Top Indian Songs of the week 20th November 2022

Here are the best Indian songs of the week 20th November 2022, picked from over 350 song releases across the nation

1. Maanegi Kis Tarah
Composed and Sung: Aasa Singh
Lyrics: Aasa Singh, Rishikesh Pathak
Music produced: RAWNAK
Additional Production: Aasa Singh
Language: Hindi
Genre: Jazz/Pop
Here is the best song of the week it was a song shared by the producer with me to see what my feedback was. I had no words and my only way of responding was to tell RAWNAK that it is good enough to be among the best songs in the country. Aasa Singh has composed, written and sung this gentle, and tender melody. The melody is catchy and Aasa makes it even better with his voice which has a tinge of an Arijit-impression, but is likeable for sure. Aasa has never been featured by me before and I am glad he is discovered now, as he also does backing vocals and mixes and masters the track as well, an all-rounder for sure. The layer of backing vocals doing the humming is great but the most impressive is the genius ID Rao's Saxohone that hits you in the interlude. The arrangements are made such that you hear the sound of the sax, like waves in an ocean, coming at you one after the other relentlessly. Aasa sings in falsetto so beautifully at the beginning of the stanza and you have to love the style and delivery here. The way Aasa experiments and improvises with his vocals is delightful and the outro is just the saxophone and drums in full and free flow. The production by RAWNAK stands out when you hear all the elements together.

 

2. Veadhane
Performed by Srinisha Jayaseelan
Written by Rambabu Gosala
Produced by Bekkem Venu Gopal

Srinisha Jayaseelan is a noteworthy performer who has this larger-than-life attitude in her vocals and there is not a genre or style she cannot adapt to. Here she goes all out in Opera style singing. The Piano and the Strings section along with the vocal harmonies create an unforgettable impact. Bekkem Venu Gopal has produced the number with lyrics by Rambabu Gosala. The end of the opening lines brings about some rock flavour with the heavy drums and electric guitar. Listen to Srinisha's singing and how aggressive her delivery sounds and that is she is so skilled as a singer. The moment the stanza starts, she uses a voice laden with sadness to sing, and that is aided by the solo Violin. Srinisha also employs some very mild yet tangible vibrato.

3. Oceans
Written, Composed & Performed by Hanita Bhambri
Produced: Raag Sethi
Language: English
Genre: Indie pop, soft ballad

These guys at Compass Box Studios are like an ocean of music, unassailable, vast and deep. If it was Gouri & Aksha with Chirag Todi last week on 'Paper Boats', it is Hanita Bambhri 'Oceans' that Raag Sethi produces and his gang play instruments for this week. Hanita has been around for a while now and I have featured her before but this is probably one of her best yet, as much as her composition and vocals play a role, the production, arrangements and execution of love instruments bear importance and relevance too. Raag plays the guitars and Harmish Joshi is on the clarinet. Hanita's singing is spotless and she sings like a Goddess on a mission who will turn anything into ambrosia. I listen to this line "When you kiss my lips, do you feel the oceans of emotion?", and I could sense the feeling, and that painting become real in front of my eyes was only possible because of the solid writing and even better singing. The moment the line " Do you miss me when I'm gone" ends Harmish is at his sizzling best playing the Clarinet there. The track is mixed and mastered by Protyay Chakroborty and he also lends his voice for the backing vocals. Gopi Vadsak handles the beautiful artwork

4. The search
Produced by RIATSU (Shadaab Kadri)
Lyrics/Composition/Vocals by Shilpa Ananth
Language: English

Genre: Synth-pop

Shilpa Ananth is one remarkable artist who I shall blindly trust to make stunning music every time she releases one. I have already featured her two times for songs "fear" and "i dwell" and this time 'the search' (pun intended) for great music ends. She combines all strengths and knowledge of music styles into one and blending things this well is no mean task. The track is produced by RIATSU with mixing by Ishan Naik and mastered by Jett Galindo. The production is ethereal with keyboard programming given some strings in the background and then a repetitive riff that sounds other-worldly. The writing is quite good as well talking about the way power can corrupt a human being and this dilemma and the state of the mind Shilpa is in, is brought out wonderfully through the contemplative voice and eerie background sound and tone. "what will I do in search of power, who will I turn into when it's over?", she asks and the influence of classical Carnatic aalap is visible in many places. Vocal harmonies arranged in the background also work like magic and add to the mystery.

