Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 28th May 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Guppedu Gundellona Singer : Spoorthi JithenderLyrics: Bhaskarabhatla Ravi KumarMusic Director: Vijay BulganinLanguage: TeluguGenre: Filmi Melody/PopVijay Bulganin is just unstoppable. The quality of his melodies is rich, with some breathtaking arrangements and production as well. So why won't he keep creating some of the best songs in the country time and time again? Joseph Vijay is terrific at making the aura of romance shine with his acoustic guitars and soon enough, Spoorthi Jithender starts singing. There is a shred of innocence in her vocals, and we slowly hear the Accordion and Joseph's bass guitars. The most heartwarming line of the song is the title and Spoorthi makes you tremble with love when you hear it. The guitar-led and dominated interlude ends and the song's stanza is only further proof of how a simple song can brighten our day as long as the melody is extraordinary like this.Balu does all the keyboard programming to bring in new and fresh sounds like that whistle-like sound in the stanza, and the woodwind and strings as well, and we have Sabin Josh as mixing and mastering engineering. Anand Guarana is the music supervisor and Yadav is the music-in-charge. @vijai_bulganin @spoorthi_jithenderofficial @supervijayoffl @poetbb 2. Ghoomey Music composed Arranged, and Produced by: Mark K RobinLyricist: Manoj JulooriSinger: Jubin NautiyalIntro Alaap: Prakash ChodimallaLanguage: Qawwali-pop fusionI did do a 1 Minute Music Review of this EP called "8 AM Metro" on my Instagram reels and recommended that music lovers stream this which is potentially one of the best Hindi EPs of 2023. Mark K Robin who is well-known in the Tollywood music space has composed, arranged and produced this belter of a song. The style is classic Qawwali and it invokes memories of some of AR Rahman's super hits. This is probably the best of Jubin Nautiyal that I have heard and he decorates the song with some lovable ghamakas. The harmonium riff and the Tabla combine with such grace taking us into oblivion and paradise. Anil Robin, Mohan and Nova play the Tabla and Dholak. Prakash Chodimalla sings the initial Aalap and after the first minor segment, we get a mildly western colouring on the song thanks to the Keys and Keith Peters' bass guitars. My favourite line is "Naye Naye pal bharne lage, abhi abhi dil hasne lage", and there is enough support for Jubin with additional vocals sung by Gary Misquitta, Rishikesh Kamerkar, Rahul Pandey, Sunayana Sarkar, Shazneen Arethna and Suzanne Dmello. Manonmani plays the Sarangi with some terrific timing and despite a short stanza, the interplay of all the live instruments and vocal harmonies soothe the heart. There are two more excellent numbers in this EP which will be featured subsequently on my website. Manoj Juloori pens the beautiful words. Shadab Rayeen is the mix/master engineer with assistants Pukhraj, Anup & Eshan.@iammarkkrobin @jubin_nautiyal @shadabrayeen @gboy.nwc @suzanne_dmello @shazneenarethna @manonmanisarangi @manojkumar.juloori @keithpeters_bassman 3. Mumma Singer, Composer & Lyricist: Samarth Swarup Backing Vocals: Hansika PareekMusic Production: Samarth Swarup Language: Hindi

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 21st May 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. AnywayPerformed, Written by Aarifah RebelloProduced by Aarifah Rebello, Zain CalcuttawallaLanguage: EnglishGenre: Alternative Folk/BalladAarifah Rebello has been featured a few times both for her solo projects like "Now she nows" and one with her band Long Distances for "Love Song for an Apocalypse". Here she goes solo again and very rarely do we hear a singer who stuns the listener with every note uttered. Thank you Aarifah for such a fine performance, the strength of the song also lies in the writing and composition which also are entirely done by her with Zain Calcuttawala and Aarifah doing the production.The Piano and vocals alone keep you hooked, and I can feel the heaviness of the heart when she sings "My heart was heavy, loaded drenched", at the same time, the mild acoustic guitars help bring about a little lightness in the mood also with the lyrics now saying "floating with love inside of me".The Piano by Arnob Bal, is no longer mild, as it gains traction and I can only stand up in ovation to Zain and Aarifah for the fantastic arrangements and production. Listen to the strings in the background, by Zain feeding hope now as Aarifah sings "Do I dare I begin to dream". Here are the vocal harmonies and drums by Karun Kannampilly for essential cogs of the wheel. The drums and the tempo pick up and raise the energy towards the end. Adil Kurwa is the bassist and the acoustic guitars are played by Jishnu Guha. The song is mixed by Zain, and mastered by Shawn Hatfield at AudibleOddities Studio. The recording engineers are Nitin M Krishna and Ajay Majethia @aarifahrebello @bullibainbridge @karunk @a_diilla @arnobbal @short___round @grasparkaudio @palindromamusic @guitars_n_chopsticks @audibleoddities 2. Tera HonaSinger: Faheem Abdullah & Arslan NizamiLyricist: Faheem AbdullahComposer: Faheem AbdullahMusic Produced/Arranged/Programmed: Qassam HussainLanguage: HindiGenre: Indie PopThe deep voice immediately grabbed my attention and sounded like Aditya Rao, another fantastic indie singer-songwriter. Faheem Abdullah is the vocalist and he has also written the lyrics and composed the melody. The Keys are wonderfully soft and tender and they let Faheem do all the talking (singing in this case). There are a couple of layers of vocals and what is beautiful is the mild but very assured vibrato that Faheem sprinkles at every turn. It never feels overdone, but rather melts your heart at every such juncture. I do sense some influences of Raag Bilawal especially when Rohan Prasanna makes the killer move on his Sarod. We have some very skilful arrangements here as the Sarod is accompanied by Keys and harmonies with additional vocals by Arslan Nizami.  The song witnesses a welcome and wonderful shift in tone and tempo as Faheem sings "Teri hi wo ik dua hai" and you can feel the rhythms, drums and keyboards joining in. Qassam Hussain deserves praise for the worthy arrangements, programming and overall production. Faheem's singing is a huge merit for this song all Qassam's production ensures this feature is highlighted with other elements acting as supporting cast. Arslan must be applauded for his energetic vocals, which keep following the lead in the background, especially as he does some exciting aalap. Abhishek Ghatak is the mix/master engineer. Check out how cool Rohan sounds on the Sarod as he improvises and generates some savvy notes of his own towards the end. @theimaginarypoet @arslannizaami @qassam_hussain @rohanprasanna @theghatak @tmmusic 3. Musafir Dil

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 14th May 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. What Lies Beneath Lyrics, Vocals: Tanya ShankerComposed by: Tanya Shanker & Richard AndrewProduced, Arranged & Mixed by: Richard AndrewLanguage: EnglishGenre: Indie PopHaving featured Tanya Shanker a month ago for a terrific performance in a single called "Soft Boi", I must now confess that Tanya is a certified genius with incredible potential to rise to unfathomable heights if she stays the course and works hard. This is one of the best English singles by an Indian Artist I have heard in 2023 yet and vocally it is one of the clear-cut bests and it is so difficult as a feat to achieve as a 17-year-old. The Piano led opening is all designed by Richard Andrew and his production is a huge contributor to the success of the EP "What Lies Beneath". After a few seconds, the session is dominated by Tanya, well Can ya resist her brilliance? I am more interested in knowing what lies inside this girl's head, and her amazing grey cells. The guitars, bass, strings section and drums add such fantastic layers which are so necessary to embellish the track, and you will realise that during the bridge section. The solo on the electric guitar is brief but belligerent. But take away nothing from Tanya, as a writer, composer and vocalist. She is a gift to us and you better remember her name! The stalwart Pravin Mani has mastered the song with Richard mixing it.  @itstanyashanker @pravinmanimusic @richard.andrew.dudley @heenakriplani 2. Urime Kaalama Singer: Anurag Kulkarni Lyrics: Ananta Sriram Music: Suresh BobbiliLanguage: TeluguGenre: Blues/JazzIt has been a while since I heard a score by Suresh Bobbili, and I remember back in 2019 and 2020 I did feature his music quite a lot. I am extremely delighted to feature his work once again and especially for a song of this quality. Anurag Kulkarni is easily the best Tollywood singer and one of the 5 best vocalists in South India for me. Suresh takes us down the Jazz and Blues memory lane with some perfect choices of live instrumental apparatus and arrangements. Joy Solomon plays the keyboards and with Suresh's production, programming and arrangements things get wild and fun. The Keys and Guitars by Fredy add the required flavours but it is Anurag who is setting the song on fire. This is easily one of the best vocal performances of the year thus far and Anurag breaks away from any shackles. His falsetto, high-pitch delivery, improvisations, and even when shouts out every note look stylish and pitch-perfect. The electric guitar solo is nothing just of inspiring and with the heavy Pianos, Anurag just keeps getting better. The backing vocalists are Joy and Surya who give quite a lot of support, and this is an opportunity to play in full blast and observe the phenomenal skills of Anurag. The song is mixed and mastered by Joy with Kumar Kadari as the musicians' coordinator. @anuragkulkarni7 @suresh_bobbili @joysolomon.k  3. En Roja Neeye  Music Composed, Arranged & Programmed by Hesham Abdul WahabLyrics by Arun AlatSung by Hesham Abdul Wahab

Here are the best Tamil songs released for the month of April 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Naan GaaliSingers - Sean Roldan, Kalyani Nair Lyricist - Mohan Rajan Programmed, Arranged and Produced by Sean Roldan Genre: Filmi Melody/PopSean Roldan has been a busy man of late composing songs for Coke Studio Tamil, but more than the songs there I have been incredibly impressed with his score in this movie 'Goodnight'. It is a movie that is being raved about thanks to a great screenplay and acting performance by Manikandan. Kollywood for ages has been dependent on songs and background scores to elevate a movie and its messaging and Sean Roldan like before has set out in the right direction for this movie. His songs and score for 'Jai Bhim' in 2021 were excellent and with 'Goodnight' his songs have created enough hype for me to watch the movie too. I have long been proclaiming that the trio of Pradeep Kumar, Sean Roldan and Santhosh Narayanan is the greatest thing that happened to Tamil music since 2010, and with all of them rising, Sean stands out as the closest we have to Ilaiyaraja in terms of the core melody of a song. Sean's formula for success is simple - to keep the song's melody pure and rich. He does that with this amazing song and with his unique vocal tone we only fall in love more. Kalyani Nair the multi-faceted musician joins on board as a vocalist and she fully handles the arrangements of the strings section. It is outstanding in the stanzas, interludes and especially the outro. The song is programmed, arranged and produced by Sean Roldan. The lovely whistle and in close quarters we have Ashwin Suresh playing the acoustic guitars, and he also plays the electric guitar. Watch out for the fantastic keys that come in during the opening lines.When he sings "Balcony Kathula, vasam than kooduthu" we hear the fantastic strings in the background thanks to the Budapest Scoring Orchestra, and it is composer Balasubramanian G who is the Orchestra Coordinator. The song's tone reminds me of Sean's score for the album "Power Paandi". The supreme convergence of guitars, strings, keys and rhythms is just like a symphony of love. The interlude which has the guitars playing and the mild pauses on the drums and strings reminds of Genius Ilaiyaraja's works as well, especially when you hear Kalyani's humming. The stanza picks off from that humming and we are taken back to the 80s and 90s when Janaki used to dominate in such songs. I have been critical of Sean's vocal performances of late especially when the notes are high-pitched, but here he is on fire. The line "heartu rateu eruthe, fuse pona lifelum, bulbu brightu aaguthe" is magical, to say the least. It makes my life and day brighten up like a bulb when I hear these notes and the strings section works overtime in the background. Mohan Raja has shown his wittiness with these fantastic lyrics. The sorcery of the guitars and female humming continues in the second interlude and I am thankful Sean went for two stanzas, something I miss in today's songs. Aswin George is the recording engineer at Sounds Right and the song is mixed and mastered by Balu Thankachan at 20db with Paul Daniel assisting this session. Songs of the Maestro like "Rojan poo aadivanthathu" are what I keep getting reminded of when I hear this phenomenal chart-busting song. Thank you Sean Roldan and team. 2. Timeless LoveSong Composed by: Ilaiyaraaja Arranged and Produced by: Yuvan Shankar Raja Lyrics: Madan Karky Singer: Yuvan Shankar Raja, Kapil Kapilan Genre: Blues/PopI played this song with very low expectations because the music has been decent if not very good in a Venkat Prabhu film. As the song began I was slowly intrigued and by the time we hit the stanza, I was sold. The song had credits mentioning Yuvan Shankar Raja and I came to know that he is the man behind the terrific arrangements and production. Kudos to Yuvan for coming up with the goods again, but little did I know that the song was composed by the Maestro Ilaiyaraja. The stanza is clearly in his style and it also shows what he is still capable of. Napoleon's seductive flu solo plays in the beginning, almost like "Elangathu Veesuthe". Kapil Kapilan lends his astonishing voice and he shines in such vocally-demanding songs, we have a fantastic Blues-pop song here. The finger flicks, the Saxophone and the Upright bass are so intricately arranged. The song feels very much like Maestro's 'Puthu Mappillaikku" from 'Aboorva Sagotharargal'. The Trumpets and Trombone are played by Babu while the Saxophone is executed by Raja, and they all come alive in the interlude. The melody in the stanza is the highlight and who other than Ilaiyaraja could come up with a tune like this? My favourite lines are " pencil aale enthan vazhvai maatri theetinaay...kalloori naatkil yaavilum en thogai aaginay". As a music lover and a music journalist, it is for these moments that I live and pray. These lines to me feel like a bit of Bihag Ragam. Kapil Kapilan, who I have long been claiming as one of India's finest vocalists now performs for Ilaiyaraja and with this kind of panache. The second interlude is a supreme coming together of all live instruments and feels like a fine piece of Theatre music. The brisk tempo drops just in time for the start of the stanza, and that is fantastically innovative. The male harmonies are by Sam, Sarath Santhosh, Narayanan. The song mildly also reminds me "Oho Megham vanthatho". M Kumaraguruparan has done the mixing and mastering. 

