Top Indian songs of the week 16th Oct 2022

1. Fish

Music & Performance: Rum and Monkeys

Language: English

Genre: Rock

The great music from the Northeast never ceases to amaze me. At the number 1 spot, this week have a young band from Shillong called 'Rum and Monkeys' and I very much enjoyed their new album 'Tales of a Tasteless Kid'. The Shillong-based band has five, fine members, Meban Atom Marbaniang on vocals and rhythm guitar, Anon Cheran Momin on keyboards and synth, Shantre Mandy Lamare on bass guitar, Daniel Dian Kharumnuid on lead guitar and Vivian Kharumnuid playing the drums. I fell in love with the song "Fish" and felt "Blind" was another sensational number. The immediate impact on Synths and Keyboards hits you hard thanks to Anon and you start imagining that you are in the middle of a Coldplay concert. Meban has this voice that ticks all boxes for a rock band frontman, as shifts scale with great ease and has a fine falsetto mode too. Daniel comes on board to sizzle from time to time on the electric guitar and is accompanied by Shantre on bass. Vivian's drums are vibrant, and the best part is after the 3rd-minute when the guitars and drums pause and get smashing when Meban sings " Last fish is in the pool, but I'd rather swim with you" and he gives a sick evil laugh. "Thought I had the upper hand, but you played me like a fool" are great lines with a typical rock howl at the end. Get some face-melting electric guitar solo towards the end and the vocals and drums follow, but it's a finale on Synths, guitars and drums to revitalize you for the whole day. I'll be doing an EP review soon. But do listen to this slightly more fun and punk-rock-styled "Blind". Two things truly stand out for me from this band 1. Funky synths and 2. lyrics that make you smile and think. "They say the beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, but what if I am blind?". Wow, you judge for yourself.

2. Gulebakavali 

Singer: Chinmayi Sripada 

Music: Chirrantan Bhatt 

Lyrics: Ramajogayya Sastry

Language: Telugu

Genre: Dance 

A lot of period films depicting great kings get released these days, and music in terms of the background score becomes an essential part to drive the sentiment and portrayal forward. The songs are much less important because I think it is difficult to depict the timeline through modern instruments. 'Bimbisara' is one such example, where I feel the songs don't particularly feel like belonging to 5th century BCE. One can argue that since the movie is about the king time-travelling to modern-day India, the songs need not sound historic. Getting back to the songs I loved " Gulebakavali" and "Eeswarude'. Both these were composed by Chirantann Bhatt who I have featured before for a fantastic song called " Ankhein Mili" from the movie 'Sanak'. Chinmayi sings it like a breeze and I am so glad because more often than not she is handed out serious songs that traverse in the 'pathos' zone. This is supposed to be an item number and wow, you feel the pulsating energy thanks to the tune, rhythms, live instruments and vocals. Ramajogayya Sastry is the lyricist. The best line is the one that goes "dhimi tha dhimi dhhim tara" with lead and backing vocals aiding the delivery. One can hear the strong presence of synths and keyboards. The song also feels like "Chikkini Chameli" but that can only be a compliment because it was composed by Ajay-Atul. In fact, the ghamaka that Chinmayi does right at the end also feels like Shreya's delivery in the Ajay-Atul number. The rhythms and horns section also makes it one flamboyant number that feels like a massive endless party. "Eeshwarude" is another fantastic song and CHirantann brings in composer-vocalist Kaala Bhairava to lend his voice. Shreemani is the lyricist and the tracks are mixed and mastered by Vinod Verma and G Jeevan Babu. The grand orchestral sounds come to life and with a team of backing vocalists, we get terrific harmonies. I do sense some influence of Raag Malkauns(Hindolam in Carnatic). The strings and percussions are magnificent and I hope this album gets Chirantann the much-deserved attention down South.