5. Find love
Written, composed and sung by Abji George
Production by Ashish Kujur - Gray Spark Studio, Pune
Language: English
Genre: Indie Pop

This guy seems to be a regular performer and most of the time it is him singing a Michael Jackson number. I am more interested in writing about this beautiful pop melody written, composed and performed by Pune-based singer-songwriter Abji George. Ajay Majethia is stunning on his guitars, like the hero's closest friend on screen. The romanticizing of the sing happens predominantly happens thanks to the acoustic guitars. Ajay also mixes the song and Nitin M Krishna does the mastering at Gray Spark Studio. The artwork is by Shruti Purkar and lyrical video is by Jhanvi Ambasta. The strumming and the tone of the song remind me of "More than words" by the band 'Extreme'. The singing, the chords on the keyboard, and the backup vocals are all coming together so beautifully and it fills the heart with joy listening to them together as well as if you focused on them individually. The acoustic guitar plays second fiddle sometimes to the lead guitars and the combination sounds flawless. The electric guitar is heard playing some fantastic notes in the background and try and listen to that to experience some more musical bliss. The change of the vocal pitch happens without any hiccups and then we have a guitar solo in the end like icing on the cake.

6. Karumban Inningu Varumo
Music Composed, Arranged and Produced by: M. Jayachandran
Lyrics: Rafeeq Ahammed
Vocals: Narayani Gopan, Nikhil Raj
Language: Malayalam
Genre: Melody

Enjoy this energetic number from Kerala composed by one of Mollywood's stalwarts M Jayachandran. he has composed, arranged and produced this song that is bound to get you all pumped up also because of the way Narayani Gopan sings. Rafeeq Ahammed pens the lyrics and Nikhil Raj is the lead male vocalist. It starts off like a pop number thanks to the Keys and western percussions and even the harmonies. Then the brilliance lies in how it shifts to a rural Malayalam folk number thanks to the change of the percussions, and Nikhil's singing. The male chorus team has Arun Gopan, Nikhil Raj, Unni Elayaraja and the female team has Narayani Gopan, Poornasree Haridas, Anna Baby, Neethu Naduvathettu. Kamalakar and Durga Prasad are the flautists with the Mohana Veena and Veena played by Bhavani Prasad. Mithun Maaliyekkal plays the Keys and with Kalyan on rhythm Alap Raju plays the additional instruments. The strings section is obviously enhanced thanks to Cochin Strings' members Francis Xavier, Francis T S, Carol George, Herald and Josekutty. Unni Elayaraja plays the Violin Solo and also conducts the musical session. The interludes are rich and it is where Jayachandran stamps his authority. The recording engineers are Akshay Kakkoth, Sai Prakash, Emin, Mithun Manoj and Avinash Satheesh and the Orchestra Coordinators are KD Vincent and Dawn Vincent. The track is mixed and mastered by Harishankar V. The vocals by both the leads deliver all the right flavours of the land Kerala.

