Top Indian Songs of the week 20th October 2024

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Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 20th October 2024

1. Maravikale

Music Composed & Arranged by Sushin Shyam

Singer - Madhuvanthi Narayan

Lyrics - Rafeeq Ahammed

Score prep by Kalyani Nair

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Light Music

Mood: Pathos

Sushin Shyam is one of India's finest composers because he can alternate between a modern EDM banger and a time-tested melody with wonderful live instrumentals. But it is these sorts of songs that define his skill, for me, more than an entire album of "Aavesham", which tends to please the larger group of music fans. Sandeep Mohan lays the foundation on acoustic guitars and immediately we are led into the song's intro with Nikhil Ram's soothing flute solo and the violin and viola by Rithu Vishak in the background. Rithu as always handles the one-man string quartet. 

Madhuvanthi Narayan is the perfect choice as the lead vocalist for this song which needs that texture, mood and delivery style. When she sings the line " smaranakalam mizhineer thumbikal" the notations are beautiful with the added impact of the cello and the doubles bass. Kudos to Sushin and Nivin Raphael for the arrangements and additional music production respectively. The interlude with the acoustic guitars in the lead is just a magical phase, accompanied by Naveen Napier on bass. 

The stanza is also a further testament to Sushin's composition skills with the lines heading off into a chord progression that I would not have expected like "ariya lipyayy marunnu lokam" and the way he constructs the landing notes into the song's pallavi with "churul neerunnu marulokamathilo thiriya varikal" is a master stroke. Madhuvanthi sings with such poise and her every note impacts you whether it is melancholy or subtle innocence. She mixes the vibrato beautifully without overdoing it. The melody and song's tone remind me Santhosh Narayanan's "Agasatha Naan Pakkiren" from 'Cuckoo'. 

The interlude gets really haunting with the strings section dominating and the Indian Choral Ensemble performing. Kalyani Nair handles the score prep and is also the Soprano. Sivanranjini Chandramouli is on Alto, Sudharsan Hemaram on Tenor and Shyam Krishna on Bass. The tracks are mixed by Abin Paul and mastered by Gethin John at Mastering World UK. Rafeeq Ahmed writes the wonderful words. 

@sushintdt @madhuvanthinarayan @kalyaninair86 @gibsandeep @rithuvysakh @nivin_raphael @nikhilramtp @napier_naveen @theindianchoralensemble @sivaranjinichandramouli @shyam_krissh

2. Sher Dil

Songwriters: Mohammad Muneem Nazir, Hardik Vaghela and Aman Moroney

Produced by Aman Moroney

Vocals: Mohammad Muneem Nazir

Language: Hindi

Genre: Alt-Rock

Mood: Energetic

Spectacular rock is what I can call this! Alif a.k.a Mohammad Muneem Nazir is on vocals and his Kashmiri-tinted Hindi vocals are a pleasure to hear. Aman Moronry glorifies the intro with his electric guitars in the background, oozing off in rock tendencies and the influx of energy emerges from Mitchell Murray's drums and Aman's acoustic rhythm guitars. I have always loved Alif's work and they are a big hit when AMan and Alif collaborate. 

The synths give the song an alternative rock paint and when Alif sings "khazana tum hai" we feel the energy through our nerves and bl;ood stream. The chorus segment is pulverising thanks to the melody, vocals and production and they all go beautifully together cementing well and giving us an enjoyable track. Aman Moroney is the producer and the song is written by Mohammad Muneem Nazir, Hardik Vaghela and Aman Moroney. The solo on the electric guitar is pure bliss and kudos to Aman for a fabulous job there. 

Alif shows us what singing means, it is about delivering the words with perfect poise, and emotion and when he sings "dil hai jo toota na, sher dil nahi", you get the full message. This is what original independent music is all about, glowing with creativity, quality and creativity. The flowy acoustic guitars with Alif's high-pitched vocals are a great outro. Aman also is the Cellist and Bassist in the song. Aman and Ashish Manchanda have done the mixing and mastering and the recording engineers are Aria Nanji at Island City Studios and Aman. 

@everythingisalif @hardikv @aman_moroney @mohammad.muneem @misfitsinc @artistefirst @studioislandcity @ariananji 

3. Nadiya

Vocals, Composition - Anurag Mishra

Backing Vocals - Hansika Pareek

Lyrics - Alok Ranjan Srivastava

Music Production - Aditya Bisht

Language: Hindi

Genre: Light Music -Pop

Mood: Relaxing

Anurag Mishra is a name I will trust, recommend and expect to be mesmerised by every time. This guy released a beautiful album called RANG and I featured a couple of songs in my reviews and rated the whole album quite high. He is capable of being a standalone composer in a movie album which demands genre-bending music (of course we are not talking about Bollywood which remains satisfied in rehashing old music). I am once again thrilled to hear this excellent single released last week, and I cannot wait for the whole album to release.