3. Mohabbat Zindagi

Music: Mikey McCleary

Lyrics: Ankur Tewari

Vocals: Lucky Ali

Language: Hindi

Genre: Indie Pop

I never thought about it that way, but I read that the song translates into "Life is love". I too, like this song's message, am a person who loves to celebrate the smaller moments in life but there is nothing small about this song. Just get up clap your hands and dance and listen to this belter of a song and start celebrating your existence from this moment on. Lucky's voice still sounds the same as it was 25 years ago and it feels like time has stood still. The combination of Lucky Ali and Mikey McCleary is really shaping up to be something ominous and I have featured the duo before with their single "Intezaar" back in April 2022. The Choir team sounds amazing and they are like a secondary soul to this song, the team has Alisha Pais, Ella Castellino Atai, Mimosa Almeida Pinto, Raynah Braganza, Marie Paul and Karen Rebecca Dsouza. The guitars and rhythms play second fiddle to some fantastic lead and support vocals. I just love the lines where Lucky pauses and sings " Suno,ooo oo ooo, ye pyaar sa silsila", and then when he finishes "jo khoya hua" followed by beautiful harmonies arranged and sung by the Choir team. Mikey is brilliant in this number and this feel-good song just sticks to your head for a long time. 

4. Nammalani Undi

Music, lyrics - Kalyan Nayak

Vocals: Haricharan, Ramya Behra, Kalyan Nayak

Language: Telugu

Genre: Melody

New talent is exciting and makes me grin with joy, and that is precisely what Kalyan Nayak manages to do, with his score for this new Telugu movie. Nikhil Ram plays the flute solo at the beginning along with some guitars, and Jonathan Joseph's arrangements help the song ooze more quality. Lakshmi Kanth and Kalyan do additional arrangements. There is no parallel to hearing Haricharan's outstanding voice and the ease with which he delivers these lines irrespective of the language is a great example to all budding singers. You can pay attention to the flowing strings in the background thanks to Kochi Strings. The solo Violin is played by Francis Xavier and the song clearly shows a lasting influence of Raag Jog (Naatai in Carnatic). Kalyan is excellent in this composition as this has a very elaborate Pallavi and then even an Annupallavi section. The way Hari sings "Kalam aage na" with that tender ghamak and then it is followed by the flute and violin. The stanza continues to impress with great vocals and an enchanting tune. Ramya Behara makes things sweeter-sounding with her vocals as she makes an entry in the stanza singing in a higher scale. Francis Xavier plays the solo violin in the outro and produces a fitting end to this number. 

5. Musafir

Performed and Written: Yashraj 

Produced by: Akash Shravan

Language: Hindi

Genre: Hip-Hop

This is one extremely enjoyable song that treads in the hip-hop zone. More than anything I love the Violins and trumpets in the background with those thumping rhythms. Yashraj has written and performed the vocals and Akash Shravan produces this with some insane keyboard and rhythm programming. The best line is the one that goes " Kyu Musaafiron mein dhoonde khaamiyaan tu?". The lyrics as expected are beautifully allowing us into some deeper philosophies of life.

6. Kaafi Hai 

Vocals: Prachi Gole

Lyrics: Danish Abdi

Composition: The Pariah Kite

Producer: Varun Murali @theredmusicbox

Language: Hindi

Genre: Latin Jazz

A stage that represents moving towards acceptance in the 5 stages of Depression, is what "Kaafi Hai" is all about. 'The Pariah Kite' is this amazing duo of Prachi Gole and Danish Abdi and their EP 'Zard' is one that just cannot be missed. I am confident that as a music journalist, Prachi is the greatest vocal discovery for me in 2022 and she shows why in this song too. The Piano is unmissable from the start, but then after she begins to sing, Prachi is unstoppable. She performs like an Opera artist using all of her lung capacity. She shifts between styles and suddenly delivers like a Middle Eastern folk song. Just listen to her in complete control of her vocals and be thankful that you can listen to a song with excellent arrangements and production value as well. The use of some catchy rhythms and harmonies is an excellent choice and all the arrangements come to life originating from Danish Abdi. There are moments when it sounds like Latin Jazz music and I could hear either the Cajon or the Bongo in the background. Even the electric guitars feel like listening to a piece by Santana. The song as it comes to a close is never 'kaafi hai' for more, wanting it to keep going on. Varun Murali does a brilliant job in producing the number. Shrreeya Sunindhra handles all the artwork. 