7. Talli
Singers: Bann Chakraborty and Sunidhi Chauhan
Music Composer: Bann Chakraborty
Language: Hindi
Genre: Dance-pop

The movie did not make any impression on viewers when it was released on Netflix, but 'Plan A Plan B' has 3 fantastic songs, 2 of which are composed by Bann Chakraborty who was part of the New Delhi rock band 'Orange Street'. I loved both his scores for "Talli" and "Keh do ke" by Bann. The first song is a lovely dance Jazz number and the Horns section is huge plus for the song. Ramon Ibrahim plays the Trombone and he also arranged and programs the Horns section. Rhys Sebastian Dsouza plays the Tenor Sax. I have not heard Bann sing before but he makes singing sound easy and against a celebrated vocalist like Sunidhi Chauhan, he stands his ground quite well. Saibal Basu's guitars drive the song into that peppy mode and other than that the keyboard programming contributed heavily as well and I am assuming it all comes together thanks to Abhijit Nalani's production. Ginny Diwan is the lyricist and she gives as much meaning and energy as the drums and instruments in the song. It reminds me of "Papa Kehte Hain" purely because of the tone. Hanish Taneja mixes and masters the track. The song has a few lines which get repeated, so the trick lies in singing the lines differently every time and Sunidhi smashes this bit. The other song is a slow number that is perfect for some ballroom slow dancing. We have Vivek Hariharan and indie singer-songwriter Maalavika Manoj as lead vocalists, Neil Mukherjee playing the guitars and the song is produced by Aditya Pushkarna. Vivek is a wonderful singer and I have come to hear him so much thanks to composer Anurag Saikia. Maalavika just eases through with her vocals and it makes me glad to hear artists make the crossover into mainstream Bollywood music, just because it gives them more visibility. The song has a very European flavour maybe thanks to the sounds of Accordion that I presume to hear in the background. I loved the outro with the Violins and both lead vocalists singing the lines innovatively.

8. Sob Loke Koy
Music & Lyrics: Alo The Band
Producer: Akash Agarwala
Language: Bangla
Genre: Rock, Folk fusion
The song is part of the new album called "Baulana" by the popular Kolkatta band 'Alo', and I just loved this song the most. There are 5 songs, which are refurbished gems from Bangla folk and the band just gives a brilliant spin to the originals. Syamantak Sengupta is the front-man on vocals and guitars, Sarthak Paul on drums, Arko Roy on guitars, Bubla on bass, Jaydeep Ghosh on Keyboards, Debasmita Sengupta on backing vocals, Bipra Bala on the Flute. The vocals are phenomenal giving a Baul tone to the song, and the guitars and Sitar decorate the song and there are some fragments of Raag Shanmukapriya that I sense. In the stanza it is all about Syamantak's deeply involved and emotional delivery that stuns me. The second interlude is a beautiful Sitar Solo and some guitars and rhythms. Akash Agarwala is the producer and must be credited with all the programming and arrangements.



9. Saza
Singer & Lyrics: Rajan Batra
Composers: Rajan Batra & Stuart DaCosta
Music Production: Stuart DaCosta
The Yellow Diary has been on fire with new singles and also composing songs for OTT content in 2022. Here the front-man Rajan Batra goes solo writing and singing this with and co-composing the song along with Stuart DaCosta. Like most TYD songs, they begin with a mild intensity and are mainly focused on Rajan's vocals. Stuart does a fabulous production here especially the programming and arrangements just at the cusp of the title being sung "Saza" is mindblowing. Sahil Shah plays the drums, and the engineering team is a renonwned like Aria Nanji, Adhithya Sivakumar and Hersh Desai. Hersh does the mixing and Adhithya does the mastering.

10. Ghalib
Singer/Songwriter- Sugandha Garg
Music Producer- Debashis Bhattacharya
Language: Hindi
Genre: Indie pop

We know her as an actor who came on first in that wonderful film "Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na", and more recently did a smashing job in Amazon Prime's "Guilty Minds". Little did I know that she is also a singer and when I dug up more on her past, I found out that she had performed an Assamese song alongside Papon on Coke Studio S2. This multi-talented artist has written, composed and sung this and also directed, and played the role of Editor (along with Aditya Kurian) and DoP for the video as well. Her singing is like a batter hitting the first ball for a six out of the park. It is not just the texture, but the confident delivery and attached attitude that glorify the song even more. Debashis Bhattacharya is the producer and all the creative and delectable sounds are probably his doing and full credit to him for that. The drums, guitars and harmonies form nice layers just like the Keyboards. The really fine bridge section probably takes the cake in this song. Slowly you start focussing on the bass guitars and the electric guitars when the solo comes on. Harsh Dandotiya does the video colour grading and Tamzid Rehman mixes and masters the track.

11. Forever
Performed by Ritwick Das
Written by Ritwick Das
Language: English
Genre: Indie pop/ballad

This singer-songwriter released the song back in 2015 after first beginning to work on it in 2007. Ritwick Das currently released the acoustic version and I loved it 100% and believe it deserves a feature, especially for many like me who haven't heard the original. As expected the vocals, acoustic and bass guitars dominate and I even while typing the review ended up closing my eyes in complete appreciation of the song, its rendition and the underlying melody. I cannot think of a better song to dedicate and sing to my wife every single day as a mark of my love for her. "I need your love today, tomorrow and the day after, I'm game for all the fights to come". It is a beautifully sung and written song as well and Ritiwick does some excellent production getting the strings section added in the background.

