Here are the best Tamil songs released for the month of September 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Unakku Thaan Music: Santhosh NarayananSingers: Santhosh Narayanan, Dhvani KailasLyrics: VivekHarmony Vocals: Aditya RavindranLanguage: TamilGenre: Light Music/ LullabyEven as Bollywood struggles to get its musicians to score decent music, they have come to a model where a single movie album has multiple composers. It is in a state of shambles, while industries like Kollywood still keep outclassing with single composer-focussed albums. Here is something new though with "Chithha" having its first single by Dhibu Ninan Thomas and then it was Santhosh Narayanan with the next. If the first song was one of the most melodious of 2023, this special song by Santhosh will touch your heart and grab your attention with a symphony of phenomenal violins and heartwarming lyrics. The unbelievable layers of Violin are thanks to the performance of Anupam Roy with Karthik Manickavasakam's arrangements, and Vivek is the man behind those touching words. Santhosh composes, produces and sings this melody. Santhosh burdens you with his voice and delivery and the mild sadness of the song will get to you thanks to him. The Piano starts flowing like a stream of water that you feel like getting your feet into. It is tempting to focus, but then the focus once again shifts to Anupam's violins when the anupallavi goes " En paarvai unnodu, un bommai kannodu, pesamal vinnodu, naam midhanthu povom, kaathoram adi aalolam". The interlude is enhanced by the Violins and the amazing accompanying vocals of Aditya Ravindran. The layers of vocal harmonies singing the humming are phenomenal and it gets better with the Clarinet joining in and Santhosh singing " pa pa , pa pa pa pa paa". The pause is welcome and sets the tone for the more cheerful and playful stanza. This is thanks to the amazing live rhythms by Karthik Vamsi and Dhvani Kailas' cute vocals reminding me of "Vaa rayil vida polam va" from 'Pariyerum Perumal', also by Santhosh. Santhosh delivers an emotionally apt vocal performance and the outro is fitting and beautiful with the humming, Violins and rhythms coming together. Rupendar Venkatesh, Pranav Muniraj and Santhosh are the recording engineers, with Ruoendar on mixing and mastering and Meenakshi Santhosh functioning as the musicians' co-ordinator. @musicsanthosh @adityaravindran95 @pranavbalu @worldofsiddharth_ @deerajvaidy @meenakshi_santhoshnarayanan @rupendar_venkatesh @thinkmusicofficial @karthikmanickavasakam @_anupamroy 2. Kadhal Payanam Performed by Atulya Karalil, Pradeep Kumar, Vaishakh JyothisWritten by Kablian Shankar, Vaishakh JyothisLanguage: TamilGenre: PopThe voice of Pradeep Kumar resonates the moment he utters the first notes and there are not many like him to sing with such deep emotions in the Tamil space at least. We have the composition by Vaisakh Jyothis and the lyrics by Kabilan Shankar, with Atulya Karalil as the other lead vocalist. I am featuring these artists for the very first time and they sure have impressed me immensely. Josy plays the flute solo, and the acoustic, and electric guitars are played by Anandu Gopal. Atulya holds herself with great style and that is tough to do next to a performer like Pradeep. Atulya's voice is as sweet as they get and she does these brilliant ghamakas with her lines "maamalai mele payanam thodarvene". The electric guitars, bass guitars, and flute solo all make for some fantastic instrumental support. The song keeps getting better with the anupallavi lines like "percentile naam moozhkalaam". The Veena intervention creates moments of ecstasy. Alan Santhosh is the bassist and all the additional vocals we hear belong to Aravind Murali. When I hear the tone of the song, especially the intermittent swaras I am reminded of AR Rahman's "Anarkali" from 'Kangalal Kaidhu Sei' and "Kannalane" from 'Bombay'. Viasakh makes it interesting with a Lo-fi tone and style. I do hear some influences of Raag Abheri, especially with the Veena interludes by Rakshita Ramesh and swaras sung by Atulya. The stanza builds beautifully with even more melodious richness. This is a fantastic and creative production. Ashbin Paulson is the mix/master engineer. @vaisakhvj @pradeepkumar1123 @atulya_music @shreyasundar @josyflute @rakshitaramesh @ashbin.paulson

If you are a musician submit your new music here.Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 8th October 2023. Here is the SPOTIFY Playlist of the Top songs of the week1. Anomalies Written, produced, and performed by Anoushka Additional Production by Saurabh Lokhande, Mayur Koli,Dropped OutLanguage: EnglishGenre: Indie PopIt has been a long time coming for Anoushka Sivashankar, as I featured her 2 years ago for a brilliant song called "Song of the Seas". I am so glad to see her back and this time it is a chart topper with a banger of a track. I love the fact that Anoushka goes solo in this project, writing the lyrics, composing the melody, producing it and performing the lead vocals. Every step of the way she adds to the glory of the song. The attitude is one of chutzpah, and that is what she sends as a message through her delivery. Observe the mild grunt at the end of the line" Forget about the implications, See I'll leave it up to fate, I Notice your disposition", like how the King of Pop MJ would. The song has a tone that resembles his "Smooth Criminal" in a few ways according to me. I love the vocal harmonies and the way they are executed and arranged. How many songwriters can pride themselves on such excellent writing? The words are not simplistic for the sake of rhyming, and the writing has a train of thought. The notes leading up to the title line are nothing short of spectacular. Isn't it brilliant when the harmonies sing "I" in one instance and then finish the word "undermine" by just singing the part "mine", with Anoushka singing "Under"? This way the metering is perfect rhyming is perfect and lead and backing vocalists get assigned portions as well. Kudos for the thought. The composition, lyrics, and singing are all created with amazing sync and Anoushka deserves every bit of credit. It shouldn't be forgotten here that some more amazing musicians have worked on additional productions like Saurabh Lokhande, Mayur Koli and Dropped Out. Shivam Kale plays the guitars, and I believe he is responsible for the simmering bass guitars as well. The trumpets that we hear in the interludes are savvy thanks to the programming and arrangements. As the song progresses, Anoushka just gets from good to great vocally and it is a treat to a music lover like me. Abhishek Ghatak is solid as the mixing and mastering engineer and Aria Nanji is the recording engineer. @anoushka_sivasankar @theghatak @ariananji @studioislandcity @shivam_kale @musicalsaurabh @mayur_kolii @ireallydroppedout @itsjaigupta 2. Seventh Ocean Originally written and composed by Shri. Lalgudi G JayaramanArranged, produced and performed by AgamSinger: Harish SivaramakrishnanLanguage: TamilGenre: Carnatic-RockHere come the OG, a magnificent classical rock band that brought great metamorphosis not only in Kerala, its state of origin but also across India for their brand of music. Agam is here with a recreated song taken from the repertoire of the legendary Carnatic Violinist Shri. Lalgudi Jayaraman has also composed music. Harish Sivaramakrishnan is in terrific form as the lead vocalist, performing the Konnakol and if I am not wrong, it is set in Raag Sindhubhairavi. Agam resurrects this beautiful piece as the band programs, arranges and performs this aided by some scintillating live instrumentals. T Praveen Kumar's electric guitars and Yadhunandan Natarajan's drums elevate the song's energy and take it to the Rock genre that we cherish from Agam. Harish's aalaps are hari-raising good and we have Aditya Kasyap on backing vocals. Aditya also is the bassist and he is accompanied by Swamy Seetharaman on Keys and Jagadish Natarajan on rhythm guitars. The song also has some gruelling percussions played by Sivakumar Nagarajan. The interludes with lead, rhythm and bass guitars and Keys are breathtaking. Towards the end, we hear the Tamil lyrics written by Lalgudi Jayaraman in praise of Lord Murugan. 

If you are a musician submit your new music here.Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 1st October 2023. Here is the SPOTIFY Playlist of the Top songs of the week1. Kangal Edho Music: Dhibu Ninan ThomasLyrics: YugabharathiSingers: Pradeep Kumar, Karthika VaidyanathanArranged by Kalyani NairLanguage: TamilGenre: Light MusicWhen a batsman comes to the crease, sometimes the very first ball he strikes or defends with the middle of the bat, tells a lot about his/her form and what lies in store for the innings. The opening humming by female vocalists tells that kind of a story here. Behold some brilliance as we listen to the song, as we have one of the most talented and consistent composers in South Cinema if not India itself viz. Dhibu Ninan Thomas. Karthika Vaidyanathan blazes through with a brilliant vocal performance and her sensational vocal control is evident in the ghamaka on the words "edho" and "thaane" in the opening lines. Shruthiraj plays the Ganjira if I am not wrong, and it is pure Heaven when the Piano by Dhibu starts playing.Just when I was surrendering myself to the pristine beauty of the tune, Pradeep Kumar struck me harder with that glorious voice. How brilliant is the line " Oru aayiram vaanavilla un poovizhi kaatuthadi", from lyrical, musical and vocal execution perspectives? We are only 50 seconds into the song and it is more melodious, and classy than most albums released in 2023. Once the Anu Pallavi is done, we get to hear Karthika singing the Pallavi again, but this time Dhibu fires up the Synths. The flute solo by Kamalakar adds to the serenity, but mildly reminds me of AR Rahman's "Radha Kaise na Jale". Behind the Synths and flute, we also hear that faint Clarinet by Nadhan. There are segments here that remind us of Suddha Dhanyasi Ragam, like the interlude and the stanza. When it begins takes us back to the Ilaiyaraja super hit song "Pottu Vacha Malliga Mottu". The second half of the stanza strikes you with its innate beauty, such is the poise with which Dhibu has written the notes, Kudos to Karthika for singing "Ennennavo unkitta sollida thonuthada" like a dream. Kalyani Nair is in charge of the amazing arrangements. Naveen Napier makes the song stylish with his bass guitars and the strings section by Budapest Scoring Orchestra adds vitality, especially in the outro. We have Peter Illenyi conducting the orchestra and Balasubramanian G on Orchestra Co-ordination. Mani Ratnam, Dennis and Avinash Sathish are the recording engineers, Balu Thankachan on mixing and Shadab Rayeen on mastering. @dhibuninanthomas @pradeep_kumar1123 @karthikavaidyanathan @yughabharathi @kalyaninair86 @bala_musician 2. Anthem of Love Mouli Music Composer: Govind VasanthaLyricist: Ananth SriramSinger: Anish KrishnanLanguage: TeluguGenre: Country/RockThis feels like spectacular country rock music as we drive down the Mid-West USA on a Cadillac, surrounded by desert sands. Govind Vasantha composes this stunning piece of music that sounds fresh to the Indian audience at least. Anish Krishnan puts on a show with his vocals, singing with great character. He is the lead vocalist of the band Thaikkudam Bridge. The style and exuberance that Anish brings on vocally are matched with some reverberating slide guitars. We also get an electric guitar solo in the interlude and some transcendental solo on the slide guitar just before the stanza. Anish explores the high pitch with amazing ease and the humming "thara thum tha thara thum thera" is to die for, and it only gets better with the Kids' chorus singing it towards the end. Rajan KS has mixed and mastered the tracks and Govind is also the sound engineer for this.  @anishkrishnan89 @anantha.sriram3. Adiga Adiga Singer: SrinivasLyrics: Chaitanya Prasad

