Top Indian Songs of the week 12th February 2023

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 more

1. Preet

Music: Abhijit Vaghani

Lyrics: Shloke Lal

Singer: Dhvani Bhanushali, Abhijit Vaghani

Language: Hindi

Genre: 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. Narazi

Written and composed by - Taaruk Raina, Charan Singh Pathania

Sung by - Taaruk Raina

Music Production- Charan Singh Pathania

Language: Hindi

Genre: Pop/Ballad

I 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. Skye

Written: O Daapun

Producer: Bhargav Dhapun

Language: Hindi

Genre: Pop/Rock

It 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_07

4. Paalmanam

Composed and Arranged: Govind Vasantha

Singers : Kapil Kapilan & Keerthana Vaidyanathan

Lyrics: Vinayak Sasikumar

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Filmi Melody

Govind Vasantha is unique, as he gets different styles of music and more than that, he can compose fantastic tunes that would have never been part of the Thaikkudam Bridge agenda or vision. In essence, he deviates well away from the band's style and still has probably achieved more success and appreciation than any composer in the south over the last 5 years. The song gains heavy points thanks to its vocalists Kapil Kapilan and Keerthana Vaidyanathan as the male and female lead vocalists. Kapil is incredible in the higher pitch and he establishes that fact straight away. 

Keba Jeremiah's guitars flow like the stream of water that makes your heart swell in joy. The combined harmonies of Kapil and Keerthana are the icing on the cake. Renowned poet Vinaya Sasikumar writes the lyrics for this one. Feel the bass lines by Naveen Napier right through and the brilliant solo Flute interlude by Naveen. Kapil then reigns supreme in the stanza, and he probably will leave so many established vocalists on the sidelines with this kind of ability to sound so good in the high pitch, and not even a second feels overdone. This is a melody that you can play on a loop and cherish every time you hear it. Rajan KS is the mixing and mastering engineer. 

The flute solo towards the end feels like the interlude from AR Rahman's "Anjali Anjali" in the album 'Duet'. Avinash Satish, Devine and Hariharan are the recording engineers. The one small regret I probably will have is, not being able to hear Keerthana do her version of the stanza. 

@keerthanavaidyanathan @kapilkapilanmusic @kebajer @napier_naveen 

5. Just want you

Performed by - Aneesha

Written by - Aneesha Dass

Produced: Utkarsh Varma, Denis Thomas, Aneesha 

Language: English

Genre: Indie Pop

The song is all about Aneesha Das' vocals as she gets her Tina Turner sort of face on and delivers the song with incredible ease and chutzpah. The production deserves massive credit with the keyboards and rhythm programming thanks to Aneesha, Utkarsh Varma and Denis Thomas. Aneesha has written and performed with amazing impact and she convinces the listener that she just wants the person she is referring to. 

The vocal harmonies and Keyboards are brilliantly arranged. The riff or the sound output that keeps coming right through from the keyboards reminds me of the Harris Jayaraj song "Oru malai elaveyil neram" from the Tamil album 'Ghajini'. Kaushik does a fine job mixing and mastering this track. 

 @aneesha.d @denisthomas_ @_youtee_ @akaushtik @tunecore.ind @ranii_kaur 

6. Sagavasi

Song Narrative: Arivu

Written by Arivu

Composed by Arivu

Music Arranged & Produced by Sean Roldan

Language: Tamil

Genre: Alt-Rap

What a great start to Coke Studio Tamil, something that Tamil music fans have been waiting for. The song's narrative and probable ideation are by Arivu as he also composes and writes some incredible lyrics. The song is arranged and produced by Sean Roldan. 

Sean's brilliance is evident in the arrangements of live instruments and but it is Kalyani Nair who has arranged the vocal harmonies. We have a special exhibition by The Indian Choral Ensemble comprised of Kalyani Nair, Padmaja Sreenivasan, Samanvitha Sasidaranas Sopranos, Sushmita Narasimhan, Fathima Henna on Altos and Manoj Krishna, Pranjal Thakore, Manikandan Chembai on Tenors. 

I felt a similarity to 'Enjoy Enjaami' produced by Santhosh Narayanan and penned by Arivu with vocals by Dhee. The opening sounds "Yakkao Kokkarakoo" in 'Sagavasi' is similar to "Cuckoo Cuckoo" in 'Enjoy Enjaami'. Even the themes and the message in the lyrics are similar, talking about togetherness among all life and non-life forms created by God. I love the strong presence of guitars by Vijay Ganesan and Ashwin Suresh with Aalaap Raju as the bassist. The lead guitars give a Rock flavour to the song which otherwise has a foolish pop colour. 

Khatija Rahman has a very likeable tone that suits her when she sings the title lines. The humming is interesting as well, but for most parts, we are pulled in because of Arivu's writing. The folk percussions that we hear are Urumi by Vishwa Bharath, Parai by Philip Arul Doss, Vijay Priyan, Deepak on Thamuru and Satti on Indian percussions. The drums are played by David Devaprashanth Joseph and it is Shyam Benjamin on the Keyboards. The outro which combines all elements with Khatija singing 'ellam sagavasi' in the high pitch is a worthy end. 

The Music Creative Head is singer-songwriter Krithika Nelson and Zaarra Khader is the Project Head. The track is mixed and mastered by Toby Joseph with recording engineers Riyasdeen Riyan, assisted by Aravind Crescendo, Praveen Kumar Sivalingam, Sudarshan Jyothi A. 

