This is the weeks best music from across the nation. Music from every state written in every language, composed as a part of Movies and by Indie artists is listened to and after analyzing more than 250 tracks released in the week ending 12th September 2021, I have rated and reviewed the 17 absolute best tracks in the country. This is truly India's ONLY multilingual music review and music curation page. Week after week , without any breaks you will get the review and links to the best work from musicians all over the country.
The best indian track of the week is by the duo called Alok & Sukhbir and what a way to release their debut single. The song starts off with some smashing flute solo by Shriram S who has been a regular in many chart-toppers in recent weeks. The guitars, keys and the flute make way for the Hindi lines and what I love about this track amongst other things is the way it alternates between Hindi and English track with a completely different feeling of a romantic ballad and a country song all within just 4 minutes. Its Rishabh on the keys who is present all through in a very subtle manner. Gaurav Naagar does the recording with Parikshit on the mixing and Kohinoor Mukherjee on mastering duties. The entire deserves credits for creating such a wonderful output with the bass guitar sounds and even some strings in the background all conjoin effectively. Diiva Dhanoya has worked on the shoots for this video. The song is dedicated to Alok's dad on his birthday.
2. Riha
This was a track that immediately appealed to me when I heard it the first time. The Lost Symbols is appearing my list the second time in a very short time period, and their earlier "Khwaab" was a terrific number as well. The Lost Symbols writes, composes and produces this track and the rock band from India has Aman Raj as the lead vocalist Gunjan Soral on the guitars and Arun Singh Naruka on the drums. Aman's vocals is impressive right from the start with the solid strumming by Gunjan. The strings in the background is elaborate and takes away all the attention despite being in the background layers. There comes this interlude on the electric guitar and heavy drums suddenly followed by a pause in percussion and just the acoustic guitar. The end is just a symphony of strings and electric guitar and this makes for some wonderful hearing. The recording, mixing and mastering is by Underroot Studios. The artwork and illustration is by Pallab Baruah while Debasish Sarmah has handled the Animation.
3. Changing cities, Reprise
I had no idea that Vishruti Bindal was a musician, and there she was suddenly reaching out to me and sharing he single "Changing cities, reprise". I listen to so many songs everyday and I just seemed to have forgotten about this. Then one fine day I just remembered and clicked on the link without any hope or expectations, because that is How I function and listen to new music. I was struck by awe and shock both in the positive sense and I kicked myself for delaying it, else I could have listened to this beauty much before. Vishruti is a musician from Bengaluru but now she resides in Valencia, Spain. The song clearly talks about changing cities and the emotions involved with that transformation. Her vocals transform too from being gentle and subtle in the low scales to impactful with heaviness in the higher scales. The keys are played Mateo Falgas and are a huge component of this track which is produced by Michael Shanks and Samar Mehdi who himself has appeared in my list and reviews twice for some fabulous numbers. Kanishk Seth and Nicholas Phang are the recording engineers as Michael Shanks does the mixing, Giorgio Schipani does the mastering for the track. Camille Silvero Lopez is the project manager and she is also involved in the artwork along with Rowanne Chang. Vishruti truly shines as a composer anf singer in this track which sort of feels like a collaboration of some global music talent.
4. Ethranaal
I have been listening to Mujeeb Majeed many a time , and last year he had a smashing hit called Haram which came in the top 5 of the month of December. This one too is an excellent melody sung by Sinov Raj and Sruthy Sivadas who is slowly by steadily making great strides as a singer. The song is composed by Mujeeb and has some Kaapi Raaga influences. Dan Babu does a fabulous job in the interlude with his guitar solo, and makes it sound like a Latin Dance number. Asha G Menon has penned the lyrics. The song's supporting hero is definitely the guitars with a multitude of interventions. Akshay Kakkoth and Arjun B Nair are the recording engineers and as KP Jayashankar mixes the track, Abin Paul masters it. Antony Nikhil Varghese is the songs editor.
