Top Indian Songs of the week 14th May 2023

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 Shanker

Composed by: Tanya Shanker & Richard Andrew

Produced, Arranged & Mixed by: Richard Andrew

Language: English

Genre: Indie Pop

Having 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 Bobbili

Language: Telugu

Genre: Blues/Jazz

It 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 Wahab

Lyrics by Arun Alat

Sung by Hesham Abdul Wahab

Additional Vocal: Manju Sri

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Pop

Hesham Abdul Wahab has been a very fine vocalist and he even was asked to sing the Malayalam version of Pritam's "Kesariya Tera". It was the second-best version after Sanjay Hagde's Kannada version, and I have written about it here. 

Anyway without digression, I am trying to tell that Hesham became almost a household name across the nation thanks to his phenomenal score for "Hridayam". He composes, arranged and programs this unbelievable melody and I will talk, all about the creative and game-changing elements in this song going forward. Hesham has sung this in all languages for the song from the original Telugu movie "Kushi", and for the Malayalam version (which I feel sounds the best), he ropes in Arun Alat as the lyricist. 

Tapas Roy takes us to Kashmir straightaway with the Rabab and Bouzouki that he plays right through. The humming by Manju Sri is a deal-breaker for me as it immediately brightens up my brain cells looking for such moments of creativity through the song. Sometimes all you need to stand out is minute moments or ideas instead of earth-shattering ones. Sumesh Parameswar is the bassist, Vinod Hutton is on acoustic guitars and the mild Mandolin we hear is also played by Tapas.

The humming by Manju right at the start now combines brilliantly with the end of the title line " En Roja Neeye", and the notes for her humming alter after "Naa Anjali nuvve" and after "geethanjali nuvve" which is delightful. Dilshad Khan plays the Sarangi in the interlude, adding local tonalities but the bass and acoustic guitars wonderfully fuse Western influences. 

Hesham sings well in all languages but his comfort level and confidence oozes thick and fast in his mother tongue the best. The keyboard and rhythm programming and the overall tone of the song has a very Harris Jayaraj influence when the composer was in his heydays. This becomes quite apparent in the stanza especially. The song is mixed and mastered by Eric Pillai with recording engineers Suroor Musthafa @HW Studio (Cochin) and Sunny Singh @Gaweh Music Studio (Mumbai). 

@heshamabdulwahab @arunalat @mandolintapas @parameswarsumesh @ericpillai @dilshadkhansarangi 

4. Gods

Written by Svetha Rao, Karan Pandav, Nacho Larraza, Humberto Delosrios

Produced by Nacho Larraza, Karan Pandav

Language: English

Genre: Hip-Hop

Who doesn't know Raja Kumari? If you have been following music for a few years recently, you are bound to know this American rapper and singer-songwriter from California whose real name is Svetha Rao. Her music is unmistakable in its tone, but I have just not been able to feature her work for various reasons that have failed to impress me based on the criteria I have set. Not anymore, in her recent Album "The Bridge", the music is quite impressive with songs being different from each other when you observe within the larger framework and soundscape. 

This one called 'Gods' is both musically and lyrically the finest in the album and it is one of the best released by any Indian artist for the week. The song is written by Svetha Rao, Karan Pandav, Nacho Larraza and Humberto Delosrios. I love the message of string feminism, and the lyricists show no restraint in conveying it. The guitars make us think that the song is going to be light and fun but Raja Kumari delivers with her heart on her sleeve.

Nacho Larraza and Karan Pandav produce the song, and they ante up the rhythms when Svetha raps along with some keys and synths. But the sound design is awesome, giving more decibel value to the guitars and making the rhythms fade away as soon as she sings the title line "Walk like a God, Talk like a God, I get my energy and power from above". 

After a long time, and so many attempts by Indian hip-hop artists I finally enjoyed this impactful song that has so many layers and variations like the way it shifts into something inspiring like an anthem when she sings "Hold on, hold on, tonight is all we need", right after "God is everywhere, God is a feeling". The song is mixed and mastered by Nacho Larraza with the Godmother Records being the music label. The recording has transpired at Kumari Camp, Big Bear, CA. All the artwork is by Natasha Sumant. 