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 7th May 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Mathado GombeSinger: Siddhartha BelmannuLyrics: Pramod MaravantheArranged; Composed by Judah SandhyLanguage: KannadaGenre: Ballad/Filmi MelodyIt was pre covid days 'Shivaji Surathkal' was released and it was one of my earlier encounters with the musical abilities of Judah Sandhy, right from then, I have always been keeping my eyes and ears ready for his next foray into brilliance. I have featured him a few times in this period, but once again Judah rises above everyone else this week with a phenomenally beautiful melody aided by some astounding vocals and accompaniments by live instrumentalists. Siddhartha Belmannu sings like a man on a mission and every time he utters a syllable or a note, the heart melts. Butto's amazing flute solo, aided by the heartwarming strings by the Bangalore Strings Ensemble just glorifies the song within seconds. It all reminds me of a tone that Anirudh adopts in his melodies like from movies "3", "VIP" and "Thiruchitrambalam". Siddhartha moves from one octave to another singing the title line and his vocals and all of Judah's arrangements work perfectly in unison. Eric Gerald plays the guitars, and when he sings " aararo aararo aarirao", I feel like the Gods like Ilaiyaraja have been invoked. The interlude is a symphony of the flute solo and the strings and when the stanza arrives, there is so much bewilderment left. I wish the music and the singing never stopped. The lyrics are by Pramod Maravanthe and the song is mixed and mastered by Judah. @judahsandhy @siddhartha_belmannu @pramodmaravanthe_lyricist @meghanagaonkar @bangalorestringensemble 2. Waiting For a RainbowVocals and Production: Sanskar VaidyaLanguage: EnglishGenre: Indie PopFor a while as the song begins and treads along we think, rightly so that song's hero is Hrishi Grirdhar with his standout electric guitar strumming. Jeet Pathak joins the part as the bassist and just then Sanskar Vaidya introduces himself as the vocalist, there is a noticeable shift and from then on it feels like a duel, a battle of wits between Sanskar and Hrishi.Don't forget to count the contributions of Sanket Pahurkar on drums and Rameses Fernandez on the Piano. I realised that the collective effort of this team of vocalists and instrumentalists far exceeds anyone's solo and there are traces of resemblance to the phenomenal global hit "Unwell" by Matchbox Twenty. The song gives hope and makes become perennial optimists like the lyrics "I'm a colour-blind man waiting for a rainbow". We have a brief interlude with the conjoined forces of Piano and guitars and bass and at every given instance Sanskar dominates with his string vocals and great tone. Aman Julme and Harsh Karmakar are reg recording engineers with Cico Raju doing the mix and master for the song. The second interlude with the electric guitar solo in the 'November Rain' mode and the drums and bass guitars aid perfectly. The mild end to the song on the Piano kind of brings us back to the ground after a long ride into musical tranquillity. @musicinsilences @hrishigiridhar @ramzferns @_aman_julme_ @sanket_pajurkar @bass_ki_aawaz_kesi_hoti_hai @harshkarmakar @hiculture_studios 3. JungleComposers: Amit Kilam, Asheem Chakravorty, George Brooks, Himanshu Joshi, Nikhil Rao, Rahul RamLyrics: Arjun RainaProduced by: Big Bad Wolf Studios & Indian OceanProducers: Dhruv Jagasia, Amit Kilam, Rahul Ram & Dev BhatiaLanguage: Hindi

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 30th April 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Gau Nako KisnaMusic Composed, Arranged, Produced & Conducted by Ajay - AtulLyrics: Guru ThakurSingers: Jayesh Khare, Mayur SukaleAdditional Vocals: Ajay GogavaleLanguage: MarathiGenre: Folk/Retro Ajay-Atul are a Gold Standard in Indian music and despite my being in Mumbai for more than 18 years, it was only 7 years ago that I discovered their talents only when I sat in the theatre ready to watch 'Sairat'. I almost jumped out of my seat when I heard the opening music with strings and the horns section and finally that solo flute. They are one of the best in the country and that gets proven time and again like when I heard this album "Maharashtra Shaheer" and this song is nothing short of mindblowing. We get a retro production in this song thanks to all the instrumental sounds and the kids' chorus is a very strong factor that influenced me in placing this song right at the top of the charts. The list of fantastic singers includes Aaradhaya Singh, Rannvijay Singh, Vedaa Mahajan, Anushree Pasi, Aanya Jain, Yash More, Aniket Das, Tanishka Nandi and Diya Wadkar. Ajay and Atul have composed, arranged, produced and conducted all the strings section and other orchestral instruments.The highlight line has to be the title with all the kids singing it in full zest and the percussions coming thick and fast. The percussionists are Pratap Rath, Krishna Musale, Satyajit Jamsandekar, Prabhakar Mosamkar, Raju Kulkarni and Dipesh Varma. The strings section plays non-stop in the background and that becomes Ajay-Atul's signature move. The interlude has a wonderful folkish female chorus consisting of Pragati Joshi, Aarohi Mhatre, Mrunmayee Dadke, Madhura Paranjape, Seema Lele and Sonali Karnik. Jayesh Khare is a young boy who sings like a professional with years of experience and he has been a wonder with his singing videos going viral on YT. His vocal strength and ability to do these ghamakas put us in awe and shock. Kudos to Ajay and Atul for recognising such amazing talents and giving them opportunities like this. Mayur Sukale and Ajay Gogavale also join in on the vocals, and the second stanza is dominated by the great vocals of Mayur and Ajay-Atul excel by creating a different stanza altogether and this has influences of Raag Pilu. Jayesh continues to do things with his vocals that astound and it is like almost carries this song on his tender shoulders. Varad Kathapurkar plays the flute solo towards the end and this song is mixed brilliantly by Vijay Dalal, assisted by Chinmay Mestry and mastered by Gethin John. Guru Thakur is the lyricist for this song. @ajayatulofficial @jayesh_khare_official @guruthakurofficial @sanashinde @atul.ajayatul @mayursukale @mrunmayeedadke @paranjapemadhura @sonalikarnik @varadflute_official @chinmay.jpg2. Waari WaariComposer & Vocalist: Reeshabh PurohitLyrics: Nisha SatputeMusic Production: Atharv JoshiLanguage: HindiGenre: Semi-classicalI have been so fond of Reeshabh Purohit as a vocalist and even more as a composer, that whenever I see that he has a new song release, expectations reach sky-high. The fact that he never fails to impress every single time shows that he is one of the finest talents in the Indian Indie music space. Reeshabh composes and lends his voice to this semi-classical fusion with Atharv Joshi's production. Nisha Satpute writes beautiful words.The Keys are mild and you are struck by the beauty inherent in Reeshabh's voice. Here too we have influences of Raag Pilu and according to Reeshabh we also have another beautiful Raag Jaijawanti in play in the song. Atharv plays the harmonium in the background and also the guitars. Shadaj Godkhindi wows you with the touching flute solo in the interlude, and he impresses with those perfect interventions in the stanza. Reeshabh weaves magic in the stanza with an elaborate and melodious composition and Atharv is in top form arranging all these instruments and getting the sounds of Keys and guitars to perfectly complement the other elements of the song. The mix engineer is Nandini Samanta and Ronak Runwal does the mastering. Atharv and Shubham Shah are recording engineers. The amazing artwork is by Nikhil Kaul. @reeshabhp @nasatpute @infinite_diver @shadajgodkhindi @ronakrunwal @nandinisamanta_ @shbhmmm @framebyframer3. Karen KyaMusic and Singer: Rochak KohliLyrics / Poetry: Dr Akhtar ShumaarMusic Production, Mix and Master: Aditya DevLanguage: HindiGenre: Ghazal/PathosRochak Kohli has been around for many years now and it is only in the last 1 year or so that I have found some of his work to be excellent. He scored music for a song sung by Sonu Nigam for 'Mission Majnu', but this far exceeds the quality of anything I have ever heard from the composer. This is sung and composed by Rochak, with the fantastic poetry of Dr. Akhtar Shumaar. The story goes that Rochak came across this poem and when he reached out, he had discovered the sad demise of Dr. Akhtar. His family decided to hand over the rights of the poem to Rochak and Dr. Akhtar must be smiling in heaven listening to this wonderful song and its outcome thanks to all the brilliant musicians involved. This has a Ghazal-esque nature in the tone and tempo and when he repeats the lines "ajab dil kee" the solo violin by Manas Kumar struck my heart, no words can describe the sadness in my heart when I heard that and the immediate joy listening to the quality of music all at once. The stanza arrives and we continue to hear Rochak in fine form vocally and score-wise and we still hear the Violin interventions. The strumming on the acoustic guitars along with the Piano brings in some Western colour to the song but it is ultimately the Violin that thrills and creates the spills. This time when I heard the stanza I could feel the combined effect of the acoustic guitars, bass guitars, keys, violin and Tabla. When you hear music like this, Karen Kya? Mohit Dogra plays the guitars and Shobhit Banwait is on the Tabla. This song is produced with great flavours by Aditya Dev and he is the man responsible for getting all these arrangements done, he is also the mix/master engineer. @rochakkohli @akhtarshumaar @adityadevmusic @shobhitbanwait @iammohitdogra @manasviolin @sukriti_vk @ingroovesindia4. Khud Se MohabbatLyrics, Composition, Vocals - Navjot AhujaMusic production by: Waqt Ka KhelLanguage: HindiGenre: Indie popLive instrumentalists breathe life into a song and no matter how much important the vocalist and producer are, the instrumentalists can never be discounted. Take this song for example, even before anything is uttered by Navjot Ahuja the singer, we have Rajat Gupta's guitars and Kaustubh Gaurav's bass just acting like opening batsmen who have already seen off all the difficult overs and have set the stage for late order batsmen to come and consolidate. In simple terms, I am saying well begun is half done and Navjot starts with some low-key energy and a sense of gravity and that is intriguing. It makes you pay further attention to the lyrics like listening to a story and the song is written, composed and sung by Navjot Ahuja with solid production by Wakt Ka Khel. The message is pretty important 'to love thy self'. As we move ahead Nihaal Sharma joins in on the fun of playing the drums, and when the line is sung "teri parwa tu khud hi karle, teri baatein tu khud hi sun le", it feels inspiring and musically backing vocals join in on the last words "khud hi karle" and " "Khud hi sun le" to add more impact.Later on, the song gains some traction and tempo and it now feels less morose. The drums get more energetic and the introduction of the strings section just makes this gold glitter better. Kudos to the band Wakt ka Khel for their brilliant production bringing in the electric guitar, solo violin and all other elements. Mukul Jain does the mixing of this song at Ferris Wheel Studios.@navjot_ahuja @kaustubh_gaurav @rajat.on.strings @nihaalsharma_ @waqt.ka.khel @ferriswheelstudios @mixbymukul 

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 23rd April 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Yedha PongenaaMusic: Mejjo JossephLyrics: Harshavardhan ReddySinger: Yazin NizarLanguage: TeluguGenre: Carnatic Fusion This is undoubtedly one of the best male vocal performances of 2023 so far and I can safely bet that it will end up among the top 5 of the year when it ends. Yazin Nizar is a gifted singer with an amazing vocal range, and he uses every ounce of his skill to great effect in most songs. Here he smashes it like 6 sixes of an over speaking in Cricketing terms. Mejjo Joseph is the composer and I believe Yazin owes it to the composer for giving him this brilliant opportunity and vice versa as Yazin executes it as well as it is humanly possible. The ghamakas are just impossible to keep up with and this is exemplary for many established singers who think that shouting at the top of their voice is cool. Mejjo brings in some great elements in the Carnatic fusion number with the acoustic guitars by Sandeep Mohan and Thavil, and even a small rap segment in the beginning by Sharon Joseph. The rhythm programming along with electric guitars, bass also by Sandeep Mohan and timely vocal harmonies make for some brilliant production. The solo violin by Roopa Revathi enthrals you in the interlude and after that, it is a Yazin show and I never want it to stop. This sounds like a very tough song to execute vocally and kudos to Yazin for that. The landing segment when we get to the end of the stanza is mindblowing with a drop in tempo and re-introduction of the Thavil when he sings " Oohallo Oosullo", and watch out for the mild solo on the violin and the acoustic guitar. Harshavardhan Reddy is the lyricist. The mixing engineer is Shiju Ediyatheril@mejjojosseph @yazin_nizar @gibsandeep @rooparevathi @shiju_ediyatheril 2. FloatingMusic: ParishrutLyrics and Vocal: NitishProduced, Arranged, Mixed & Mastered by ParishrutLanguage: EnglishGenre: Alt-RockParishrut and Nitish combine to give us a lasting sense of joy and gratification instead of a floating memory of a good song. This is what fantastic music should sound like and we have the melody composed by Parishrut and words penned by Nitish Singhal. The initial synths are terrific and it is impossible to focus anywhere else when Parishrut's extravagant production and arrangements show up. Nitish excels in both his roles, possessing and exhibiting a great tonality in his vocals and writing these splendid lines like "Raining fragments of time, Bring moments that I've seen, Joy and regret it makes me..I don't wanna change it"The incoming intervention on the electric guitar by Krishanu Hazarika is ecstasy on strings and it elevates the song even when we already hear amazing lines like "bridges broken and made all along the long lost way, floating through my conscience yin and yang its the same, curved line between there's the game". I want to stop writing and stand give this guy an ovation for some glorious writing. The dreamy vocals and the production make this one unforgettable Alt-Rock single that deserves the rank this week. The keyboard solo is playful and takes me back to the great age of the 1990s pop and if that is not enough to strike you down the drums and electric guitar solo combine to create pure bliss just before the 4-minute mark. Harshil Singh handles all the exotic artwork and the lyrical video is created by Shyam Sundhar. @parishrut_k @nitish_singal_ @krishanu.hazarika @harshilsingh_ @aweshyam 3. Aya LadiyeSingers - Akriti Kakar & RomyComposer - Akriti KakarLyrics - I.P. Singh

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 16th April 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Oh GloriaPerformed by O DaapunWritten by O DaapunProduction: Bhargav Hazarika and Siddhartha Hazarika Language: EnglishGenre: Indie PopO Daapun has been featured by me before for a wonderful single and here they are once again and that too topping the Indian charts of the week. This duo has been in glorious form and they give us 'Oh Gloria' for our listening pleasure. Bhargav Hazarika and Siddhartha Hazarika spew magic here as they release their 4th single as part of their debut album "HIT-Hang In There". The duo of Guwahati is just one more feather on the cap of great Indian music emerging from the North East corner of India. Bhargav is the lead guitarist and Siddhartha is the lead vocalist. It shows how fantastic they are when I have already featured them twice, one for 'Skye' and one for 'Don't you drop'. Siddhartha serenades you to a zone of tranquillity with his vocals, and the combination of Keys, bass, guitars and drums paints a wholesome picture. The composition is beautiful with such deeply touching and hummable lines. I specifically love the line "I can't find you anyway, The way it burnt my heart. When it took your breath away, I have nothing else to say". It reminds me of this terrific hit song from the 1990s 'Nothing's gonna change my love for you" by Glenn Medeiros, and there are moments when I also felt some resemblance to Elton John's 'Circle of Life'. O Daapun should feel terrifically proud of these comparisons because they have been revolutionary songs globally.Siddhartha has penned the lyrics and sung the song with all his heart as the duo writes this about a devastating apocalypse and the protagonist being unable to save the whole City and his Love Gloria. I was blown away by the singing especially when Siddhartha improvises in the line " And save you from this end, Its time to leave and go". He does a fantastic vibrato here at the end and this is where the song also comes to an inflexion point and has a shift. The guitars lead the way and the tempo builds up, Bhargav does fabulously on guitars, bass and Keys, and the solo on the electric guitar is to die for. Bhargav also mixes and masters the song. @odaapunofficial @nobinaryrecords @siddharth_daapun @bhargav_daapun 2. Bhare Bhare Se NainaComposition & Lyrics by GAYA Co-produced by REINER ERLINGS & GAYALanguage: HindiGenre: Semi-classical Fusion 'Qisse' was a beautiful semi-classical single that Gayathri Krishnan a.k.a. Gaya released in 2022 and it was featured among the top 5 songs back then for a particular week. She is back again and with a similar genre, she trikes with a heartwarming tune. I did sense some Raag Bihag with the sensational vocals and delivery of Gaya we only float away with our feet off the ground and all the worldly pressure and disdain swept away, Gaya has penned the lyrics, composed the tune and sung it and she has co-produced the song with Reiner Erlings. The mild strumming of Guitars along with her vocals are enough to take this song forward. We also hear the Keys in the background, and the strings as well. Nothing quite overpowers the ghamakas and their beauty coming out of Gaya's vocal cords. Shaan Ramprasad plays the solo violin in the interlude giving it that classical touch further. The fast strumming of guitars is scintillating as we come to the end of the antara. Kudos to the producers for their arrangements. The humming is a nice way to end things. The song's beautiful video is edited, conceptualised and directed by Gaya, while Priya Mishra is the DOP and Nishika D'Silva is the Art Director. @gayamusic @pri.mi @nishika.dsilva @reinererlings @shaan.ramprasad @linformation3. Meri Banogi KyaSinger & Lyricist: Rito RibaMusic: Rajat Nagpal