If you are a musician submit your new music here.Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 24th September 2023. Here is the SPOTIFY Playlist of the Top songs of the week1. Silent War Performed by KomorebiWritten by Tarana MarwahProduced by Tarana Marwah, Gaurav RainaLanguage: EnglishGenre: Alt-PopGet hit hard within seconds, with the trembling Violins and Violas, and you have no space and time to breathe. This is what it feels like to drown in a deluge of musical goodness. Tarana Marwah a.k.a. Komorebi and Gaurav Raina produce one of India's finest indie albums in English and this according to me is the pick of the album with blazing instrumental arrangements, heartfelt vocals and intelligent, immersive writing. I have already featured the album on my Instagram's #1minutemusicreviews with a rating of 4.25/5, so please do yourselves a favour and listen to the album "The Fall".The Cello picks up in intensity and then with the vocal harmonies joining it all feels like a being inside a Christopher Nolan movie with the phenomenal score of Hans Zimmer. Komorebi rises from a pile of soft-sounding lines, and with rejuvenation, she sings " But what can you do when everything tastes like cardboard". The strings section conveys the urgency of the situation with equal effect, but then she resorts to peaceful methods. The sound of a Harp leads us into calmness with the words "This is a silent war". Komorebi's vocals keep shifting from tranquillity to rage to splendour and she uses all her vocal strengths to great effect to bring out these tonal shifts. The producers Tarana and Gaurav leave no stone unturned and the chosen instruments like the Piano, Electric guitars, Violins, Violas, Cello, and Harp all do their bit effectively just like the rhythm section. The "Be stronger" chorus truly drives home the message and the outro strings section is mesmerising. Gaurav is the mix/master engineer and we have Shaurya and Renu Verma who have styled up Tarana, with splendid photography by Pritiza Barua. @komorebi.music @groovio @mavronquartet @zokovnaice @pritiza7 @morphologygram @renu_verma_makeup_official_ 2. Dangal Music Composed & Produced by: Salim SulaimanLyrics: Cyli Khare, Srushti TawadeSingers: Cyli Khare, Srushti TawadeMusic Co-Produced: Raj PanditLanguage: MarathiGenre: Alt Hip-HopBhoomi 2023 is here and that too with a Dangal of a bang. Well begun is half done, but what if something is amazingly begun? This is the definition of ground-breaking music, that fuses styles, generates interest and makes the head-banging permanent. Cyli Khare and Srushti Tawade write the lyrics and they both turn as lead vocalists as well. Srushti is on a high these days with her Debut album also getting released. This song is composed and produced by Salim-Sulaiman with co-production by Raj Pandit. The very first few seconds she exhibits amazing energy suited for Hip-Hop and I am sold right away. Cyli's talent is something that I have observed since 'Guilty Minds' on Amazon Prime. Get a load of the live instruments and they will just bamboozle you. Salim's Keyboards & Tuntuna, Raj Pandit and Jarvis Menezes on Keys, and Rushad Mistry on bass guitars sizzle right away. When Cyli sings those awesome folkish lines, we hear the Zen Drum by Sulaiman, electronic drums by Darshan Doshi and Aadishakti Group on the Dhol & Tasha. The hint of the horns section comes about ID Rao, Harsh Bhavsar gives that likeable Jazzy touch and then the English and Marathi Hip-Hop gains traction. The stanza is just brilliant lurking in the folk-pop style with heavy Keys, guitars by Nyzel D’lima and the Shehnai by Omkar Dhumal. This song is powerful, inspiring and empowering with every note we hear and that happens collectively thanks to the vocals, arrangements, writing and overall production. Every instrumentalist performed with enough gusto and we have Aftab Khan as the mix/master engineer on the tracks, with Vatsal Chevli as the mix assistant. Cyli and Srushti exude so much confidence in their delivery and this is an exemplary performance. In the outro, we get a SHehnai Solo followed by the leads singing and this is where I sensed some Raag Charukeshi. The recording engineers are Aditya Kalway, Muheet Bharti and Raj Pandit at Blue Productions, with Muheet and Aditya also playing the roles of Music Assistants. @srushtinahitohkaun @cylikhare @salimsulaimanmusic @merchant_records @rajpandit17 @aadishakti_dhol_tasha _pathak @jarvisintune @darshandoshiofficial @rushad1981 @omkardhumal @idrao_official @harshbhavsarsaxophone @adityakalway @muheetbharti @mixedbyaftab @shivansh.j @nyzeldlima @warnermusicindia 3. Kaala Kaasiyo Kade Composed by: Charanraj MR Singer: Charanraj M RLyrics: Dhananjay Ranjan Programmed By: Charanraj MR & Narayan Sharma.Language: KannadaGenre: Synth PopI hope readers here have seen the movie 'Sapta Sagaradaache Ello in theatres! Please do it before it is too late, for the great story-telling, acting and music. I have already featured 2 songs before and this 3rd song just got released on the audio streaming platforms. Charanraj has composed and sung this dreamy pop single that depends heavily on synths and keys. Charan and his close aide Narayan Sharma have worked on the song's phenomenal programming. We get the flowy Keys and mild synths just beneath the vocals of Charan and this makes you wonder, why we don't hear much more from Charan vocally. The piano loads up in intensity and we get an immersive line "Kandu kaanadha, mintha maaya chaaye". Dhananjay Ranjan writes the pensive words. Vamshi stuns us with the percussions, and this is one haunting piece of interlude, something only the genius of Charan and Narayan could have created. Napier Peter Naveen's engrossing bass guitars and the synth-generated sounds transport us to paradise. The stanza is melody-rich and we get Sunil Sylvester playing the acoustic and electric guitars in the background. The strings section adds to the song's gravity beautifully and they are entirely conducted, arranged and orchestrated by Rithu Vysakh. All the music supervision is carried out diligently by Venkatesh G Bhat, Aniket Mohanty and Arjun are the recording engineers at Audiokraft Studios Bangalore. The outro is mesmerizing with the Keys, percussions, vocal harmonies and falsetto-rich lead vocals as well. I did notice that ending portion where it feels like a radio frequency is being attempted, but it is failing to connect, probably because of the significance of the Radio and Cassette in the movie. Sujith Sreedhar @ 2bq Studios Chennai has mixed and mastered the tracks. @charanraj27185 @ssethemovie @narayan_sharma227 @rithuvysakh @napier_naveen @sujithsreedhar @venkateshmusic_ 4. Janha Aau Se Vocals: Subhechha MohantyMusic- Bunny MohantyLyrics - Sumit PandaArrangement - Abhishek PanigrahiLanguage: OdiyaGenre: BalladThis was one of the most amazing songs that I heard this week, and it comes from the most unexpected quarters for most. I have featured a few Odiya songs this year and so, I am not flummoxed in any way by its origins. Bunny Mohanty is an artist I have not heard of before, but he stuns me with his composition and production. Subhechha is the vocalist and does she sing with some haunting effect or what? The song feels like a ballad rich in instrumental arrangements and Abhishek Panigrahi completely handles all the arrangements in style. The Piano and the strings section with the heavy Cello feels like we have just entered a grand Symphony Orchestra in the middle of a performance. The flute solo comes and goes in between just like the mild Clarinet.The song is written beautifully to allow for all these magnificent instrumentals to intervene. It has the nature and tonality of an Ajay-Atul composition. The second interlude is jaw

If you are a musician submit your new music here.Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 17th September 2023. 1. Rooh Jaga DoonSinger, Composer & Music Producer: Arijit SinghLyricist: Shloke LalAdditional Lyrics: Arijit SinghLanguage: HindiGenre: Alt-popHe is a brilliant singer, no doubt, but in art forms like music, freshness and innovation carry more weight than past glory. This is why Arijit Singh is an even better composer/producer than he is a singer in the last 3 years or so. I have featured all of his compositions, and that says a lot about his ability as a composer. This is one splendid song that grows on you and when it begins the guitar riff, the drums and the Keys remind me of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by UK band Tears for FearsArijit composed, sang and produced this Alt-pop track and sticks to the lower vocal registers for most of the song. Shloke Lal is the lyricist and all the additional programming is by Prithweeraj Sarkar. Music even though is composed and produced by many heads and musicians coming together over brain-storming sessions, credits generally go to one or a couple of people. Arijit leads the way here in creating each instrumentalist with composition as well for their segments and that speaks volumes of the man. Aditya Benia and Prachotosh Bhowmick play and compose the guitars, Souvik Roy plays and composes the drums, and Raj Kumar Dewan is the bassist and the composer for his portions. ZIA who is a brilliant keyboardist and Pianist composes and plays the Keys in the song. Arijit vocals are more casual like a walk in the park, and he gets more charged up when he goes "doondhne pe bi agar, aaoon na mein jo nazar". Sukanto Singha plays the gentle Tabla just then after Arijit returns to the title lines. Sunny MR, take a bow, for the outstanding sound design, and he has also done the mixing and mastering for the song. The interlude is mesmerising with the bass and electric guitars playing and leading the way with the Tabla in the background. After that amazing section, we get an even better bridge section with Arijit singing " ghabrao na, jaao na", and these lines get repeated but the innovation comes about with Arijit just singing the first one of two words and then entering a humming mode. I can only say that this song is cathartic and lets you dance away freely forgetting about all your miseries. In the outro the Keys are dominant and remind me of some of Coldplay's greatest numbers. The recording engineer is Ritvik Shah, with Ashyar Balsara as Chief Studio Engineer and Adhithya Sivakumar, Hersh Desai, and Aria Nanji as assistant audio engineers. @arijitsingh @oriyonmusicbyarijitsingh @raj_kumardewan @appaithefuzzyguy @ziamuzik @shlokelal @sunnymr @sukanto.singha.1 @shah_ritvik @sou_viktree @jesuisnikki8adi @adhithya.sivakumar @hersh.desai.9 @ariananji @ashyarbalsara @prithweerajsarkar2. Toote ChhateVocals: Nihira Joshi -DeshpandeComposition: Nihira Joshi -Deshpande (song melody) and Rhythm Shaw (Coda) Production, Arrangements, Vocal arrangements: Rhythm ShawLyrics: Alok Ranjan SrivastavaGenre: Indie Classical-PopNihira Joshi-Deshpande had a fantastic outing last year with a soulful EP called "Trishna", where I loved 2-3 songs and also featured them. Her ability to intertwine classical Indian Ragas and structures with westernised styles is something Nihira excels at. The song begins with the most delightful combination of acoustic guitars, Keys and drums. Kudos to Rhythm Shaw who has managed to produce this song with great detail and coverage. The keyboard and rhythm programming wouldn't be complete without his role and he also ensures the arrangements are enticing. The bass guitars along with the vocal harmonies are just beautiful additional layers that enhance an already viable and attractive melody. Nihira not only romanticises the song with her vocals but also composes the heartwarming melody. There were segments where I believed a bit of Raag Bhageshree was being portrayed, but when I chatted with Nihira she mentioned that there was no inspiration or intention to work on any particular Raga base. It is more about Alok Ranjan Srivastava's intelligent writing that depicts an image of a couple caught during rain under a single broken umbrella. The emotional ride they go through is penned in words by Alok, but Nihira makes us visualise it beautifully through her tune and vocals. The song's sthayi and antara segments are just so elaborate and beautiful with adequate production enhancements. The interlude is a solo electric guitar exhibition where Rhythms excels and the subsequent sanchari section is slow and allows the message to seep in with minimal rhythms as she sings " sard hawaaon ko aao, raahaton se mila dein". The outro(coda) section with engaging vocal harmonies is composed by Rhythm. The unification of these great ideas would have turned out so complete and successful without Amey Londhe's mixing. He has also mastered the tracks and functioned as a recording engineer. 