@therajakumari @elnech__ @harmfranklin @delosrocks @the_orchard_ @tashasumant @karanpandav 

5. Khamakha

Song Composed, Produced & Arranged by Hopun Saikia 

Singer: Javed Ali 

Lyrics: Prem Nikaju 

Language: Hindi

Genre: Alt-pop

Javed Ali rose to fame thanks to some amazing songs he sang for AR Rahman, and that put him on the map. His song in 'Jodha Akbar' is still fresh on my mind and did create a niche for himself. Presently I am delighted to see his name on my many new singles in the indie space. This is a fantastic single that took no more than a couple of minutes to love this composition by Hopun Saikia

I am featuring Hopun for the second time (2 years ago I featured for a song called Alokhua) and he has produced and arranged for this song as well. Javed's vocals are just supported by the flowy nature of the guitars played by Kandarpa Kalita. Nawaz Hussain enters the fray with a delightful hi-hat drum roll of sorts. The title line is all about how Javed soars and excels in the high pitch. Once the verse is over, we get a breather, and that is when Kandarpa's guitars and Nawaz's drums entangle into something beautiful. Abhinav Bora plays the bass guitars with immaculate style and poise, and we have the strokes played by Kandarpa. 

The delightful Alt-pop style is great to experience, all thanks to Hopun's production and he is assisted with all the additional programming by Protijyoti Ghosh. My undoubted favourite part of the song is the chorus which follows up with a lag just behind Javed's leading lines singing " Khamakha Bewaja". 

The singers are Yashasvi Gupta ,Pari Thakur , Ankur Jyoti Deka , Pratikhyaa Sarma and Sam Haldar. Koustav Saikia is the mix/master engineer at KauzyRecords, and the recording engineers are Samir Dharap at Studio 504 in Mumbai, Ikramuddin Lochoor at A2 Studio in Mumbai and Ashish Anand @ Blue cassette studios inThane. 

@hopun_saikia @kandarpakalita @nawaz_hussain_90 @pratikhyaa_music @protijyotimusic @samhaldar @parii_thakur4 @g_u_p_t_a @k_a_u_z_z_y @javedali4u @ankur_j10 @lucifermusic666

6. Oru Nooru 

Music - Joel Johns 

Lyrics - Titto P Thankachen

Vocals - Najeem Arshad & Bhadra Rajin

Language: Malayalam

I think by the time we end 2023 "Anuragam" the Malayalam movie album will be among the best of 2023 and I say this with quite a lot of confidence after having heard all of the 5 songs and having featured two already and one more subsequently. Joel Johns, take a bow for this unbelievably good score.

This melodious single is performed by Najim Arshad and Bhadra Rajin, two super-talented vocalists and all the glorified sound comes from Joel's programming and arrangements. Godfray Emmanuel plays the guitars and bass and just as he finishes the opening bits, Najim sows love in your heart with his amazing voice. Titto Thankachen is the lyricist

Joel introduces the fancy rhythms in the Anu Pallavi section and Jishnu Vijay does the additional programming. The keys accompanied by strings in the background form the opening of the interlude and then Rajesh Cherthala piles on with his solo Flute. The stanza is short but the highlight is when both Najim and Bhadra sing together " anuragam ardhramay". The landing lines to get to the Pallavi with the face-paced Dholak and other percussions are quite catchy. Balu Thankachen does the mixing and mastering assisted by Paul J Daniel & Hariharan

@joel__johns_ @anuragammovieofficial @gourigkofficial @titto_p_thankachen @najimarshad @bhadraofficial @godfray_immanuel @rajeshcherthala @thebaluthankachan

7. Kahin Aur Le Chalo

Performed by Madhubanti Bagchi, Neel Adhikari

Written by Neel Adhikari

Lyrics: Sankalp Kapur, Neel Adhikari and Pratim Dasgupta

Produced by Neel Adhikari

Language: Hindi

Genre: Ballad

I have immense fondness and respect for Neel Adhikari, thanks to some of his scores. A couple of years ago I did feature him in a Bangla song, but my favourite was 'The Same' he scored for Modern Love Mumbai. It ended up also among the best Indian English songs of 2022. 