The composition and lead vocals are by Anurag with lyrics by the talented Alok Ranjan Srivastava. The Piano and the chirping of the birds are like a walk in the park at the break of dawn, Hansika Pareek teasing the listener with her pristine voice in the humming. My mind is calm and growing joyous listening to his voice with Apratim Tripathi tantalisingly playing the Tabla. Is there a Raag Khamaj or Khamaj Thaat that I am hearing in the melody already? The pre-chorus is rich and loaded with such melodic goodness and when he hits the notes "Manzilon ko hi paana, naa hi fasana, bhed tune safar ka na jaana, dheeme dheem paaaon dhar nadiya", I am engrossed and feeling thankful that I get to hear and writes about such music and musicians. 

The guitars, bass and flute interventions by Harshit Shankar are so impactful and important and collectively I feel like I am just floating on this gentle river from one place towards paradise. The music production by Aditya Bisht is nothing short of excellent and he deserves huge praise for all these spectacular arrangements. The Harmonium and harmonies in the interlude. As we hit the stanza tehre is this endearing sadness maybe from the Raag Charukeshi influences in the line " sun zindagi kya kahe, nadiya ti aise bahe". Alok too gives us so much joy with such heartfelt and intelligent writing, like he knew what a river's life felt like. Miss this song at your own risk, and you willl feel FOMO all the way!. The tracks are mixed and mastered by Aditya Bisht. 

@anuragmishramusic @playheadstudio @hansikaapareek @hashtag.jazbaat @addy_music @harshitshankar @tripathiapratim @sharadshardan@sakshimehrotraa

4.  Dheeme Dheeme

Vocals by Siddharth Pandit, Yashika Sikka

Written by Alok Ranjan Srivastava

Composed and Produced by Siddharth Pandit

Language: Hindi

Genre: Pop

Mood: Relaxing

'Dheeme Dheeme' sings Siddharth Pandit in the faint voice and the accompanying guitars. This is the 6th and final track I am featuring from this outstanding indie album called "Azaad Sangeet Season 3". I don't recommend this album just for music lovers but for music composers and producers, inexperienced and seasoned to understand the quality of this lad. Drop everything you are doing and stream the album right away!

Siddharth has performed the lead vocals, composed the melody and produced this to perfection. Some of the choices of arrangements are par excellence and exhibit his vision and creative intent. The lyrics for this single are penned by Alok Ranjan Srivastava. It is like a dream that has just started playing in your sleep and you enter deeper into your sleep cycle and the dream gets wilder, more convoluted and so on. That is exactly how I felt when Yashika Sikka came on board along with Siddharth in harmony and sang " Ho Subah.. Ho Subah" as if we entered the REM sleep cycle, towards the end of our dream. 

What happens next is something I never could predict as a music aficionado. "Sau baras lag magar sawan aaya", followed by some oomph in just 3 notes of harmonies. This is the mark of greatness when a composer surprises you every step of the way. There are some fabulous acoustic and bass guitars playing in the background as well. The final dance begins with the chorus singing "Ho Subah" and now the Piano and drums combine with artistic extravaganza to give us a fitting outro. 

@panditjeeee @m.sorlii @michel_e_b @hashtag.jazbaat @jeemainyashika @shaandaarshriya @harshreality91 @akankshasethimusic @poojatiwari_official 

5. Jigra Title Track

Music Composer, Producer - Achint 

Singer - Vedang Raina

Lyrics - Varun Grover

Music Supervisor - Parth Pandya (Night Song)

Additional Production - Shalom Benjamin

Language: Hindi

Genre: Soft Rock

Mood: Energetic

I rarely feature two songs from the same Bollywood music album in my weekly lists. I agree that the bar is quite low, but credit must be given where it's due, so kudos to Achint Thakkar and the whole team for some good music for "Jigra". Last week it was "Tenu Sangh Rakhna" and now we have the lead actor, Vedang, turning lead vocalist for the title track. It is easier these days for many actors to lend their voice for playback thanks to teh immense help from Auto-Tune and Pitch correction, having said that Vedang has done a good job. 

Achint is the composer and producer with additional music production from Shalom Benjamin and Parth Pandya on music supervision. The electric guitars and drums stand out giving the rock texture, and when get to the chorus segment "Jigra o, jigra o" the lines are uplifting thanks to the line up of backup singers coming together and performing. The backing vocalists are Vasan Bala, Shivam Vichare, Saurabh Roy, Omar Iyer, Parth Pandya, Shalom Benjamin, Koustuv Ghosh, Partha Roy and Devvrath Asrani.