Here are the best Tamil songs released for the month of March 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Aga Naga Composed, Produced and Arranged by A.R.Rahman Singer: Shakthisree Gopalan Lyrics: Ilango Krishnan Music Supervisor: Nakul Abhyankar Genre: Filmi melody/BalladPS 2 album is out and I will be focussing on the EP later as most songs got released in April. However, this song was released in March and it has been marching on successfully and possibly also as the best song of the EP. AR Rahman has probably done better in PS-2 compared to PS-1 because the previous EP had too many styles going on and I couldn't quite understand the link with the Chola Period or regime. The song's soul lies in Shaktisree Gopalan's mystical vocals. ARR succeeds in using the Chennai Strings & Sunshine Orchestra brilliantly right through. All the Orchestra is conducted by Jerry Vincent with Score Transcription by Suprava Mukherjee. Even before a single word is uttered, we have the strings and the heart-melting flute solo by Nikhil Ram. Ilango writes these superlative lyrics and despite being a native Tamil speaker, I do not follow the words and that shows the research and work that has gone into the writing. The heart swells in joy when she sings "yaar athu , yaar athu, punnagai korpathu" and the magnetic voice combines with the strings in the background and the Tabla Tarang played by Sai Shravanam. There could be potentially some influence of Bilaval Thaat in the song. Nakul Bhyankar is the music supervisor and also does additional programming along with Srikant Krishna. Vignesh of Sunshine Orchestra plays the Solo Violin, and with Nikhil's flute solo the interlude ends and here I felt there were Raag Maand influences. The stanza is quite complex in the way the notes are progressively written, with almost 100% unpredictability in the trajectory. Maybe there is an intended shift of emotions from joy to sadness during the song's visuals and hence the drift in the notes. I did find the lack of a proper landing between the charanam and Pallavi to be a little awkward. Haritha Raj plays the Veena solo and Vignesh's solo on the violin in the outro is another clincher. The sound engineers are Suresh Permal, Karthik Sekaran, TR Krishna Chetan, Aravind Crescendo, Suryansh Jain, Pradeep Menon, Manoj Raman, Sathya Narayanan, Ainul and Sathish V Saravanan. The song is mixed by Pradeep Menon and mastered by Suresh Permal, with Apple Digital Master by Riyasdeen Riyan2. Yaar ArindhadhoSinger: Pradeep Kumar Lyrics: Yugabharathi Music Director: Kannan Narayanan Genre: Ballad/Filmi MelodyI am featuring Kannan Narayanan for the very first time as a composer and I am incredibly impressed. The EP "Thalaikoothal" has a couple of good songs but this one stands out. Though Pradeep Kumar can carry a song's entire weight on his shoulders, and he does that a bit here too, Kannan has a fair share of influence on the outcome of the song. His arrangements and production deserve a massive round of applause as they remind us of the Maestro Ilaiyaraja's great songs like " Atho megha oorvalam" and "Kadhalin theepam ondru" and that is why probably this song has influences of Vaasanthi Ragam, but I also hear that there is a lot of Mohanam Ragam in the mix. Within the Pallavi and Anupallavi, Kannan explores areas to arrange the strings section beautifully. We have a fantastic set of live instrumentalists viz. Kalyanam on Solo violin, Selva, Gopi, Balu, Baskar on Viola, Murali, Girijan, Mohan and Cyril on Violins and finally Seenu on Cello. |The interludes are so elaborate, and I haven't heard this in a long time in Tamil or any music industry for a while. Vikram is on rhythms and Ganapathy is playing the Tabla. The stanza is well composed also, and I love the line " uyara uyara, parandhu parthal, bhoomiyum pulliye". Kiran plays the flute solo, and in the second interlude, we have even more resemblances to Ilaiyaraja's genius. Mani plays the Mandolin and Siva on the Veena. Kannan has done all the guitar and keyboard programming and these elements stand out as well in the song. Enjoy this song for all its innate richness and mesmerising vocals and production. Yugabharathi writes the most touching and meaningful words.  3. Mainaru Vetti Katti Lyrics: MUTHAMIL Singers: Anirudh Ravichander, Dhee Composed, Arranged and Programmed by Santhosh Narayanan 

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 9th April 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. We break up for family reasonsSingers: Jhansi, Vedika Agarwal, Trishita Recs, Rushikesh NeneSom Prem, Paritosh Pande, Suchita Shirke, Nikita BrittoSahil Dhandhia, Zachary RayCreated, Conceptualised, Composed and Produced by: JhansiLanguage: EnglishGenre: Musical TheatreI heard this song out of the blue and was immediately awe-struck. It felt like a song out of a musical on Broadway, and credit goes to The Jhansi Way for her composition, conceptualisation, creation and production of this exciting song that has comfortably topped the All-India charts this week.There are some exceptional singers and the list of vocalists is long viz. Jhansi, Vedika Agarwal, Trishita Recs, Rushikesh Nene, Som Prem, Paritosh Pande, Suchita Shirke, Nikita Britto, Sahil Dhandhia and Zachary Ray. The lyrics are fantastic, intelligent, creative and extremely relevant. The use of the Piano, and the strings section all glorify the song.The highlight is clearly the vocal harmonies and their arrangements and that is why Jhansi cannot be appreciated enough. Such originality of thought must never go under-credited and every singer on board can also feel proud of the success of this project. Lyrics like "We are Hindu, but we have them them them and them" is subtle but substantial to drive the point across. The song rather than just being funny and smart moves higher up the gravity ladder and when the lyrics get serious like "we cry or we die", we have the stronger Piano as well as Accordion in the background. @thejhansiway @vedikaagarwal @priyankabans @muskaandawoodani @trishitarecs @rushikesh.nene @sompremm @paritosh.pande @sushmusic_ @sahildhandhia @diganntsurti @vrshabsansguirri @shohinidutta_official @zacharydanielray @namratajuneja @alyonaatalukdar_thedancer @manviekochhar 2. HeerSingers - Akriti Kakar & Shankar MahadevanComposer - Traditional.Additional Composition by Akriti KakarMusic Arrangement and Production – Rishabh RaviLanguage: HindiGenre: Semi-classical Folk FusionThis whole EP called "Big Band Theory Season 2" is one of the best I have heard in 2023 and 'Heer' becomes the first song I am featuring from the collection. Akriti Kakar is the brains behind this EP as she does all the additional compositions for this traditional song. She is the lead vocalist along with the mighty Shankar Mahadevan and according to me there is a Raag Sindhubhairavi influences at play here.Rishab Ravi handles all the musical arrangements and production and so a huge round of applause for this masterful work. Up until we reach the interlude we have some solid western-styled production on keyboards, and then we hear the Flute solo by Rajeev Prasanna and the Indian folk percussions by Satyajit Jamsandekar. The drums provide a nice solid western rhythm thanks to Joshua Vaz and we have Abhishek Dasgupta on the electric guitar and Alok Kulkarni as the bassist. The immersive strings are played by Mumbai Strings, conducted by Narendra Pardeshi. The strings along with the drums and Tabla is a magical recipe and with Akriti and Shankar's singing, we are headed up the stairway to heaven. The recording engineers are Rupak Thakur, Amey Mategaonkar, Amey Londhe and Rahul M Sharma. Vijay Dalal is the mix engineer with Chinmay Mestry assisting and Gethin John is the mastering engineer. @akritikakar @shankar.mahadevan @joshuavazofficial @rishabh.keys @alokkulkarni78 @abdg_1988 @satyajit_jamsandekar @rajeevprasannaflute @sound_wala.wav @chinmay.jpg 3. Kho Jaane DeSinger: Vishal MishraMusic: Vishal Mishra

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 2nd April 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Amalina AsuraSinger: Sowmya MahadevanLyrics: VanamaliMusic: Balamurali BaluLanguage: TeluguGenre: Filmi MelodyAre we getting to relive a Maestro Ilaiyaraja's greatness through such amazing music? I guess so. Balamurali Balu has composed, produced and arranged this brilliant song that just took me back in time to the 1980s of Tamil and South Indian music in general. Sowmya Mahadevan has sung the song and she makes not a single misstep in delivering this beauty. The song very vividly reminds me of a phenomenal number called "ennulle ennulle" sung by Swarnalatha and composed by Ilaiyaraja, although the mood in that was more of pathos. The prominent presence of acoustic guitars and the bass guitar is just noteworthy as we can hear them playing in the background with notes written for them separately.The interlude is a continuation of the guitars with a very soothing female humming as well. Sowmya sings in the lower pitch with amazing grace and efficacy and she brings about these mild ghamakas as well, overall it is a very impressive vocal performance by her. The stanza has even more melodious notes and Balamurali brings a lot of variation in the stanza making the whole song a very heartwarming experience. The acoustic guitar is just phenomenal as we get to the outro portion. The lyricist is Vanamali. 2. Manasilum PookkalamMusic Composed and Produced by Sachin WarrierLyrics: KaithapramSinger: Sachin WarrierLanguage: MalayalamGenre: Filmi PopThis is glorious mainly from the production and arrangement perspective as Sachin Warrier excels in all these elements as the composer and producer. Sachin also is the lead vocalist but a huge reason for the song's positive impact comes from the group vocals performed by the famous El Fé Choir. Roe Vincent is the soul of this performing group of vocalists. The song's lyrics are penned by Kaithapram. The song begins with a lot of keyboards and then a trumpet and once the vocals begin, you will have a tough time trying to focus because the song is as much about the backing vocals as it is about the lead vocals. The humming leads the way in the interlude but a brilliant solo by Punya Srinivas on the Veena just magnifies the quality of the interlude and the song multifold. Akash S accompanies on bass guitars and the two instruments just combine like cake and cheery on top. The stanza is relatively short, but Punya continues to play her Veena right through and she becomes a hugely important cog in the song's wheel. The line that gets repeated in the outro " nyanum neeyum cherave" is beautifully done with the backing vocals and Keys. Vishnu Raj, Sanjay Sukumaran, Akshay Kakkoth and Sachin are the recording engineers, and the song is mixed by Harishankar V, assisted by Akshay, and Emin Babu and it is mastered by Gethin John. 3. Bairiya 

