Top Indian Songs of the week 21st January 2024

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Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 21st January 2024.

1. Love Like That

Vocals - Jonita, Ali Sethi

Producer - Ariza

Songwriters - Jonita, Ali Sethi, Juan Ariza, Julia Gartha

Language: English/Punjabi

Genre: Electronic pop fusion

Mood: Euphoric

Fusion music of extraordinary skill and creativity needs due appreciation and recognition. This song is the epitome of such expertise and I knew from the time I heard it that 'Love Like That' would top the charts. Jonita Gandhi's saucy vocals introduce us to the song with electronic pop elements ruling the roost. The clap sounds kind of indicate the approval and ovation from the crowd listening to this. 

Ali Sethi starts off and the most unexpected shift in the song's style happens with his semi-classical notes intertwining with Jonita's western-styled vocals. Jonita, Ali Sethi, Juan Ariza and Julia Gartha have written the song with Ariza being the producer. As we get to the middle of the song, both Ali and Jonita exhibit tremendous skill as vocalists, singing in the Punjabi lines with incredible control and effective vibrato. When I hear the semi-classical portions I am reminded of Raag Desh. The tracks are mixed by Jesse Ray Ernster and mastered by Gerhard Westphalen

@jonitamusic @alisethiofficial @juliagartha @musicariza @jesseraymix @gerhardwestphalen

2. Sougandhika

Music Composed and Arranged by: Mayur Ambekallu

Singers: Siddhartha Belmannu, Aishwarya Rangarajan

Lyricist: Sandeep Sunkad

Programmed by: Mayur Ambekallu

Language: Kannada

Genre: Semi-classical pop

Mood: Romantic

There is such an extensive live instrumental display in the intro section and that itself is a rare commodity these days. Mayur Ambekallu gets my approval for this composition and also his skilful arrangements in the song. Sandeep Vashishta kicks things off with the woodwinds, to be followed by Amritanshu Dutta playing the Indian Slide guitar. The guitars are played by Ritwik Bhattacharya and Vinay Sharma. 

Siddhartha Belamannu had sung one of the best songs of 2023 and I am glad he has begun 2023 on this note. The chorus section becomes quite upbeat like in the dance-pop mode. The interludes put the slide guitar on display once again with Amritanshu given a free hand. The stanza is beautiful with notes that kind of remind of me Raag Brindavani Sarang. Mayur keeps bettering himself as we progress because he not only gives an enjoyable tune but also gets the arrangements to magnify the beauty of the song

Manonmani and Sarfraz Khan are exponents of the Sarangi and they delight us in the stanza with their interventions. Napier Naveen is the bassist providing such a unique style in the background. Two is always better than 1, isn't it? That is what we get with Aishwarya Rangarajan singing the female lead vocals with her high-pitched perfection and emotionally invested delivery. She dominated in the second stanza and the landing just ahead of the pallavi is executed beautifully by the leads. The recording engineers are Amith Sachdeva at Musicloud Studios Bengaluru and Paul at 20db Studios, Chennai. Hriday Goswami is the mix/master engineer at X-Noise Studios, Guwahati

@mayurambekallu @siddhartha_belamannu @aish_rangarajan @hridaygoswami @xnoisestudio @film_shakhahaari @sandeepsunkada @shruti_madawale @vinayuj_official @nidhi_hegde @chethusomashekhar @pauldanieldanny @sarfaraaz_khan29 @mrtmusicofficial @krg_connects @ritwikbhaatacharya @amritanshudutta @sreeharsha_gobhatta @sandeepvasishta @musicloudstudio @20dbsoundstudios@napier_naveen  

3. Jiya Jaise

Composer and Lyricist - Raghav Kaushik

Singers - Raghav Kaushik & Nikhita Gandhi

Music Producer - Himonshu Parikh

Language: Hindi

Genre: Electronic pop

Mood: Romantic

Raghav Kaushik has been one of my favourite Hindi Indie musicians because he is not only gifted with a delectable voice, but he also makes every composition of his count, giving utmost preference to quality over numbers. That is why maybe his music releases are separated by a wider duration than usual. Raghav on the lead vocals and Harshavardhan Gadhvi on guitars combine in just some basic stripped-down pop style. 

As we progress a bit the exuberant production by Himonshu Parikh comes into play. We can hear some fantastic backing vocals as Raghav sings " sabne sajha". The keys and rhythms pile it on after that and Himonshu gets some exciting things going especially with that riff on the stringed instrument and the solo electric guitar in the interlude. Shirish Prakash Singh is the assistant music producer for the project. Raghav writes the lyrics, composes the melody and performs the male lead vocals. 

