Top Indian Songs of the week 26th May 2024

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 26th May 2024

1. Sonchadi

Composed & arranged by digV

Artists: digV, Neha Kakkar & Kamala Devi

Creative Producer: Ankur Tewari

Lyrics: Lavraj

Additional Lyrics: Kausar Munir, Swanand Kirkire

Music production: Aman Sagar

Last year there were a few hits but many misses as well in Coke Studio Bharat's season of 2023. This one stands out as a mesmerising, fusion and original piece. Digvijay Singh Paraya a.k.a. digV has been a regular on my website thanks to come creative compositions and even otherwise for his unmistakable voice and powerful delivery. This multi-instrumentalist composes and arranges the vocals and live instruments in this reverberating piece of original music. When I read about the story of the song, it is a magical tale of Princess Rajula and her lover Malushahi in the forests and landscape of Kumaon. The guiding spirit of the forest that brings the lovers together is represented by folk artist and Kumaon local Kamla Devi on vocal. The terrific guitars draw me into the song, and we have Aman Sagar to thank for that along with bassist Sahil Masih. AMan also does the song's splendid music production with Ankur Tewari being the creative producer. The lyricist is Lavraj with Kausar Munir and Swanand Kirkire as the additional lyricists.

I am so thrilled that Neha Kakkar gets a good chance to display her potential, unlike many songs where, vocally she is not challenged. The baritonish lines are delivered by Neha with immense ease and style. Robin Fargose intervenes on the trumpets with great charm while we have Joshua Grant on drums and Tittoo on percussions to keep up the delightful tempo. The interventions are fantastic like Shubham Shirule's woodwinds and Ashwin Srinivasan's flute on the interlude and the song turns into a folk frenzy in the verse. The folk percussions like Hudka and Dholak are played by Nitesh Bisht and Ishteyak Khan. The vocal harmonies have been done well both from an execution and arrangement standpoint thanks to talented performers like Neha Karode, Yashika Sikka, Vishakha Mahore, Shriya Pareek, Pratiksha Kale, Shiwani Bhagwat, Nikita Ahuja and Akansha Tripathi.

Kamla Devi's folk lines are mesmerizing and take us to the heavenly forests of Kumaon. There is so much creativity on board here with Karan Joshi's Thali, fused along with Manasqam Mahanta's electric guitars, Momin Khan's Sarangi, Deepanshu Sharma's Mandolin and Pranay Parti's atmospheric synths. Moonscape is behind the Piano and Synths and the musical team for the project involves artists like Ankkit Singh, Aryam and Sanjay Pancholi. The recording engineers are Aditya Arya, Lijin Jolly Alex and Nitesh Bisht. Shadab Rayeen is the mixing engineer at New Edge

@digvijaysinghpariyaofficial @kamla_devi_lokgayika @nehakakkar @nehakarode_music @nikitaahuja__ @vishakha.mahore @pratikshakale @akankshatripathi22 @shiwani__bhagwat @shaandaarshriya @jyotideep_rajan @aryamofficial04 @cokestudiobharat @amansagarr @vikamiy @shubhamshirule @ishteyakkhanofficial @pranayparti @brownguyonbasstrip @linguistic.mystic @manasquam_mahanta @joshuagrant3198 @vibhastitu @mixwithdeep @mominkhanofficial @ankurtewari

2. Piya Mere

Composer - Abhijeet Srivastava

Lyrics - Shayra Apoorva

Vocals - Sanah Moidutty

Music arranged and produced by Aman Moroney

Additional production by Gibson George

Language: Hindi

Genre: Light Music

Mood: Romantic

When I heard this song, I stopped it immediately after a few seconds. Well, this is not because I couldn't bear it, on the contrary, the melody and production were so rich that I needed a pause to appreciate and absorb all its goodness with better clarity. Abhijeet Srivastava composes this beauty, but it wouldn't be what it is without the astonishing vocals of Sanah Moidutty and the revitalising arrangements production of Aman Moroney, along with Gibson George on additional production. Paras Thakur in the intro titilates with the acoustic guitar and when Vaibhav Duratkar strikes the Tabla and Sanah sings "Piya Piya", I can feel my heart swell and it is trying to get out of my enlarging chest. I want to fall in love with this protagonist and who in their right mind wouldn't when they listen to her sing this way? Shayra Apoorva writes these words that spill the message of love all over. You can also hear the stunning bass-lines by Sahil Masih when Sanah sings " Samjhe na, bairi thi" in those high notes. Vaibhav destroys it with his skill on the Tabla just before the interlude

