Top Indian Songs of the week 20th August 2023

If you are a musician submit your new music here.

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 20th August 2023. 

The Spotify Playlist is here

1. Nam Tham

Composed & Arranged by Kalyani Nair

Lyrics: Pradeep Kumar

Solo Vocals: Kalyani Nair

One-man String Quartet: Rithu Vysakh

Language: Tamil

Genre: A-capella 

I cannot feel more elated to write about and feature a woman composer at the very top of my week's list. Kalyani Nair is one of the most talented in India and she is rising steadily with every passing day. The Indian Choral Ensemble (TICE) is the brainchild of Kalyani and Karthik Manickavasakam and this single from her upcoming EP is a testament to the talent that Kalyani can boast of. She composed and arranged the song with lyrics by Pradeep Kumar. 

The seeds of Nam Tham probably were sown long back in 2009 according to Kalyani. In Carnatic music, we call compositions as Ragam Thanam Pallavi, with all 3 segments adopting different styles. Thanam is like a Raga Aalap but with syllables A, Nam and Tham. This composition is based on this with some Tamil lyrics later in the song written by Pradeep. Kalyani's very first tryst with classical Hindustani music was in Raag Kalavati and hence this composition follows that scale mostly. 

This is the kind of song that can turn your sour, bitter day into something more meaningful and magnificent. TICE is in full flow and no it is more than 40 members strong. We have the high Sopranos with the performers on First Sopranos are Padmaja Sreenivasan, Samanvitha G. Sasidaran and Sushmita Narasimhan, 2nd Sopranos Nidhi Saraogi, Nalini Vittobane and Mezzo Sopranos having Sriradha Bharath and Avantika K. 

The way these vocalists combine is pure magic and it all comes from Kalyani's years of experience and love for A-capella music. She has arranged vocal harmonies for some of India's finest composers like Santhosh Narayan, Pradeep Kumar and Sean Roldan. The way we hear so many layers and with so many lags, and just past the 1-minute mark, the whole bunch sings " Nam Tha" and we are transported to paradise. The intensity keeps rising and we have the introduction of the strings, with Rithu Vysakh being the 1-man string quartet. The Altos are comprised of Fathima Henna, Aishwarya Ravichandran and Vidhya Vijay on First Altos, Triya Sushma, Nithyasri A on Second Altos. The Tenors are Pranjal Thakore, Sarthak Kalyani, Manikandan Chembai and finally the Basses are Karthik Manickavasakam, Ragu, Dhiyanathiru T, Arul C Durairaj, Regis Tony SD and S Kingslin Pon Bhabha. 

Kalyani performs the lead vocals when we reach the halfway mark in Tamizh and I hope we have musicians across the country take inspiration from such magnificent work. This along with the next song at number 2 is proof of why music in the South dominates the rest of the country. B Prasanna is the Stereo Mix/Master engineer, and the recording engineers are Lijesh, Davidson and KS Maniratnam

@theindianchoralensemble @kalyaninair86 @rithuvysakh @pradeep_kumar1123 @karthikmanickavasakam @b_prasanna 

2. Nesam Maruma

Singer : Anjana Rajagopalan

Lyrics: Mohan Rajan

Music: Girishh Gopalakrishnan

Re-adapted, Programmed and Produced by: Anjana Rajagopalan

Language: Tamil

Genre: Opera

Nessun Dorma is a famous Aria performed by many Opera Singers. It was written by Giacomo Puccini, but popularized by Pavarotti after his performance for the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. This team of Girishh, Anjana and Mohan have re-created India's first Opera SIngle. It is a Himalayan task and has only been possible thanks to the ingenious efforts of the team of musicians. 

Every word which is originally in Italian, has been recreated to sound similar but the words are Tamil. For example, the title "Nesam Maruma" sounds almost the same as "Nessun Dorma". If we get to the arrangement, it is thanks to Anjana Rajagopalan who has entirely re-adapted, programmed and produced this brilliant show. 

When it comes to this vocal performance, I have no words. People who have come from Chennai, are quite aware of Anjana's abilities as a vocalist, especially in the Opera style, but this is something else. We are probably listening to the best vocal performance of 2023 by any Indian artist. Just Listen, enjoy and don't mind if you get a tear or two rolling down your cheeks. 

The more you hear, the more you tend to appreciate the work that has gone into it. The strings section, and the Harp all are so beautifully arranged. But a standing ovation is needed for Anjana, Girishh and Mohan. The backing vocalists are Roshni Sharon, Shilpa Natarajan, Valentina Gasper, Ebenezer Arunkumar, Prashant Gasper, Dobbin Raj and Regis Tony SD. After she hits that final high note the, strings section takes over and this is what magic is. Subbiah Arunachalam is the recording engineer, Sai Shravanam is the mix/master engineer. 

