts, and Anurag Saikia delivers. The movie showing the rise of Pravin Tambe is well appreciated and I couldn’t think of anyone else who was ideal to score for a movie of this appeal. His trusted man Vivek Hariharan is the lead vocalist and he leaves no stone unturned singing this with immaculate passion. Shakeel Azmi is the lyricist, and Ishan Das along with Anurag produce the songs in the album. Even as the singing happens, there is so much instrumental backup happening and Japjisingh Valecha has done the additional production and orchestration. The extremely popular and efficient Cochin Strings handle the strings section, and the team comprises of Francis Xavier, Herald Josekutty and Francis Sebastián. The interlude has the woodwinds playing and we have two phenomnela instrumentalists on duty in Tejas Vinchurkar and ID Rao. Vivek shows his skill by being so delicate in segments and raising the decibels when he has to and all that happens seamlessly without a struggle. A song like this sounding like an anthem can never be a success without the backing vocalists and that is why Gauranga Shekhar, Arabinda Neog, Rakesh Deol and Sudhanshu Shome deserve credit. The guitars are played by Ishan Das and with mixing by Ninad Lad, mastering is done by Gethin John 8.     Now she KnowsAarifah Rebello is someone I’m hearing for the first time, and rightly so because this is her debut single. The fact that many young indie musicians have now started delivering superlative debuts is really heartening to see. This young heap of talent starts things off quite slow with the gentle guitars and it is almost a one –woman show with Aarifah writing, composing, singing producing and playing the acoustic guitars. Bharath Kashyap accompanies her on guitars with the solid bassline support by Yohan Coutinho. The song felt like

1.    Jao Piya They come back with one more massive stunner, as Maati Baani has now mastered the production of some of the best Indian classical fusion today. Continuing with the great singles that they have released in 2022, here we have Nirali Kartik and Kartik Shah (duo of Matti Baani) featuring two splendid Indian instrumentalists in Ambi Subramaniam and Abhay Nayampally have a fantastic duel on the Violin and Carnatic guitar respectively (a modified version of the guitar that sounds like the Mandolin his Guru U Srinivas played).  Kartik produces this breathtaking rollercoaster of a song while both NIirali and Kartik compose it. Nirali lends her voice and Kartik also plays the acoustic guitars. The song straight away begins with Abhay on the Carnatic guitars and immediately followed by the Tap dance. The rest of the cast on instruments are a global list of musicians, with some from Ukraine, was it all symbolic in a way to spread peace and send a message? Apparently the music was created and recorded mushc before the war, and coincidentally the day the song released, was also when the Russian attack on Ukraine began. The musicians are Anastasiia Avramenko, Sergey Ostapenko on Tap dance, German Dmitriev, Olga Ulyashenko on Violin, Alanys Arauz, Sanja Smileska on Viola, Isidora Novakovic on the Cello. Tao Issaro plays the Cajon and the bassist is Shalini Mohan. The solo on the Violin is brisk and solid and there are influences of Raag Sarang strewn around, but vaguely I also heard some traces of Carnatic Raag Kaapi. The interlude on the Carnatic guitar and Konnakol is interesting like a Jugalbandhi and Ambi and Abhay then set the tone for a violin – guitar tete-a-tete. The anatara showcases Nirali’s prowess as a singer and Anubha Bhat joins in as the music supervisor. Don’t forget to pay attention to the percussions on Cajon and the Tapdance and the cool underlying tones on the bass guitar. Francisco Nicholson has mixed and mastered the track, and editing and grading is by Kartik.  2.     Nachchesinde I have been listening to some of the singles by RR Dhruvan and whether his indie projects or movie albums. This is one spectacular number that enthralls the listener, accompanies by some very effective instruments, and a top-notch vocal exhibition by Sid Sriram. I particularly loved the acoustic guitars by Joel Sastry, who also plays the electric guitars. The beats and percussion have that very recognizable tone like the song “Venmathiye” by Harris Jayaraj. The song is composed, arranged by Dhruvan and programmed by Bharth Madhusdhan.  The stanza has a very fine melody and as it progresses, I sensed some similarities with SPB’s “Ayiram NIlave Vaa” especially towards the end. Kasarla Shyam is the lyricist and the song is mixed and mastered by Shadab Rayeen. The Sarangi is played by Manonmani in the second interlude reminding us of the interlude from the AR Rahman number “Snegithane” in the movie ‘Alaipayuthe’.  3.     LighthouseStevie is a musician who I have already featured before for a track called ‘Free’ where it was a band called ‘Nobody’ and Steve played a part in the band. Stevie goes solo here with vocals, but hands over the sound design and production to Rhenius Hudson. The splendid solo on Violin you hear right from the start is by Fenny Daniel, and he accompanies right through. It is not something we hear often, but the guitars and Violin go well together and add a little bit of Piano in the background. It might seem like a regular pop song, but credit to the creative production that sets it apart from all the crowd. Isaac Philip does the mixing and mastering and other video credits include Karthik Alagar Sivakumar as DOP, Pooja Venkat on Colour and Editing, Ritchie Michael Gomez on Titling and Graphics. 4.     Guilty minds title trackThere was so much hype around this Web series called ‘Guilty minds’ on Amazon Prime Video, that I was engrossed in reading all the reviews and so on, but little did I Know that its music would be such a breath of fresh air. Nobody ever wrote about the music, but U guess that is where I come in and project and propagate the image of the musical side of things. Anyway I was walking one fine morning to work, and it is habitual for me to wear my headphones and listen to a huge list of new releases. I had zero expectations when the album opened, because I have tuned my ears and heart to expect nothing great from the Hindi movie and web series, space. However as the first title track played I was blown away and my day got a new lease of life. I had to immediately search for the composer’s name, and I hadn’t heard of him before. Sagar Desai is the brains behind this tune and he has already won awards for the OTT movies “Kadkah” and “Ram Prasad Ki Tehrvi”. The Cello by Leo Velho will just grab you and hold your attention without a second of distraction. Swanand Kirkire sings it with a Kishore Kumar styled rendition and that gives it a very retro feeling. Shellee writes the lyricsand Ishan Naik mixes and masters the track.Hakk MaangteCyli Khare sings and composes this Marathi song that hits you like an iron rod on an anvil. The guitars are intriguing and with the Tabla, the tone is one of a woman in pain and probably demanding justice and her rights from a corrupt system. The Flute solo plays notes that add to the pathos. Jayant Digambar Somalkar pens the lyrics with Rajat Parasanna stunningly playing the flute. Amey Thakurdesai plays the Tabla and Ishan Naik mixes and masters the track. Dil Choor Choor HuaDivya Kumar sings many singles, but this is one is different and sounds nothing like he usually peforms. The song is once again composed by Sagar Desai and has a Rock ballad tonality and it is the guitars by Siddharth Chopra and Cello by Leo Velho that hold you hostage. Leo simply sizzles in the interlude along with the drums, and to electrify matters more we have a electric guitar solo by Siddharth that makes this song, something Shankar Ehsan Loy would have gladly included as a part of the album “Rock on”.5.     Tera Tha Tera Hoon