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 26th March 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Glow Performed by Eden Kesang, Samantha Noella, TubbyLyrics by Indrajit Sharma, Samantha NoellaComposed & Produced by Indrajit SharmaLanguage: EnglishGenre: Dance-Pop, Jazz-PopSamantha Noella is one of the finest vocalists in India and when it comes to Blues and Jazz she probably will end up being in a very small coterie or performers along with say Vivienne Pocha. This is not just a fine vocal performance but also a brilliant single and that is why it is at the top of the charts. Lion's share of the credit must also go to composer/producer Indrajit Sharma a.k.a. Tubby, for having produced and composed this emphatic song.Samantha and Eden Kesang are the vocalists and the singing deserves huge praise because without such vocals the true quality and impact of the song would have been much less. Indrajit and Samatha also write up these beautiful words. This is is a dance-pop with a lot of keyboard programming, but it also transforms into a Jazz-pop song. Sheldon D'Silva is the bassist and he is having a total blast out in the middle. Eden starts things off and I was super impressed having heard her for the first time. The use of the trumpets and the Brass section elements along with the bass guitar, and rhythms evokes memories of "Sususdio" by Phil Collins. This is where the genius of Tubby comes in as every instrument and its application is the brainchild of the composer. Now when Samantha gets on board, she brings the house down with her unmistakable voice and her delivery is a singing masterclass. "You will be much stronger than ever before", and when she does her thing with this line, you just end up surrendering to the power of her vocals. Indrajit weaves beautiful lines and his production is top-notch getting all the arrangements to elevate each segment. Samantha cooks up one of the best vocal performances of 2023 and I am quite certain that with 9 more months to go, this will remain among the top 5 when the year ends. When she sings "wings to fly" and "believe in yourself" these phrases mean so much coming out of her vocals because of the impact she generates while delivering. The bridge section gets the collective skill of both Eden and Samantha, with vocals being arranged in different layers. The outro is pure genius and a chance for Samantha to exhibit her Himalayan potential. Jeremey Hagry does the mastering. @samantha_noella @@tubbys_music @livelove_eden @bassinova @thakurrupak @jeremy.duneaudio @inkkaudio 2. You'll Leave Me Behind  Singer, Composer and Lyricist - Harry AroraProducer - Swarup ChattopadhyayLanguage: EnglishGenre: BalladHarry Arora reached out to me and submitted his song on my website. I consider it a blessing that I have made this option available to musicians, or else I would well miss out on some splendid songs and artists like Harry. I am yet to listen to his EP as he is releasing singles one after the other. If this song is the benchmark and standard then I cannot wait for the rest of the EP called "Girta Toot'ta Dil"Manan Mehta plays the Piano and he gives a kicker right at the start. The tone and the notes on the Piano already reminded me of the uber-famous "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton. Harry's voice is loaded with innocence and honesty and he tears me up with the emotionally apt delivery. If this was not enough to touch a nerve, Protyay Chakraborty piles it on with his scintillating on the strings we hear mildly in the background. The power of vocals can only be truly understood when someone like this comes along and delivers it like a knockout punch. When Harry sings " I feel so hollow" I can relate to and feel every syllable of that pain so well done Harry on the lyrics and the singing. He has composed this gut-wrenching melody and it must be said here that Swarup Chattopadhyay is the producer and the man behind all the programming and arrangements. 2022 was a brilliant year for vocalists but the top 4 according to me were all women singers. I was elated with that, realising the power of the female voice, but also pondering as to why male vocalists in the indie space at least never experiment enough. I am delighted to listen to this and we might have one more candidate for "best vocal performances of 2023". When the title line is sung, the strings come thick and fast in layers and the Piano is too reverberates the emotions. Harry is also the mixing and mastering engineer and in this sensational performance, Harry and Swarup are sure to leave many other songs and performances behind in the race for the best. Harry gives a special mention to Darshan Merchant for helping out in the lyrics. @harrythisside @manan_potato @protyaych @swarupchattopadhyay @mixedbyharry @darshanmerchant3. O Bedardeya Music: PritamLyrics: Amitabh BhattacharyaSinger: Arijit SinghMusic Arranger and Programmer - Himonshu ParikhLanguage: HindiGenre: Ballad/Seim-classical fusionWhen you just think that he is down and out, he rises like a Phoenix from the ashes, this Pritam. The whole EP "Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar" has music of moderate quality and I would listen to any of the 5 other songs. Pritam however redeems himself with this song that strikes you like a hammer on a hot anvil. Arijit Singh finds fresh energy and his performance will go down as one of his best. If two people hold the song on their shoulders other than Pritam of course, they are Arijit as the vocalist and Himonshu Parikh as the programmer and arranger. The song according to me is set in Raag CHarukeshi which is the epitome of pathos, but I later did realize that this could be based on Raag Sarasangi which is quite close to Charukeshi. Either way the song's tune by itself wouldn't have created this sort of buzz and impact, but the production that goes on thanks to Himonshu is mindblowing. He elevates it into something fresh and fantastic and you can hear the Keys straightaway. I was shaking my head in complete awe thanks to the arrangements and programming genius of Himonshu. DJ Phukan works as the additional music arranger.It starts in a normal fashion with Arijit's heartfelt rendition, but you have to just wait for the title line to begin. Here the song just zooms from 0 to 100 in 2 seconds with the keyboard and rhythm programming excelling. This is a song that has the main segment and a mild bridge section but the vocals and production rip it apart into something extraordinary. I love the dreamy male humming and after that Arijit floats away with his improvised singing and here the supremo Warren Mendonsa plays the guitars. There are fragments here that remind us of 'Kalank' the title song when Arijit sings in a high pitch. A lot of credit must go to DJ Phukan and Ashwin Kulkarni who handle the sound design, and we have Pritam's well-trained musicians like Brianna Supriyo as production manager, Aniruddh Anantha and Pranav Gupta as sound engineers and Antara Mitra, Aniruddh Anantha & Dev Arijit as vocal conductors. The introduction of the Sarangi by Dilshad Khan and the Tabla by Akshay Jadhav is a master stroke that stays in the head as something brilliantly creative. The last 1-minute outro is all about Arijit and how he takes you on this meditative journey. Eric Pillai does the mixing and mastering with Michael Edwin Pillai as the mixing assistant. Pritam, Himonshu and Arijit take a bow.  @himonshu @ipritamofficial @amitabhbhattacharyaofficial @ericpillai @aniruddhanantha @briannasupriyo @dev_arijit9 @arijitsingh @iamdjphukan @blackstratblues @dilshadkhansarangi @akshaymusic @pranavgupta_27 @antaramitraofficial 4. Dancing with Demons Produced by Ritwik Bhattacharya & Karthik ChennojiraoSongwriter, Composer, and vocalist: Saroj KashyapLanguage: EnglishGenre: Alt-RockI was floored by this amazing song that Saroj Kashyap sent me this song, and it helps I always begin hearing a song with a clean slate and hence no biases creep in. The song is composed and written by Saroj Kashyap and she gets a stupendous team on board. Karthik Chennojirao of Pineapple Express produces this along with Ritwik Bhattacharya. The gang of guitarists is immense with Ritwik on lead guitars and Prashanth Gnanamuthu on bass guitars. The Keys and lead guitars get the ball rolling and Saroj is stunning right from the get-go with her mind-bending vocal performance. The powerful delivery by Saroj gives the chills as we hear her sing " I'm gonna keep on slow dancing with the demons in my head".Ritwik and Karthik know what they are doing with solid production and their experience in the world of rock clearly shows up with every segment of electric guitar and arrangements. One can trust Prashanth to perform exactly as

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 19th March 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Rangreza Singers: Mahalakshmi IyerMusic Composers: Rishi Dutta & Shivangi BhayanaLyricist: Karan Mastana Music Producer: Sandeep Chatterjee Additional programming: Rishi Dutta Language: HindiGenre: Semi-classical fusionThis I found by chance, and that is why I am thankful for the way great music finds a way to reach my ears. I would like to give a massive ovation to Shivangi Bhayana and Rishi Dutta who are involved in this glorious project. Crest Music, USA is responsible for getting these two composers on board for a wonderful Original Music project called the "Baithak" series. There are 3 more songs which I will listen to subsequently but here is this week's unassailable number 1 song.The flute solo by Rajat Prasanna is a straight giveaway that this is Raag Yaman (Kalyani in Carnatic) and it torments you with the notes, immediately followed by Megha Rawoot's classical Sitar. It is not a dream, we are hearing the great vocalist Mahalakshmi Iyer's gleaming voice and we are taken back in time when she does that high-pitched aalap. Rishi Dutta plays the keyboards and the fantastic chords start showing up when we hit the Title line. He is in-charge of all the additional programming. We have Tanay Rege on the Tabla and Tushar Gosavi on the drums and to hear both give that sense of fusion. The composition and production are stupendous, and get a load of the funky bass guitars by David Roy, with Alok Kulkarni on the electric and acoustic guitars in the interlude. Mahalakshmi sings the swaras and to add more classical touches Megha sizzles on her Sitar Solo. Sandeep Chatterjee is the producer and he gets all the elements right with the strings section in the background and the arrangements of instruments and vocal harmonies are delightful. Listen to the brilliant flute that continues to play in the background as we hit the outro segment. The song is mixed and mastered by Sandeep and Samir Dharap is the recording engineer. Karan Mastana is the lyricist.  @shivangibhayana @mahalakshmiiyermusic @rishiduttaofficial @mashmastana @soundonsandz @alokkulkarni78 @rajatprasanna @megharawoot @tanay_tabla @david.roy1234 @tushudrums @samirdharap9 @studio5o4 @crestmusicusa 2. Ghosts Lyrics, Composition and Vocals: Kamakshi RaiOriginal Guitar Riff: Ishan NaikMusic Production & Live Guitars: Karan Parikh Language: EnglishGenre: Indie PopIn the later parts of 2021, I did feature Kamakshi Rai for a wonderful single called 'Thodi Si Dua' and though the wait has been longer than I like, she enters the charts with a blinder. When I heard it I reached out to her saying that this song will easily be one of the best vocal performances of 2023 even though we were just in the first quarter. Ishan Naik plays the starting guitar riff and that is an original piece but when I hear it at the beginning it reminded me of "Everybody wants to rule the world" by the British rock band Tears for Fears, which was released back in 1985. The moment Kamakshi starts to sing, it is time for everything else to dial down as we are consumed by her impeccable vocals. Kamakshi has written the lyrics, composed the tune and sang this brilliant single while Karan Parikh produces the song and the live acoustic guitars that accompany her vocals are also played by Karan. I have to take a step back and appreciate the writing as well with lines like "We paint our faces to hide our flaws, put poison in our blood and metal in our jaws", and this is what songwriting is all about. I kept listening to this song, and I was eagerly awaiting the bridge section and there it was. It had all the elements that I was hoping for with a well-composed deviation in notes, intriguing lyrics and to top all that magnificent singing. The line "Oh, there's a consequence for hate" summarizes all the points I just made above. Chirayu Vedekar is the bassist and the electrifying drums are played by Nachiket Karekar. The bridge section not only showcases Kamakshi's fabulous vocals but also the sizzling electric guitar solo that follows. Shivam Trivedi plays the Piano and the engineers are Varun Parikh who has done the recording, Jason D'Souza on mixing and Kristian Montano on mastering. @kamadiorama @ishannaik @nachiketkarekar @royalewithcheese88 @shivamtrivedii @karanparikh27 @veepsified @kristianmontano @leisha.r @bayowlstudios @jasonmxaudio 3. Zindagi Kameeni Lyrics, Composition & Vocals: Akash TripathiProduction, Mixing & Mastering: Akshay DhabadkarBacking Vocals: Akshay DhabadkarLanguage: HindiGenre: Retro/Pop Welcome to the world of the 1950s, with a black & white Hindi movie playing in the background and this slow, sad, philosophical song talking about the unfair nature of life as we know it. The tune is retro-styled but soon the sound design and production take a turn for the better. Akash Tripathi goes solo for this one as he writes, composes, and sings this intense single. The song wouldn't be as impactful as it is without the solid production of Akshay Dhabadkar.The tone of the song feels Vishal-Sheykhar's 'Main Agar Kahoon' , once again thanks to the retro style. Akash carries an attitude of indifference about the world around us and that is why the song's messaging gets transmitted well. The strong points of the song are the fantastic arrangements of instruments as well as vocal harmonies.The Ukulele and the guitars are a constant presence, but never take your focus off the bass guitars, strings section and mainly the lagging vocals that keep following in the background. Akshay is the man behind the backing vocals and he also is the mixing and mastering engineer. Towards the end, we get to hear the trumpets and the Latin Jazz styled percussion and that is why the song gets a very fitting outro. The lyrical video is done by Prathyusha Puppala.  @akshay_dabhadkar @kevin_theaudioguy @buggershut @prathyusha.puppala 4. Colours Vocals: Piyush Ambhore Music and Lyrics: Sparsh Agrawal Language: EnglishGenre: Synth-Pop It came just about when the whole nation was in the celebratory mood of Holi, the festival of colours. I am not sure if that was the intent of the song's creators, but as it turned out this was the best song for me beating all other Hindi songs focussing on Holi for the year 2023. This is one of the most refreshing songs I have heard in my 3 years of music journalism. Sparsh Agrawal exhibits an enviable ability to produce this song. The melody itself is well-scored, but the keyboard and rhythm programming is next to perfect and I cannot think of a way, it all could have sounded and gelled better together. I can hear those massive Marching drums or Snare drums, along with the haunting sounds of the solo Violin in the background. My favourite line, though it was tough to pick one, is when Piyush Ambhore sings "Like Alice in the wonderland, I'm falling down the rabbit hole"

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 12th March 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Roses Writing and Composition - Kalpana Music Production - Sanjai Shine, Balaji KrishnanGuitars and Keys - Sanjai Shine Language: EnglishGenre: BalladKalpana wrote, composed and performed one of the best English songs of 2022 with 'Helpline' and I featured and reviewed that humdinger of a song. Now she is back with this even better song and I hope my excitement while listening to it spills over into the writing. Sanjai Shine who also worked on Kalpana's previous project makes an unassailable contribution here with his thumping guitars that strike you straight at the beginning of the song. Everything everywhere is forgotten at once when Kalpana starts singing thanks to her magnetic voice that stays so low on the vocal range. She is impeccable with her vibrato and her improvisations that don't seem affected and forced. Sanjai also plays the Keys and one important merit for the song is the wonderful vocal harmonies and how amazingly they are arranged. You will feel the song's mercury rising slowly rising and the best compliment I can give to Kalpana, Sanjai and Balaji Krishnan is that this soars and stays in your mind as a much better song compared to the 4 English ones which were nominated alongside Naatu Naatu in the Oscars for the 'Best Original Song' Category. I have listened to all of them and I mean it. The guitars, strings section, Keys and all the layers of vocals are spellbinding and this is the kind of music we should be proud of as Indians. Winning awards on a global scale, although encouraging, still is secondary to creating beautiful and original music like this. Sanjai and Balaji are the producers of this song and they better be proud of their work. Kalpana has just raised the bar and I have total confidence that she will not only cross it the next time but will raise it further higher too. The song is mixed by Pritpal Sudan, a brilliant producer himself, and mastered by Thomas Juth. The recording studio where all the magic transpired is Kanha Shanti Vanam. Teh video is shot by Anand Kantiban who has worked on the masterpiece movie 'Karnan'.  @theofficialkalpana @sanjaishine @balaji_r_krishnan @notsudan @kanhastudio__ @kanhashantivanam @thomas_juth @anandkantiban2. Kaana Chillamel Composed, Produced, and Arranged - Arun RajSinger - Amritha SuresshLyrics - Sandeep SudhaLanguage: MalayalamGenre: Filmi MelodyIt begins with a male sermon that we would hear in a Church, and it is so heartwarming to hear Amritha Suressh who I am featuring after her brilliant show in Sufiyum Sujathayaum' in the song "Alhamdulillah". She has this excellent texture that you just will end up falling in love with and that is why I wish we hear much more of her voice in 2023. Sumesh Parameswar plays the guitars and bass and he has his stamp of authority written all over.The anu pallavi segment is very good as it has Amritha singing in the high pitch and she still manages to effectively sing with fantastic ghamakas, reminding us of the nightingale KS Chitra. Arun Raj has composed, produced and arranged the song, so you know he has done remarkably well when the strings are programmed in the background here. The clear game-changer was the interlude with the flute solo by Abhijith along with the accompanying Keyboards and guitars. The stanza is all about her vocals and the brilliant guitars and bass by Sumesh. The song is mixed and mastered by Nandhagopan V, with Amal Raj and Amal Mithu as the recording engineers.  @arunrajmusiq7 @amruthasuresh @parameswarsumesh @3. Andame Sung & composed: Sahithi Chaganti Concept: Sahithi Chaganti & Prerna Roy Music Production: Rakesh Venkatapuram Lyrics: Suresh Banisetty Language: TeluguGenre: Waltz I am glad to see that Sahithi Chaganti who I have featured quite many times as a backing vocalist and then a leading vocalist for many composers in Telugu, has now graduated to becoming a composer herself. Also, this is probably the best song I have featured Sahithi in and so I can only assume that the future seems bright for her. The song feels like a track that is part of a Broadway theatrical production. Sahithi has composed and sung with incredible poise and the concept comes to life thanks to Prerna Roy and Sahithi. Prerna handles both the art direction and animation bits but the song in terms of its sound is the work of Rakesh Venkatapuram and his production. It has come fantastic interventions on the flute by Pramod Umapathi, which make us imagine a Ballroom setting with dancers doing the Waltz. Pramod excels every bit of the way as the interlude is filled with the Flute solo and accompanying him is Joel Sastry on guitars. Suresh Banisetty writes beautiful words that are supposed to depict the simple pleasures of life as sung by the protagonist. Sahithi shines unopposedly in two aspects viz. her flawless singing with numerous instances of tough-to-deliver vibrato and her elaborate and joyful composition. Rakesh scores a winner with his outstanding composition never leaving a single second of dullness. Abin Paul has mixed and mastered the track. @sahithichaganti @prernaroyy @rakeshchary16 @sureshbanisetti_lyricist @joelsastry @pramodumapathi @mixwithabin 4. Miles Performed by Left Hand DriveWritten by Left Hand Drive

