Top Indian Songs of the week 15th January 2023

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 Ka

Music Composer: Sathish Nair 

Arranged & Programmed by: Vijayan Vincent 

Lyrics: Rashmi Virag

Language: Hindi

Genre: Filmy Melody

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 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.mahadevan

2. Dard

Artist: Asim Azhar  

Music Composer: Kumail Abbas, Hassan Ali, Asim Azhar, Qasim Azhar

Lyrics: Kunaal Vermaa 

Music Producer: Qasim Azhar 

Language: Hindi

Genre: Indie pop

The 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: Hindi

Genre: Indie Pop

Shrinidhi 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 @shrinidhighatate

4. Fool 

Artist: Emmanuel de Noronha 

Lyrics: Emmanuel de Noronha 

Producer: Emmanuel de Noronha

This 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. 

@emmanueldenoronha

5. Enlightened! 

Written, Recorded Produced by Rounak Maiti 

Language: English

Genre: Synth-pop

This 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)

Vocals : Shalmali Kholgade 

Music: Parth Bharat Thakkar 

Producer: Jarvis Menezes 

Lyricist: Amitabh Varma

Language: Hindi

Genre: Latin Jazz

I recently attended a Shalmali Kholgade concert and I knew and understood what adrenaline and energy were. She was on fire for the entire 2 hours and it was not only that she danced, but she also kept up with her singing. All the songs she chose were heavy-duty and fast-paced so there was no respite whatsoever. Shalmali is calm and down to earth, quite the opposite of the dashing vibe she portrays as a performer. One thing I realised during her concert was that a lot of her vocal delivery pattern and texture coincides with that of Sunidhi Chauhan another brilliant vocalist. This song, the second from the album 'Lakiro' that I am featuring is an outright Shalmali show where she dominates the scene from note 1. Parth Bharat Thakkar who has impressed me with this album gets the right vocalist for this genre and then he can lay back and rest for Shalmali to take control. The song has all the qualities and features of Latin Jazz Special helped by scintillating guitars. Sanjay Divecha plays the guitars and we can hear the strong presence of the Piano and the tantalising rhythms. Shalmali performs with no inhibitions like she has been given countless degrees of freedom and that is the greatness of Jazz where you are bound by nothing as a performer. Jarviz Menezes does the production, so all the arrangements and programming credits go to him. Amitabh Varma pens the words and it is Vijay Dalal the stalwart who has mixed and mastered the track. The best part is the humming where she goes "Na Na na nanna na Na na" and it is followed by a brisk guitar solo. It is time you stopped reading the review and just got up and started dancing. 

@parthmusic @shalmiaow @jarvisisintune @sanjaydivechamusic @

7. Tu Saamane Hai (2022)

Vocals: Shruti Pathak, Parth Bharat Thakkar

Music: Parth Bharat Thakkar 

Producer: Jarvis Menezes 

Lyricist: Amitabh Varma

Language: Hindi

Genre: R&B

Here we have the 3rd single from the album 'Lakiro' and that doesn't happen often. Parth sings in this one other than the composition and he does a pretty good job accompanying Shruti Pathak. I love the sound of the upright Bass, in the background, but the stunner is the Violin by Nastya Saraswati that brilliant musician from Russia. Shruti is fantastic in her vocals and you will fall in love when she sings " Tere saath se hi, milti khushiyaan mujhe" with a mild vibrato in the end. Just past the 3rd minute there is this lovely section with the humming by Shruti accompanied by strings in the background. Amitabh Varma is the lyricist and Jarvis Menezes once again is stunning as a producer. The combination of the Piano, Strings section and mild drums all make for some fantastic listening and a twilight of fun.  

@parthmusic @jarvisisintune @nastyasaraswati @shrutipathak27

8. Noor 

Singer, Lyricist, Composer: Akshath Acharya

Music Producer: Himonshu Parikh 

Assistant Music Producer: Shirish Prakash Singh 

Language: Hindi

Genre: Indie Pop

Akshath Acharya is a young musician and singer-songwriter and he aims to go solo and even perform the song vocally. Many young musicians who have a good melody in hand need the tutelage and skills of production, programming and arrangements from an experienced musician to guide them through the initial years of darkness and uncertainties. This is where a master producer like Himonshu Parikh comes in. Akshath's vocals show the beauty of innocence and one must appreciate him for the lines that do exhibit some richness, I love the notes when he goes " chand ke tukdo se, chehre ko saja diya". Himonshu's expertise kicks in with all the Keyboard programming and rhythms. The title line with layers of vocals and thumping rhythms stand out as well. Heer Kamdar, Raghav Meattle, Harshit Agarwal and Vignesh Ghate need to be congratulated for promoting young talent through Big Bang Records. Jason D'Souza has mixed and mastered the track with Abhishek Gautam on Dolby mastering. Shirish Prakash Singh assists Himonshu on production duties. In-fact I just realised that Akshath has been featured by me before for his single "Dooriyan" back in 2021.  

@akshathacharya @bgbngmusic @himonshu @jasonmxaudio @shirishmusic @mix.abhishek 

9. Aise Ho Tum

Vocals: Manav 

Lyrics: Manav 

Composition: Twin Strings

Production: Manav, Sahil, Mohit Deen 

Language: Hindi

Genre: Indie pop fusion

You can say that I am a fan of 'Twin Strings' as their compositions and production are on par with the best in the nation. Their consistently good music is something that many will be envious of. Manav has penned the lyrics and sung with this magnetic voice. Sagar plays the guitars while brother Sahil plays the Piano. The underlying melody has the usual touch of classical Indian music. The Piano, guitar and vocals work well in tandem giving a sense of melancholy and peace. Manas Kumar starts intervening in the background on his Violin and that magnifies the impact of the song. The interlude is a solo effort by Manas and here the element of pathos is elevated and Mohit Deen beats away on the drums. I would have preferred if Twin Strings went with more meat and juice in the stanza (rather than making it sound very much like the opening lines itself), which I have come to expect of them. Still, this is a very pleasant song with good instrumental arrangements. Mohit Deen has mixed and mastered the track with Dolby sound engineering by Mukul Jain at Ferris Wheel Studios. 

@twinstringsofficial @universalmusicindia @man.musical @mohitdeen