@khatija.rahman @therukural @rseanroldan @tobsgarage @cokestudiotamil @aalaapraju @davidthejoseph @kalyaninair86 @padmaja.07 @shyambenjamin @sushmita_narasimhan @samanvithasasidaran @manojkrishna001 @theindianchoralensemble @pranjalthakore @manikandanl @fathima_henna._ @riyasdeenriyan @deepaksubramani @philip @vijaypriyan3 @vishwa_n_bharath @a.s.h.musique @aswin_george_john @madrashe 

7. Weatherman 

Vocals - Urmila Sivadas & Tiana Taraporvala

Music Production - Varun Agnihotri 

Song writers - Urmila Sivadas & Tiana Taraporvala

Language: English

Genre: Pop/Blues

Singer-Songwriter Varun Agnihotri is riding a high, as he was just featured last week for a fantastic single he wrote called "L.O.M.L." with Sanchi Mannotra. He is back again producing this very groovy track written by Urmila Sivadas and Tiana Taraporvala. Varun has worked with Urmila for a song I featured last year and they are associating once again. The female vocalists Urmila and Tiana, give it everything they have got, with very effective delivery styles. 

Varun's guitars and production are on point and the rhythms, keyboards and all programming and arrangements decorate the track beautifully. I love the vocal trumpets, and just like the whistle this too can be very good to hear when done right. Tiana and Varun get involved in the vocal trumpet sound as an interlude. The way Urmila drops from the highs to the lows on the vocal pitch with the lines " God he's walking towards me now, Am I doing too much" is brilliant.

 Kudos to Tiara and Urmila for such fantastic lyrics as well. If you wondering how so many elements got done so well, thank the mixing engineer Dishaan Gidwani and Mastering engineer Ayan De, both of them experts. Isn't it a great example of original Indian Indie music?

@perpmusic @tianaatara @varun_agnihotri @dishaan_ @paralightsmusic @uttarasivadas @thefinegrainproject 

8. Jangal

Performed by - Aditya N., Isheeta Chakrvarty, Mellow D, Nayantara Bhatkal

Written by - Aditya N, Chakori Dwivedi, Mellow D, Nayantara Bhatkal

Produced by - Nayantara Bhatkal, Aditya N.

Language: Hindi

Genre: Electronic Pop/ Folk fusion

I start with very low expectations when I come across any new album because that is the best way to listen attentively and be devoid of any biases. I heard about the series on Netflix called 'Class' which is remade/inspired by a global hit called 'Elite'. But here I was amazed by the varied tones and styles of the duo of Aditya N and Nayantara Bhatkal created and produced here. In the indie space, she is 'Still Ocean' and Aditya.N is 'Meadows and Rust'. 

This has some brilliant Hindi dance/folk music produced with modern sounds. Aditya and Nayantara have composed the melody while we have Chakori Dwivedi and Mellow D, writing the lyrics. The song has an incredible charm thanks to the one and only Isheeta Chakravarthy on vocals. 

Did I not just talk about whistles and vocal trumpets in the previous song? Here we have those amazing whistles in the beginning and then go on this funky ride, as it gets addictive. The male lead vocalist is Mellow D. Look at the way the song transforms into a folk track again with just the vocals and Tabla and Dholak as Isheeta sings "itana kyun tadape jhadpe ho". I am just hearing the amazing bass guitars and then the synths and keyboards take over. I feel like I am entering trance mode. 

@adityan28 @nayantaramusic @keshavdhar @chakoridwivedi @mellowmellow @isheeta.c @ajayjayanthi @nehal_rox @akhileshjainn @mrdhruvv @joelprabal 

9. Jee Aayaan Nu

Music: Akshay & IP

Lyrics: IP Singh

Singer: IP Singh

Music Arranged and Produced: Akshay Raheja

Additional Music Production: Khwaab

Language: Punjabi

Genre: Semi-classical fusion

The music in the EP, "The Marigold Project" is not bad, but this one song elevates it to another level. If you have the time as a music lover, make sure you listen to this track at least. I have featured Akshay & IP before for a single so I did have some expectations built in when I started listening to the EP. Akshay Raheja is the producer and he wins all points for getting that Mridangam as the percussion instrument. 

Khwaab who is one of my regulars on the weekly Indian charts does the additional production and he excels as well. IP Singh is the vocalist and he serenades you will his amazingly gentle voice he also writes the lyrics for the song. The beginning stringed instrument sounds like a Mandolin but that itself steals the heart. The sound of the claps are a nice addition to the rhythms. Then comes the brilliant sound of Mridangam and I am sold. 

The stanza is an excellent continuation with some great production work like the Shehnai and Keys also coming in the background. This is one feel-good track that you will not want to miss. I think there is an influence of Raag Yaman in this. The track is mixed and mastered by Abhishek Ghatak.

@akshayandip @akshayraheja @theghatak @sniprmusic @khwaab.music @theghatak @safirock

10. Jhoom

Performed by - Bombay the Artist

Written by - Bombay the Artist

Produced by - lil help

Language: Punjabi

Genre: Folk/Pop

Just a month or so ago I featured this wonderful artist known as Bombay the Artist for a touching Punjabi song called "Sajna". Now she has released an EP called 'Bombay' and I have heaped a lot of praise on my recent Youtube video. It begins with just guitars and vocals but feels like a sound output from the 1990s. Then after the first 25 seconds, we hear some magic. The guitar strumming hits you hard just as much as the layered vocals.  

The rhythms are fantastic thanks to the production quality of the musician who goes by the name 'lil help'. 

Hersh Desia is the mixing engineer with pixlpxl on mastering. Prithvi Shetty handles the wonderful cover art. She has a nice bridge section too aided by flipping of the fingers in the background and additional vocal layers. The song keeps you in a fantastic mood because it has all the elements that boost your spirits, and let us not forget that Bombay the Artist's vocals are delightful, and that too makes your heart swell in joy. 

@bombaytheartist @plslilhelp @hersh.desai.9 @pixlpxl