The solo violin by Ajay Jayanthi comes in during the interlude and in the background too and paints that mild sadness into the mix. The melody in the verse is not something out of the blue, it is pretty straightforward, but thanks to the production, the song still deserves a place in the rankings this week. Sreerupa Ghosh is the voice coordinator. I love the claps-like rhythms and the drums (which have a terrific phase of higher beats-per-minute) are fabulous just before the bridge section. Kudos to Achint for writing this bridge section which is a welcome drift away from the rest of the song that goes " oh jigra oh, hum hai tere saathi ho, sab ke qisse teri lambi kahaani". 

The recording engineer is Abhishek Khandelwal at YRF Studios, with assistant Dileep Nair. The tracks are mixed and mastered by Prathamesh Dudhane at Bombay Live Studios with mix assistants Praneeth Kumar and Prathamesh Naganure. A big round of applause for Varun Grover is due for writing these amazing lines. 

@achintstagram @vidushak @parthmpandya @nightsongrecords @shalombenjamin @abhimixkardo @vedangraina @vasanbala @saregama_official @marijkedesouza @sreerupag @ajayjayanthi

6. Tu Hi

Composer: Osho Jain

Lyricist: Osho Jain

Language: Hindi

Genre: Pop

Mood: Relaxing

Here comes another fine single from Osho Jain, as part of his new EP titled "Uff". The calming voice texture adds to the song's likability and the engaging rhythms and keys keep things minimal but meaningful. This works when you have an artist who expresses a lot with his words and so overloading the song with production can be detrimental. Osho writes the lyrics, composes the tune and performs the lead vocals. The melody does give off a Raag Hamsadhwani vibe according to me. 

Kudos to such beautiful writing which conveys love and affection with such grace and selflessness as he sings " tu hi meri har museebat ka hai hal tu, tu hi meri kismet, mera mahal tu". The sudden change in tempo with the influx of synths brings about great joy with even more gleeful lines coming our way" tu hi mera zamana ab tu, tu hi naya purana ab tu". Can you hear the mild bells in the background? I love the introduction of the electric guitar solo and keys in the interlude, and when I least expected Osho goes astray with such creativity bringing in the Harmonium in the stanza. 

The landing notes out of the stanza which goes "ab tu hi rangat meri jaan meri tu hi aakhri saans hai" with the accompanying guitars are wonderfully written. 

@oshojain_ @sanchhhii @axat_vj_08 @nomsitaharashya @swapnalokstudio @vaishnav.vyas 

7. The Quest

Performed by Dhruvv Bhattacharya

Written by Dhruv Bhattacharya

Language: Hindi

Genre: Semi-classical fusion

Mood: Relaxing

The song starts and gives away the Raag Charukeshi vibes, with that mild pathos. Dhruvv Bhattacharya is a 19-year-old musician and he has composed the melody, written the lyrics and produced the song. The aalap in the intro followed by the silky smooth Sitar Solo already creates awe for the listener. The Sitar is played by Suhel Saeed Khan with impeccable poise. The Piano and rhythm programming are accompaniments that stay all along. 

The interlude has the swara recital along with a nicely composed melody for the sitar, which is quite elaborate as well. Dhruvv does a fantastic job on arrangements and production bringing in some EDM elements into the mix. The melody sticks to Raag Charukeshi and Dhruvv scores additionally in the overall sound design. You can hear Suhel constantly playing the Sitar in the background and the outro has the Swaras, along with a male chorus.  

@dhruvvbhattacharya @suhelsaeedkhan_sitarist @dj_katashi

8.  Bas Kaafi Hai

Composer: Shekhar Ravjiani 

Singers: Shekhar Ravjiani, Shreya Ghoshal

Lyrics: Manoj Yadav

Produced by: Shivam-Anuj 

Language: Hindi

Genre: Pop

Mood: Romantic

Shekhar Ravijani is making this one habit of being present in my weekly reviews and it is an example for young musicians and seasoned ones as well to continue to use the indie space as a gateway for making music with utmost freedom, creativity and consistency. The melody is just accompanied by acoustic guitars. Shekhar and Shreya Ghoshal are the lead vocalists and when we get to the pre-chorus segment the additional vocals by Shivam-Anuj and Arish B add a very gentle and soothing layer of harmonies.