Rohan Prasanna hits you with the melancholy of the Sarod in the interlude and it is accompanied by the strings section in the deeper layers. Aman Moroney does all the Cello as well as string arrangements. The combined effect of the bass guitars, Tabla and strings is pure magic. Despite being a short stanza, it is beautifully written and executed on vocals as well. The chorus segment starts again and here Vaibhav doubles up on the beats per minute with his Tabla giving the song a joyous expression. The outro is another stunning bit with the Viola, Cello, strings and backing vocal harmonies of Aanchal Tyagi, Subhashree Das and Payel. Shrikant Pise joins the revelry with the Harmonium solo and when it mixes with the Tabla we are taken closer to our Indian roots. The recording engineers are Aman Moroney, Nahush Badge and Gibson George at Gib Productions, Aman Moroney is the mix/master engineer.

@abhijeetmusic @sanah_moidutty @shayraa22 @aman_moroney @gibsonbha @vedaant.music @parasthakur @rohanprasanna @vaibhavduratkarofficial @payel.music @subhashree.16 @aanchalmusic @believemusicindia @gibmusick @shrikantpise83 @sahilgholap143 @brownguyonbasstrip @yashjagad95

3. Kahe Bana Batiya

Singer - Pratibha Singh Baghel

Music & Lyrics - Imran Khan

Music Produced and Arranged by Samarpit Golani

Language: Hindi

Genre: Semi-classical Fusion

Mood: Contemplative

I listened to this new collective called "Song Craft Season 1" with wonderful artists and some fabulous compositions. Imran Khan, the exponent of Sitar, has written the lyrics and composed the tune which this Tumri leaning. Pratibha Singh Baghel is the lead vocalist and she as always puts this into another orbital with her ethereal delivery. I could sense influences of Carnatic Raag Sindhubhairavi and hence the mild pathos in the scale gets transmitted.

Abhilash Phukan can be heard playing the electric guitar along with Akashdeep Gogoi on the stylish bass guitars, and Lindsay Demello on drums. These elements give a western Alt-Rock setting and colouring. The interlude takes us into paradise thanks to Tejas Vinchurkar's Bansuri solo. The tempo and the slow, passionate delivery by Pratibha soak in all the sadness. The Tabla is played by Ishteyak Khan along with Arun Solanki on percussion. An interlude with the melancholic Sarangi by Dilshad Khan follows, but there is a spring in the stride and Imran Khan sizzles on the Sitar.

The backing vocalists are Samarpit Golani, Aswini Shrinivasan, Simran Sharma, Sneha Singh, Sonu Ishteyak Khan and Azmat, and the whole song sounds glorious thanks to the arrangements and production by Samarpit. The recording engineers are Jayakrishnan Nalinkumar, Shashank Sahu, Anupam Sathe at Seven Heaven Studio. Just after the 5.30-minute mark the arrangements and production get a massive uplift with heavy drums, vocal harmonies and guitars. Pratibha is on fire with the aalap and free-flowing vocal improvisations in the outro. Ishit Kuberkar is the mixing engineer and Gethin John at Haford Mastering is the mastering engineer.

@iampratibhasingh @imrankmusic @smriti.s16 @ishteyakkhanofficial @dilshhadkhan @music.samarpit @akashdeep_gogoi_music @dmellolindsay @abhilash.phukan.921 @taginstitute @arunpercs @snehaa_sings @aswini96 @simransharmaa_music @ishitk86

4. Can’t You Stay A Little Longer

Written/Composed/Performed by: Dhee

Produced by: Dhee, Santhosh Narayanan, Aditya Ravindran

Language: English

Genre: Blues-Pop

Mood: Romantic

When you read these names, you know that you are in for a musical treat. People who have seen my reviews know that I have been a huge fan of Santhosh Narayanan's work. To me, he is the best composer out there and he is always provided with the greatest support thanks to multi-instrumentalist/Vocalist Aditya Ravindran who has co-produced this along with Santhosh and the mesmerising performer Dhee. Anyway, this beautifully crafted English Pop song has nice traces of Blues music and it is the brainchild of Dhee.

She has written the lyrics, composed the tune and performed the vocals with such elegance. Between the 3 departments, I cannot just pick 1 which I like more, because the writing is so witty and cute, the tune is delicate and hummable and the singing is beyond excellence. She does magical, unbelievable things with her voice "Can't you stay a little longer, it would mean the world to me", and you can sense and understand this when you hear the effect and improvisation she does on the words " longer and me". The Piano is equally impactful, playing in the background.