If you are a musician submit your new music here.Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 10th September 2023. 1. Monochrome Performed by Bombay Dub Orchestra, Bulli Bainbridge, NushiousWritten by Bulli Bainbridge, NushiousProduced by Bulli Bainbridge, Andrew T. MackayLanguage: EnglishGenre: JazzI love how Indian Jazz artists are taking control and putting out their best work out there for us to consume and cherish. We have Anusha Subramney a.k.a. nushious, a singer, composer and guitarist with the 2 piece act called 'Second Sight'. She is performing the vocals here in a brilliant chart-topping Jazz single co-written by Bulli Bainbridge and herself. Bombay Dub Orchestra is also a 2 piece project focussing on electronic and orchestral music with Andrew T Mackay and Garry Hughes. They are performing here and enthralling us every step of the way just like nushious. The Double Bass, Trumpets and the mild drums dominate the proceedings, with the Piano joining slowly but steadily. The song is produced by Bulli and Andrew and by multiple notches owing to the arrangements Once she sings the title line, we get added elements like the vocal harmonies and the solo violin in the background. nushious delivers a stupendous vocal performance, that tests many of her abilities, but she knocks every curveball out of the park. It is called Monochrome, but we get to see so many vivid colours getting painted by the vocalist, instrumentalists and producers. Louis Dowdeswell plays the Trumpet, Andrew McGuinness is the drummer, Andrew T Mackay plays the Piano, and Joshua Rodrigues is on the Double Bass. Juie does the artwork. @bullibainbridge @bombayduborchestra @louistpt @folkestone_drum_shop @andrewtmackay @juiekablooey @sherfiffmumbles @abbeyroadstudios @nushious 2. Yearning  Performed by Anubha Kaul, Chirag TodiWritten by Anubha Kaul, Chirag Todi, Sreenath SreenivisanProduced by Raag SethiLanguage: EnglishGenre: JazzIf it was Jazz music you were yearning for well your prayers have been answered. The second consecutive Jazz single is here and we have another set of brilliant musicians on display. Anubha Kaul has been featured more times by me that I have fingers, and that is no cause for surprise. Just stop reading and listen to her voice and the confident delivery. She is one of the very best in the business and Anubha goes a long way in leveraging her gifted vocals. The song is heavy on the guitar elements and this is where Chirag Todi and Raag Sethi kick in. Raag produced the song with Pritul Chauhan on drums and Kandarp Kavishwar on Keys. Sreenath Sreenivasan writes the lyrics. The lead, bass guitars and Keys combine beautifully. The scat-singing by Anubha around the 90-second mark is pure gold and I cannot see any reason why this might end up being among the best vocal performances in 2023.  I am struggling to write here because I would rather close my eyes and enjoy the madness. The solo on the guitar by Chirag is nothing short of a sensation and stuff like this can keep even a bored lifeless soul charged for days. The song also has some terrific writing by Sreenath, which can get lost amidst all the vocal and instrumental supremacy around. Protyay Chakraborty is the mix/master engineer who has quite a task and comes out tops.  @raagsethi @anubhaaaa @sreenath1 @compassboxstudio @pritul_chauhan @kandarp_kavishwar @protyaych3. Taiy Nahi Kiya Abhi Singer: Papon

Here are the best Tamil songs released for the month of August 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Nam Tham Composed & Arranged by Kalyani NairLyrics: Pradeep KumarSolo Vocals: Kalyani NairOne-man String Quartet: Rithu VysakhLanguage: TamilGenre: A-capella I cannot feel more elated to write about and feature a woman composer at the very top of my week's list. Kalyani Nair is one of the most talented in India and she is rising steadily with every passing day. The Indian Choral Ensemble (TICE) is the brainchild of Kalyani and Karthik Manickavasakam and this single from her upcoming EP is a testament to the talent that Kalyani can boast of. She composed and arranged the song with lyrics by Pradeep Kumar. The seeds of Nam Tham probably were sown long back in 2009 according to Kalyani. In Carnatic music, we call compositions as Ragam Thanam Pallavi, with all 3 segments adopting different styles. Thanam is like a Raga Aalap but with syllables A, Nam and Tham. This composition is based on this with some Tamil lyrics later in the song written by Pradeep. Kalyani's very first tryst with classical Hindustani music was in Raag Kalavati and hence this composition follows that scale mostly. This is the kind of song that can turn your sour, bitter day into something more meaningful and magnificent. TICE is in full flow and no it is more than 40 members strong. We have the high Sopranos with the performers on First Sopranos are Padmaja Sreenivasan, Samanvitha G. Sasidaran and Sushmita Narasimhan, 2nd Sopranos Nidhi Saraogi, Nalini Vittobane and Mezzo Sopranos having Sriradha Bharath and Avantika K. The way these vocalists combine is pure magic and it all comes from Kalyani's years of experience and love for A-capella music. She has arranged vocal harmonies for some of India's finest composers like Santhosh Narayan, Pradeep Kumar and Sean Roldan. The way we hear so many layers and with so many lags, and just past the 1-minute mark, the whole bunch sings " Nam Tha" and we are transported to paradise. The intensity keeps rising and we have the introduction of the strings, with Rithu Vysakh being the 1-man string quartet. The Altos are comprised of Fathima Henna, Aishwarya Ravichandran and Vidhya Vijay on First Altos, Triya Sushma, Nithyasri A on Second Altos. The Tenors are Pranjal Thakore, Sarthak Kalyani, Manikandan Chembai and finally the Basses are Karthik Manickavasakam, Ragu, Dhiyanathiru T, Arul C Durairaj, Regis Tony SD and S Kingslin Pon Bhabha. Kalyani performs the lead vocals when we reach the halfway mark in Tamizh and I hope we have musicians across the country take inspiration from such magnificent work. This along with the next song at number 2 is proof of why music in the South dominates the rest of the country. B Prasanna is the Stereo Mix/Master engineer, and the recording engineers are Lijesh, Davidson and KS Maniratnam@theindianchoralensemble @kalyaninair86 @rithuvysakh @pradeep_kumar1123 @karthikmanickavasakam @b_prasanna 2. Nesam Maruma Singer : Anjana RajagopalanLyrics: Mohan RajanMusic: Girishh GopalakrishnanLanguage: TamilGenre: Opera Nessun Dorma is a famous Aria performed by many Opera Singers. It was written by Giacomo Puccini, but popularized by Pavarotti after his performance for the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. This team of Girishh, Anjana and Mohan have re-created India's first Opera SIngle. It is a Himalayan task and has only been possible thanks to the ingenious efforts of the team of musicians. Every word which is originally in Italian, has been recreated to sound similar but the words are Tamil. For example, the title "Nesam Maruma" sounds almost the same as "Nessun Dorma". If we get to the arrangement, it is thanks to Anjana Rajagopalan and the whole production and adaptation are carried out by Girish Gopalakrishnan. These are some of India's brightest talents and so let us celebrate them. When it comes to this vocal performance, I have no words. People who have come from Chennai, are quite aware of Anjana's abilities as a vocalist, especially in the Opera style, but this is something else. We are probably listening to the best vocal performance of 2023 by any Indian artist. Just Listen, enjoy and don't mind if you get a tear or two rolling down your cheeks. The more you hear, the more you tend to appreciate the work that has gone into it. The strings section, and the Harp all are so beautifully arranged. But a standing ovation is needed for Girishh, Anjana and Mohan. The backing vocalists are Roshni Sharon, Shilpa Natarajan, Valentina Gasper, Ebenezer Arunkumar, Prashant Gasper, Dobbin Raj and Regis Tony SD. After she hits that final high note the, strings section takes over and this is what magic is. Subbiah Arunachalam is the recording engineer, Sai Shravanam is the mix/master engineer. All the amazing symphony we hear is performed by the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague with Samarth Srinivasan supervising the recording session. 

If you are a musician submit your new music here.Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 3rd September 2023. The Spotify Playlist is here1. Mann Taara Singers - Gulraj Singh & Shashaa TirupatiComposed, Arranged and Programmed- Gulraj SinghLyricist - Kshitij PatwardhanLanguage: MarathiGenre: Light Music/ Symphony This EP called "Unaad" is going to be one of the best Indian movie albums of 2023. I have already featured one single last week, and this is another splendid single. I want to thank Gulraj Singh first of all, for such brilliance and when original music sounds this good, we feel like we have just been reborn. The Live strings section begins straight off the bat with Abhijit Mazumdar, Prakash Varma, Chandar Makwana on Violins, Sanju Varma, Raju Padiyar on Violas and Sujan Chetry on the Cello. Shon Pinto's gentle guitars guide us through and then we hear the vocals of Gulraj and it feels like the break of dawn with that ray of sunlight. The Antara with the line being repeated "dariya dariya tu" is heartwarming to hear, with the mild Piano also following. There are also woodwinds we can hear in the background and within 2 minutes Gulraj has done so much in this song than many composers would do in an entire album. Listen to the flowing strings section in the background as we enter the interlude section. The song is composed, arranged and programmed by Gulraj Singh. The interlude doesn't end there, as we get more on the Keys, the flute and strings go on to conquer our hearts. The verse begins with Shasha's stunning foray and she delivers comfortably in Marathi. The lines written by Kshitij Patwardhan seem quite complex but to me, they seem like Shashaa has pronounced the words well. The humming is beautiful and leads the way into the second interlude, with Gulraj writing and orchestrating a great string section here. Vincent Joseph must be lauded too for all the musical assistance he lends to Gulraj. Interestingly Shashaa sings both the stanzas, and I wonder why. The tracks are mixed by Amey Londhe and mastered by Ashish Saksena at Purple Haze Studios. Amey and Akshay Purandare are the recording engineers at AUDIO GARAGE STUDIOS. The outro is elaborate with strings, vocal harmonies, rhythms and percussions and feels like a fitting end. @gulraj_singh @zeemusicmarathi @amey.music @shonpinto1 @axe_mix @vincent.joseph.96 @kshitijpatwardhan @aditya_a_sarpotdar 2. Palkan Written, composed and produced by AdvaitaLanguage: HindiGenre: Classical Rock fusionIt has been a while since I featured this amazing fusion Rock band and here they are with a chart-topper. It starts with the tongue-twisting swaras rendered by Ujwal Nagar, and this is where I think there was some influence of Raag Darbari and Raag Atana. The song is written and composed by the band Advaita and with Ujwal's vocals flowing we also hear the bass by Gaurav Chintamani, acoustic guitar by Chayan Adhikari, Keys by Anindo Bose and the mild flute by Rohit Prasanna. We hear this intro section of amazing Hindustani vocals with tantalising ghamakas and then Abhishek Mathur sweeps in with his lead guitar solo, aided by Aman Singh Rathore on drums. This interlude is less hardcore and makes for some pleasant soft rock moments, almost like a Ballad. Chayan makes a foray into English lyrics and these moments are breathtaking thanks to the lyrics and vocals. It all feels like a fragile dream like he sings. The flute solo by Rohit makes way for another intervention by Ujwal. The closing stages are all about Ujwal's aalaps and Swara's rendition exchanged with brilliant live instrumental arrangements. Anindo does the mixing and mastering of the tracks and is also the recording engineer. @advaitamusic @anindobose @gaurav_chintamani @chayanadhikari @ujwalnagar @rohitprasannaflute @plugnplaystudios @salimsulaimanmusic @merchant_records @shivansh.j @abhishek_is_on_insta @kamoora_singh 3. Chand Composer: IP Singh, Rajarshi Sanyal Lyricist: IP Singh Vocals: IP Singh, Rajarshi Sanyal Music Production & Guitars: Rajarshi Sanyal Language: HindiGenre: Semi-Classical Pop

If you are a musician submit your new music here.Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 27th August 2023. The Spotify Playlist is here1. Sapta Sagradache Ello Music composed & arranged by: Charanraj MRSinger: Kapil KapilanLyrics: Dhananjay RanjanProgrammed by: Charanraj & Narayan SharmaLanguage: KannadaGenre: Synth PopHere comes the juggernaut Charan Raj, and with his consistently good music, we can soon have an anthem among music fans that goes " In Charan we trust". This is the second single of the new Kannada movie Album "Sapta Sagaradaache Ello", and we have one of the finest playback singers in Kapil Kapilan singing this lead. This was a marriage waiting to happen between a phenomenal composer and a breathtaking vocalist, and we have the desired output. The moment the first notes are sung we do hear the influence of Raag Suddha Dhanyasi, and just when you think it is a classical ssounding song, we get the synths and guitars taking us into the world of Synth Pop. Sunil Sylvester plays the guitars and Narayan Sharma plays the synth bass. I love the vocal harmonies and the humming in the background just after the title phrase is uttered. Punya Srinivas destroys our internal peace with this magnificent solo on the Veena. The best part about the notes here and the execution is that the solo is played with a Western style rather than a classical Carnatic style. The stanza too is a joyful ride and Charan excels at fusing both the Pop and semi-classical melody bits into the stanza. The opening segment of the Charanam is high on Pop influences and quickly transforms when he sings "Neeli baana anchalle namannu kaanutha, elle meeri hodantha preeti aagutha". The lines are beautiful musically and lyrically with Dhananhay Rajan writing the words. Lavita Lobo & Devu Mathew join in on the backing vocals. The closing stage is almost transcendental, with the Keys, Synths, rhythms and all the lead and backing vocals coinciding. The recording engineers are Kashyap and Sujith Sreedhar and Deepesh Krishnamoorthy is the supervisor. The tracks are mixed and mastered by Sujith at 2bqStudios Chennai. Venkatesh Bhat is the music supervisor.  @charanraj27185 @2bqstudios @narayan_sharma227 @venkateshmusic_ @aquestercalledkash @sujithsreedhar @punya.srinivas @sunil.sylvester @devumathew @lavita_lobo_ 2. Yeda Mandola Singers - Nakash Aziz & Gulraj SinghMusic - Gulraj SinghLyricist - Kshitij PatwardhanMusic Arranged and Programmed by Gulraj SinghLanguage: MarathiGenre: Light Music/PopA couple of years ago, I remember featuring Gulraj Singh on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi where he composed an original called "Mann Aangan" sung by Nikhita Gandhi. This was a belter of a track amidst run-of-the-mill songs on Lord Ganesh. Gulraj has been busy making devotional songs now and then, but this Marathi album 'Unaad' is priceless. If we go back to the early 2000's when AR Rahman was at the top of his game, making amazing music that not only transcended state boundaries within India but also captivated all our hearts, we would probably be hearing music like this. This is one of the best compliments I can shower on Gulraj. He begins this song with some amazing vocal grunts and noises, all beautifully arranged and executed. Nakash Aziz is a wonderful playback singer and he finally has gotten a song that allows him to showcase his abilities. Satyajit Jamsandekar and Sanket Gurav handle all the live rhythm and percussions and that is a highlight of the song. The antara section is beautifully composed with Nakash hitting the high notes. We have many instruments in the interlude and maybe there was a mild Clarinet in the mix as well. We have Shon Pinto on guitars, and the elaborate strings section has Abhijit Mazumdar, Prakash Varma, Chandar Makwana on Violins, Sanju Varma, Raju Padiyar on Violas and Sujan Chetry on the Cello.  The stanza is a very hummable segment and it gets perfectly accompanied by Keys and all this comes under the purview of Gulraj who is in charge of arrangements and programming. This is one wholesome song that could become the perfect dance song in Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra. The outro reminds me of Ilaiyaraja and Gulraj evokes the Maestro with the Violins, Violas and Cello that carry great complexity in the composition, but end up with such finesse. The thumping percussions keep up with the strings section. Kshitij Patwardhan pens the lyrics.The recording engineers are Amey Londhe and Akshay Purandare, with Amey mixing the tracks and Ashish Saksena taking mastering duties. Vincent Joseph is the assistant to Gulraj Singh. 