All the amazing symphony we hear is performed by the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague with Samarth Srinivasan supervising the recording session. 

@anjanarajagopalan_musician @mohanrajan_lyrici @girishhgopal

@ar_subbiah @thinkmusicofficial @samarthsrinivasan @saishravanam @jilpaa @roshnisharon @prashanthnick 

3. Badal

Performed and composed by Sanjith Hegde 

Written by Aditya Sharma 

Music Produced by Sanjith Hegde and Nisthula Murphy  

Primary Vocals Sanjith Hegde 

Female vocal backing by Rutuja Pandey 

Language: Hindi

Genre: Indie Pop

This phenomenal world-beater of a singer Sanjith Hegde is now making forays into the world of music composition. A couple of months ago we heard the Coke Studio India song called 'Geejaga Hakki' composed and performed by Sanjith. This one is now in Hindi and I am delighted to see Sanjith move across state borders because the country needs to listen to this spectacular performer. His greatest strength is his ability to switch styles within a song and sound convincing in every style. 

You can sense the differemce between the line "baaton waadon se uljha hoon" and "aandhi hoon ya toofaan". The former is easily pop styled while the latter has an Indian classical touch. Aditya Sharma pens the beautiful words. When we get to the title line, the vocal harmonies and Keys are solid and engaging. Sanjith Hegde and Nisthula Murphy are the producers and we have Rutuja Pandey on backing vocals. The composition is brilliant because we get an elaborate Antara section. A round of applause for this fabulous production is due. 

The interlude has Rujuta's beautiful humming with a tantalising Tabla played by Ojas Adhiya. Dishaan is on the guitars and Rutuja joins along right through the stanza, either humming or singing the lines. There are segments which make me believe that there is probably a Raag Yamunakalyani influence. Sujith Sreedhar does the mix and master. Saikat Sarkar is the recording engineer. The music video is out and it is directed by Bijoy Shetty. 

@sanjithhegde @nismurphy @sujithsreedhar @warnermusicindia @uttupiii @maahir_as @maayasound @rutujapandeofficial @ojasadhiya @dishaan_ @2bqstudios @spacecat.in @20dbsoundstudios @whatsabijoy

4. Allah De Bandeya

Singer and Music - B Praak

Lyricist - Jaani

Composer - Gaurav dev & Kartik Dev

Music Arranger - Mir Desai

Language: Punjabi

Genre: Light Music

He is one of the finest in the country and I believe he should be the most celebrated musician in Punjab. B Praak has a voice and his ability to sing with such finesse and passion should make many vocalists envious. The song is produced and performed by B Praak, with Gaurav Dev and Karthik Dev composing the melody. 

The guitars, bass, and rhythms are the stand-out elements at the start. The humming with Praak in the lead and backing vocal layers is soothing and effective. The stanza is so breezy and hummable and credit goes to Gaurav and Karthik for the melody. Mir Desai does exceptionally well to arrange the music for the song and the overall production is a testament to B Praak's musical acumen. 

The bridge section is beautiful and elaborate, and this too is a rarity in this day and age as B Praak sings " Mujhe leke chalo teri ghar ki taraf". The Piano is the dominant and then we have the female and male chorus adding to the likability of the song. When the lines "ve ha dhola tera kinna sohna naan dhola" the melody just warms your heart and the dholak starts playing in the background. Jaani is once again brilliant in his lyrics. This amazing song is one of 10 songs in the new album "Zohrajabeen" and I strongly urge listeners and readers to please go check out this amazing album. 

@arvindrkhaira @jaani777 @mirdesai16 @jasminbhasin2806 @bpraak @alygoni @kartikdevofficial @dilrajnandha @iamgauravdev

5. Chalalo

Singers - Abhay Jodhpurkar & Anwesshaa

Music - Anwesshaa 

Lyricist - Uma V. Kulkarni 

Arrangers/Programmers - Akshay Menon

Anwesshaa is someone that at one point was touted to be the next Shreya Ghoshal. She does possess an incredible;e voice and has been around and singing in many languages. Of late Anwesshaa has started displaying her scoring abilities, and this song from the new Marathi EP "Pahije Jatiche" is proof of her skills as a composer. 

The song begins with a soaring flute solo, and it is accompanied by a plethora of strings and then the brass section joins in. It does feel like a tribute to Ajay-Atul. Abhay Jodhpurkar begins to serenade us with his impeccable voice. The orchestral arrangements are nothing short of brilliant and Akshay Menon is in charge of arrangements and programming, and so he is responsible for this brilliant production. The introduction of the Tabla along with drums is creatively effective in a majorly Western classical-sounding arrangement style. Kudos to Cochin Strings for their phenomenal output. 