Nikhita Gandhi portrays a version of her singing that comes few and far between. She is fantastic with a touch of vulnerability displayed in his voice. Nikhita delivers a sensitive rendition and that is what draws you closer and gives the song a personal relatability. Kudos to the whole team for making an absolute gem of a song. We have Abhishek Ghatak on mixing and mastering, and Rahul M Sharma as the recording engineer at Studio 504, Mumbai. Azeem Dayani, Harsh Tokas & Yogi Tandon are the music supervisors. 

@raghav__kaushik @nikhitagandhiofficial @azeemdayani @himonshu @theghatak @harshreality91 @harshtokas @tandonyogi 

 4. Vaanil Ninnum

Music: Gopi Sundar 

Lyrics: Vinayak Sasikumar

Singer: Pranavam Sasi

Song Arranged and Programmed By: Gopi Sundar 

It is a grand opening with the horns section, giving the feeling of a great curtain raiser. Gopi Sundar has composed, arranged and programmed every detail to perfection along with some additional programming by Nitheesh Chandran and Cyriac George. If the horns aren't enough to wake you up from your boredom, the stunning guitars by Sumesh Parameswar are epic. 

Pranavam Sasi has this excellent tone, much like Antony Dasan that gives the song a folkish pop touch. Josy Alappuzha does a brilliant job of intervening on the flute solo, and the interlude with the horns, bass and flute just sets the stage for the stanza. I do sense some Raag Keeravani in the mix. There are segments in the stanza which sound like "oru kootu kiliyaga" by Ilaiyaraja. Vinayak Sasikumar is the lyricist. Cochin Strings gives us such an enjoyable strings section support. 

Gopi bamboozles us with a sudden shift of style. The dance folk interlude and texture make it such a creative composition and production. The music production managers are Babu Velayudhan and Priya Nair. The recording engineers are Rajath Raveendran, Nevin C Delson and Gopi Sundar with mixing and mastering by Balu Thankachan @ 20db Black

@gopisundar__official @vinayaksasikumar @pranavamshashi @parameswarsumesh 

5. Raat Akeli Thi

Singers - Arijit Singh, Antara MItra

Lyrics - Varun Grover

Music - Pritam

Music Arranger and Programmer - Himonshu Parikh

Language: Hindi

Genre: Blues Pop

Mood: Romantic

Pritam is having a ball and it looks like he had a Merry Christmas this time around. The album 'Merry Christmas' has some excellent songs and I have already featured one, and after this song, I will be having one more in the weeklies. Arijit Singh continues to perform for Pritam, well why wouldn't he, with such insane quality? The tune is perfect for a twilight of romance.

Arijit's singing is excellent accompanied by Keys, rhythms and bass. The interlude gives you an idea about what I'm talking about, with some nice synths and vocal harmonies. Credit must go to Himonshu Parikh who is the producer. He is the man behind last year's best Bollywood song and its ('O Bedardeya' ) superlative production. Antara Mitra is the female lead vocalist and they combine well singing the chorus lines. The backing vocals design is done by Tushar Joshi, Dev Arijit and Himonshu Parikh. Pritam excels in composing the nice bridge section as well. 

Kudos to Pritam's amazing team of Anurag Sharma, Brianna Supriyo, Ashwin Kulkarni, Aniruddh Anantha, and Pranav Gupta who have all done brilliantly on production, sound design, vocal conduction etc. The tracks are mixed and mastered by Eric Pillai at Future Sound of Bombay, with mixing assistant Michael Edwin Pillai

@himonshu @arijitsingh @ipritamofficial @antaramitraofficial @aniruddhanantha @briannasupriyo 

6. Girls Night

Performed by Dot.

Written by Aditi Saigal, Ifan Sion Davies, James Gair, Rich James Roberts

Produced by Rich James Roberts, The Playbook

Language: English

Genre: Jazz, Pop

Mood: Happy

Aditi Saigal a.k.a. Dot. has been having a wonderful last few months, with projects like 'The Archies', acting, singing and composing for it and her latest album 'Practice Rooms' where I did feature and talk about a couple of excellent songs. This single released in 2024 now immediately grabs my attention because her style of great singing combined with relevant writing, good composition and adequate production has been setting Dot. a cut above the rest right from the time I heard her with 'Khamotion'.

This single is written by Dot., Ifan Sion Davies, James Gair and Rich James Roberts, with Rich James Roberts producing it. The guitars and drums keep driving the song along and when the chorus segment arrives we get wonderful arrangements including the Horns, harmonies and some terrific keys. The whole tone makes me feel like I'm listening to 'Love Me for a Reason' by Boyzone. 