12. Kinna Sara Ae
Singer : Prateeksha Srivastava
Composed & Written by: Geetesh Yadav
Music: Parth Dubey & Geetesh Yadav
Language: Punjabi
Genre: Melody

This young talented singer has been on my radar since 2019 and she possesses a very honest and able voice, when given the right song Prateeksha Srivastava can raise it multiple notches. "Kinna Sara Ae" is one such song and thanks to the lovely composition by Geetesh Yadav and production by himself and Parth Dubey, it undoubtedly comes into this week's charts of India's best songs. The Piano and Violin set the tone for a sober and slow melody, and it gets gravitated even further with Prateeksha's poignant humming. No stone is left unturned as Parth and Geetesh get all the instrumental arrangements spot on. Prateeksha puts all the effort to make sure every note is delivered keeping the son's message and tone in mind. She does a beautiful vibrato singing "Kee jaane mera pyaar". The track is mixed and mastered by Parth and Shreshth Parashar. The composers and producers work on getting the background sounds layered without being lackadaisical.

13. Beautiful Pain
Performed by Dhruv Trikannad
Written by Dhruv Trikannad
Language: English
Genre: Country/Blues

Why can't we have good old 'Country' music here in India? Well here is the answer to that! This Pune-based youngster Dhruv Trikkanad truly shows me that even pain can be beautiful if it sounds as good as this song. I haven't heard the other song in this EP called 'Gelastiko' and I soon shall. The standout parts of the song are the use of the Slide guitar and the Harmonica which are played by Hrishikesh Joshi. Dhruv sounds like a seasoned campaigner and shows immaculate skill in singing especially the falsetto tone. Hrishikesh also goes on a free-spirited journey playing and improvising as goes along on the slide guitar as well as the Harmonica making it sound like a fantastic track emerging from somewhere in New Mexico or Alabama. Dhruv's plays the acoustic guitar as he sings and I can only sing along and wonder " What is happening to me" when I hear this stunner.

14. Choo Le Dobara
Composer: Aabhas - Shreyas
Lyrics: Ravi
Singers: Aabhas & Sumedha Karmahe
Music Production/Arrangement: Aabhas - Shreyas

True talent can never stay hidden and unappreciated for long and that is why these brothers keep coming out with solid music now and then, and it is my passion and duty to ensure Aabhas Joshi and Shreyas Joshi should get all the due credit and recognition for being awesome. Moreover, check out the label and it is Salim and Sulaiman's Merchant Records. Last week it was "Pi ko Rijhaoon" by Aabhas and Shreyas which was featured in India's top 15 songs. Shreyas plays the delectable Mandolin and along with it the Accordion and this takes us back to some Bollywood numbers and my mind straight away waits for Sonu Nigam to start singing. Kamran Raza plays the bass guitars and Hrishi Giridhar accompanies on the acoustic guitar, and my favourite line is "Choo le Dobaara" just after singing " Yuhin" and a brief pause. Sumedha Karmahe sounds like a voice that brings us the nostalgia of the 1990s and I am always a sucker for newer and fresh ideas compared to the tried-and-tested methods. Shreyas mixes and masters the track while the very catchy rhythm programming duties are taken over by Kahaan Shah. Check out the lead vocalists in the line "baaton hi baaton mein tu ne , kuch toh kaha, maine bhi suna", and here I loved how vulnerable and helpless Sumedha sounds almost like she is experiencing what the protagonist of the song is. Ravi writes these beautiful lines.