If you are a musician submit your new music here.Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 20th August 2023. The Spotify Playlist is here1. Nam Tham Composed & Arranged by Kalyani NairLyrics: Pradeep KumarSolo Vocals: Kalyani NairOne-man String Quartet: Rithu VysakhLanguage: TamilGenre: A-capella I cannot feel more elated to write about and feature a woman composer at the very top of my week's list. Kalyani Nair is one of the most talented in India and she is rising steadily with every passing day. The Indian Choral Ensemble (TICE) is the brainchild of Kalyani and Karthik Manickavasakam and this single from her upcoming EP is a testament to the talent that Kalyani can boast of. She composed and arranged the song with lyrics by Pradeep Kumar. The seeds of Nam Tham probably were sown long back in 2009 according to Kalyani. In Carnatic music, we call compositions as Ragam Thanam Pallavi, with all 3 segments adopting different styles. Thanam is like a Raga Aalap but with syllables A, Nam and Tham. This composition is based on this with some Tamil lyrics later in the song written by Pradeep. Kalyani's very first tryst with classical Hindustani music was in Raag Kalavati and hence this composition follows that scale mostly. This is the kind of song that can turn your sour, bitter day into something more meaningful and magnificent. TICE is in full flow and no it is more than 40 members strong. We have the high Sopranos with the performers on First Sopranos are Padmaja Sreenivasan, Samanvitha G. Sasidaran and Sushmita Narasimhan, 2nd Sopranos Nidhi Saraogi, Nalini Vittobane and Mezzo Sopranos having Sriradha Bharath and Avantika K. The way these vocalists combine is pure magic and it all comes from Kalyani's years of experience and love for A-capella music. She has arranged vocal harmonies for some of India's finest composers like Santhosh Narayan, Pradeep Kumar and Sean Roldan. The way we hear so many layers and with so many lags, and just past the 1-minute mark, the whole bunch sings " Nam Tha" and we are transported to paradise. The intensity keeps rising and we have the introduction of the strings, with Rithu Vysakh being the 1-man string quartet. The Altos are comprised of Fathima Henna, Aishwarya Ravichandran and Vidhya Vijay on First Altos, Triya Sushma, Nithyasri A on Second Altos. The Tenors are Pranjal Thakore, Sarthak Kalyani, Manikandan Chembai and finally the Basses are Karthik Manickavasakam, Ragu, Dhiyanathiru T, Arul C Durairaj, Regis Tony SD and S Kingslin Pon Bhabha. Kalyani performs the lead vocals when we reach the halfway mark in Tamizh and I hope we have musicians across the country take inspiration from such magnificent work. This along with the next song at number 2 is proof of why music in the South dominates the rest of the country. B Prasanna is the Stereo Mix/Master engineer, and the recording engineers are Lijesh, Davidson and KS Maniratnam@theindianchoralensemble @kalyaninair86 @rithuvysakh @pradeep_kumar1123 @karthikmanickavasakam @b_prasanna 2. Nesam Maruma Singer : Anjana RajagopalanLyrics: Mohan RajanMusic: Girishh GopalakrishnanRe-adapted, Programmed and Produced by: Anjana RajagopalanLanguage: TamilGenre: Opera Nessun Dorma is a famous Aria performed by many Opera Singers. It was written by Giacomo Puccini, but popularized by Pavarotti after his performance for the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. This team of Girishh, Anjana and Mohan have re-created India's first Opera SIngle. It is a Himalayan task and has only been possible thanks to the ingenious efforts of the team of musicians. Every word which is originally in Italian, has been recreated to sound similar but the words are Tamil. For example, the title "Nesam Maruma" sounds almost the same as "Nessun Dorma". If we get to the arrangement, it is thanks to Anjana Rajagopalan who has entirely re-adapted, programmed and produced this brilliant show. When it comes to this vocal performance, I have no words. People who have come from Chennai, are quite aware of Anjana's abilities as a vocalist, especially in the Opera style, but this is something else. We are probably listening to the best vocal performance of 2023 by any Indian artist. Just Listen, enjoy and don't mind if you get a tear or two rolling down your cheeks. 

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 13th August 2023. The Spotify Playlist is here1. X marks the spot Performed by Prabhtoj Singh, Sanjeeta BhattacharyaWritten by Prabhtoj Singh, Sanjeeta BhattacharyaProduced by Prabhtoj SinghLanguage: EnglishGenre: Indie PopMark this song, and mark this artist. She is easily one of India's brightest and in this song, she delivers probably 2023's finest vocal performance by an Indian singer. Sanjeeta Bhattacharya is a regular on my website and her ability to use her vocal strengths and compose and write songs is a true gift. This is composed and written by Sanjeeta and producer Prabhtoj Singh.Prabhtoj has done some excellent work in the past and here he produces a blitzkrieg, well that is what the poster of the song looks like too, Sanjeeta and Prabhtoh set the stage on fire. Welcome to the spot, with Keys and the Violin by Madhuri Martinez inviting you. Rythem Bansal gently lays his fingers on the Piano and when combined with Sanjeeta's enthralling voice, it sends a shiver down my spine. Sanjeeta wastes no time, and she gets right down to business, making these outrageous vibratos straightaway. The writing is excellent "Shall I make a speech about my right to speak", and when the lines progress into "I want answers, I want to be sure", Madhuri's solo Violin is taking over with immense power in the background. The arrangements and production by Prabhtoj are nothing short of spectacular, and Sanjeeta dn Prabhtoj sown you what songwriting is all about, with lines like " What good is a story when you've got no one to tell it to". The song moves into a much more aggressive and breathtaking plane with the introduction of drums by Aveleon Vaz and Sanjeeta is singing with her lungs about to explode singing " Babe, why don't you love me no more?". Here come Aman Sagar's guitars and Prabhtoj's bass guitar support. The last 40 seconds are just a celebration of great singing and production. @sanjeeta11 @prabhtojsingh @rythempiano @amansagarr @aveleonvaz @madhurimartinez @andresmayoestudio @ferriswheelstudios  2. Bezubaan Singer: Armaan BedilLyrics: Navi FerozpurComposer/Producer: Goldboy Language:Genre: Folk/ Light MusicI have featured both Armaan Bedil and Goldboy before as artists on my website and here the two combine to create this very enjoyable Punjabi melody. Goldboy composed the tune and produced the music, with Armaan's vocals and Navi Ferozpur's Punjabi lyrics. Kudos to Goldboy for the elaborate production and amazing sound design. We hear the Accordion, strings section and flute, all combining with grandeur. It feels like a song by Ajay-Atul from the album "Sairat". The title line is just brilliant to hear with Armaan's voice and the arrangements by Goldboy. The interlude is rich with a loud and imposing strings section, and Accordion in the lead. The stanza is simple with a hummable melody, but it is the intervening mix of these instruments that make for some wonderful listening. I can also hear the stylish bass guitars. We do not get such productions and arrangements in Punjabi music, and the second interlude is a testament to the effort and execution of Golboy as the producer. @iamarmaanbedil @goldboypro @naviferozpurwala 3. Musafir Singers: Salim Merchant, Karthik Chennoji Rao, Yogeendra HariprasadComposed and produced by Yogeendra HariprasadArranged and performed by Pineapple Express

Here are the best Tamil songs released for the month of July 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Paththu MilligramPerformed by  Benny Dayal , Bryden & ParthComposed & Produced by - Bryden LewisLyrics by - Madhan Karky Genre: Indie PopI have been enamoured by the musical prowess of this duo called Bryden & Parth. They have taken the Indian music scene by storm, and I have already featured 3 of their singles from the album " Chameleon World". Now this Tamil song is at the top of the Tamil JUly charts. What can I say? Well, the album is destined to be the No.1 of the year in India for 2023. The duo of Bryden Lewis and Parth Chandiramani march along and they employ an ideal suspect to kill this song vocally, Benny Dayal. He has a trained voice, with immense skill to sing multiple styles and naturally carries a profound zest to perform a song. Bryden plays the electric guitars and Parth is scintillating on the Bansuri. The lyrics are interesting talking about Bhakti and worship. Osigo Mango is the bassist per usual and the gang is having a ball when you listen, it feels great to have such fantastic Rock styled music in Tamil. I love the line " Unaketha pola madha rulesa mathikko, adhu worl aalena madhatha mathikko". The concept is so refreshing talking about the triviality of religion and especially the rules which are forced upon us. Siddharth Kamat is the keyboardist and we have the drums played by Liben Tom and Kamal on percussions. We also have this Latin Jazz-styled percussions and guitars engaging together with the flute solo. Shruti Dhasmana and Benny are on backing vocal duties towards the Gospel-esque end. Benny is on fire reminding me of AR Rahman and Sid Sriram's "Adiye". The cover art looks fantastic and it is by Alicia Goveas, Vivek Thomas is the mixing engineer and mastering is done by Robin Schmidt. The recording engineers are Rahul Narayan and Vivek.@brydenparth @madhankarky  @robin.schmidt.mastering @vivekthomasproductions @rahul.narayan.15 @aliciagoveas @bennydayalofficial @parth_chandiramani @brydenlewis @osigomango @libentom @siddhartkamath @kamaldrummer @shrutidhasmana2. ManidhaSong conceived, composed and arranged by Manoj KrishnaVocals: Manoj Krishna, Gana Balamurugan Lyrics: Dilip Kumar Music Producer: Manoj Krishna Vocal Harmonies Arranged by Kalyani Nair Genre: Gana/BluesI have been featuring Manoj Krishna in my Tamil monthlies for more than a couple of years now, and he has had some fantastic semi-classical numbers released. But this time I am most elated because he has tried something new and fresh. The joy is multi-fold because Manoj shines in this composition Gana Balamurugan sings in this style known to Chennai Vaasis, called "gaana". Manoj then accompanies with a beautiful aalap and his vocals carry the classical Carnatic style. Kalyani Nair, Sushmitha Narasimhan, Manikandan Chembai and Manoj Krishna perform the Choir vocals and the arrangements for these are done by the supremely talented Kalyani. You have to take multiple attempts to understand all the amazing things that are transpiring in this song. The vocal arrangements need special attention, but you also need to focus on the vibrato by Manoj when he sings " vazhka unakku kadavul thandha parisu", especially the last word. Manoj had composed, conceptualised the song and also arranged the live instrumentals. We have Vijay Ganesan on electric guitars and all the additional programming is by Ashwin Raja and Sachin Bharathvaj. Dilip Kumar writes excellent lines and we have some fantastic keys and synths in the interludes, where I get a sense of Sindhubhairavi Ragam in Manoj's aalap. The highlight is the humming where they go " yea yea yea yea yea..... yea yea yea". A big round of applause to Dilip for relevant, deeply philosophical yet witty lyrics. " lifu oru mayajalam, kandapadi podun kolon, uyiruuku thaan velaya pesun kaalon". Enjoy the song a learn a little more about this guft called life. The tracks are mixed and mastered by Rupendar Venkatest and Anish Mohan i