7.Beelkoduge

Music: Nobin Paul 

Singer: Jimmy Francis John 

Lyricist: Kiran Kaverappa 

Language: Kannada

Genre: Melody

This is a great time to be a music lover, and although I am glad that indie music is making great strides, the quality of movie music especially in the south belongs to a class par excellence. Nobin Paul is one very dependable member of that club and 'Charlie 777' will be an album that puts him on the map. Jimmy Francis John is brilliant in his emotions as he delivers this song and knowing the story of this movie, one can relate to the situation. Sumesh Parameshwar plays the guitars and the woodwinds are played by Josy Alappuzha. Nobin Paul has arranged and programmed other than composing the score, and you can listen to the wonderful keyboards in the interlude. Sumesh plays the bass guitars and Josy's engaging flute intervention concludes the interlude. The backing vocalists are Pooja Rao and Meghana Kulkarni Joshi who do the humming segment in the second interlude. Rithu Vysakh is a one-man army and he has performed and arranged the string quartet which can be heard in the background. The use of some compelling rhythms and Jimmy's perfectly placed and executed ghamakas are just precious as gold in this song. Balu Thankachen has mixed and mastered the track and the recording engineers are Binil Eldhose, Midhun Dev, Vishnu and Hemanth. Kiran Kaverappa is the lyricist. 

8. Miley Ho Tum Mujhe 

Sung and composed by: Arunima Wali 

Written by: Arunima Wali, Saurabh Tripathi and Chirag Dahiya Music produced, mixed and mastered: Keshav Dhar

Language: Hindi

Genre: Indie pop

Arunima Wali's new song is an example of how a very heartwarming tune can really wiggle past any other shortcomings in a song. I did find that Arunima who has sung and composed the number, could have explored her vocals even more in the song. Maybe it was the nervousness, but now that I have been impressed and have taken notice of her, I hope to hear her future projects come out even better from a vocal standpoint. The Keys and guitars paint a beautiful layer in the initial moments and when the humming begins, Keshav Dhar the producer brings in the rhythm programming, and the final product is one extremely attractive packing that cannot be ignored. The song is penned by Arunima, Saurabh Tripathi and Chirag Dahiya. Arunima also has introduced a nice bridge section. 

9.Soch Ke Dasangi 

Singer: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Feat. J Kaur

Lyrics: Dilwala 

Music: Tasho 

Composer: Azad and Tasho 

Poetry: Tehzeeb Hafi 

Language: Punjabi

Genre: Semi-classical Melody

The seductive flute played by Flutepreet and Arbaz Khan's acoustic guitars set the tone for this semi-classical melody. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan needs no motivation to deliver this with grace and poise and the song is loaded with melodic goodness. I am reminded of another classic called "Afreen Afreen" from Coke Studio also sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. The song probably has influences from Raag Pahadi and some Thodi as well, and the Sarangi solo intervening gives the song that earthy, folk tone that just brings joy to the heart and ears. Azaad and Tasho a.k.a. Shourya Mehta compose the melody with Tasho being the producer. The duo have been featured by me before for a fantastic song called " Russeya Na Kar", and they continue to bring delightful music. Dilwala writes the lyrics but the original poetry belongs to Tehzeeb Hafi. Jayesh Kathak plays the Tabla in the second stanza and we have some excellently programmed rhythms in the first stanza and other segments which resembles a Gujarati folk style as well. Suyash Singh and Yograj Singh have mixed and mastered the track. 

10.Aaj Jaane Ki Zidd Na Karo 

Vocals: Divyam Sodhi

Producer: Ashish Zachariah 

Language: Hindi

Genre: Ghazal-Electronic remix fusion

This old gem of a song can never get old or be forgotten. There is never a need to re-invent a song like this. Having said one must appreciate when a producer and singer come together to pay their respects and show their love for a song by making a version of the original. Imitation is the best form of admiration one can show and that way Divyam Sodhi and Ashish Zachariah have done quite well. The melody of the song needs no introduction or review but what Ashish does is remarkable, in bringing new elements and arrangements to the fore. Divyam is a phenomenal talent who has been featured by me in his Ghazal-styled deliveries working with producer Khwaab. This song in Yaman deserves as much appreciation as it can get and Ashish's Keyboard programming is rich and adds its own 2 cents to this masterpiece. The way the Sarangi gets introduced with those heavy synths is wonderful to hear and enjoy. The last 30 seconds is a ride you will close your eyes and just surrender your senses to. 