The interludes are elaborate and it is only in the second stanza that we get to hear Anwesshaa. To my ears, her diction sounds amazing, but only a Marathi-speaking individual can confirm. Kohinoor Mukherjee the stalwart is the mix/master engineer. 

@anwesshaa9 @abhayjodhpurkar @akshay.menon.official @itskohinoormukherjee @zeemusicmarathi @pahije_jatiche_official

6. Dastan-E-Dil

Produced by Varun Rajput

Composed, Performed by Antariksh

Lyrics - Varun Rajput

Lead Vocals - Varun Rajput

Language: Hindi/English

Genre: Rock

Antariksh is in my opinion one of the top 3 Indian rock bands, and if you haven't heard them, don't wait any longer. I have featured them before as well. This is exceptional work and if not for some amazing songs in the top 5 this week, this would have made it to a much higher rank. I love how the lyrics change between English and Hindi and Varun Rajput the frontman, lead vocalist and producer is kicking some arse here with his singing. 

The sweet taste of rock music is apparent in the song thanks to the live instrumentalists of the band viz. Arko Ganguly on drums, Varun and Shrikant Biswakarma on guitars and bassist Sahil Dhingra. The lead guitars are just incredibly upbeat when Varun sings " phir kabhi ye daayre na ho" and it is matched by Arko's drums. When we hear the wonderful English lyrics in the title line " you shine your light on me" Varun is accompanied by backing vocalists Vinayak Arora, Arko Ganguly and Ishita Singh. 

The beautiful words are penned by Varun and he also handles all the keys and synths. M Krishna Rao is the recording, and mix engineer with Donal Wheelan on mastering. 

@antariksh_official @varunrajput_75 @drarko05 @strings_of_karma @theaudioengine @salimsulaimanmusic @akash.kumar8810 @mkrishnarao @hafod_mastering @lotustreestudios @shivansh.j 

7. Suno

Singer/Composer: Ami Mishra

Lyrics: Shraddha Sehgal 

Music Production: Prasanna Suresh 

Additional Music Production: Brince Bora

Language: Hindi

Genre: Indie Pop

This song by Ami Mishra takes me back to the 1990s where Pop music was breathtaking in all aspects like writing, singing and production. Ami has composed the melody and is the vocalist but the reins of production fall into the hands of established producer Prasanna Suresh. 

The Piano is like the driving force and that is what forms the backbone of the song's mood and style. Shraddha Sehgal writes the emotionally charged words and Ami makes no mistake in emoting the message. The rhythm programming and keys are quite effective and give that feeling of enrichment to the song, Brince Bora handles all the additional music production. After he sings " Door na raho" with such passion, we hear the guitar riffs by Vijyendra Singh Rana & Danny Cifuentes along with that mild and haunting humming. The tracks are mixed and mastered by Hanish Tanjea. 

@officialprasannasuresh @amimishra14 @shraddhasehgalmusic @brincebora @vijyendrarana @dannycifuentesc @mixedbyhanish 

8. Nee Chuttu Chuttu

Music Composed, Arranged and programmed by Thaman S

Lyrics by Raghuram

Sung by Sid Sriram & Sanjana Kalmanje

Language: Telugu

Genre: Filmy-Pop

After a mild hiatus of sorts, we have Thaman S scoring a very peppy and likeable number in Telugu. He gets one of his favourite vocalists on board Sid Sriram and we have Sanjana Kalmanje as the female lead vocalist. She too has been steadily making a good impression, singing for many young composers across the nation. 

This song is from the new album " Skanda" and we get a Michael Jackson-styled number, and that becomes evident with the rhythms and the vocal grunts at the beginning. Just before the song begins the solo violin enthrals us like we have known Maestro Ilaiyaraja to do in the 1980s and 1990s in South Cinema Music. I love the Anu Pallavi segment the most in the song. Raghuram pens the lyrics and Thaman composes, programs, and arranges the songs. 

The Alt Hip-Hop section comes in a few places, but it is the instrumental arrangements where Thaman wins the hearts the most, like the Veena Solo in the interlude. Sanjana joins the party in the stanza and she carries an immense attitude and bravado while delivering the lines. 