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 6th August 2023. The Spotify Playlist is hereIf you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Swinging Like a Pendulum Performed by Mathangi JagdishWritten by Mathangi JagdishProduced by KJ SinghLanguage: EnglishGenre: JazzI played this EP called " Major Troubles in Minor Blues" and I had no idea or expectations about the artist Mathangi Jagdish. Within a few seconds I was smiling, with eyes closed and living an unforgettable moment of excitement and joy. If a diagnosis was done of these symptoms, the cause would generally have to be "listening to amazing music". True!Mathangi is nothing short of brilliant and she straightaway reminded me of powerhouse performers like Vivienne Pocha and Samantha Noella. This EP is something that you should try straightaway and I loved all 3 songs, with special mentions for "Swinging like a Pendulum" and "Salt in My Kitchen". The magical Bombay Brass is on the horns section and you hear their delightful intro with Robin Fargose on Trumpets, ID Rao on Tenor Sax, Ramon Ibrahim on Trombone, Rhys Sebastian on Alto Sax and the Baritone Sax. The arrangements of the brass section are by Rhys. Mathangi makes a grand entrance with her phenomenal vocals and when you hear the line " At every corner, a twist and a turn" the delectable vibrato on the word 'turn' makes so much sense and oozes of style. The title line is beautifully composed by Mathangi like the entire song, as she goes " Im swingin' swinging like a pendulum". The Piano and drums are constant companions with Merlin Dsouza on the former and Jeoraj George on the latter. The entire production is by KJ Singh and he deserves a standing ovation just like Mathangi and every live instrumentalist, except that he is the director of this whole movie. Mathangi has written these witty lines and she performs with amazing zest. The bridge section is very nicely written, and Mathangi's genius comes alive again when the word "elevate" is sung with rising notes. Kudos! Singing with emotions is what many in the current generation need to learn, I can feel her weariness when she sings " cos I'm tired". The other song that is just brilliant is "Salt in My Kitchen", with the same roles played by all musicians, except for a few minor changes, there are no major alterations to the amazement. The song feels like Tina Turner's "Golden Eye" OST and here too the Bombay Brass is killing it. Joshua Rodrigues plays the Double Bass in the EP and it is Siddharth Talwar on guitars. Mathangi explores even deeper capabilities of her vocal structure in this song. She conveys so much in " All I wanna do is write my song Cos its been so long" because Mathangi has been such a famous playback singer in South Indian cinema with over 450 songs to her credit. She has sung for greats like AR Rahman and MM Keeravani and geniuses like Ilaiyaraja. I cannot wait for her to turn this debut EP into a start for something magnificent in the future. Towards the end Mathangi does a Carnatic styled " Oh it's been so long" and I was bowled over. This is where I heard a bit of Raag Bhimpalasi in the mix. The tracks are mixed by KJ Singh, with Mark Wingfield on mastering duties. The recording engineers are Mrunal, Leslie Charles, Adhithya Sivakumar and Hersh Desai. Asli Music is the label. @kjpahji @musicmerlin @everythingwedoismusic @saxontoast @idrao_official @trumpetrobin @ramonibrahim @crossbow191 @musicsoundart @jeoraj_george @mark_wingfield @stainedclassprod @lesliecharles @studioislandcity @pandalilikestopaint @punamsawhney @nehav07 @aslimusicglobal @mathangijagdishmusic @hersh.desai.9 @adhithya.sivakumar2. Raahein Singers: Shrishti Kedlaya, Parvatish PradeepLyrics: Sushant SudhakaranMusic Composed & Produced by Parvatish PradeepAudio Design: Sparsh Agrawal, Abin ThomasLanguage: HindiGenre: Electronic PopTime for a newcomer on this list, and that always gets me eager and excited. The composer we have here is Parvatish Pradeep, who has also produced this brilliantly. We hear the female vocals coming from Shrishti Kedlaya, and Parvatish also accompanies the lead vocals. Interestingly Parvatish has a classical Carnatic music background. Shrishti has this amazing tone, almost feeling surreal when you hear her and, there is no way a music lover can resist her voice, so we end up getting drawn into the song. Abin Thomas and Sparsh Agrawal are responsible for the fabulous audio design and we have to credit them with the exuberant and excellent sound. I do sense some Raag Hamsadwani right at the beginning when Shrishti's lines are up. The strumming of the guitars is accompanied by Keys and synths and the song gets a tremendous boost when she starts singing " Raahein". That is one brilliant moment which will throw you off your seat. The electric guitar solo comes into the interlude and some vocal interventions. This sound design in a few ways does remind me of Pritam and himonshu Parikh's 'Kesariya' last year. Parvatish joins in the stanza and maintains the beauty that Shrishti created up until then. I trust a lot of the song's great output is thanks to Sparsh, because to this day, "Colors" produced by him is one of the best Indie songs of 2023. 

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 30th July 2023. The Spotify Playlist is hereIf you are a musician submit your new music here.1. I grew up Written & Performed by - Tarana MarwahProduced by - Tarana Marwah & Gaurav RainaLyrics by - Tarana MarwahLanguage: EnglishGenre: Electronic/Synth PopTarana Marwah a.k.a. Komorebi, impressed me immensely with the background score for the Amazon Prime Webseries 'Dahaad'. It was out-of-the-ordinary, with some moments that truly haunted me. The standout element was the use of local Rajasthani folk instruments and style and such clarity, commitment and skill shared by Tarana and Gaurav Raina is showing its head again here. This composition is by Gaurav and Tarana, and the synths are powering up like a rocket ready to launch. Her dreamy and impactful vocals draw you in deep, and the duo produce this song with an immaculate style. We get the fantastic guitars played by Warren Mendonsa a.k.a. Blackstratblues. Listen to the absorbing strings in the background played by The Mavron Quartet viz. Chris, Beatrice, Rachael, and Niamh. James Gair has arranged the session. This feels almost Hans Zimmer-esque.  The Keys and Synths never take a moment of break and Tarana's lyrics are imposing making you see the message as clear as day. The battle against time is a losing battle, she says and this message feels like a warzone, not knowing where sounds come and hit us from, and kudos to the spectacular design. One of the most enchanting movements is towards the end when we hear multiple layers of vocals, aided by the resonating drums, guitars, Keys and strings. The whole song makes me feel like, I was born, stayed innocent, playful and then suddenly grew up, fell in love, lost in love, and by the time I learnt my lessons, it was time to die. The song is an experience. Gaurav is the mixing engineer and the tracks are mastered by Mike Marsh. @komorebi.music @blackstratblues @james_gair @mavronquartet @mediamonks @groovio @suyashgabriel 2. See Me Now Vocals, Lyrics, Composed by: Sahitya Nepal 'YAATRI' Song Arrangement & Song Production by: Vishal J Singh (Pargot Studio) Additional Production by: Trisha Romeno (Pargot Studio)Language: Nepali & EnglishGenre: ExperimentalThere are many artists here who I have never featured or heard before, and that in itself is something that thrills me. This superior rock single is a class apart and songs like these ascertain India's position in the world of music. Sahitya Nepal 'YAATRI', the Kathmandu-based project, has these unmistakable vocals and they suit the rock genre to perfection. Sahitya has composed and written the lyrics as well along with playing the acoustic guitars. There is an amazing contribution from Vishal J Singh who is playing the exuberant drums, and also getting the grooviness quotient up with his bass guitars and electric guitars. The Keys by Vishal pacifies things a bit in between, but the room gets hot and heavy thanks to Sahitya's breathtaking vocals. Take a bow, Vishal, for the wonderful arrangements and production with assistance from Trisha Romeno. The way the song amps up in intensity and then breathes lighter allowing the vocals and lyrics to be heard is all smartly done. There are moments when I felt like I was listening to Phil Collins perform, and that is one outstanding compliment according to me. Just past the 3rd minute, get a load of a sizzling solo on electric guitar by Vishal. We have the Choir Vocals by Loc Punk (Harip Tatwo), Vishal J Singh, Subodh Dahal, Sahitya Nepal & Ves Timalsina. Vishal and Jason Baruah have done the stereo mixing and mastering of the tracks. @risha_midicore @vishaljsingh @pargotstudios @subodhdahal_ @sahityanepalyaatri 3. Dil Se Dil Tak 

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 23rd July 2023. The Spotify Playlist is hereIf you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Padminiye Song Composed & Arranged by JAKES BEJOY Singer: SACHIN WARRIERLyrics: TITTO P THANKACHAN Music Producers: JAKES BEJOY, EDEN MICHEAL, EBIN PALLICHAN, PRAKASH ALEXLanguage: MalayalamGenre: Light Music/Electronic PopIf Sachin Warrier can compose good music, like he has done recently for a Tamil movie album, he definitely can sing quite well too. Jakes Bejoy is the big facilitator with his fantastic composition and arrangements, but the quartet of Jakes, Eden Michael, Ebin Pallichan and Prakash Alex come to the fore and produce this magnificence. Josy Alappuzha's playful solo on the flute, along with the funky Keys make a grant start. Amidst all these Western influences sounding like an electronic pop song, we get glimpses of the local Kerala percussions like the Thavil, Chenda and a few more. The title line is just filled with poise and fun, and we have Jakes, Akhil J Chand, Aruna Mary George and Aavani Malhar on backing vocals which we can hear faintly are various instances. The Nadaswaram by Bala plays out the title line, and then Josy's flute comes and anoints the interlude. The stanza is just brilliant in composition as you will find yourself constantly being found out by Jakes' unpredictable set of notes. Daniel Joseph Antony and Maneeth Manoj excel in all the session arrangements with Akhil handling the Harmony arrangements. Titto P Thankachan is the lyricist, Midhun Anand is the mix/master engineer and we have Midhun, Daniel, Maneeth, Najid Nizarudheen, Vishnu Shankar, Hari Narayanan and John Gregory are the recording engineers. @jakes_bejoy @warriersach @saregamamalayalam @titto_p_thankachen @midhunanand_official @prakash_alex @ebin_pallichan @aavani_malhar @josy_alappuzha @maneethmanoj 2. Mera Sukoon Singer & Composer: Bhagyesh HendreLyrics: Bhagyesh HendreMusic Producer: Neil-NirajI heard this song while I was waiting to board a flight, and I got so caught up in the brilliant melody, that I played it on a loop over 3 times and missed my chance to board the flight for almost 15 minutes. Finally, when I drew enough utility and pleasure, I went to board my flight, ready to take off with my heart already flying miles into the air thanks to this amazing song produced by Neil-Niraj, and composed and performed by Bhagyesh Hendre.Bhagyesh and Neil-Niraj are all making their debuts on this website and I cannot wait to hear more resulting from their collaboration in the future. The guitars that strum right away are played by Dhananjay Chhettri and we hear the soothing vocals of Bhagyesh. Ha has this tonality that resembles Sonu Nigam and Shaan, their best parts at least. The biggest merit of this song other than the singing and composition, is that guitar riff that stands out. We have the thumping rhythms and in the foreground the strings section in the interlude. For all the intensity in the interlude, the stanza is pleasant and filled with melodic richness. The arrangements are fantastic that get the electric guitar playing in the background. The musical team involves Sahil Vishwakarma, Ajith Aryan, Mehul Nikhare & Meet Gohil@sochmusicindia @neilnirajmusic @ridzzthakkar @whodipesjbangera @iam_kanakharipriya @nirajmusic @_meeeett_ @dhananjaychhettri3. Dhaage Music Composed & Produced by: Salim Sulaiman