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 5th March 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.Check out the You Tube review of these top 5 songs here1. Emone Music composed & arranged by Vijai BulganinLyricist: Suresh Banisetti Singers: Vijai Bulganin & Aditi BhavarajuLanguage: TeluguGenre: Filmi MelodyThis is what mind-blowing music is made of. I have listened to this song religiously every day since its release, purely because every note, every instrument, and every beat makes my heart swell with joy. If somebody had told me that Ilaiyaraja had composed this song, I would have believed that this is his work of genius. Can anyone give a bigger compliment in the world than compare a song's composition to that of the G.O.A.T. Ilaiyaraja? The song takes me back to his composition "April Mayile" from the album "Idhayam". Vijai Bulganin, take a bow, as he is certainly one of India's finest composers and his consistency and ability to weave magical melodies, know no bounds.The way this song begins itself, with the Piano, then the amazing guitars and the woodwinds. I am sold immediately and with all the humming I can only thank God that such music exists. It is a lesson to anyone calling themselves a musician to give their utmost efforts and make good original music. If they have to write bad lyrics, and make only remixes or make party songs, they should look for another profession to pay their bills. Please leave music alone to composers like Vijai Bulganin and they will ensure the future of Indian music is in safe worthy hands. Lalit Talluri plays the magical Flute, Abin Sagar is on the Ukulele and Guitars, and Shallu Varun is nothing short of heroic on bass guitars. The fantastic programming and production are possible thanks to Jishnu Vijayan, the Keyboardist and Anudeep Dev who has done the vocal arrangements and been the recording engineer also. Vijai is solely responsible for the score and all the major arrangements otherwise and when you have a team like this magic gets created quite often. The humming is by the chorus team of fantastic singers Lakshmi Meghana, Sindhuja Srinivasan & Nada Priya. After the first line sung by Vijai, that humming is accompanied by a mild but obvious trumpet sound elevating the line to greatness. Initially, I felt that maybe someone else could have sung the male lead vocals, but the more I hear I feel, that Vijai's vocals are so earthy and rugged and sound a lot like Ilaiyaraja himself. Now I believe there couldn't have been a better choice. The song has such an elaborate anupallavi and I realise that many composers today would have already been clueless about what more to compose by the 90-second mark. The strings section is like a never-ending dream thanks to the Chennai Strings Orchestra conducted by Balaji. What can I tell about the interlude? Lalit Talluri shines with the Flute solo and then the vocals harmonies and Strings simply drizzle exorbitant goodness. Wow, the Piano and the mild drums at the end of the interlude just before the stanza starts, is one more example of how minute things can impact a music lover. At the end of the first line in the stanza which ends with "emone", pay attention to the otherworldy strings and humming. I can only get up and give Vijai a standing ovation. After all this Aditi Bhavaraju who is a phenomenal vocalist comes and sings like a breeze making things even better. In the end, I loved the landing as uses "Pattukonna prema" line, like a step to drop into the pallavi. Aditi does an excellent job singing the lines in the low pitch giving such a well-rounded colour to the song. The recording engineers are Anand Gurrana, K K Senthil Prasath with Robin Sebastian as the vocal engineer and Roshan Sebastian as the mix and master engineer. The beautiful words are written by Suresh Banisetti @vijai_bulganin @aditibhavaraju @lalittalluri @roshansebastian @_jishnu_viijayan @sureshbanisetti_lyricist @abinsagar @shalluvarun02 @robinsebastianmusic @anandgurrana @lakshmimeghana @sindhujasrinivasan @nadapriya.nedadurivendi2. Becky Music, Lyrics: Brecilla Music Producer: Pranav KamatArrangements: Pranav, BrecillaLanguage: EnglishGenre: Indie pop/A CapellaBrecilla is according to me one of the top 5 Indie singer-songwriters in this country today. It is her gifted vocals and envious skill of composition that set her apart from the rest. I have featured her a few times and every single is a celebration of music. I was so glad to see her name among the top 24 of Nexa Music Season 2 and I am pretty confident that her single is the best of the lot after listening to around 18 of the 24 songs. 'Becky' is a song about herself as Brecilla composes, writes and sings this with immaculate ease and poise. An important element of this song is the backing vocals and which belong to Ananya Sharma, Karma Sherpa and Pranav Kamat. The mesmerising impact of the Keys stays in your head, just like the harmonies and we have Pranav playing the Keys. Just pay attention to the layers of vocals coming in leaps and bounds and both Pranav and Brecilla must be credited with the arrangements of all the vocals and live instruments. Brecilla herself plays the saxophone which turns out to be a great addition. She is exemplary in her vocals giving more than a 100%, singing with heart and adding delicate vibrato. The interlude is a beautiful mix of the Saxophone, humming and Keys, leading us into a bridge section and this is where all her skills as a writer/lyricist come out. Pranav does a fine job producing the song and he also is the mix/master engineer, so credit to him for bringing the song to life and getting the elements together.   @brecilladsouza @pranavkmt @karmasherpamusic @ananyas.music @nexamusicexperience 3. Madhura Gathama Singers : Armaan Malik, Shreya GhoshalMusic: Mani Sharma Lyricist: ShreemaniLanguage: TeluguGenre: Filmi Melody/FusionThe one song which I did feature from the movie was 'Mallika Mallika' dung by Ramya Bahara. This one is a notch above the rest of the songs in the album and Mani Sharma shines through. There is the quintessential melody rich with Classical Carnatic Raga elements and with the phenomenal vocal capabilities of Armaan Malik and Shreya Ghoshal the song stays etched in our hearts and minds. The Sitar sets the ball rolling and we are given an auditory treat by Armaan's magical voice and high-pitched delivery. To me, there is maybe some Raag Khamas influence in places. The impact it creates with the Tabla, and the tonality is very similar to say AR Rahman's album "Jodhaa Akbar". The interlude is drifting probably towards a bit of Raag Sarang. The two vocalists engage in a tete-a-tete with some amazing vocals and the landing into the Pallavi happens with a beautiful ending line in the high pitch. The use of the Sarod and the per

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 26th February 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music here.1. Ori Vaari Composed, Arranged and Programmed by Santhosh NarayananTelugu Lyrical writer: ShreemaniSinger: Santhosh NarayananLanguage: TeluguGenre: Ballad/Alt-Rock fusionI keep telling in my reviews, that there is none like his, and Santhosh Narayanan is the most talented composer and producer in India today and that has been the case for the last 5-7 years at least. Some could dismiss it saying that it is just my opinion, well then you better stop reading this and start listening to the number 1 song in India for last week. You can then make up your mind. It is very heartening to see Santhosh or SaNa as he is known, make inroads to Tollywood, and Mollywood too. Back in December, we saw his work for the Sony Liv web series 'Faadu' in Hindi. Getting back to this track, Ori Vaari is the original Telugu song but has been simultaneously released in Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil. The song is a testament to SaNa's unmatched ability to combine diverse genres within one track, use solid instrumental arrangements and produce the track with an enviable style. Only a composer with terrific vision can even get the groundwork laid and see through its perfect execution. The song starts off with SaNa's inexplicably magnetic voice and the sound of the glass percussion played by him. Aditya Ravindran plays all the additional keys and he has now become SaNa's most trusted aide. I just cannot imagine this song without the impact of the bass guitars and it is played by Rupendar Venkatesh like an unassailable champion. Santhosh will be remembered as one solid composer who used bass guitars in all his compositions to the fullest potential, a feat like Maestro Ilaiyaraja. The interlude is mesmerising with the strings section, thanks to Fame's Skopje Studio Orchestra (Macedonia) with Sasha as conductor and our won Karthik Manickavasakam arranging the strings to perfection. Joshua Rodrigues at the Bohemia Junction is the Orchestra coordinator. The interlude section reminds me of the interlude of "Vennilave Vennilave" from 'Minsara Kanavu' composed by AR Rahman. It probably has influences of Raag Pilu (Kaapi in Carnatic). Then the stanza begins and we have the wonderful Piano and continuous riff of the strings in the background staying right after the interlude. The chord progression and the way the notes are composed are a testament to SaNa's capability. The masterstroke comes late in the stanza and you keep listening to the way the line "Kannelallo Saagdholina, Idichesi Vadhileshinaa" ends. The backing vocals and notes drop off like from the top of a cliff and this suddenness and unexpected shift is what makes SaNa truly great. The second interlude is another piece of genius with the Clarinet, and the bass guitars accompanying like Robin for Batman. The 2nd stanza is completely different and it moves the style of the song itself from a Ballad, pathos song to an Alt-Rock number. Words can never be enough to appreciate the work of SaNa and his team of musicians. The 2nd stanza also makes me wonder if there is some influence of either Dharmavathi Ragam or Madhuvanthi Ragam.  Pranav Muniraj plays the acoustic guitars, while in this section it is Aditya Ravindran blasting away on the electric guitars. The stanza gains traction and we hear the rhythms, guitars and trumpets all converging and delivering excellence. The song is recorded by Santhosh, Pranav, Rupendar and Karthik and the mixing and mastering are done by Santhosh and Rupendar. Meenakshi Santhosh is the musicians' coordinator. Santhosh sings this brilliantly making it his best vocal performance yet. The lyrics is written by Shreemani.   @musicsanthosh @adityaravindran95 @karthikmanickavasakam @rupendar_venkatesh @pranavbalu @shreemani_lyricist @musicsoundart 2. Shehzada Singer: Sonu NigamMusic: PritamLyrics: Mayur PuriMusic Arranger and Programmer - Aditya Pushkarna, Jim Satya, Sunny M.R. & Amey GhuleLanguage: HindiIt is redemption time, the moment when Pritam shows to the world that he has still got it and he is not going away anywhere yet. The 4 other songs that I have heard are below par, but the title track is what salvages Pritam and restores faith in his abilities. The song is performed by the one and only Sonu Nigam who has a ball delivering this song. Mayur Puri writes the lyrics and we have 4 talented musicians bringing their heads together to arrange and program this track.If you listen to the song you will know that the arrangements are grander than life and the lion's share of credit for the song's brilliant impact must go to Aditya Pushkarna, Jim Satya, Sunny M.R. & Amey Ghule. It is fantastic to know that the top 2 songs in the country have employed some magnificent Orchestra and live instruments in a time when 1 Min Music and Lo-fi and EDM styles completely dominate the scene. Kudos to DJ Phukan, Sunny and Ashwin Kulkarni for the brilliant sound design. Just like song no. 1, we have the FAME'S Skopje Studio Orchestra on the strings section. The Orchestration is by Andrew T Mackay and orchestra coordination is by Joshua Rodrigues. The song begins with the splendid drums by Gary Novak and it feels like you are listening to Savage Garden's 'The Animal Song'. The brass section is grand and feels like one Jazz Ensemble in full force. The Trumpets, Trombones are upping the ante and Sonu's energetic singing is nothing short of brilliant. Aniruddh Anantha and Pranav Gupta are the sound engineers and Aniruddh along with Dev Arijit handles the vocal conducting and backing vocals design. There are so many things happening, with the live instruments ad despite that Sonu never fails to grab your attention. The line "Banoonga Hai Vaada" with the dropping tempo, and extravagant trumpets is wonderful to hear. Kudos to Shadab Rayeen who has mixed and mastered the track along with assistants Pukhraj Sonkar and Anup Gandharla @sunnymr @adityapushkarna @_amey_ghule_ @jimsat @ipritamofficial @sonunigamofficial @musicsoundart @shadabrayeen @pranavgupta_27 @aniruddhanantha @ashwinkulkarni89 @dev_arijit9 @musicsoundart @mayurpuri @iamdjphukan @gary_novak 3. Chandni & Dil Dariya Singer: Aditya N. (Chandni) & Nayantara Bhatkal (Dil Daariya)Composed by: Alokananda DasguptaLyrics: Rajeshwari Dasgupta GhoseLanguage: HindiGenre: Ballad (Chandni) & Retro Dance Pop (Dil Daariya)We are nearing 'International Women's Day' and it is perfectly appropriate that we have a brilliant song composed by one of India's most talented female composers in Alokananda Dasgupta. Just like I tend to weed out the really bad songs in the first 10 seconds, over here it took me the same time to gauge the splendid potential and likability in this song. Jonathan Dreyfus plays the Cello and the Viola and they can already be heard creating magic in the background. Aditya. N a.k.a. Meadows & Rust is the vocalist who is gently serenading us but Alokanada and Jonathan decide to distract us beautifully with the additional string arrangements. Amandeep Singh and Tanmay Pawar have played the guitars and Tamnay handles all the additional guitar arrangements. The song oozes quality and reminds us of those times when Shankar Ehsan Loy used to rule Bollywood. Aditya's vocals sound like Sonu Nigam's when he decides to give every note an emotional touch. He also must be credited and appreciated for the wonderful production of the song along with Amandeep. Just as Aditya sings these lines, we get a delightful male humming in the background, and it feels like Alokananda and the team decided to