Here we have him scoring for a new Netflix show 'Tooth Pari' and the vocalist is again one of the busiest and most talented vocalists around, Madhubanti Bagchi. The guitars are not mild, but they hit you hard, and with the introduction of the bass guitars and background humming, an emotional river rises and flows hard. There is pain and sadness in the notes that Neel and Madhubanti sing as the lead vocalists

The guitars are played by Neel and Mousumi Datta is the bassist. The combined vocals sound terrific with Neel and Madhubanti on different octaves. The humming comes in and sounds refreshing to wash away some of the initial pathos of the song thanks to Neel and Mousumi on backing vocals. I love the intervention of the Melodica in the background and it is played by Sanjay Das. 

The song has a tone and mild resemblance to 'Hotel California' by the Eagles, albeit in a completely different tempo. The outro with the multiple vocal layers and strings is a killer and it feels like that one last nail in the coffin. The recording and mix engineer is Sanjay Das. 

@philtersoupmusic @mousumidutta_music @supersammy94 @pratimdgupta @neeladhikarimusic @bagchi_mb

8. Tere Bin Laage

Singer - Rashmeet Kaur

Composer- Nikhil Chandrakant Kotibhaskar

Lyricist- Nikhil Chandrakant Kotibhaskar

Music Producer- Pranay Parti 

She is a rising star, Rashmeet Kaur, and I can vouch for her quality because she has been featured a couple of times already in a short period in my weekly All-India playlists. Here she sings like a warm and cosy dream, but the heart grows fonder because of the acoustic guitars. Nikhil Chandrakant Kotibhaskar has written the lyrics and composed the melody. 

Pranay Parti is the song's producer and the last time I featured Rashmeet's 'Bulleya O', it was the same guy who embellished the song with his work. The programming, sound design and rhythm production everything just elevate the song, but one should never forget the subtle vibrato and vocal creativity that Rashmeet bring to the table. The line "tere bin laage naa jiyaa saajna, tere bina laage na" feels like Vishal-Shekhar's "Hey Shona Hey shonaa". 

The guitar-led interlude with the finger flicks is simple and the stanza's melody continues to impress. We get some nice Harmony interventions like when Rashmeet sings "mar ke bhi ab jee na paaoon" and the design is by Dean Sequeira. The harmonies are game-changing and deserve notice and appreciation as we come to the closing stages of the song. Abhishek Ghatak is the mix/master engineer and Amey Londhe is the recording engineer. 

@pranayparti @nikhilkotibhaskar @vyrloriginals @rashmeetkaur  

9. Foolish

Written and Composed by Nitika Kurian

Produced by honeymoonhenny

backing vocals by Nitika Kurian & 

honeymoonhenny

Language: English

Genre: Indie Pop

I can sense some influences of Lo-fi music in the background, so probably Honeymoonghenny a.k.a. Harshan Radhakrishnan (of the Chennai Alt-Rock band F-16) does go for that style. He also is the mixing engineer for this funky pop written and composed by Nitika Kurian. 

Nitika is having a ball performing vocals on this one, as she brings style and substance to the table. Her vibrato and improvisations are top-notch and I can see no reason why this would be second to any American pop single, and it reminds me of stars like Alicia Keys who sizzle vocally and every note gets a special treatment vocally. If I have to look at all the songs listed this week, Nitika would come to the 2nd or 3rd spot purely based on vocal prowess and delivery. 

The sound design is extremely stylish and I haven't stopped nodding my head ever since the song began. Kudos to Harshan for the production and also the backing vocals. Akash Ravindran plays the guitars and the song is mastered by Akash Shravan. Natasha handles all the excellent artwork. 