5. Saiyyan Tori
Merchant Records keep smashing all records for producing the bets music i the country at break-neck speed and frequency. This one is a semi-classical form of Thumri sung, composed and written by Sharayu Date. She sings it with incredible panache and her vibrato keeps coming in at the right juncture making it stay in your heart for a long time. Saurabh Bhalerao has arranged and produced this beauty and I believe there is some Pilu Raag influence. Tanmay Pawar is unstoppable in his guitar as he strums to perfection all along and especially at the interlude which has a Turkish Clarinet programmed and then a wonderful aalap by Sharayu. The verse is elaborate and well structured and probably has some Bageshri notes in the beginning but it is wholesome with percussion and Keys in the background. Tushar Pandit has mixed and mastered the track
6. Obulamma
MM Keeravani is a legend in South Indian music and he has composed music for numerous albums, and here he shows he has still got what it takes to score at the best level. He has also penned the lyrics for this one and this is one delightful entry into this weeks list and reviews. Satya Yamini and PVNS Rohit are two rising stars and you will find them frequently singing in the lead in Telugu cinema and when you hear their delivery you will know why that is. The track is mixed and mastered and programmed by G Jeevan Babu and hence a lot of the songs positive impact comes from his contributions. Satya starts things off with her sweet vocals and then Rohit pounds you with his enchanting vocals, only to be drawn further with the stunning Keys. I was tempted to say that this song sounds a lot like "Innum Ennai enna seyya pogirai" by Ilaiyaraja and sung by SPB and Janaki epecially with the title lines( that was set in Gambeera Naatai raaga). But it also probably sounds a lot like "En veetu Thottathil" by AR Rahman and hence having influences of Neelambari Raaga. Dr. Ramachandra Murthy's flute comes and goes in the interludes and the verse is equally strong in melody. The flute and Rohit's singing are standout performances for me in this track.
7. Chal Diye
Nilesh Patange sings and composes this beautiful melody and this is definitely a valiant effort for a debut. The singing is definitely pitch-perfect and serenading, but his contribution in arrangements is what delighted me the most. He also produces this track and kudos to him for this. Right at the beginning we can hear so much happening in the background layers, like the strings constantly paying and harmonies intervening. The introduction of the Shehnai is creative and works well along with some lo-fi and vocal sounds as well. The verse is one that is not just a repetition of opening lines, but Nilesh goes into making it different and enjoyable. Siddhesh Patange writes these beautiful lines, and Abhishek Khandelwal mixes and masters the track. Much is expected from Nilesh now , who has score the background music fro a few short-films and jingles.
8. Forced Wanderer
Diyatom Deb is another musical talent coming from NE of India and he hails from one of the most gifted cities a.k.a. Shillong in Meghalaya. He is based in Delhi and is a singer-songwriter who has been part of multiple bands since 2009. The song is touching thanks to some excellent writing which talks about migration of the forced nature. He is trained in western classical and Hindustani classical singing and that is quite evident when you hear him perform. Diyatom also has played the guitars in this one with mixing and mastering duties held by Risshi Sachdev. The song starts off in a peaceful mode with just Diyatom's voice and guitars playing. Enter the wonderful bass-lines by Archit Agrawal and Melodica by Yashi Vikram and we are transported in to tranquility. Diyatom's voice is something that you just cannot stop loving in this track, and it only gets better as time progresses with Yashi also handling the keyboards. Yashi's vibrato on the melodica and Diyatom's falsetto are moments to cherish.
9. Kohra
This tranquil track is composed by Moin Farooqui and Roshan Bhat and Moin plays the gentle drums in the track. The singing is from the vocals of Roshan Bhat who is perfect in his delivery and the vibrato too is just about right without overdoing anything. The track is produced by Moin, Kiran Kadadekar and Aditya Mohanan, with Aditya also playing the stylish acoustic and electric guitars in the track and Kiran adding comfort on the bass guitars. The harmonies work so well in this rock ballad of sorts. The union of vocals, electric and bas guitars and the drums is something that you can just enjoy through an auditory experience and i can never do justice through my words.
10. Qafila
This Chennai based bad was formed in 2019 and create some good music in the rock/pop genre. The track is about a woman trying to get of external forces that haunt her from the past and take fresh control of her life in search of peace and happiness. Baidurjya Banerjee on the guitars and Paul Livi on the Keys do the curtain raisers even before Deep Das starts singing. Michael Timothy who is well know musician/ composer in Chennai in the indie space plays the bass guitars here in the background as Deep takes a deep dive in to the track singing in the higher scales. You will hear a lot of harmonies in the track as that is assisted by Varun Murali. The interlude is well arranged with Akkarsh Kashyap playing the Violin Solo. Judah Samuel helps guide the tracks tempo shifts brilliantly right through the track. Shashank Tyagi is the lyricist whose words convey the message of Qafila clearly. The outro with Deep's vocals in the base scale and Paul's keys is excellent. The track is mixed by Toby Joseph and mastered by Randy Merrill.