I have been listening to music ever since I was a kid and thankfully music appreciation started getting rooted in me very early. It all began when I started listening to English pop when we were living in the Middle East and then in the US. I fell in love with musicians like Phil Collins, Elton John, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston and bands like A-ha, Police, Bangles and so many more. The list can be endless.We then moved to India. Once I reached middle school, there was a mammoth change in the style of music I listened to, but I am only thankful for that. I was exposed to Maestro and G.O.A.T. Ilaiyaraja owing to this change of base. After that came AR Rahman and Vidyasagar as well. Even before these greats, we had MS Vishwanathan and Ramamurthy compose amazing music in Tamil. If you notice the difference between paragraphs 1 and 2, the earlier has both men and women musicians who not only sang but also wrote their own songs. The second paragraph however only has a male name. Have I missed out on some women musicians, am I being factually incorrect or ignorant? I hope not, but I am sure women musicians in India were restricted to being vocalists or playback singers. If I extend the example of classical Indian music both Hindustani and Carnatic, we have female vocalists and instrumentalists. Composers, Producers and Songwriters are at the top of the musical food chain and they have mostly been men in the Indian scene. I wanted to try and analyse why this could be. But before getting deeper into the reasoning, I wanted to do some background research and know about female music directors and composers before my time.  Some basic keywords research helped me find out 3 names that I would like to briefly mention about.In the 1930s and 1940s, there was India's first female composer called Saraswati Devi who was born into a Parsi family and known by the name Khorshed Homji. Saraswati had more than a decent run and she scored music for around 35 films in the 1930s and 1940s. Then came Jaddanbhai Hussain who was a composer, writer, actress and director. She was less known with barely a few compositions for the grandmother of Sanjay Dutt and mother of Nargis Dutt. The composer to make a name for herself and who was the most successful of all the 3 was Usha Khanna. She scored music for around 3 decades between the 1960s and 1990s with around 150 movies to her credit. So clearly Usha Khanna is India's most accomplished female composer yet. A deeper study into some earlier articles written about women composers throws the same 3 names that I have mentioned here and they do show a list of a few more who I will name and write about in the coming paragraphs. A few names that get thrown around a lot are Jasleen Royal, Payal Dev, Paramapra Thakur, Sonal Pradhan etc. Of these names, the one who has good credentials based on quantity and quality and awards is Jasleen Royal. She is the first woman composer to ever win a Filmfare award for music and she also has more than a handful of compositions. When it comes to the others there is very little to really put them at the top, because I want to explore composers who can go on and dominate this "boys club" of film composers. Payal Dev, Parampara Thakur and Sonal Pradhan have very few movies to their credit and personally, I am not a fan of their limited work. The other media might voraciously praise their music, but let me quote you an example of why I feel otherwise. Payal Dev is credited with the music of 'Ginny Weds Sunny, but if you looked at the soundtrack, 3 songs were composed by her and 2 by Gaurav Chatterji. However in my opinion the only songs that really impress are those by Gaurav. Here is a list of some of the current generation female composers who I think are amazing.Some have achieved and been in the limelight for their work and some have the potential to go on and dominate this "boys club" of film composers. Sneha Kahanwalkar , Rachita Arora and Samira KoppikarThe ladies who will be revered are led by Sneha Khanwalkar who blasted her way into fame with albums like 'Gangs of Wasseypur' both parts, and she had movies like "Oye Lucky! Lucky Iye!", and the one that truly impressed me in terms of BGM scores "Detective Byomkesh Bakshy". Directors like Dibankar Bannerjee and Anurag Kashyap used her talent for their flicks and that is no mean feat. Somehow over the last few years, she has been witnessing a decline and I have been unimpressed. Now Rachita Arora is another name that has impressed with films like "Mukkabaaz", "Newton", "Shubh Mangal Savdhaan" and one must appreciate Anurag Kashyap who seems to be a common denominator providing women composers with an opportunity to shine. Samira Koppikar briefly between 2015 and 2019 did earn a name for herself thanks to albums like "NH 10", "Bareilly ki Barfi" and "Laal Kaptaan". The problem has been that many of these talented composers could not sustain themselves for reasons unknown.Shalmali KholgadeHere are some composers who will hold the mantle and if there are enough opportunities given and if the artists persist with drive and desire we could very soon be having most of our movie albums being composed by women composers. Shalmali Kholgade is at the very top for me and she has impressed me and the world enough with her debut Marathi movie called "June". The soundscape if something unheard of in Marathi movies and her indie EPs '2X Side A' in 2021 and '2X Side B' in 2022 showcase her composing talents even further. Aloknanda DasguptaAlokananda Dasgupta is a supreme force who is known for her scores in 'Geeli Puchi', "Sacred Games", "AK v AK", "Trapped", "Sacred Games" and recently "Shiv Shastry Balboa" which I have featured. Once again we have to thank Vikramaditya Motwane and Neeraj Ghaywan for standing tall and being the directors to give well-deserved opportunities to women composers like Alokananda. Also read: Top Indian songs of the week.Let us move Southwards and here 2 women give me all the hope Neha Nair, and Revaa. Neha works as a co-composer and co-producer along with Yakzan Gary Perreira and they have a very unique way of creating sound, and the duo get pretty whacky with their compositions as well. Some of their famous works include "5 Sundarikal", Mayanadi"(BGM), "Sudani from Nigeria" (BGM), " Love", "Driving License", "Sumesh & Ramesh" and "Vaashi" (BGM). Revaa was impressed with her score for the movie "Mugizh" and she is back with one more series called "Ayali". I have featured a couple of songs and have been quite impressed by the BGM

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 19th February 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music  with a clickable link on my Home Page 1. RijhaaunComposition, Lyrics and Vocals - Utsavi Jha Production, Mix and Master - ManavLanguage: HindiGenre: Jazz/PopShe is one undeniable talent and it shows when someone like Utsavi Jha gets featured time and again every time she releases a single. Now I can confidently say that this is her best work yet and I wish her the best to keep making my life better with such music. Utsavi is a young, inquisitive singer-songwriter from Mumbai and she has composed the melody, written the lyrics and rendered the vocals for this brilliant song. When Utsavi teams up with some spectacular musicians, a very good song automatically gets pulled into a higher orbit and first and foremost is the mastermind Manav who has produced the song with incredible prowess. The song starts with just the Piano and Utsavi's vocals, with the Piano hitting some fantastic notes and within a minute we discover that the song's inherent melody is quite enjoyable. Manav's typical indulgence comes to the forefront with the Piano and what sounds like a Pipe Organ intervention. It all has a very Jazz and Blues texture. Listen to the fantastic saxophone in the background played by Aniket Chaturvedi. The drums, and the vocal harmonies, are all important elements, but nothing quite matches the saxophone solo in the interlude and we also hear trumpets making it one unforgettable song that deserves to take the number 1 spot. The arrangements and programming tend to steal the limelight, but let us not forget the vocals and the stylist delivery by Utsavi. Manav also does the mixing and mastering for the track, and the vocals are recorded at PLayhead Studion in Mumbai. The animation and editing are by Suraj Singh and Hariom. Priya Waingankar is the photo editor.   @utsavijhamusic @man.musical @deffective_priya @lazyom @singhsuraj882. Dheemi Performed by - Ashish ZachariahWritten by - Ashish Zachariah, Khwaab, Ritvik KulshresthaProduced by - Ashish ZachariahLanguage: HindiGenre: Electronic Pop Asish Zachariah is probably of the top 5 music composers/producers in the country today. We are living in a very dark time where mediocre music gets superlative recognition, and amidst this guys like Ashish are like the canary in the coal mine. We have to treasure them not only for their talent but their unswerving commitment to giving us good music.I just played the song and despite the high bar, Ashish manages to cross it without any trouble at all. Another fantastic musician Nishant Nagar a.k.a. has penned the lyrics along with Ritvik Kulshrestha. Ashish composes, sings and produces this blinder. The flowy guitars come and go in layers and Ashish enhances the effect with layers of vocals also. There is so much to focus on, as we have a brilliant production on display here, and just like he sings " kaali kaali raaton mein phir milein". The heart starts racing as we hear the sound of the strings section in the background, along with a solo violin also gathering steam. Such music I believe can transport us to a parallel universe where we live forever without even an iota of pain. Ashish uses the synths and keyboards to great effect and the adrenaline-pumping drums give a fitting end to matters. The track is mixed to perfection by an outstanding musician Rex Vijayan, and Steve Smart does the mastering. Tina Thomas handles the covert art. Ashish and team, take a bow!  @ashish.zachariah @khwaab.music @ritvkk93 @rex_vijayan @stevemartmastered @tinaalicethomas 3. Bawaral RaMusic - Devdutta Manisha Baji Vocals - Ashish Kulkarni & Aanandi Joshi Lyrics - Ganesh NigadeMusic Arrangements & Production - Devdutta Manisha Baji & Bhushan ChitnisLanguage: MarathiGenre: Filmi MelodyI have never even heard of Devdutta Manisha Baji, and I am thrilled to feature this composer's melody in Marathi. It is sung by two renowned singers Ashish Kulkarni and Aanandi Joshi, both of whom I have featured on my weekly charts before. It is so refreshing to see a new musician compose so well in Marathi, a space dominated by the genius of Ajay-Atul and AV Prafullachandra. I am also excited to see some very familiar names here in various roles, all of whom I have featured in various indie projects. Ashish Kulkarni became a household name after his stint at Indian Idol, but he has been featured for his singles by me much before. He and producer/guitarist Bhushan Chitnis have worked together on indie singles as well. We have the guitars by Bhushan followed by the female harmonies comprising Malavika Dixit, Bhagyashree Abhyankar, Nidhi Hegde. Then comes the male chorus sung by Chinmay Jog, Ajit Vispute and Srujan Kulkarni. The solo Violin gives me an inkling that there is a Raag Bhimpalasi flavour just mildly. It is played with such elegance by Shruti Bhave. Ashish Kulkarni is so endearing with his vocals and he is matched equally by Anandi Joshi. The song has some excellent notes that make it so fresh and complete. Varad Kathapurkar plays the Flute and another point of attraction is the live percussion by Onkar Ingawale & Apurv Dravid. The song moves into the stanza without any interlude and you don't feel anything missing thanks to the immaculate arrangements and production by Devdutta and Bhushan with Srujan working on additional arrangements. The stanza only further reinforces the beauty of the song's original melody. Nikhil Laniekar and Himanshu Ambekar handle the sound design with recoding engineers Avadhoot Wadkar, Tushar Pandit, Roopjit Das, and Ajinkya Dhapare is the mixing engineer assisted by Virat Bhushetty. The stereo track mastering is done by Hanish Taneja. The lyrics are penned by Ganesh Nigade.  @ganeshnigade88 @aanandijoshi @ashishkulkarni.music @devdutta.baji.music @bhushan_bhu_chitnis @srujan_kulkarni @nidhihegde.music @violinshrutibhave @varadflute_official @mixedbyhanish @ajinkyadhapare @omkar_ingawale_official @apurvdravid @pandit_dawn 4. Kevadyacha Paan Tu Music & BGM - Vijay Narayan GavandeLyrics - Guru Thakur

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 12th February 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music  with a clickable link on my Home Page Also check out my video reviews of EPs like LAGAN feat. Dhvani Bhanushali, BOMBAY by Bombay The Artist, COKE STUDIO TAMIL's first song SAGAVASI , CLASS on Netflix by Aditya N and Nayantara Bhatkal and much more1. PreetMusic: Abhijit VaghaniLyrics: Shloke LalSinger: Dhvani Bhanushali, Abhijit VaghaniLanguage: HindiGenre: Ballad I have always wondered why some singers would choose projects that would do nothing to bring out their talent. The reason could be something else like such projects would enhance their fame and monetary prospects immensely. Anyway, Dhvani Bhansushali does so well on certain singles and projects like these, and I always wish she picks only good compositions to sing. This EP called 'Lagan' is a 4 track EP and I was quite impressed with 3 songs at least. Other than 'Preet' I loved 'Masoomiyat' and 'Shagun '. It is Dhvani's haunting voice in the lower pitch along with the mild Keys by Akshay Menon that get your attention. It is slowly accompanied by a strings section in the background and all elements get the tone and mood of the song perfectly in line. Abhijit Vaghani has composed and produced the songs in the EP and he has worked with Dhvani a few times before, all ending up with excellent tracks. One of my favourites to this day is their single "Radhe". Now we start hearing the fantastic guitars by Shomu Seal and the flute as well in the background and it forms the heartwarming interlude. Abhijit also turns vocalist in the stanza which is beautifully composed as well. Akshay also has arranged the terrific strings section. The best line is with Abhijit singing "lage ki sadiyaan yuhi nikal gayi" with excellent words by Shloke Lal and vocals as well. The Keys and guitars become more impactful here along with harmonies in the background. The outro is brilliant with the faint lonely flute by the brilliant Tejas Vinchurkar becoming so emotionally charged and then the strings and rhythms piling on the quality. Aftab Khan mixes and masters the track with mix assistant Vatsal Chevli. 'Masoomiyat' is very light on the ears and once again Dhvani thumps up the ante with her improvised singing. The Shehnai by Yogesh towards the end is the game-changer. "Shagun" is a melodious Folkish Pop song much like an AR Rahman-styled song. I recommend that people listen to the EP. @dhvanibhanushali22 @abhijitvaghani @shlokelal @hitz.music.official @akshay.menon.official 2. NaraziWritten and composed by - Taaruk Raina, Charan Singh PathaniaSung by - Taaruk RainaMusic Production- Charan Singh PathaniaLanguage: HindiGenre: Pop/BalladI recently read an article in the Hindustan times where the actor and singer Taaruk Raina mentioned the difficulty to break into the music scene, especially when he/she has a poor network or connection with people in the industry. Imagine what the situation would be for someone who doesn't even have an acting background and is entirely new to the field. Just a few months ago I had featured him in a song from the web series Mismatched Season 2 for the song "Kho Gaye". Now this song brings Taaruk's abilities further into the light. Charan Singh Pathania does the music production for this song and it has a good mix of live instrumentals and programming as well.I believe Taaruk has performed the vocals as well as played the acoustic guitars. When he sings "chupi hui hai, narazi" you can get a sense of the quality of the production. I must appreciate the harmonies and humming and then both their execution and arrangements, thanks to Charan Singh. Stuart Da'Costa is smashing it with his bass guitars. I love the part where Taaruk takes the high road on the pitch singing "aasan tha kya, rehna yun gawah". Utkarsh Dhotekar is another fantastic composer/producer and he creates some magic with the strings arrangements. Taaruk shows he is no novice with his vocals and I can only assume he will get better with every single. Mukul Jain is the mixing engineer. One must appreciate Taaruk for the impressive lyrics as well. There were moments when the song, owing to the harmonies and production, felt like I was listening to something as good as Coldplay's "Paradise" @taarukraina @charanmusic @tanyamaniktala @studirt @mixbymukul @utkarshdhotekar  3. SkyeWritten: O DaapunProducer: Bhargav DhapunLanguage: HindiGenre: Pop/RockIt has been a while since I featured the band O Daapun and the previous single "Dont u drop" which was a fantastic upbeat song.'Skye' is no less and we have the song written by the band members Siddhartha Hazarika and Bhargav Hazarika, with the latter producing this piece. Abhidhan Sharma plays the guitars and Jugal Pathak is the drummer. This is exemplary music just to show how the first opening seconds can impress a music lover. The guitars and drums just let you know that some severe quality stuff is coming our way. The vocals are scintillating and flawless, these vocals are the vehicle for the song's message to get through to the other side. I love how the drums come and go without being persistent. This allows the pop style of the song to carry through. I was astounded by the shock and awe when the line "Her hand was reaching out for something more" and after a pause, the guitars and humming take us on a super-fast joyride. The song scores high on elements like vocals, production and creativity.  @odaapun_ @nobinaryrecords @darshitaaa.c @siddharth_daapun @bhargav_daapun @drumboi_074. Paalmanam Composed and Arranged: Govind VasanthaSingers : Kapil Kapilan & Keerthana VaidyanathanLyrics: Vinayak SasikumarLanguage: MalayalamGenre: Filmi Melody