@honeymoonhenny @nitikakurianmusic @heyitsakashmoney @awkward_psychedelia @akashshravan

10. Hearts Never Break

Composer, Author: When Chai Met Toast

Associated Performer, Singer, Writer, Producer: When Chai Met Toast

Producer, Studio Personnel, Mixer, Recording Engineer: Richard Wilkinson

Language: English

Genre: Indie Pop

WCMT is a wonderful band that always lifts your mood thanks to their brand of music. I have featured them many times over the 3 years and this time it is their 3rd EP released by the name 'LYTS'. A few weeks ago a single from the EP was already reviewed and here comes an even better song.

The band has produced this song along with Richard Wilkinson, but the writing and composition are all by WCMT. Achyuth Jaigopal starts strumming the guitars and Palee Francis is on the Keys, and they lay the framework for Ashwin Gopakumar to come on board and enthral us with his vocals. He does that without fail, and my heart aches when he sings "You took it too far". He explores the falsetto and lands it perfectly, and we get the guitar riff along with Sailesh Pai's drums. 

The production adds beautiful elements like the solo violin in the background and all the rhythm programming works quite well. It is a simple but impactful song. As always Vivek Thomas does the mixing and mastering and Connor Panayi is the recording engineer. 

@whenchaimettoast @richrdwilkinson @indiearecords @vivekthomasproductions

11. Chahat 

Composed, Written and Produced by TAPAS

Vocals: Ninad Bhat

Language: Hindi

Genre: Alt-Rock

TAPAS is a contemporary rock band from Mumbai, and I have never heard of their work before. When a band member sent me their new release I heard without any bias or agenda and I loved it spontaneously. Ninad Bhat is the frontman and he performs the vocals and it feels fresh to listen to his voice. He has some subtle similarities to Sonu Nigam's tonal nature and texture. Ninad does everything right within the first minute, enough to serenade the listener.

Akshay Redekar plays the acoustic guitars and Nikhil Nair is the bassist, and when hit the stanza, there are even better vocals that we get to hear. The electric guitar solo by Akshay can be heard in the background and bass guitar support is constant adding a nice layer to the whole song. Ninad performs devoid of any restraint and that works well, with Akshay accompanying on backing vocals. Advait Sawant the keyboardist does the additional production and the song is mixed/mastered by Harsh Bhoir at The Audio Guys Institute, Mumbai. Bhushan Kadam, Ayan De and Harsh are the recording engineers. 

 @harshbhoir @nikbrownstone @ninaad.music @amitondrums @akshay_redekar8 @tapasmusicofficial @niks_30_ 

12. Ni Main Jaana 

Music Composer & Producer: Ravi Singhal 

Singers: Harshdeep Kaur, Romy 

Lyrics: Kunaal Vermaa, Bulleh Shah 

Arrangements & Programming: Asit Tripathy 

Language: Punjabi

Genre: Folk-Pop

It begins with a female chorus involving Ankita Dey and Abhijeeta Chauhan the tone and style are that of a wedding song. Then the mood shifts into something more pathos-driven, which gets confirmed with the introduction of the Shehnai which works perfectly to match a wedding as well as a sad sequence. 

Omkar Dhumal plays the Shehnai and we get a resemblance to songs like "Channa Mereya". The Mandolin and plucks are played by Tapas and we get loads of the rhythm sounds like the Dholak thanks to Asit Tripathy who handles all the programming. Ravi Singhal is the brains behind the melody and production and he assigns arrangement duties to Asit, so kudos to the team for putting together these amazing sounds.

We hear the terrific vocals of Harshdeep Kaur who fully exhibits her wide vocal range and the romantic elements are maintained by Milton Daniel on acoustic guitars. Harshdeep innovates by adding mild vibrato to the title line at will. We have to wait a long while to hear those mesmerising vocals by Romy, but it is worth it as he enters after the 3rd minute and in Arijit-esque style wows us. Kunaal Vermaa and Bulleh Shah's lyrics are relevant and signify the message. 

We have the bass guitars played by Ian Pillai and a brief electric guitar solo also played by Milton. Towards the outro, the additional vocals combine in perfect sync with Romy. The song is mixed and mastered by Joe at Hudson Yards Studio, NY City and Pankaj Kaushik is the recording engineer. 