11. Sun Zara
Saptak Chatterjee is one of the first musicians I absolutely loved in the indie space when I doing music reviews since last 2019, as he had some smashing numbers in 2020. His style of fusing Indian classical with something more modern and western works brilliantly and he has one splendid voice which also is well trained which makes it a very potent weapon. This track has some notes resembling Raag Bhimplasi. The track is composed, produced mixed and sung by Saptak, with Madhur Chaudhury is on the bass guitars and Shrikant Biswakarma playing the guitars. Two more important roles are played Ishaan Tyagi on the keyboards and Dimpal Kumar on the drums. When the majority of indie musicians stick to compostions just lasting 3 minutes, it is impressive how Saptak composes tracks that are elaborate and cross the 5 minute mark. The outro on drums, electric and bass guitars is delightful.
12. Oh Kinakkalam
What do you get when you have a supremely gifted musician composing and a fabulous singer rendering the lines written by a poetic stalwart? You get Oh Kinakkalam! Think of Prashant Pillai and you can imagine the BGM of "Jallikattu" and that defines his ability. Here he produces this great sound of murkiness and mystery aided by the voice of Shahabaz Aman with Hanan Shaah also singing. Vinayak Sasikumar is the lyricist. Akash S Menon on the guitars, the harmonies and the beats stand out in the track. Prashant arranges and produces the track with assistance from Sreerag Saji and Rakesh. This is one heck of track if you want to listen to something on your stereo driving your vehicle through the thick forests of Kerala or anywhere for that matter. Sai Prakash and Akshay K are the recording engineers and the track is mixed and mastered by Vivek Thomas.
13. Ketaki
Keteki is enjoyable and playfully addictive to listen to. This is a testament to the consistently good music that comes out of Assam every month and this week we have one of the most renowned Assamese musicians in Sannidhya Bhuyan compose and sing this number. His singing elevates the track as there is this fusion of lo-fi sounds along with classical Indian base. Rajib Bhuyan writes the words in Assamese, Sannidhya and Tavreed producing the track. You will fall in love with this track for one more reason i.e. the flute solos by Pranku Dutta, and listen to the amazing interludes here. I sort of sense some influence of Hamsadhwani raag here in this track mixed and mastered by Tavreed. Hirak Jyoti Sarma plays the guitars and Rituporn Gogoi handles all the artwork and visualizer.
14. Poove Poli
How can you have indie music playlists in India without getting her name? Yepp we are talking about Gowry Lekshmi who is one of the prominent faces in the Indie space and here we have singing, composing and writing this fusion number. There is a strong influence of Natai or Jog Raag in this track produced by Ganesh Venkataramani. Her voice in the base scale is splendid and the way there is EDM sounds mixing with the local percussion of Kerala is fascinating to hear. O K Gopi intervenes with his solid Nadaswaram solo in the interlude and in parts of the verse. This special track for Onam is a wonderful way to engage the younger generation through modern sounds. Appu, Amitha S Ram, Greeshma Narendran, Aswini PV, Sreelakshmi N are the dancers in the video. The outro with the synth in the background and Nadaswaram in the main layer is a great way to end the track.
15. Tumhare Khat mein
This is a very popular Ghulam Ali Ghazal and Amarabha Banerjee shows his mettle in creating a wonderful R&B version of this track here. He is a fantastic vocalist/composer and the original gets a wonderful makeover here, not that it needed one, but still, the creativity is to be praised. The track has influences of Bilaskhani Todi which has connections to Sindhu Bhairavi Raaga in Carnatic music. The actors in the video are Megha Rawoot and Swaminath Pathak. There is nothing about this track that has a Ghazal style except for Amarabha's v
I write album and song reviews of Tamil music every month for Behindwoods. You can also call me a sports nut, especially football, and I used to write articles on sportskeeda.com. I am a die-hard Argentina football fan and have travelled to South Africa and Russia to witness the FIFA world cup games. It is not just music, I love movies as well and you will find me quoting dialogues and moments from a lot of movies, as I believe every movie teaches me something new about life itself.
Author
I write album and song reviews of Tamil music every month for Behindwoods. You can also call me a sports nut, especially football, and I used to write articles on sportskeeda.com. I am a die-hard Argentina football fan and have travelled to South Africa and Russia to witness the FIFA world cup games. It is not just music, I love movies as well and you will find me quoting dialogues and moments from a lot of movies, as I believe every movie teaches me something new about life itself.