Here are the best Tamil songs released in January 2023. The list of 15 songs have been picked from over 60 releases. MagizhiniComposed & Produced by Rini and Shakthisree GopalanLyrics: Shakthisree Gopalan & Rajesh SridharShaktisree Gopalan moved to NY City after graduation from Berklee College of Music. She is being missed in the Tamil Indie as well as Kollywood music scene. But when we live in the post covid world of digital innovation, one can score music from anywhere in the world, record it from somewhere else and have a vocalist living 1000 miles away, yet everything comes out like a perfectly mixed hot cappuccino. The song is composed and produced by Shaktisree and Rini. The lyrics have both English and Tamil sections and they are penned by Shaktisree and Rajesh Sridhar. The moment we get the instruments playing the notes, I got a sense that maybe there is some Nalinakanti Ragam in the tune. Rini vocally performs the Swaras, and this is the first time I am hearing and reviewing Hairini Raghavan a.k.a. Rini who is NY based singer, composer and violinist. Shaktisree's English lines are so endearing and soothing like a balm on a burn. Her vocals and delivery act as a perfect compliment to Rini's energetic lines in Tamil. We have some amazing live instrumentalists here like Marco Bolfelli on Guitar, Maxime Cholley on Drums, Marcelo Maccagnan on Bass, Carrie Frey on Viola, Thea Mesirow on Cello. All these amazing musicians are band members who work and tour with Rini. In fact, I am excited to see her and the band perform live in Mumbai on Feb 23rd. The song is a creative force of bringing in a classical Carnatic Raga and fusing it with some slow Blues music. Kudos to the duo. The intertwined exhibition of the strings section, bass guitars, acoustic guitars and drums give me a feeling of 'Magizhini' (happiness). The track is mixed and mastered by Daniel Alba. The solo Violin is outstanding as it appears past the 3rd minute and the combined vocal humming of the two artists is powerful to close things.  Nee Podhum Enakku Song Composed, Arranged and Programmed by - SAM CS Additional Programming- Abey Singer: Pradeep Kumar Lyrics: Kabilan The movie 'Michael' is being termed as a stylish version of KGF that tries to mimic it. The song that stood out in the album is this beautiful melody and it is even more resounding because of Pradeep Kumar's vocals. I did listen to the Telugu Version by Sid Sriram, but this one by Pradeep is just far better in my opinion. Kabilan writes these splendid lyrics and Sam CS continues to show why he is one talent you cannot write-off or discount. Balaji steals the show with his Violin solo and Sam handles all the lovely arrangements and programming as well. The stanza is a continuation of the melody but what aids the passage perfectly are the backing vocal harmonies by Bhuvana Ananth, and Joseph Vijay's acoustic and bass guitars. At the end of the stanza, Pradeep shows there is none like him to sing with just finesses and impact. The keyboards and especially rhythm programming keep things pretty interesting to hear. Sam does a fine job in arranging the live instruments as well as harmonies. The one noticeable and excellent element is that Sam has two different stanzas, in terms of the score and that is a rare thing to observe these days. "Aen, manakulathila , mazhaiyene pozhigiraye" is the line in the first stanza, but when it comes to the 2nd stanza "Irumbayum murikkidum iru vizhi kadhal", these two are set to two entirely different sets of notes. CD Anbumani, Abishek Ar, S Aakash Edwin are the recording engineers, Balu Thankachan is the mixing and mastering engineer with assistance from Paul Daniel and Hariharan. The music production manager is K Mahima Chowdhary with Bhuvana Ananth being the music supervisor. Sooravali PolaMusic Composer: Sathish Nair Arranged & Programmed by: Vijayan Vincent I was puzzled when I heard this song in Hindi, wondering how and when did Bollywood start making such good songs. I was almost certain that this a south Indian song and I turned out to be right. The song is from a movie called "Regina" which is being made in Tamil and dubbed in other languages. Nowadays the trend is to release music in multiple languages with various singers. I loved the Shankar Mahadevan version in Hindi too, but Sid Sriram's version in Tamil is well executed because it doesn't have the usual elaborate alaap-styled renditions by Sid. Other than the vocals, don't forget to pay attention to the plethora of background instrumentals. Sachin Nair makes a lasting impression as the composer, and his aide Vijayan Vincent must be equally appreciated for the arrangements and programming because this song is elevated thanks to its arrangements of the Strings section. Balaji & Team plays the Strings with Cynthia on the Solo Violin, Viji on the Cello, Selvaraj on the Double Bass. The way Shankar sings "Sach kehta hoon, meri duniya hai tu" and it feels like listening to that great song "Maa" from 'Taare Zameen Par'. I can hear the brilliant woodwinds in the background as well in the anupallavi section. Bruce Lee Mani plays the acoustic guitar and Alaap Raju is the bassist. The Solo Violin catches your attention in the interlude reminding us of songs like "Poove Sempoove" by Maestro Ilaiyaraja. It is closely supported by acoustic and bass guitars. Vijayan and Sathish handle the Keys and Rhythm programming. The lines "raat bhar jag ke" clearly sounds like the lines "kadhal devadhaiye" from the song 'Germaniyin Senthaen Malare" by Ilaiyaraja. Senthil Prasath is the recording engineer and Hari Shankar has mixed and mastered the track. ThanimaiyileMusic Composed and Produced by Harish Venkat and Prashanth Techno (Madley Blues)Lyrics - Harish VenkatVocals - MS KrsnaThese guys Madley Blues are sincere and talented and I am happy that they landed a good project on Sony LIV called " Story of things". The album has at least 2-3 very beautiful songs, but what impressed me more was the BGM score for the web-series. However, this song which has two versions is an absolute ripper. I loved both versions but I am featuring the one sung by MS Krsna who does valiantly against a version sung by the majestic Pradeep Kumar on vocals. If a vocalist even makes his/her version half as memorable as the version by Pradeep, that is a fabulous feat but Krsna here goes for the kill and I really couldn't pick a favourite between the two. I do sense some fragments of Raag Bihag in the song and I feel like standing up in clapping my hands for the melody and production by Harish Venkat and Prashanth Techno. Keba Jeremiah plays the guitars impressively as always. The solo violin piece by Raghavasimhan is one of the best moments of the track. This lullaby will take you into a sone of utmost tranquillity. The sound engineers are Vishnu Raj, Hariharan and Paul. Harish Venkat is the lyricistVaa Vaathi Music: GV Prakash KumarSingers - Shweta Mohan Lyrics - Poetu Dhanush I loved this song when it was released in late December, but waited for a few more songs and now am gladly including it as part of the best Tamil songs of January. GV Prakash Kumar who is a celebrated musician impresses me with this single and this song is a combination of energy and melody. Rajkumar Amal whose music I was quite impressed with a couple of months ago when he composed for the album "Parole". Here he is in-charge of programming. Shweta Mohan is the lead vocalist for this track and it is an absolute treat to the ears. Naveen Kumar and Lalit Talluri, two amazing Flautists go charging together right at the start. The lyrics are quite witty and Poetu Dhanush makes it that way. The song resembles the style we have observed in albums like "P Pandi" by Sean Roldan, and "3" by Anirudh. The presence of the strings section in the background is a huge plus and we have to thank Chennai Strings Orchestra for their outstanding work. They are conducted by Balaji, and recorded by Ashwin George. Yadu Krishnan sings in the background in the interlude. The stanza is as beautiful as the Pallavi and GV Prakash showcases his talent in this score. You fall in love with SHweta's voice when she sings "Band a vasichu, grandu marriageu

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 5th February 2023. If you are a musician submit your new music  with a clickable link on my Home Page 1. ByabodhanSinger - Ujjaini Mukherjee Music Direction - Barenya SahaLyrics - Somraj Das Language: BanglaGenre: Ballad I don't know whether to feel happy or disgruntled. I'll tell you why, as 2023 began, I started listening to a huge number of Bangla songs that got released in January, close to 40 or more. Based on my experience, I would love 6-7 songs at least in this sort of a cluster. However now, it is only 'Byabodhan' that made it past my rating metrics! So I feel disheartened. Having said that this song is so good that it tops the charts this week, and for that I am elated. Ujjaini Mukherjee has been featured many times on my website and she proves here yet again what a brilliant vocalist she is. Barenya Saha is the composer and I am sold in 10 seconds thanks to the brilliant arrangements by Dipesh Chakraborty, but also a huge round of applause to live instrumentalists Dwaipayan Ghosh on the stroke instruments, Jakirudding Khan on Guitars and Sandipan Ganguly on Strings. The combined effect of these instruments is mesmerising. The strokes are constant and Ujjaini grasps your attention delivering the lines with that innate sense of pathos. The Keys and Strings also keep the background occupied and Joy Nandy's timely intervention on the Tabla. The interlude has some strong harmonies and the Piano. Ujjaini owns this track, as she explores the ends of her vocal range with immaculate ease. To sing a song with an emotional connection and at the same time, sing it with adequate improvisations and vibrato are what make this a superior vocal performance. The outro with her free-flowing aalap is praise-worthy. The track is mixed and mastered by Debojit Sengupta. Somraj Das is the lyricist.  @ujjainimjee_official @barenyasaha @zeemusicbangla @spontaneous _somraj2. Ninnadu NodidaMusic: Arjun Janya  Singer: Sonu NigamLyrics: KavirajLanguage: KannadaGenre: Filmi MelodyArjun Janya is probably one of the most consistent film music composers and it is quite a rarity that someone scores such good songs with this incredible frequency. He ropes in Sonu Nigam, and there are not too many who can make a song sound this beautiful with just his/her vocal construct. It is like Sonu only keeps getting better and the love he gets from the Kannada audience is well-deserved. David Selvam is terrific at playing the acoustic guitars in the beginning, and he also is the one playing the bass and electric guitars. He also sizzles thanks to a lion's share of contribution to the output of the song, playing the Violin, Viola and also handling the Keys and Rhythm programming. Kannada music serves up a lot of melodies that stay close to the classical Raga influence and format, but this one is fresh and breezy and the interlude humming with the guitars in the background is proof of that. The backup vocalist is on fire with his fabulous humming in falsetto. The stanza takes a delightful turn after the first lines, as Arjun loads up the melody quotient. Here we hear the Violin and Viola played by David with the Cello by Seenu and Double bass by Ramachandran. At the end of the first stanza, just pay attention to Sonu breathlessly singing the Classical swaras at breakneck speed. When we get to the outro, the same notes that Sonu sang come onto the Violin. N Ramanathan the music co-ordinator and the track is mixed and mastered by David Selvam.  @davidselvam_official @sonunigamofficial 3. ShwasameLyrics - Vinayak SasikumarMusic - PS JayhariSingers - KS Harisankar, Nithya MammenComposed, arranged and programmed by PS JayhariAddn.Programming - Al NishadLanguage: MalayalamGenre: Filmi melodyIf last week had some stalwarts from the indie space lining up in the top 10 songs, this week it is some fantastic playback singers like Sonu in the previous song, and south Indian supremos KS Harisankar and Nithya Mammen on this Malayalam melody. PS Jayhari is the composer and the established Vinayak Sasikumar has penned the lyrics. This song is not just about the tune, or the singing, but also about the excellent array of live instruments and their perfect arrangements. Jayhari handles all the arrangements and programming as well, but there are some great contributions by other musicians who arranged and conducted the strings sections. The song begins with Harisankar's vocals and the mild Keys in the background. The sense I get is that there is either a Kalyani or Yamunakalyani Ragam influence in the notes. Let us not forget the wonderful chorus too, which is formed of vocalists Amal Antony Agustin, Alexeena Shymon, Aarya Janardhanan, Jyothis Varghese, Gineesh KM, Vyjayanthi PS, Sreehari Warrier, Mejosh Joshy and Sariga Chandran of VOXOSAAA Vocal Ensemble. Amal Antony Augustun conducts the chorus. Hari just soars higher with the title line singing in the high pitch and we hear the strings section in full flow thanks to Cochin Strings involving Francis Xavier, Carol George, Josekutty, Herald Anthony and Francis Sebastian. The interlude has the flute solo by Nikhil and it is heart-warming, Sanu PS accompanies on guitars. The wait to hear Nithya is over and as the stanza opens up, she embellishes the track with her sweet voice. The composition is so rich with a long and winding stanza and PS Jayhari needs to be applauded for that. Sravan Krishnakumar has arranged all the strings and played the Cello. The part towards the end with Hari improvising on the title line, and Nithya humming in the background shows the abilities of these vocalists. The recording engineers are Sai Prakash, Shiju Eediyatheril, Ajay KJ and Akshay Kakkoth. The track is mixed by Balu Thankachan, assisted by Hariharan and Paul Daniel, and mastered by Shadab Rayeen. Is there anything better to hear than when Nithya sings like this? That is the feeling I get when she sings the Pallavi and Anu pallavi. @harisankar_ks @nithyamammen @alnishad @shiju_ediyatheril @sravan.krishnakumar @cochinstrings @shadabrayeen4. Maahi Ve Lyrics, Composition & Production: Dhidipon Dowarah