@musicthaman @sidsriram @sanjanakalmanje 

9. Khamakha

Composer and Singer: Prateeksha Srivastava

Lyricist: Shayra Apoorva

Music production: Priyanshu Soni

Language: Hindi

Genre: Indie Pop

Prateeksha Srivastava is a very talented vocalist and she has sung for quite a few young indie songwriters and producers, and thereby she has been featured and showered with accolades by me and many in the field. Here Prateeksha has composed the melody and performed the vocals as well with lyrics written by the vibrant and talented Shayra Apoorva. 

Bibhash Buragohain strums the acoustic guitars and the feeble voice of Prateeksha comes along and takes over. There is so much being offered in terms of a melody by Prateeksha and she deserves credit for going the distance. The arrangements of the guitars, backing vocals etc. are thanks to Priyanshu Soni, the Producer.

I love the line "milein milein milein kyun, judein judein judein kyun", musically and lyrically, so kudos to the team of Shayra, Prateeksha and Priyanshu. Priyanshi Srivastava joins in the backing vocals. The song has the sthayi and antara segments alone, without the usual 3rd Sanchari segment. Hanish Taneja has done the mixing and mastering, with Samir Dharap being the recording engineer. The artwork is by Annamika Arya, 

@officialprateeksha @shayra22 @priyanshu_music @priyanshi_srivastav27 @mixedbyhanish @bily_birdie @annamika_arya @universalmusicindia @tanyachhabra07 

10. Carnaby

Written and Composed by David Britto

Produced and Backing Vocals by Siddharth Basrur

Lead Vocals by Saurabh Roy

Language: English

Genre: Jazz Pop

This is just how funky things can get when you have Bombay Brass on the credits. A couple of weeks ago we saw how the Horns section by this phenomenal group can uplift a song with Mathangi's EP 'Major Troubles in Minor Blues'. This single is written and composed by David Britto and he takes us back to the 1990s with this stylish song. Saurabh Roy is the lead vocalist and the song has backing vocals by Siddharth Basrur who has also produced it. 

Siddharth accompanies Saurabh in almost every note in the vocals. I am reminded of songs like 'Sususudio' by Phil Collins thanks to the abundance of Saxophones, Trumpets and Trombones. The song is arranged, programmed and produced by Siddharth but all the Horns parts are composed and arranged by Rhys Sebastian. He also plays the Alto and Tenor Sax in the song while Neil Walters plays the Trumpet and Ramon Ibrahim plays the Trombone. 

The composition, writing and vocals sparkle from time to time, but somewhere along the way, it is the Horns section that shines in my head endlessly. The tracks are mixed and mastered by Siddharth Talwar and Zain Calcuttawala at Horse Garden Productions. The cover artwork is by Deepti. 

@dave_arrows @roy_saurabh153 @saxontoast @bombaybrass @siddharthbasrur @ramonibrahim @crossbow191 @bullibainbridge @deep.teee

11. Ghoomer

Singers: Dipakshi Kalita & Altamash Faridi

Music: Amit Trivedi

Lyrics: Kausar Munir

Producer: Amit Trivedi

The movie has been getting some good reviews thanks to some on-screen performances by Abhishek Bachchan and Saiyami Kher. The songs were just about decent and this is something I have been observing about Amit Trivedi over the last 3 years. The best stuff from his repertoire has been the retro-styled music like that of "Qala" and "Jubilee". 

This is composed and produced by Amit, with rhythm production by the talented Krishna Kishor & Kalyan Chakravarthy. One of the strong points of the song is the arrangement and execution of the rhythms and percussions. There is a huge resemblance to Coke Studio Pakistan's 'Tu Jhoom', released last year. David Joseph plays the drums and Krishna Kishor plays the percussions. 

The lead vocalists have done a phenomenal job and Dipakshi Kalita sounds very much like Abida Parveen. The tone, the texture and the delivery are areas where Dipakshi is just fantastic. Suhas Sawant, Arun Kamath, Rajiv Sundaresan and Rishikesh Kamerkar are the backing vocalists who add weight to the singing. Altamash Faridi has been doing well as a playback singer and 2023 has been kind to him. In this folk number too Altamash shines. 

The wonderful intervention on the Esraj is by Arshad Khan and it adds the folkish flavour of North West India in just a few simple notes. Kausar Munir's lyrics and effective vocals make this a brilliant song, probably one of Amit's best in 2023. The sound engineer is Urmila Sutar at AT Studios, and we have Shruti Shah as the Manager with Firoz Shaikh as the assistant. Shadab Rayeen is in charge of mixing and mastering with assistants Pukhraj Sonkar & Anup Gandharia

@itsamittrivedi @dipakshi.kalita @zeemusiccompany @officialaltamashfaridi @kishorbeatz @shadabrayeen @kausarmunir @urmila28sutar

12. Tanha

Performed by Ankan Mondal, King ND

Written by Ankan Mondal, Archit Tak, Nitish Dogra, Shashank Alamuru

Produced by Archit Tak

Language: English

When you can compose a beautiful underlying melody and surround it with creative and impactful production, you have a winning combination. We have this EP "The Heartbreak Saga" it produced by Archit Tak. This single is performed by Ankan Mondal and King ND. The guitars dominate the scene and soon we get the vocals of Ankan and then King ND to follow.