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 16th July 2023. The Spotify Playlist is hereIf you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Yeh Awaaz Performed by Bryden & ParthWritten by Bryden Lewis, Nirmika SinghProduced by Bryden LewisLanguage: HindiGenre: Indie Pop'Unstoppable', and it is the perfect word for Byrden & Parth. These guys are killing it and I haven't in 4 years of music journalism seen 3 consecutive weeks where songs from the same album/EP have come in the top 2 spots. This is mindblowing stuff and after 'Chameleon World' and 'Rain Chant', we have a Hindi track here that is dominated by the duo in every aspect. Bryden Lewis is the lead singer and guitarist, while Parth Chandiramani is blowing us away with his Penny Whistle. The song is composed and produced by Bryden like the other two we featured but the duo get Nirmika Singh for the Hindi lyrics. The Penny Whistle is the primary instrumental driving force and this 6-holed woodwind instrument is like a toy that Parth is totally having fun with. Siddhart Kamath's Keys keep taking us back to the 1990s Pop and we have some amazing beats thanks to Liben Toms on drums and Kamal Bon on the innovative percussions. I love the transformation in the notes when the lines "Bulaa rahi bulandiyaan, chalo jo bhi ho, pighal rahi hain dooriyan chalo jo bho ho" emerge. The bass guitars by Osigo Mango add delicate style to the background. Close to the 3rd minute, we get a fantastic interlude with the Penny Whistle, Guitars and drums stealing away all our focus. I like the way the percussions and instruments take a back seat with only the lead and backing vocals dominating towards the end. We have Shruti Dhasmana and Bryden performing the backing vocals. The outro is outrageously good with the Parth on the Penny Whistle, Bryden's lung-bursting vocals and the energetic percussions by Kamal. @brydenlewis @nirmika @vivekthomasproductions @robin.schmidt.mastering @rahul.narayan.15 @parth_chandiramani @siddhartkamath @osigomango @libentom @kamaldrummer @shrutidhasmana @sharanyavasuki 2. Thee Veyilil Vocals by  Gowry Lekshmi, Lyrics by Vaishakh SugunanMusic by Christo XavierLanguage: MalayalamGenre: Light Music/PopI listened to the new Malayalam movie album "18+" and this has a composition by Christo Xavier, someone I haven't featured before. The EP is decent with a few likeable moments but this song stood out, not only thanks to the score but also because of the undeniable beauty in Gowry Lekshmi's vocals. The instrumental lineup right at the beginning of the song is magnificent with the strumming of the acoustic guitar and then followed by the Violin, Viola and Cello with rising intensities. Leave it to Gowry, to then bamboozle the listener with her intricate vocal sensibilities. Christo does an outstanding job in this score as he gets a very hummable melody and adds unique and relevant sounds suited for the modern-day music aficionado.The interlude has even a stylish slide guitar that tantalises the listener and brings an element of American Folk music into the fray. The folk style that is so popular in Malayalam music takes over and who better to sing it than Gowry. The numerous percussion sounds are engaging right through the stanza and the folk turns to semi-classical with the beautiful line " thedumne theeram ennume, kaanumne vaanil vaanavil". The strings section is emphatic in the second interlude. I love the fact that the second stanza is completely different from the first, and there is so much happening in the background in the form of the strings, that I cannot resist standing up and giving Christo a standing ovation. Vaisakh Sugunan writes the beautiful words. @christo_xavier @thinkmusicmalayalam @falooda_entertainments @vaisakhsugunan @gowrylekshmih 3. Hiraeth

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 9th July 2023. The Spotify Playlist is hereIf you are a musician submit your new music here.1. On The Wild Side Composed and written by Perfect StrangersVocals: Ananya Raja, Pranav DMLanguage: EnglishGenre: Jazz/RockSurprisingly, I am listening to this amazing band for the very first time, but like they say, "Better late than never". This Bengaluru-based band has been around since 2013 and is quite popular in that region. I was truly blown away by this and there was no way this song would be featured at any other place than the number 1 spot. Kudos people!The band wastes no time, as straight away we get an induction of rock with Debjeet Basu's electric guitars and Preran Gulvady's drums. After that opening cameo, we get the sensational Jazz construct, with Sweethin Hartman on the saxophone, Joshua Costa on Keys and the outrageously savvy vocals of Ananya Raja. Is she singing her lines from the depths of a deep well, because that is how low she could go in the vocal range? It soon turns into an exhibition of vocal sorcery as Ananya blows red hot right through. Her control, and her vibrato, is all flawless and I am certain this could be placed right alongside Samantha Noella's performance earlier this year for the song 'Glow". I feel the intensity when she sings " Don't you push me away, would you rather have me stay?". Sense for yourself, the groovy bass guitars by Shalini Mohan and then when we get to the title line, the song is a whole other beast that will just devour you, because it just sensed your weakness for good music. The song is a concoction of amazing production, arrangements, singing etc. The song explores the story of a transgender woman and her journey towards authenticity and acceptance. Let the Pride flow!The Pianos form a beautiful interlude past the 3.2 minute mark and it is this unpredictable nature of the song's progression that I deeply love. Sweethin's Saxophone solo is breathtaking and is another worthy feather on the cap for the band's single. Akash Shivakumar is the mixing engineer and Vivek Thomas is the mastering engineer. The song feels like taking a walk on the wild side with the heavy drums and electric guitars @perfectstrangersindia @vanarosa11 @pranavdm @ananyarajaa @debjeetguitar @shalinimohanbass @vivekthomasproductions @sweethartman @akashshivakumar @joe_keys_jazz @preran.pramod2. Rain Chant  Composed and Produced by: Bryden LewisEnglish Lyrics: Manek D'silvaKannada Lyrics: Halakki VokkaligaLanguage: Kannada/EnglishGenre: Folk/Alt-RockIs there no stopping them, as we have Bryden & Parth deliver another rollicking Folk fusion here that takes them to number 2 on the list? This is following a phenomenal chart-topper last week called "Chameleon World". When the song starts off, I feel like I am listening to the opening folk portion of B Ajaneesh Loknath's 'Singara Siriye' from the hit movie "Kantara". Halakki Vokkaliga writes the Kannada lyrics and, after that, the guitar-led vocals start falling like beautiful droplets of rain. Bryden Lewis has composed the melody and he is also the guitarist and lead vocalist, for the English lines penned by Manek D'Silva. The humming gives a monumental feeling of hope and inspiration and the usual suspects join in making this transcendental chant rather than just a song. Osi Gomango plays the bass guitars and Liben Tom is the drummer. The sound of the Bnsuri played by Parth Chandiramani, like the chirping of a bird, makes all the pain and agony of a long hot summer go away. Here it is Jimmy Francis John singing the amazing Kannada lines aided by guitars, bass and Siddhart Kamat's Keys. The rain has just fallen, and then what do we get, the flowing stream in the form of Siddhart's Piano with the thunder roading percussions by Anthony Kamal. Just wait for the 3.2-minute mark when Anthony takes matters into his own hands literally and changes the tempo of the percussions. There is this segment of merriment as Parth and Siddharth go ahead with their jugalbandi on the steel flute and the Keys. The outro alaap is pure magic and may have some influences of Bhimpalasi Ragam. Vivek Thomas does a phenomenal job of mixing these varied tracks and Robin Schmidt does the mastering. The recording engineers are Vivek Thomas, Rahul Narayan and Siddhart Kamath @brydenlewis @parth_chandiramani @libentom @kamaldrummer @siddhartkamath @jimmy_francis_john @osigomango @vivekthomasproductions 

Here are the best Tamil songs released for the month of June 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Yaavum Gnaayum Song Composed, Arranged and Produced by Yuvan Shankar RajaLyricist: YugabharathiSinger: Shivani PanneerselvamGenre: Synth-PopNever have the sound of guitars felt so funky and cool in a while, and this song captures your imagination the moment the title of 'Modern Love Chennai' comes on. The arrangements ooze style and this has to be Yuvan Shankar Raja's best song since 'Rowdy Baby'. Yuvan displays what his pedigree is all about and if these sounds don't urge you to listen, then wait for more.Shivani Pannerselvam is singing this like a dream, that you never want to get out of, like in the movie 'Inception'. This dream sounds and feels so much better than reality, but Shivani's vocal prowess and performance are real. The control she exhibits in delivering these lines is sensational, especially in the tenor/baritone scale. The stanza is beautifully composed and gives you that hummable feeling, and Yuvan ensures that the tone of the song remains intact. He does some fabulous production towards the end as you can feel the keyboard programming creating that intensity in the background. Kumaraguruparan .M does the mixing and mastering and the brilliant lyrics are by one of the busiest lyricists in Kollywood, Yugabharathi. @itsyuvan @shivanipannerselvam 2. UravuPerformed by Padmapriya Raghavan, Sean RoldanWritten by Sean Roldan, YughabharathiGenre: Melody/PopWe have the best two songs of the month both from Amazon Prime Video's Modern Love Chennai. This is Sean Roldan's magic and he is spreading love through the amazing power of music. The song is composed, produced and arranged by this composer who is showing some amazing resurgence of form of late. It is on par with the number 1 song of the month in almost every aspect. Padmapriya Raghavan is glorious as the female lead vocalist and I am hearing after a long time since that crowning jewel of a song 'Megathoodham'. I just love the line "Oru Kadhai ing mudivathaikandu kalakkamum etharkadi" and it is not just the melody in the notes, but Sean's voice and the strings section, Accordion and guitars in the background that just conquer my heart. Yugabharati writes these amazing lines. The anupallavi segment is so rich and it gets better with "uravennum perum kathai , uyirgalin thodarkathai". The whistle just makes a solid interlude for a love song. Sean hits the jackpot with a beautifull crafted stanza and I was blown away at around the 2.10 minute mark when Padmapriya sings "Uravennum Perum kathai" and the Piano plays some succulent and dreamy chords. @rseanroldan @padmapriya_raghavan @yughabharathi3. UrudhiSong Curation: Sean RoldanSong Narrative: Sean RoldanVocals: Sanjay Subrahmanyan, Arifullah Shah RafaeeWritten By: Krithika NelsonComposed By: Sean RoldanMusic Arranged & Produced by: Sean RoldanMixed by: Toby Joseph at TobsGarageMastered by: Randy MerillSomeone please call the fire station, it is an emergency. That's right, Sean Roldan is on fire!!!!!. Here is the Coke Studio Tamil song featuring renowned Carnatic Vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyan and Nagoor Styled Tamil Sufi singer Arifullah Shah Rafaee. The union between the two styles is seamless and feels like a match made in heaven. The song is composed by Sean Roldan and written by singer-songwriter Krithika Nelson. 