The song's melody reminds me of the famous number " Ek Pyaar Ka Nagma Hai" by Laksmikant-Pyarelal. I love the line " jahan main ghul jaaon toh, wahi tu mil jaaye toh". The song's production is by Shivam-Anuj so kudos to them on the excellent arrangements. Shekhar's voice sounds soothing and as he has done in the recent past Shekhar introduces a catchy peppy segment with English lines. Here it is " Baby I don't need a paradise, I don't need to look up to the skies, Just one look at you to realise, You're all I need". Manoj Yadav does well in capturing the essence of love with the lines in Hindi and English. 

The stanza is where Shekhar gets the heart to grow fonder of the melody especially with the lines " mehebaani mehebaan ho". The additional layer of Shreya's vocals in the background adds some more beauty towards the end. Finally, the English line acts as the perfect outro to this loopworthy romantic single. The tracks are mixed by Shivam-Anuj and Abhishek Sortey.

@shekharravijani @shreyaghoshal @garuudaamusiic @manojyadavwrites @anujdanait @shivaminsanegupta @arish_b @manastakle

9. Ve Sohneya

Singer/Lyrics: Gurdas Maan

Music : Jatinder Shah

Language: Punjabi

Genre: Folk

Mood: Happy

Do listen to the new album "Sound of Soil" by Gurdas Maan, with some wonderful Punjabi folk music getting some nice treatment. This one was my favourite in the album. Jatinder Shah has composed the music, and the lyrics and vocals are by Gurdas. The Harmonium, Dhol and mandolin add rich flavours and precisely give away the textures of Punjabi and its soil. 

Sai Productions is involved in all the music production and the music label is Speed Records. The folk music gets some upgrades and with excellent Keys and some stylish and cool bass guitar support right through. You can feel the impact of the vibrant bass in the stanza. Jatinder writes a very hummable and heartwarming melody that you feel like singing. 

@gurdasmaanjeeyo @jatindershah10 @saiproductions @speedrecords @shivangijoshi18 @dineshauluck @satvindersinghkohli @ramankohlii24

10. You Are Mine

Performed by Hemachandra Vedala

Written by Hemachandra Vedala

Language: Telugu

Genre: Pop

Mood: Romantic

Hemachandra Vedala is a rare gem in the Telugu music space because he keeps creating some fine indie music, aside from being involved in Tollywood albums. The keys and guitars strumming with a fine bass guitar piece makes way in the intro. I love the bass guitar sound here creating some oomph and style. The melody is beautiful and the vocals are performed with a sense of vulnerability.

That sensitive singing "nu naa thaanive " which means 'You are mine' really touches the heart. The guitar-led interlude is beautiful with some simple yet nicely played notes. The stanza is where Hemachandra introduces a few more complexities in the melody and the constant presence of the bass and acoustic guitars makes this a rich production overall. Kudos to the man for ensuring that a good melody is accompanied by excellent vocals and guitar arrangements

@vedalahemachandra @hcindiefied 

11.  Bhayankar Piya

Composed, written by: Parth Srivastava

Singers: Zeeshan Khan, Garvit Soni, Priyansh Srivastava, Samad Khan and Parth Srivastava

Produced by: Garvit Soni

Additional vocals and chorus: Chaitanya Kapadia and Maitreya Kulkarni

Language: Hindi

Genre: Folk / Qawwali

Mood: Romantic

This is a good Qawwali single with the talented Garvit and Priyansh involved in vocals and production. I did not need a second invitation to listen. The melody and lyrics are by Parth Srivastava whose EP I did talk about earlier this year. The inviting sound of the Tabla by Maitreya Kulkarni and the tempo makes me feel like I am about to start listening to 'Kajra Re' from the album "Bunty Aur Babli" by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. 

The sound of Harmonium in conjunction with the Tabla feels so enriching. The lead vocals are by Garvit Soni, Priyansh Srivastava, Samad Khan, Zeeshan and Parth, and the outcome is a celebration of life. The whistles are interjected in perfect instances when the line "dhadkaye.. dhadkaye.. hamare bin" begins. The interlude has a nice melody played by the Harmonium and the overall programming, arrangements and production by Garvit is top-notch giving all the flavours the genre demands. 

The song will make you get up and dance when you hear it and it is helped by some fine melody and vocals. The melody does have influences of Raag Yaman I believe. The bass guitar support is fabulous and deserves praise. Garvit Soni is the mixing engineer and the mastering is done by Shivam Verma. Chaitanya Kapadia and Maitreya are additional vocalists. 

@zeeshan_malang @maitreyakulkarniii @garvitsoni_ @shivamvermamusic @priyanshhhsrivastava @samadkhann @firstwav