The production is more than adequate and I love how there are the post-chorus segments with only the lead and bass guitars and Dot.'s vocals dominating. Slowly as we approach the outro we get to experience the full impact of the Horns and strings section in the background. The writing is intriguing as always as she intelligently uses" Thinking over and overthinking" in the same sentence. The tracks are mixed and mastered by Adhithya Sivakumar

@dotandthesyllables @prxnv @hawwasamples @james_gair_music @aoiffe.244 @the_playbook_pb @ifansiondavies @ywsgwynedd @nisheeta_ @anikaasingss @adhithya.sivakumar 

7. Laal Peeli Akhiyaan

Music: Tanishk Bagchi

Lyrics: Neeraj Rajawat

Singers: Romy and Tanishk Bagchi

Music Producer: Tanishk Bagchi and Ganesh Waghela

Language: Hindi

Genre: EDM/Folk

Mood: Energetic

In the last few months, I have heard some very good music from the repertoire of Tanishk Bagchi. This being the latest from an upcoming movie has a great mix of a hummable tune, terrific vocals, good production and some creative elements as well. Romy gives life to the song with some energetic delivery. This is from the upcoming movie " Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya"

Neeraj Rajawat is the lyricist and the duo of Tanishk and Ganesh Waghela have produced the song. There is a good amalgamation of EDM and folk styles. The tracks are mixed and mastered by Eric Pillai at Future Sound of Bombay, with Michael Edwin Pillai as mix assistant. 

@tanishk_bagchi @mainhoonromy @neerajrajawat11 @itsganeshwaghela 

8. Jaane Kyu Diya

Song composed, written and sung by Prateeksha Srivastava

Music produced and track mixed-mastered by A$AD

Language: Hindi

Genre: Ballad Pop

Mood: Pathos 

Prateeksha Srivastava is rising like this unstoppable force and if you are someone who tracks the indie music space, you better keep her under your radar. I have featured her work more times than I can count with my hands and I am happy to see her graduate from a vocalist, steadily into a full-blown songwriting zone. 

She has composed the melody, written the lyrics and sung the lead vocals, all with excellent efficacy. We have the mild Pianos and the rhythmic beats just faintly accompanying a dominant Prateeksha. We get to the chorus segment and she sings " kyunnnnn.... jaane kyun diya", and this makes us go through the pain of a separation faced by the protagonist. Kudos to Prateeksha for being so effective in delivering the vocals filled with the necessary emotions. 

The singing reaches an even bigger high with the lines " aaj bhi sochthi, itni thi kya galti padi jo tumse mili, maafi nahi" and she just soars with such excellent touches to the notes and the humming " naa naa naa". The vibrato is mild but meaningful, and this is where her skill as a vocalist gets portrayed. A$AD handles the song production and brilliantly allows Prateeksha to shine, without too much intervention or excessive decibel levels. 

@officialprateeksha @asadmusic106 

9. Flower & Saints

Singer: Prem Dhillon

Lyrics: Harmanjeet

Music: Rass

Language: Punjabi

Genre: Pop

Mood: Happy

Well, it does sound like a dream, but not stolen but something I inherited or maybe share with this composer and artist. 'Stolen Dreams' is the name of the EP, with Prem DHillon being the vocalist, and music production by Rass. Harmanjeet is the lyrcist,. 

The song has oodles of goodness with keys, guitars and rhythms doing all the necessary beautification. The Sarangi and flute interventions are perfectly timed and glorify a simple tune. There are influences of Raag Hamsadhwani that I hear and the outro on synths and keys is fitting. 

@dhillonprem @harmanranitatt @musicbyrass 

 10. Parwaaz

Singer/Lyrics/Composer: Vayu 

Music: Vaibhav Pani

Language: Hindi

Genre: Electronic Pop

Mood: Energetic

I loved the covert art of the song that read as " Vayu X Pani". Well, how can anyone not like a song that has two of the 5 main elements of our planet? Vayu has written, composed the melody and performed the lead vocals and aiding him is Vaibhav Pani on production. Here too I felt a strong sense of Raag Hamsadhwani and that in itself effuses so much beauty to the tune. 

The interludes on keys create a dance or rather EDM effect which makes the song catchy and relevant to modern tastes. The electric guitar solo breathes even more life alongside the pacy rhythms. The rawness in Vayu's vocals is beyond compare and feels very personal. The backing vocal layers and the electric guitar make the outro uplifting. The tracks are mixed and mastered by Abhishek Khandelwal at YRF, with Dileep Nair as mix assistant. Soubir Moitra is the music production assistant to Vaibhav Pani. 

@vatavaranofficiall @vaibhavpani @vayurus @abhishek.1281