15. Mayalu
Performed/Written and Composed by Riko
Music & Video Produced by Mall Road Studios.
Language: Nepali

Genre: Alt-Rock

I did feature this talented musician Riko Lama who has been taking part in the 'Voice of Nepal' reality music show and this will be the second number from his EP 'Kehi Katha Haru' released this year that I am featuring. The songs are written and sung in Nepalese and this Alt-Rock flavour is here to savour. Chandan Tamang at Mall Road Studios has produced the number. This is just a feel-good enjoyable song but I just wish I understood some words atleast, because otherwise the vocals and instrumentals are so heart-warming. Towards the end when it is only the vocals and guitars with the drums taking a breather, you will just want to soak in more of that beauty.

16. Oo Saahiba
Singers: Vishal And Sheykhar, Sheykhar Ravjiani
Music: Vishal And Sheykhar
Lyrics: Manoj Muntashir
Music Arranged by: Sheykhar Ravjiani & Meghdeep Bose
Music Produced by: Meghdeep Bose
Language: Hindi
Genre: Melody

It is never easy to work on a movie that is a remake of a popular hit. Expectations are enormous and the pressure to perform is intense because comparisons will be inevitable. I have to give full marks to Vishal and Sheykhar for doing a fabulous job on the album "Vikram Vedha". This is the best song composed by the duo, them retaining the major BGM scores of the original. This song fits beautifully in the movie's screenplay as well and Sheykhars vocals are magical, to say the least. Manoj Muntashir's lyrics are so endearing and the best line is " meri taraf se , haan hai, O saahiba". The duo has composed the music, but a huge uplift is because of Meghdeep Bose's production. The man is one of the best in the country today and he shows why with all the programming and arrangements(along with Sheykhar). We hear Pratik Srivastava on the Sarod and Meghdeep on guitars and bass with Prashant Sonagra on the Tabla. The Sarod solo and the Harmonica in the interlude are terrific mood-setters. The Tabla becomes an important hub in the wheel during the stanza and we also get to hear Priyanshi Shrivastav and Vishal in the backing vocals. Another line I love is "koyi duniya mein tere barabar kahaan", a fantastic segment both musically and lyrically. Behold the beauty of the pause, the Sarod and Tabla interventions when Sheykhar sings "Meri taraf se... " and after a pause again starts singing. The track is recorded by Meghdeep, with Hanish Taneja on mixing and mastering.

17. Pyar Mein
Composer: Denny Thakrar and Nikhita Gandhi
Lyrics: Shloke Lal
Music produced by: Rob Agostini (Soundbaker Studios)
Language: Hindi
Genre: Electronic pop

I'll always maintain that when utilised well, Nikhita Gandhi is an amazing asset and she shows that in this very upbeat electronic pop number. Nikhita and Denny Thakrar have composed this song and it is produced by Rob Agostini. Nikhita sings it with impeccable style and energy like only she can. Denny is the male vocalist and he also brings in freshness and the programming and arrangements along with vocal improvisations make up for any repetitiveness in the song. Vocal harmonies and rhythm programming also add heavily to the likability of the song. Shloke Lal is a very talented lyricist who thinks quite differently from the rest and I am glad he writes the words for this one and lives up to the hype. The track is mixed and mastered by Rob Agostini

18. Ye Nadi Chali Kahan
Music: Shantanu Moitra
Vocals: Sid Sriram
Lyrics: Tanveer Ghazi
Language: Hindi
Genre: Melody

In this collection called "Songs of the River" Shantanu Moitra gets some seasoned vocalists and musicians to perform, but it was this song that was my most favourite. It is a very simple but likeable track which just the Guitars and vocals to drive it forward and it feels like a pleasant boat ride down the River Ganges at dawn or dusk. I do have a complaint, it is that an experienced composer like Shantanu does the same error that many young musicians have made in Tamil music industry. It is that Sid Sriram is allowed to do his very predictable and mundane style of aalap in all his songs. I have not been a fan of that and have criticised it as the reason the Telugu and Tamil versions of 'Kesariya' sound so bad to my ears. Here too we begin the song with that vocal aalap, but after that, the song settles down into a very nice space. The interlude once again feels like Sid is crying in pain, and after that, the stanza has some very nice notes helped along by the bass guitars, acoustic guitars, Piano and mild drums. I wish musicians from North India and anywhere outside South India, invested more time and effort in discovering new vocal talents and looking beyond the glaring and obvious. To me Minus Sid, this would have been a very enjoyable tune.