 @ravismusic @mainhoonromy @kunaalvermaa @harshdeepkaurmusic @warnermusicindia @omkardhumal @mandolintapas @ian_0781 @asittripathyofficial @miltontuffpuff @ankitadey_official @chauhanabhijeeta 

 13. Apologise

Performed by Soham Mallick

Written, and produced by Soham Mallick

Language: English

Genre: Indie Pop

Soham Mallick releases a single that is truly worth all the wait that I have gone through after featuring his work more than a couple of years ago. This is written, composed, produced, arranged, programmed, performed and mixed by Soham, and true on-man-show. I love the texture of his vocals and he delivers with a lot of oomph. 

The combination of the acoustic, electric guitars, Keys and drums is ecstatic and things go from good to better during that brief interlude with the electric guitar solo. Style compensates for the simplicity of the track. and Fred Miller does the mastering. There are shades of rock geniuses Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams that I could sense in Soham's performance. 

 @soham.mallick.music @fred_miller_mastering

14. Cheliya

Music - The Fantasia Men

Lyrics - Suresh Banisetti

Vocals- D, Sriprada

Composed and Produced by THE FANTASIA MEN 

Language: Telugu

Genre: Pop

The highlight of the song is the solo Violin played by Rangapriya, which keeps intervening quite often. The melody is quite good as composed by the band The Fantasia Men, and the male vocals by the band's frontman keep us hooked. Rangapriya plays the violin like an unstoppable force determined to captivate the music lover. 

Another member who wanted to remain anonymous does all the music programming and is also the mixing engineer for the song. The vocals belong to one of the members of the band who goes by the name D, and the female lead vocals are by Sriprada Uppaluru. After the super-fast solo on the violin, things slow down, with Keys and rhythms alone in the background. 

The best line is the high-pitched title line sung by D, and then in the second stanza, Sriprada makes a grand entry. The vocal scale is quite low, probably a baritone or tenor and she manages to grip you with her controlled delivery. Towards the end, Sriprada showcases the other end of her vocal range. 

@the_fantasia_men_official @sureshbanisetti_lyricist @thomas_anthony_parker_official @pradaww

15. Vesavi Kalam

Singers – Yazin Nizar, Aditi Bhavaraju

Music - RR Dhruvan

Lyrics - Alaraju

Programmed by Sameer Sam

Language: Telugu

Genre: Semi-classical Pop

We are having a deluge of Telugu songs in this week's list, and I am happy. 2022 was a great year for Telugu music, and so far I am beginning to see another bright year. The song is composed by a good musician who has been featured more than a few times over the last couple of years, RR Dhruvan. 

Two outstanding vocalists in Yazin Nizar and Aditi Bhavaraju perform this number with lyrics written by Alaraju. I do sense some influence of Sree Ragam according to the Carnatic scales. Sameer Sam does the programming and so he gets all the perfect rhythm and keys for the song. The interlude is a battle between the leads as they do their aalap and here the song feels like "kaatre en vaasal" by AR Rahman. 

In the stanza, we get to hear some fantastic singing by both Yazin and Aditi and their ghamakas are exemplary. Here I sense more of a Reethigowla/Abheri Ragam influence. Lalit Talluri dominates with the flute solo in the second interlude 

@yazin_nizar @aditi.bhavaraju @raghuram_offl @

16. Tumhe Bhi Pyaar Hai 

Music & Lyrics - Krsna Solo

Singer - Prabhjee Kaur

Music Production - Meet Vyas

Language: Hindi

Genre: Semi-classical Ballad

A year or so ago, I featured Krsna Solo at an insane frequency, as almost every single he released was just an earworm. But after that for various reasons, I never got too impressed with his work as something always fell short. Here he is composing and writing the lyrics with Meet Vyas producing the song. 

Prabhjee Kaur who has been working with Krsna on many occasions, once again performs with a restrained and emotional tone. The interlude has mild solo sounds of the Sarangi and Sitar with that gentle Tabla and rhythms. Meet Vyas does a good job on the production, making these elements shine in their way. Krsna is also the mix/master engineer. I do sense some influences of Raag Yumnakalyani in the song. 

@krsnasolo @prabhjeekaur @meetvyasofficial