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 25th June 2023. The Spotify Playlist is hereIf you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Chameleon WorldPerformed by Bryden & ParthWritten by Bryden Lewis, Manek DSilvaProduced by Bryden LewisLanguage: EnglishGenre: Alt-RockI listened to this song and I had a surge of excitement, songs like these can are exactly why I do this job so that the world can open up their ears and listen to this kind of amazing homegrown talent. Bryden & Parth is the name of the band and the founding members are Bryden Lewis who is the composer, lyricist and Producer, and Parth Chandiramani plays the Flute and saxophone. The band also comprises Bassist Osi Gomango, Keyboardist Siddart Kamath, drummers Kamal Bob and Liben Toms and vocalist Jimmy Francis John. This song's brilliant vocals are performed by Bryden and we have the magnificent Shruti Dhasmana on backing vocals. The lyricist Manek comes up with that stylish opening speech, sounding like a game show host in the US. We instantly get a taste of what is about to come thanks to the Steel Flute by Parth and the drums by Liben.That feeling of Latin Jazz emanates the moment Kamal plays the Percussion, sounding like the Cajun. We then get all the live instruments converging, like the Keys, guitars and bass and drums. The steel flute whenever I hear it, I am reminded of Ian Anderson at "Jethro Tull", the brilliant British Rock band of the 1970s. But the overall pop tone does feel like the great times of the 1990s and the best line is "She has an outfit for every occasion, Chameleon Girl wouldn't know what's real", sung with great oomph by Bryden. I also pleasantly recall songs like "Two Hearts" by Phil Collins and "When the going gets tough, the tough get going" by Billy Ocean, thanks to the similar tone. Bryden is terrific on the lead vocal but we can hear Shruti's dashing voice in the background and these harmonies are well-arranged and executed. I love this along with the dominant Keys when we hear the lines "back from who you truly are, from who we are". As we progress Siddhart gets wild on the Keys and the combined effect of the drums and percussion works like magic. At around the 3rd minute, we get a beautiful Flute solo by Parth. Then there is this nice tete-a-tete between the Flute and bass guitars, and finally, the outro is performed at a higher vocal pitch. @brydenparth @brydenlewis @manekdsilva @parth_chandiramani @shrutidhasmana @libentom @kamaldrummer @siddhartkamath @osigomango @vivekthomasproductions @rahul.narayan.152. CloserPerformed by Sukruth MalleshWritten by Sukruth MalleshProduced by Sukruth & Siddhart KamathLanguage: EnglishGenre: Indie PopA couple of months ago, I featured a fabulous single by Sukruth Mallesh called 'Without You' and before even reading this review, I suggest you please listen to that song right away. Now coming closer to 'Closer', I was playing my set of new songs that I always plan on listening to every day in the morning. This is an exercise where I don't look at my phone till a song gets over so that I avoid any biases from taking over in judging the content. Along came this outrageous beauty, and I thought to myself, maybe this is some European or UK-based producer. I loved it so much but couldn't bear to open Spotify and see who is the artist. I jumped joyously knowing it is an Indian and that to this guy Sukruth who already had raised the bar last time. Here come the Keys, laying the platform and then as Sukruth begins cooly, we get the acoustic and bass guitars to add style. The way the additional vocals pile on when he sings " But I have been hurt so much" and somehow the impact of the hurt sort of magnifies and that is smartly arranged. The highlight of the song is the line " Can I get closer, Will I, Will I ever get closer?". It is like that famous line in the movie 'Jerry Maguire' that goes "You had me at Hello". I have to say Sukruth had me at "Can I". I just feel goosebumps when he sings "Will you hurt, If I get closer to you" and the chords change

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 25th June 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Na Koyi Mera Composed by Amit TrivediLyrics by Kausar MunirSingers - Papon & Vaishali MadeProduced by Sunny Subramanian & Amit TrivediLanguage: HindiGenre: RetroThe web series 'Jubilee' created a massive wave of expectations and the series lived up to the hype. I am yet to see the series which boasts of some amazing performances as well. I will be doing a separate Instagram video review of the series, and its BGM score by Alokananda Dasgupta. Now the songs have ne composed by Amit Trivedi and he seems to have found new love and passion for retro Hindi music. After outclassing in 'Qala' on Netflix, this time it is an Amazon Prime series which demands 40's styled music and Amit delivers without fail. I loved a few songs from the album like "Nahin Ji Nahin", "Voh Tere Mere Ishq Ka" and "Sare Ke Sare Akele" other than this chart-topper. Lyrics are penned beautifully with intent and passion by Kausar Munir and the producers are Amit and Sunny Subramanian. We have amazing strings opening the account thanks to the group of violinists Jitendra Thakur, Sandeep Thakur, Pradeep Thakur, Chandan Singh, Mohan Goyal and Sanjay Verma. Lakshmikant Sharma plays the gentle Mandolin and we immediately are taken back to the 1940s thanks to The Woodwinds by ID Rao, Accordion by Satyajit Prabhu and also the delightful Harp. Chandan Singh plays the solo Violin. The song is perfect in its timeline representation and a huge role is played by Deepak Borkar on Percussion and Rhythms. Papon sings like he is holding a magic wand and it shows the man's skill to sound so apt in the retro style. I was pleasantly surprised by Vaishali Made's female lead vocals and she delivers a stunning performance. The song itself reminds us of "Yeh Raat Bheegi Bheegi" by Shankar-Jaikishan. The interludes continue from where they left off in the opening segment. The interplay of all the live instruments is like a tonic for the heart. I love how the arrangements shift when Vaishali " Aaja tujhe dil se laga loon". The sound engineers are Urmila Sutar and Avadhoot Wadkar. The tracks are mixed and mastered by Shadab Rayeen with assistance from Pukhraj & Anup@itsamittrivedi @paponmusic @kausarmunir @vaishalimadeofficial @tseries.official @shadabrayeen @sunny.subramanian @idrao_official  2. Panjimittai Song Composed, Arranged and Produced: Jay UnnithanLyrics: Manu ManjithSingers: Nithinraj, Nithya MammenLanguage: MalayalamGenre: Folk-PopThis is epic by Jay Unnithan. Very rarely do we have two songs from the same EP being featured in consecutive weeks, that too both in the top 2. Time to get up and give an ovation. Like 'Noolamala' this too is composed, arranged and produced by Jay, with lyrics by Manu Manjith. The vocalists are Nithinraj, who I am featuring for the first time and the brilliant-sounding Nithya Mammen. Embrace the stringed instruments like the Mandolin and Guitalele by Sanu PS at the start, and the local percussion gives a thump. Assan Nidheesh SD is the man behind the energy here, as Al Nishad handles all the additional rhythm programming. ID Rao makes it two in two after making an appearance in the number 1 song also. He is omnipresent with his Clarinet in the opening instrumental segment and also plays the Saxophone later.  Nithinraj has this teasing style of delivery and that suits this song folk-pop song. I love it when after the 1.15-minute mark the percussions abruptly stop and it is only the vocals, Guitalele and bass guitars. The whole scenario feels like a wedding procession thanks to the Clarinet and percussion. The tempo builds up in the interlude to arrive at the stanza where the Diva Nithya performs and the melody is like an earworm. My favourite line is "Vallathe thullathe" which feels o refreshing with Nithya's saccharine-laden vocals. Lijesh Kumar handles all the vocal tuning, with recording engineers Deepak SR and Ezekiah Naniwadekar. Abin Paul is the mix/master engineer, and he does a splendid job getting the tracks together in perfect sync. Listen to the brilliant saxophone, Clarinet and Keys coming together. 

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 18th June 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Kya Karie Korimol Written, Composed, Lead Vocals by AlifFeatured Vocals: Noor MohammedCreative Producer: Ankur TewariVocal Bridge (Aashima Mahajan) Composed by Alif and Aman MoroneyWavun couplets compiled by Rumuz Bekhudi & AlifProduced by Aman Moroney, Alif and Ashish ManchandaLanguage: KashmiriGenre: Musical Theatre-FolkThis song is a barrage of emotions that needs to be experienced, a review like this will never be able to do the project even half of the justice it deserves, and yet I try. It is the best song under 'Coke Studio Bharat' released thus far and kudos to all the musicians involved. Alif has written, composed and performed the lead vocals and the song's brilliant segment is also a bridge section and this was composed by Alif and Aman Moroney. I am thinking about where to begin, but here we go. This song is a story and this is exactly what a Coke Studio product should sound like. The father of the bride goes through hordes of pain and problems when his daughter's extravagant wedding is being arranged. The original main segment of the song sung by Alif shows us this perspective. Alif sings these lines in Kashmiri with great enthusiasm and he also plays the acoustic guitars while doing so. The strings section is on fire right from the beginning and they set the tone for this elaborate composition. Gaurang Deshpande of 'The Media Tribe' does the strings transcription and we have the eminent Jitender Thakur playing one of the Violins and the Viola. The 2nd Violin is played by Prabhat K with Johan on the Cello.  Slowly we get the impact of the live instruments as Tanmay Pawar plays the solid acoustic guitars and the electric guitars, with Amit Gadgil on the bass guitars. A highlight of the song is the fantastic chorus, which is called 'Wanwun' in Kashmiri which means chorus and raising a toast to these amazing performers Zartasha Zainab, Shivani Matyal, Samhita Shiledar, Samiyah Nabi and Rumuz-e-Bekhudi. I want to take some time and enjoy the fantastic synths and Piano by Aman. You can suddenly hear the hair-raising switch in energy with the electric guitars and the drums are smashing hard with Karan Chitra Deshmukh also playing the Darbuka now, hearing the title line being sung in unison. Welcome to the second part of the song, the enchanting bridge section sung by Aashima Mahajan, and composed by Aman and Alif. The Cello dominates along with the Violins, and Viola, as the daughter tells her side of the story, getting ready for the marriage. The closing segment is hugely impactful with the collective vocals, drums, electric guitar and strings and almost feels like a Hans Zimmer score out of 'Inception'. Things take a turn again as we get to the father's story. Kudos to Aman Moroney, Ashish Manchanda and Alif who have produced this outstanding chart-topper.@cokestudiobharat @aashima.mahajan @everythingisalif @mohammad.muneem @basswati @aman_moroney @ankurtewari @misfitsinc @kjpahji @karanchitradeshmukh @tanmay_aavishkaar @thedoccwhosings @saamiyahnabi @zartashaazainab @samhitashiledar @ashishmanchanda007 @themediatribe_bceducation 2. Noolamala Song Composed, Arranged and Produced: Jay UnnithanLyrics: Manu ManjithSingers: Vanee Rajendra, Shivakamy Shyamaprasad, Kaanjana SriramLanguage: MalayalamGenre: Electronic Folk PopIt is his debut album in the movie space and Jay Unnithan is making his mark. I am confident that not only this song but the whole EP will end up being one of India's best this year by the end of 2023. The guitars hit you hard in almost U2 style from 'Mission Impossible'. Chaitanya Bhaidkar plays the scintillating electric guitar and he also immediately brings in the Saz and Banjo. The work of genius is to get the Korava vocals in the mix, in a way that I would have never dreamt of. The Korava vocalists are Lekshmi, Rama Lekshmi, Karthik. The lyrics are excellent with a lot of fun and frolic written by Manu Manjith. Thank God the people of Kerala did not create a ruckus because of words like "Answer, Where are you going" coming in a Malayalam song. I am sure Amitabh Bhattacharya wished he lived in Kerala.  The lead vocalists are Vanee Rajendra, Shivakamy Shyamaprasad, Kaanjana Sriram and there is not a moment you wouldn't enjoy in their performance. Jay has composed, arranged and programmed, so he is the champion, producing this baby of his. My favourite part is when the leads sing " Minnaminni Ninne Ninne Ninnodonnu chothikkam".  Rony George plays the additional guitar, and Sonu Sangameswaran is the bassist. The humming by the leads in the interlude is so charming keeping the folk flavour alive. Deepak SR is the recording engineer, and Abin Paul brilliantly mixes the tracks and masters the song. @__hijk @manumanjith_s @vanee_rajendra @shivakamy_shyamaprasad @kaanjana_sreeram @chaituontheroll @basssonu @mixwithabin @deepaksr.mix @thrishankufilm @thinkmusicofficial 3. VirtualityLyrics: Bob StarkComposition: Eliezer BotzerMusic production, arrangements, Sound engineering, programming, Keyboards: Ori AvniVocals: Eli Botzer, Lucky AliGenre: Indie PopThe two musicians from different parts of the world combine again and the expectations immediately soar upon hearing about the project. Eli Botzer from Israel and Lucky Ali from India create magic here and it is the coming together of some solid vocals, live instruments, and phenomenal production.  The melody is soothing and inspiring and it is the work of Botzer but the soul of the song is also in the amazing programming and arrangements. Ori Avni does that like a sorcerer at the peak of his powers. The guitars, keyboards, rhythms, bass guitars and vocal harmonies enthral us, singing "Nothing is as it seems". Wait for the best part, it is the humming that is like a breath of fresh air. The composition of this humming is well-written, and sung by Ayana Botzer and Tasmiyah Ali (the daughters). We have Itamar Doari on the wonderfully crafted percussion, Michael Frost on bass guitars, Idan Shneor on acoustic guitars and Amit Yitzhak on the electric guitar. The video was shot in the Dead Sea, and I'm sure music like this will bring life even to that water body. I can only recommend you listen to the last 2 minutes of the song in absolute peace and solitude to enjoy the greatest gift in life i.e. Music. The symphonic orchestra is elaborate with 4 Violins, 2 Violas, 2 Cellos, 1 Contrabass, 1 Flute, 1 Clarinet, 2 Trombones and 1 French Horn. The masterminds behind the orchestration are Ori Avni and Aviv Koren. The sound engineers are Bharat Kumar and Idan Katz and the tracks are mastered by Jonathan Jacobi, and the lovely words of inspiration are penned by Bob Stark. @officialluckyali @avniori @sharonmalin @botzer_official @thebigbeatindia4. Joru Joraagi  Singers: Suneel Rao, Varijashree VenugopalLyricist: Sharath BhagwanMusic by: DossmodeLanguage: KannadaGenre: Electronic/Synth-popI am incredibly impressed with the soundscape and score by Dossmode a.k.a. Dheerendra Doss, for this Kannada album "Thurthu Nirgamana", and although the movie was released back in 2022, some songs were streamed online recently which got me interested. In fact, this song was rele