The Keys dominate and when both vocalists combine I feel the music is breathtaking with the lines "Bol Mujhe kya hai tujhe yaad, dekhe jo thay khwaab, aaj banne sawaal kyu". Ankan Mondal, Archit Tak, Nitish Dogra, and Shashank Alamuru are the writers, while Shashank is the mixing and mastering engineer

The vocal harmonies are nicely arranged with the alaap that goes on in the background. 

@kingndmusic @archittak @shashankalamuru @purplegoldmusic @theeasternmusician @maahaamc

13. Parwana

Performed by Ankur Tewari

Written by Ankur Tewari

Produced by Salvage Audio Collective

Language: Hindi

Genre: Ambient Music/ Pop

Ankur Tewari released an album called " Akela" and there were a few interesting songs in the collective. This is the one that impressed me the most. Ankur writes, composes and performs this dark, and haunting melody. The drums take control right at the beginning and sound like the BGM in a mystery movie. It does remind me of some of the tracks of the "The Hangover" OST by Christopher beck 

The production is emphatic with the bass guitars, and slide guitars (if I'm not wrong), and the mood is maintained to be extremely hypnotic. Most of the songs were written during the pandemic by Ankur and it seems that this song was used in the Amazon Prime series 'Made In Heaven Season 2'. Rohan Rajadhyaksha at Salvage Audio Collective handles the production of the whole Album. I love the line " Tera Bina zindagi adhuri". The guitars are played by Sidd Coutto, Stuart DaCosta is the bassist and the tracks are mixed by Rohan Ramanna and the recording engineer is Adhithya Sivakumar. 

@ankurtewari @tigerbabyrecords @adhithya.sivakumar @studirt @audibleoddities @rnhr 

14. Wave Goodbye

Written by Vyoma Lal and Garvit Narula 

Composed by Vyoma

Produced by VYOMA and POLYMANCER

Language: English

Genre: Electronic Pop

This song came and hit me light a bolt out of the clear sky, and wow was I impressed. VYOMA is a 17-year-old singer, composer and classical Violinist. All this supreme talent is coming out as notes, words and verses in this engrossing single. Vyoma Lal a.k.a. VYOMA has composed the melody and penned the lyrics in collaboration with Garvit Narula.

VYOMA has haunting vocals and incredible control and gusto for a teenager. She can only get better and better with every passing day. The song is produced by VYOMA and Alt-Pop producer Polymancer. The Keys, Synths and rhythm programming are emphatic, and what struck me most was the harmonies arranged to create a feeling of enigma and exasperation. The singing by both artists keeps you hooked. The way VYOMA sings " By Sunrise" in different styles, at a high pitch and with backing vocals accompanying is magical. Polymancer has done the mixing and mastering with Shivom Sagar being the additional engineer. 

@vyomalal @thesssenceworld09 @polymancer @x.hanan.aziz.x

15. Mannat

Singers: Darshan Raval & Prakriti Kakar

Composer: Darshan Raval

Lyrics: Youngveer 

Music Producer: Lijo George 

Language: Hindi/Punjabi

Genre: Indie Pop

Darshan Raval is often referred to as the musician who has made that move from Indie music to Bollywood and back and kept making these sojourns. He released this new album 'Dard'. There are some decent songs, but this was the clear favourite for me. Darshan gives a very catchy composition and backs it up with his energetic vocals. The song does seem to have influences from Raag Hamsadhwani. Shomu Seal is splendid and ever-present on guitars in the song, but it is Lijo George's production that elevates this beauty even further. 

The Keys and rhythm programming is top-notch and keeps things melodious yet relevant to the times. Prakriti Kakkar is the female lead vocalist, and my favourite part is the stanza, especially the lines " takkda rahawaan , ab sona nayi main" and "teri baaton me khoi rahoon main". Aniruddh Anantha is the backing vocalist and we have to admit that Lijo gets the arrangements on Keys, vocals and live instruments brilliantly done. The outro has Dilshad Khan on the Sarangi Solo. Shadab Rayeen is the mix/ master engineer and Subodhh Sharma is the recording engineer. 

@darshanravaldz @prakritikakar @shadabrayeen @dj.lijo @shomu_seal @dilshhadkhan