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 29th January 2023. We have 9 indie songs and 1 film song in this list and at the top of the charts is a brilliant song that is bound to move you. 1. Dil Da PechaProduced by Semwal & AgaazzLyrics by Hemant VijhLanguage: PunjabiGenre: Synth PopI know Semwal as a guy who, a couple of years ago impressed me with a mindblowing album "Elephant in the room" which had 4 amazing songs at least. I have been waiting for his next big thundering track and here it is. When I listen to so many songs, I tend to have an inkling about which of these 400 songs will make it to the very top. I got that feeling for this song for sure. Punjabi hip-hop and melody and bhangra is probably the most popular and frequent style of music released every week in India, yet very few qualify under my metric system of rating music. So even before we analyse this song I want to congratulate Shubham Semwal and Agaazz( Arjit Singh) for producing this Synth Pop wonder and showing the way and inspiring young musicians. Many songs are set in this style because I was born in the 1980s, I tend to fall in love with this genre which was famous globally at that time. But what sets this song apart is the underlying notes, chord progression, scintillating guitars and synths and for this, we have to credit Sushant Joshi on synths and Ameen Singh on guitars. The moment the guitars start and the rhythms and keyboards get introduced, it is irresistible and you have to get up and dance. Semwal is on fire singing with a cool attitude and unabating energy in his voice. The joy of listening to the bass guitars and harmonies in the background brings a smile to my face. I love how the drift happens when he sings " Main na dil da Pecha Laona" and even more satisfying notes as they move within the lines "Nave Sajan utto naviyan gallan" and finally one more beauty in the concluding segment of "man taan naveyan vich purana". This is not run-of-the-mill, and Arjit and Semwal have done a brilliant job. The track is mixed and mastered by Vic Cuccia. @semwalmusic @agaazz_music @hemantvijh @viccucciamusic @dopameen23 2. Breathe Vocals, Lyrics, Music: Kamakshi KhannaLanguage: EnglishGenre: Pop/BalladThis is a special week with many stalwarts back on the bandwagon with some terrific music. If it was Semwal at number 1, Kamakshi Khanna makes a statement and delivers an important message on mental health as well through her latest single 'Breathe'. The only reason this song comes in at number 2 is that it lost by a whisker to Semwal's single. Kamakshi who I interviewed last year promised me and all listeners that all upcoming new releases will be fraught with loads of live instruments and some solid production. Just as we were promised, listen to this and enjoy the power of music, as it slowly rises like an ember turning into a conflagration. Kamakshi has sung, written and play the Ukulele and the galaxy of live instrumentalists glorifies this track. It is just the peaceful sound of the Ukulele and her high-pitched vocals that drive the song forward. Slowly we hear the Piano by Tarana Marwah, and bass guitars by Adil Kurwa. Everything else stops and becomes a distant dream when Ajay Jayanthi plays the Violin Solo and then all the strings in the later stages. I love the notes as well as the execution and there is no better instrument than the Violin to deliver a serious message like mental health. As the song progresses, it transforms into a ballad/pop style from just being a sombre ballad at the start. Karun Kannampilly plays the drums and Apurv Isaac is on the acoustic guitars. I can feel the pain and desperation when Kamakshi sings "I'm just trying to find peace of mind". Gaurav Raina does a fine job mixing the different elements. The last 1 minute or so is a symphony of vocals and all instruments to up the ante and Ajay, Karun, Adil, Tarana and Apurv steal the show.  @kamakshikhannamusic @komorebi.music @karunk @lala_music @a_diilla @groovio @ajayjayanthi @exchangemastering3. Stuck up Composition, Lyrics, and Vocals: Neha KarodeMusic Production: Rupjit Das Language: HindiGenre: Indie PopDidn't I just say that we have a great line-up of stars in this week's countdown? Here comes one of my favourites, Neha Karode and she too had a wonderful discussion on her singing career, working for Anurag Saikia, and creating amazing fusion music when I interviewed her last year. But I am happier now that Neha now comes up with an original composition and there is nothing that falls short of expectations. Neha writes some excellent lyrics clearing standing up and saying "You are the one who's stuck up". This Jazz/Pop song has a good underlying melody and Neha just smashes home run after home run when it comes to her vocals. Feel the presence of the bass guitars by Prince Gogoi, and electric guitar strumming by Jobin David. It is an English Jazz/pop song alright but the structure is very similar to an Indian film song that has the demarcated opening verse, and then the stanza. As we have seen before Neha collaborates with Rupjit Das as the latter produces this song with wonderful and apt arrangements and programming. The highlight is the segment in the stanza that goes "If you ease up a bit, pour out your heart and submit" with some fantastic strumming on guitars and rhythms. Rupjit is the mixing and mastering engineer and Mrinal Kanti Das is the recording engineer at Playhead Studio. @nehakarode_music @princegogoi722 @jobindavid @rupjit_playheadstudio @mrinalkanti.das.334 @playheadstudio  4. MagizhiniComposed & Produced by Rini and Shakthisree GopalanLyrics: Shakthisree Gopalan & Rajesh SridharLanguage: Tamil/EnglishGenre: Jazz FusionShaktisree Gopalan moved to NY City after graduation from Berklee College of Music. She is being missed in the Tamil Indie as well as Kollywood music scene. But when we live in the post covid world of digital innovation, one can score music from anywhere in the world, record it from somewhere else and have a vocalist living 1000 miles away, yet everything comes out like a perfectly mixed hot cappuccino. The song is composed and produced by Shaktisree and Rini. The lyrics have both English and Tamil sections and they are penned by Shaktisree and Rajesh Sridhar. The moment we get the instruments playing the notes, I got a sense that maybe there is some Nalinakanti Ragam in the tune. Rini vocally performs the Swaras, and this is the first time I am hearing and reviewing Hairini Raghavan a.k.a. Rini who is NY based singer, composer and violinist. Shaktisree's English lines are so endearing and soothing like a balm on a burn. Her vocals and delivery act as a perfect compliment to Rini's energetic lines in Tamil. We have some amazing live instrumentalists here like Marco Bolfelli on Guitar, Maxime Cholley on Drums, Marcelo Maccagnan on Bass, Carrie Frey on Viola, Thea Mesirow on Cello. All these amazing musicians are band members who work and tour with Rini. In fact, I am excited to see her and the band perform live in Mumbai on Feb 23rd. The song is a creative force of bringing in a classical Car

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 22nd January 2023. We have 5 indie songs and 5 film songs in this list and at the top of the charts is a brilliant song that is bound to move you. 1. Toot Hi GayaProducer: Durgesh R RajbhattComposer: Durgesh R RajbhattLyricist: Saaveri VermaLanguage: HindiGenre: Filmi Melody When we hear some great music, it conquers everything, and I just surrender to the beauty of the melody straightaway. It is even more satisfying when it comes from the least expected quarters, say like Bollywood. One such album in January has been 'Chhatriwala' and it has multiple composers but it works pretty well. Durgesh R Rajbhatt is the composer and producer for this song that breaks your heart thanks to the melody and singing. Himani Kapoor is just unbelievable with her vocals, as she gets every element of the pathos spot on. Himani was solid in 'Me Vasantarao' for the song "Tere Dar se" and here she is once again showing her sublime singing skills. Saaveri Verma's lyrics have an equally magnificent impact. Durgesh not only composes but sings it like a dream after the initial lines by Himani. The use of the Tabla and Harmonium even while synths are being used and programmed is a wonderful combination. The interlude has some fast-paced acoustic guitars and strings sections executed and it stays brief moving into the stanza. It just keeps getting better with some solid vocals, the Sarangi and brilliant arrangements of instruments. I love how the stanza starts off with the guitars and when the lines repeat, they fade off and what we hear more is the Tabla and Sarangi combination adding immense delight. The way the stanza ends is another highlight of the track having both vocalists singing in two different layers. The change of pitch is subtle and creative. The song bears some similarities to the wonderful track "Dil K Gehna" by Rajat Nagpal and Yasser Desai released in 2022. Durgesh had impressed me last year with a fantastic indie single called "Khat", so it was just a matter of time before he came up with something awesome again.  @kapoorhimani @zeemusiccompany @durgesh_r_rajbhatt @thesaaveriverma 2. Jaane Phirse Kaise (2022)Composed, Written and Produced by Keshuv HuriaVocals by Vidhya Gopal, Keshuv HuriaLanguage: HindiGenre: Pop-Melody fusionKeshuv is one talented musician who came out as a very distinguished student from KMMC run by AR Rahman. This is not the first time I have featured his music, and he seems to be growing from strength to strength. This very EP has a couple of very good songs and I did feature a song "Teri Meri Kahani" which featured Sumedha Karmahe, and Keshuv has roped in some fantastic singers for the songs like Hansika Pareek. This one has another renowned singer who is quite suited for anything even remotely classical. Vidhya Gopal is the female lead vocalist Keshuv has written, composed, performed and produced this ravishing song that impressed me the most for its trajectory and stricture that never even sounded run-of-the-mill for a minute duration. Lascid plays the guitars and Dotaara and the talented Reena Gilbert is the mixing and mastering engineer. The vocals are endearing and we have a faint Violin, Guitars and Keyboards. Vidhya and Keshuv combine and start performing the vocals in Harmony and the eerie pathos element is sustained. In the stanza, I love the line "kal ko hum jo, rahe na rahe, rahega sada yeh afsana". Vidhya sings with just restrained control and she also delivers in the lower pitch. The outro on Keys is quite interesting and has that resemblance to the "Forrest Gump" OST soundtrack right at the beginning when the feather moves around in the air in the opening shot. The artwork is by Mriganka Bhuyan.  @keshuv_huria @vidhyagopal.musical @lascid_ @reena.gilbert @a_m_o_r_f_o_s3. Better Place (2022)Performed by Bulli Bainbridge, Shalmali KholgadeWritten by Bulli Bainbridge, Juhi SharmaProduced by Bulli BainbridgeLanguage: EnglishGenre: BalladThis EP 'Seasons' had some enjoyable music and the ones I loved the most are 'Betterplace' and 'Monochrome' featuring Shalmali Kholgade and Nushious respectively. Bulli Bainbridge a.k.a. Zain Calcuttawala is the composer and producer and he writes this tailor-made song for Shalmali. Juhi Sharma has penned the lyrics along with Zain. The violins, violas and Piano give an enraged entry like the way the curtain rises before a Broadway musical. Zain does a brilliant job producing this track and Shalmali is equal to the task. The strings section drops in intensity and after that, it is the Piano we also hear the adrenaline drop for Shalmali and all of it is intended. But just when she delivers the line " But without a sound, I scream" she ups the ante aided by the intense strings in the background. The harmonies @shalmiaow @andrewtmackay @siddharthbasrur @raghavmeattle @nushious @bohemiajunction @juiekablooey4. Another AvenueWritten and Composed by David BrittoProduced, Mixed and Mastered by Jason D'SouzaVocals by Riya Duggal Language: EnglishGenre: Synth-pop David Britto makes it a hat trick now with 3 consecutive singles being featured among India's best weekly music, but I can confidently say that this is his best work yet. This synth-pop beauty is written and composed by David, with production by Jason D'Souza. Riya Duggal is on fire and the vocals do the lion's share of pulling the song into a higher orbital of quality and likability. The lead guitars, bass and Keyboards are scintillating right from the start, but you do feel the magnetism when Riya sings "when your eyes intertwine with me, my oh my". The backing vocals support well but the song gets a good shift with the heavy Keys and Riya goes "Do I need to spell it out". I get the feeling David has given the entire gamut of creative freedom for Riya to explore her vocals and delivery these lines devoid of shackles. The lines might be the same but Riya has got different ways of executing them vocally, singing with a different style and an attached vibrato every time. The use of drums, rhythms and harmonies keep the interest intact. The DOP is Erika Besterwitch and all the art direction is by Tanvi Shah. @dave_arrows @jasonmxaudio @the_duggal_gal @bestie.erika @tanvi_joel 5. Maati Ko Maa Kehte Hain

Here are the best Indian songs of last week. There is some terrific debut by some musicians, especially check out the top ranking track sung by Shankar Mahadevan.  A few songs in this list are from the last month of 2022. 1. Meri Khushiyon KaMusic Composer: Sathish Nair Arranged & Programmed by: Vijayan Vincent Lyrics: Rashmi ViragLanguage: HindiGenre: Filmy MelodyI was puzzled when I heard this song in Hindi, wondering how and when did Bollywood start making such good songs. I was almost certain that this a south Indian song and I turned out to be right. The song is from a movie called "Regina" which is being made in Tamil and dubbed in other languages. Nowadays the trend is to release music in multiple languages with various singers. I loved the Shankar Mahadevan version in Hindi to Sid Sriram's versions in Tamil and Telugu for the simple reason that Shankar is a far superior vocalist. In-fact the song sounded very much like a Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy melody that the trio were experts in back in the 2000s. It is his outstanding voice that drags you deeper into the song but never you forget to pay attention to the plethora of background instrumentals. Sathish Nair makes a lasting impression as the composer, and his aide Vijayan Vincent must be equally appreciated for the arrangements and programming because this song is elevated thanks to its arrangements of the Strings section. Balaji & Team plays the Strings with Cynthia on the Solo Violin, Viji on the Cello, Selvaraj on the Double Bass. The way Shankar sings "Sach kehta hoon, meri duniya hai tu" and it feels like listening to that great song "Maa" from 'Taare Zameen Par'. I can hear the brilliant woodwinds in the background as well in the anupallavi section. Bruce Lee Mani plays the acoustic guitar and Alaap Raju is the bassist. The Solo Violin catches your attention in the interlude reminding us of songs like "Poove Sempoove" by Maestro Ilaiyaraja. It is closely supported by acoustic and bass guitars. Vijayan and Sathish handle the Keys and Rhythm programming. The lines "raat bhar jag ke" clearly sounds like the lines "kadhal devadhaiye" from the song 'Germaniyin Senthaen Malare" by Ilaiyaraja. Senthil Prasath is the recording engineer and Hari Shankar has mixed and mastered the track. Let us not forget to applaud Rashmi Virag for the brilliant words. @msathishnair @vincent_vijayan @shankar.mahadevan2. DardArtist: Asim Azhar  Music Composer: Kumail Abbas, Hassan Ali, Asim Azhar, Qasim AzharLyrics: Kunaal Vermaa Music Producer: Qasim Azhar Language: HindiGenre: Indie popThe song immediately impressed in a jiffy it started with a pretty mundane line, and then the next line that follows stuns you. Azim Azhar is a vocalist, who goes solo on vocals but the melody is composed by Kumail Abbas, Hassan Ali, Asim and Qasim Azhar. The opening lines tell you the whole story in a nutshell and that is the prowess of lyricist Kunaal Vermaa. "Bhale roz rulaana, hasaa bhi de naa". The best line that transforms into something brilliant is" sau dafa rootho toh ek bar mana bhi lena", it gets a kicker from Asim's throbbing vocals, lead abd bass guitar notes in the background and those interesting rhythms. Dilawar Hussain plays the guitars and a big round of applause to Qasim for his outstanding production. There are additional vocals in the background too and it is just cool and catchy as a whole package. The track is mixed by Chris “TEK” O Ryan and mastered by Joe Bozzi. I love how all the frills come to a pause in the stanza and it is just the guitars and the vocals that glide through. The delivery here in the first set of lines is with a classical flavour and immediately the notes shift into something modern with a pop twist in the line "kya zyaada maangte hai".@asimazhar @kunaalvermaa @qasimazharofficial 3. Raat (2022)Sung, composed & written: Shrinidhi Ghatate Music Production: Rhythm Shaw Language: HindiGenre: Indie PopShrinidhi Ghatate is upping the ante now and after a phenomenal English single called "Wildflower" two weeks ago now it's a Hindi track. The versatility of Shrinidhi is on full display here and she so easily shifts the style of delivery from coolness to caution. Rhythm Shah plays the guitars and produces this track. Shrinidhi has written, composed and performed this track with such fine elegance. The keyboard programming and vocal harmonies stand out and the line that sticks to my mind is "madhoshiyan, khamosiyaan sama hai raat ka". The lead guitar solo just past the 2nd minute creates a very different tone in the interlude and from there on, even the stanza sounds different from the opening and title lines. Pankaj Borah does the mixing and mastering. The label is Ahaibam Records. @rhythm_shaw @pankajborahb @dusshbag @ahaibam_records @shrinidhighatate4. Fool Artist: Emmanuel de Noronha Lyrics: Emmanuel de Noronha Producer: Emmanuel de NoronhaThis 21-year old multi-instrumentalist and producer from Goa goes solo on this one and comes out a winner in all aspects. Emmanuel de Noronha has written, composed, produced and sung this endearing single called 'Fool" and from the very first notes on the Piano, you are bound to fall in love with one. Soon enough, the brilliant backing vocals and humming join in along with some terrific synths. The drums are a great introduction when Emmanuel sings " I was only good until I let you go". The song feels like listening to Rick Astley and some of his great singles like "Never gonna give you up". The bridge section came as a good surprise and I loved how the pitch of the song shifted gradually through the bridge section rather than being abrupt. @emmanueldenoronha5. Enlightened! Written, Recorded Produced by Rounak Maiti Language: EnglishGenre: Synth-popThis Bengali boy from Mumbai moved to Los Angeles for his education and has been around since 2011 this multi-instrumentalist impresses massively with this new single. The track is written, composed, produced and performed by ROunak Maiti. The song represents all the brilliant synth-pop music I grew up listening to in the 1990s. It felt a lot like "Take my breath away" by 'Berlin'. I love the writing as Rounak sings "Bring me an empty canvas, so I can recreate the space between your eyes". The notes deviate nicely into something more unexpected with the lines " Another reason to hot the killswitch again". The track is mixed by Sanjay Das and mastered by Matt Jeffries. The label is Pagal Haina Records. @rounakmaiti 6. Jhoom Le Tu (2022)