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 11th June 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. ButterflyPerformed by Prithvi PrakashWritten by Prithvi PrakashProduced by Ashwin Sriram & Prithvi PrakashLanguage: EnglishGenre: Indie PopSometimes you come across a song that makes your heart grow fonder. For me such songs make all my efforts of listening to hundreds of songs every week feel like a cinch. This phenomenal single by Prithvi Prakash is one that made me feel alive and thrilled to come out and write a review. It ,without any doubt, rises to the top of this week's ranking and credit goes to Prithvi who has composed, written and performed and Ashwin Sriram who co-produces the song with Prithvi.I haven't featured Prithvi before and that is why I am super excited about the discovery of talent while Ashwin has been featured a couple of times for some fantastic singles of his own. She hits a home run ( baseball reference as the two are based in the US) with her vocals which also have this Carnatic Classical style of ghamakas on the ending note of every line.The way she sings and ends the line "Yet you lay, curled in a corner" is amazing, and do pay attention to the word " corner". I love this delivery and I adore it throughout the song. We hear the keys in the background and just the vocals and keys keep things simple. Interestingly, the production adds a layer of vocals in the background and with a lag.  I enjoyed the mild alaap just after the lines "Butterfly, we built a pupa just for us", making it so unique and heartwarming. Slowly we get the impact of the chords on the keyboards and that guitar strumming steadily in the background. The combined effect of the guitars in the lead and the mild alaap in the background works beautifully and it is here that I sense some Raag Hamsadhwani. As we progress, we get the rhythms and that solo Violin by Myra Rena Choo which strikes like an arrow, pointed and deep into my heart. Let all the song's beauty and its elements sink in so that you can just fly away like a butterfly. Anusha handles the cover artwork, with Rachel Pac as the photographer. @pritsprakash @ashwynmusic @anushadesign @at_the_beat @pixbypac 2. Cant Help ItWritten, Composed by Sanchi MannotraPerformed by SanchiProduced by Osho JainLanguage: EnglishGenre: Indie PopThis is the 3rd time I am featuring a song that Sanchi is involved in after two amazing singles "L.O.M.L." and "To Be in Love". I am firmly confident that Sanchi is one of the best indie talents we have in this country. Since I came to find out that she is also a tattooist, she could tattoo this claim of mine on my arm, that's how confident I am. Osho Jain another consistently good indie singer-songwriter who I have featured many times does all the fantastic production for the song, and makes it breathe, survive and grow on the listener. Sanchi writes, composes and performs with incredible gusto and I get drawn by the sheer magnetism of her voice. The song is beautifully written, as I can sit here and feel her agony when she sings "Why am I held against my will to sleep next to him, I can change reality But it's never not a dream".These guitars are a solid companion, and the notes are captivating when she utters the words " I can't help it, if my heart spins. When you're next to me", especially the second time she repeats the words "when you're next to me". The introduction of the humming is fabulous " tham tha tha tham" as it brings in style and funkiness, especially thanks to the vocal multiple layers and the drums.Sanchi is phenomenal in delivering the vocals, keeping in mind the right emotive construct and the way she explores the higher pitch. The vocal harmonies are brilliantly arranged in the outro and probably are one of the highlights of the song. Kudos to Osho for the production, and Utkarsh Amarpuri for the solid mixing and mastering of the tracks. Aayushi Bansal handles the cover art. @sanchhhii @oshojain_ @buttonchutney @aayushi_bansal_

Here are the best Tamil songs released for the month of May 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Chill Makka Song Composed, Arranged And Produced by Sean RoldanSinger: Pradeep KumarLyricist: Mohan RajanMusic Producer: Sean RoldanGenre: Latin Jazz/PopIt is no mean feat to have two splendid songs in the same album. It used to be a regular occurrence when Ilaiyaraja and AR Rahman used to have 4 to 5 fabulous songs packed into a single album. Anyway, Sean Roldan has done a tremendous job with both 'Naan Gaali' ( NO. 1 Tamil song last month) and Chill Makka topping this month. This is a Pradeep Kumar special, as the playback specialist shows why he is fantastic not only in morose songs, but he can pack a punch in breezy singles as well. If 'Naan Gaali' felt like a tribute to Maestro Ilaiyaraja, this feels like one to ARR, as I get a sense of some similarity with 'Kick Yeruthe' from the movie 'Padaiyappa'. Bhuvanesh Narayanan on Keys and Ricardo Jimenez on trumpets set the tone straight away giving the song a Latin Jazz tone. When a song is produced in this style, rhythms become a crucial element and this is where RK Sundar comes in for producing and recording the rhythms. It is then Pradeep chilling out with his vocals and you can sense the minute vibrato and improvised ghamakas Pradeep brings to the table.Vijay Ganesan makes his presence felt on the electric guitars, while Aalaap Raju shines on his bass guitars. The line "Enni paaru, Sonna Kelu" is when you can hear the fantastic interplay between Trumpets, bass guitars, Keys and rhythms. The stanza begins with some nice Accordion sounds accompanying Pradeep's lead, and the most astonishing line is when he sings "Kolla inbam irukku, athai alla neram othu" and kudos to Sean, Mohan Rajan on lyrics and Pradeep for getting it done perfectly blended. The recording engineers are Manoj Krishna, and Aswin George John with Cedric Sherwin, and Guru Hariraj assisting. The second interlude is beautiful with the Keys, Harmonica, and electric guitar. Balu Thankachan is the mix/master engineer with Paul Daniel assisting. MP Vijay of Silver Tree Management is the manager for Sean Roldan. @rseanroldan @mohanrajan_lyrici @the.meethling @pradeep_kumar1123 @vjganesan @bhuvanesh_keys @aalaapraju @ricardo.jimenez.music @silvertreeoffl @thebaluthankachan2. Thaaragaye Music: Barath DhanasekarLyricist: Hemanth Prakash Singer: Abhijith AnilkumarGenre: Filmi PopI am extremely delighted with Barath Dhanasekar's composition in the new album "Halal Shawarma" because there are two fantastic songs which are getting featured here this month. A few months ago I featured a very beautiful melody by him in Telugu called 'Naa Dhaarullonaa'. This song is composed and produced by Barath with Abhijit Anilkumar on vocals and Hemanth Prakash writing the lyrics. I remember Abhijit's fantastic number for the Malayalam album "Vaashi" last year and here he reminds me of singer Haricharan, especially in the higher pitch singing "Tharagaye tholaivagidave, aarirule". Hemanth Prakash writes these beautiful lines.Sanjay Balajee beings the proceedings with a beautiful solo on the flute, giving out the song's opening, and Naveen Napier plays the bass guitar. The song has a rich Pallavi and Anu Pallavi as well, and here we have sounds of the acoustic guitar by Sam Solomon and Veena by Anantha as well playing in the background. Pavithran Jack and Shiva Sai play all the percussion. Paying closer attention there is also a layer of the flute and vocal harmonies in the background, so well done Barath for the fantastic arrangements and production. Dan Kristen does all the keyboard programming, with Rokesh Antoney and Immanuel Raj on additional programming. We have a Harris Jayaraj styled fast-paced, Veena and bass guitar-filled interlude aided by catchy rhythms. Barath composes a very exciting stanza with this line being the best "ranamana enathullam, thudikkum aazhangalil". This is one fantastic single with Abhijit excelling in all the ghamakas, timed and executed to perfection. The tracks are mixed and mastered by Roshan Sebastian. @abhijithanilkumar_ @flute_balajee @dystopian_hippie @napier_naveen @saregamatamil @percussion_pavithran @dan_kristen @roshansebastian 

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 4th June 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Phir Aur Kya Chahiye Singer - Arijit Singh, Sachin- JigarMusic - Sachin- JigarLyrics - Amitabh BhattacharyaProgrammed & Arranged By - Sachin- JigarMusic Production Head - Romil VedSachin and Jigar the composer duo, are like Michael Bevan, the cricketer. He used to come in and bat for around 10 overs and without a single boundary, suddenly you will see him in his 40s. I have been quite impressed with how their original scores are very good despite not getting too much attention and fan following (in my opinion) me. Bhediya was a very good album, with 2 fine songs and a good original background score as well. Arijit Singh has been in prime form and I feel like he has rediscovered himself as a vocalist because the usual style of singing which was getting somewhat stale has been left behind. Arijit brings out the protagonist's vulnerability and emotions rather than showcasing his vocal skills, and that is why O'Bedardeya and Bairiya which were released in 2023 got featured by me. Kalyan Baruah is amazing on the guitars and Sachin-Jigar's Keyboard programming is fantastic, and you can realise this if you focus on the background rather than Arijit's vocals singing the title line. The Alt-pop influence is something that sticks to the mind and pulls the song to this week's number 1 spot. Pratiksha Kale, Maanuni Desai and Sahil Vishvakarma sing the chorus "Tu heere" in the interlude. The programming and arrangements are by Sachin-Jigar and Romil Ved is the Music Production Head. Amitabh Bhattacharya pens the lovely lyrics. Tejas Vinchurkar instils love with his flute solo and Sachin-Jigar composes a very likeable and rich stanza, with Arijit excelling with every note like only he can. I love the line "ugta nahi hain suraj mera". Tatiana Kritskaya plays the Cello and when we get to the outro Arijit improvises splendidly as usual. The song is mixed and mastered by Eric Pillai with Michael Edwin Pillai assisting with the mixing. Swar Mehta is the recording engineer. The song has that tone and resemblance to "Main Tenu Samjhawan Ki".@sachinjigar @arijitsingh @amitabhbhattacharyaofficial @saregama_official @soulfulsachin @jigarsariaya @tejas.flute @tanikacello @romilved @pratikshakale @scarlettvictim @sahilvmusic @ericpillai @swar_440 @michaeledwinpillai 2. Time For 2 Performed by Yamini Lavanian, Zohran MirandaWritten by Yamini Lavanian, Zohran Jude MirandaProduced by Zohran and Jovian SoansLanguage: EnglishGenre: Synth PopZohran Miranda is a guitarist and producer from Mumbai and he has worked with many top-notch singer-songwriters. This is my debut EP and I must say that I was mighty impressed with it, and I recommend you all listen to the EP. Though this is the song I have picked for featuring now, I did fancy a couple of more songs in the EP. I did feature Zohran back in 2021 for a single called "Heavy on Time".The sound design and production are phenomenal and you know this is world-class the moment you hear it. Zohran collaborates with another fantastic artist Yamini Lavanian and they write, compose and perform together on this song. I featured Yamini in a song with Vinay Kaushal more than a year ago and she possesses a gifted voice and she too puts it to full use here. Jovian Soans and Zohran produced the songs and kudos to both of them. Aditya Ashok is fabulous and he generates such good interest through the drums, and we have the eminent Rushad Mistry as the bassist. Yamini begins her vocals and you lose track of all your other senses. She exhibits great control in her delivery and embellishes every note with a cool attitude and style. The line "Sky's opening, fire is burning high" is so beautifully composed with such an unpredictable shift in notes towards the note and the falsetto is just spot-on. Zohrans vocal lines are more funky and fun and the two combine, and it does feel like "perfect storm brewing, just me and you". The album artwork is done by Sadek Merchant, and the photo art design is by Anahaa Chattaraj with Herbert Fernandes as the Photographer. The outro on guitars, drums and the humming is a magical fitting end. @sadekmerchant @yamini_lavanian_music @joviancity @ox7gen @anahaachattaraj @rushad1981 @originaldogofficial @zohranmiranda