11.Ye Teri Meri Kahani

Composed, Written and Performed by Keshuv Huria 

Female Vocals by Sumedha Karmahe 

Music Produced by Keshuv Huria and Anik Sharma 

Language: Hindi

Gener: Indie pop

This young musician is a product of KMMC and it does show in his composition. I am featuring him for just the second time, but definitely not the last, as I have a line-up of songs from his recent album 'Aparna'. This is the first single from the album and it features Sumedha Karmahe as the female lead vocalist. Keshuv has written, performed and composed the number but he works with Anik Sharma to produce the number. There is a Vishal-Shekhar tonality to the song and that is never a bad thing, with Raghav Huria playing the guitars. The vocals of the lead singers are spotless with Sumedha's low-scale singing and Keshuv's mildly playful ghamakas. The interlude with the humming and rhythms feels like a very groovy R&B number and I am glad Keshuv explores his varied skills as a composer. Reena Gilbert mixes and masters the track and Mriganka Bhuyan handles the album artwork. 

12.To be found 

Written, composed and performed by: Kashmira Khot Production, Sound Engineering, Arrangement: Aditya Gopalkrishnan 

Language: English

Genre: Alt-pop

Prodigious talent must be celebrated and that I was intend to do and even encourage my readers and music lovers to do. Kashmira Khot is this very talented young musician from Pune, and when I spoke to her on a live session a few months ago I knew I was up against a very smart, level-headed and practical artist who had musical pedigree at her disposal as well. Her vocals always keep taking me back to Global pop greats like Avril Lavigne but it is not just that. Kashmira's compositions and lyrics also inspire in a land and time when it is easy to compromise on quality for fame and better views, likes etc. Aditya Gopalakrishnan has taken over the reins to produce this song just as in the previous projects involving Kashmira. This is the 4th straight single of hers that I am reviewing and I am not surprised one bit. The combined effect of the drums by Subham Chand Sahu and lead guitars by Aditya Swaminathan creates that Alt-pop texture to the song. Kashmira is gifted as a vocalist as she confidently delivers without any inhibition. Holding back and being restrained while performing can take the shine off a good song, but thankfully Kashmira never suffers from that. Just listen to the wide range of modulations, like when she sings "Then help me forget, I've been stupid before". she reminds me of the way Mark Knopfler would sing for 'Dire Straits'. She has quite a mountain to climb for sure as a singer-songwriter but she is headed on the right path towards glory. The arrangements are fantastic with Niraj Pandit on bass guitars, look out for the electric guitar solo past the 3rd minute. Aditya Gopalakrishnan excels in arrangements for the track and he also does the mixing and mastering. 

13.Aana Tera

Vocals, composition: Onkar Tarkase

Written: Sushant Saklani

Language: Hindi

Genre: Synth-pop

It is one of my favourite genres as I am always heading back to the 1990s when I listen to synth-pop music. I have reviewed Onkar Tarkase a few times before and the thing I love the most about him is his music appreciation. Here I was reminded of the theme music of "Stranger Things" on Netflix. The song is beautifully composed and could easily be a melody even without the string synth influence. The synths just make it a very stylish and creative implementation and for me, the drums and guitars by Bhushan Chitnis stand out. Let us not forget that Onkar's vocals are on point and very suited to this style. Sushant Saklani writes the lyrics. I love the fact that the song fades away in the end rather than just stops, one more relatable style to the 90's global pop. 

14.I'm so cool

Song Written & Produced By Padma Mynampaty, Sheel Davé, RP Thompson & Ramon Narvaez 

Language: English

Genre: Indie pop

This Boston-based musician Padma Mynampaty a.k.a. Padma came up with this single which was simple in its tune and structure, but it wasn't something that could be ignored by any means. The song is written and produced by Padma, Sheel Davé, RP Thompson & Ramon Narvaez and it reminded me of some fabulous hits of the 1990s. Specifically, I recall this supreme hit called "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac. She has this soft and tender voice and the best comes about when she does the high-scale humming, in falsetto mode. The use of harmonies works well just like the guitars and drums which make it quite an enjoyable track. I have no other answer than a YES when she asks "Don't you think, baby I'm so cool". The music video is Co-Directed by Rashelle Palmer and Maurisa Mackey, shot and edited by Rhys Santa Maria

15.A little bit of coffee

3 hours 2 Instruments 1 beautiful song, well this is how the song was marketed and showcased on Youtube. Hi-Polar and Vikasso are the two artists and even though the song feels a little raw, the quality of the vocals really did captivate me. Vocals and guitars are more than enough to create, conquer and even your worst enemy will capitulate. The Harmonica is a very nice addition to the mix of things, and it just makes for a pleasant setting. The singing is of superlative quality and to deliver something flawlessly speaks volumes about the singer.