When we get to the verse, we hear harmonies and they make things steamier on the Blues front, the heavy and creative drums and rhythms and even the sounds of the zipper are just fantastic. Naveen Napier is gentle yet stylish on the bass guitars. The composition and production are all so neat when she gets to the part saying "Your singing aint the worst, it could be off-key off-key off-key", with the stunning chords on the Piano. The synths and Grand Piano in the outro finish off things on a high. The tracks are mixed by Santhosh, with Rupendar Venkatesh assisting. The mastering is done by Christian Wright and the album art is by Lauraine Meyer.

@musicsanthosh @petermadsen_ @adityaravindran95 @dhee___ @laurainemeyer @napier_naveen @rupendar_venkatesh

5. Muqadama

Performed by Daira

Written by Daira, Piyush Kapoor

Language: Hindi

Genre: Rock

Mood: Energetic

It has been a while since I featured "Sabb Dhuaan Hai" by the band Daira, and this time they are back with a phenomenal track that feels like a topsy-turvy ride. The song is written by Piyush Kapoor, and we begin the journey with some very engrossing live instrumentals. Piyush delivers stunning horns with the trumpet and he also is the lead vocalist. Shivam Pant's guitars are enticing along with that of Vikalp Sharma, but let us not forget the oozing funk from bassist Sourya Mukherjee.

The singing and melody come together with such enchanting rage when Piyush sings "Khaali raat mein, nazaare bechta, wohi toh aaj hai, gunahon ka khuda". The writing too is spot on when it comes to the metering and messaging. Pratik Kulgod plays the drums, and we can hear that layer of harmonies in the background. The rock genre gets a proper treatment here with the lavish electric guitar riffs and drums. The solo at the 2- minute mark on the electric guitar gets enhanced with some snazzy trumpets and bass guitars as well. This song is so addictive and the whole production, arrangements and sound design is masterful.

Kudos to the brilliant Rex Vijayan for bringing together all elements in his mixing duties. He is also the mastering engineer. Enjoy the outro, with Piyush and Pratik in devastating form on trumpets and drums. The recording engineers are Aditya Ranga, Shivam, Pratyay Mishra, Aditya Ahir, Varun Patil, Vishal Shinde and Piyush. Krupa Mehta does the artwork.

@dairaindia @grooveyard @shivamflat5 @p_drummer89 @codenamevikalp @piyushcapoor @drumrollplease_ @_croopa_ @ranga_plays_drums @what.the.riff @adityaahir @varoonmarooned @vishal.shinde62 @rex_vijayan

6. Hello Master!

Performed by Damini Bhatla, Srirag Vadlakonda, Stanley Sajeev

Written by Damini Bhatla, Srirag Vadlakonda

Produced by Stanley Sajeev

Language: Telugu

Genre: Jazz

Mood: Romantic

Damini Bhatla does some inspiring work, her best yet will remain the song released in 2023 which ended up as one of the best Telugu songs of 2023, called "Premalekha". If that was a resounding melody, this song is hyped up on style and funk, with heavy Jazz influences. It starts with the sound of an oldish Radio transmission, and then soon enough you are pulled into teh Jazzy spectacle. Damini wrote the melody and Srirag Vadlakonda penned the lyrics, and she performed the dreamy, saucy vocals.

Damini has this sensual tone when delivering in the baritone register and that works quite well for this song. I love how things go mild as she sings the chorus line "Hello Master" and only the Piano accompanies. Soon enough we get the mild drums, enticing woodwinds and strings section in the background. The interlude has this melody on the Trumpet, performed with wonderful elan. Stanley Sajeev has done a phenomenal job in producing the song, with Damni handling the arrangements. Damini shows that she has a wide vocal range as we get to the post-chorus and outro segments of the song. Everything about the song works well, including the album cover photo. Rupendar Venkatesh has done the mixing and mastering.

@daminibhatlach @stanley_sajeev @sriragvadlakonda @rupendar_venkatesh @pa__one @darahasm

7. Mera Saaya

Music Composed & Arranged by: Sachet-Parampara

Vocals: Sachet Tandon Parampara Tandon

Lyrics: Irshad Kamil

Music Arranged by - Sachet- Parampara And Prasanna Suresh

Language: Hindi

Genre: Pop

Mood: Romantic

This is the second song from the Bollywood album "Achha Lag Raha Hai" and kudos to the composers for cooking up some fabulous music. The song is penned by Irshad Kamil with the melody and vocals taken over by the duo of Sachet and Parampara. This might be a better song than the earlier featured. I love the song's tempo and the rhythms that feel like Reggae or Calypso. When Sachet sings " aaa, baahon mein chahiye, tu umr bhar", I am bowled over.

Prasanna Suresh shines with the arrangements and production along with Saceht-Parampara. The vocals of Sachet remind me of Vishal Mishra especially when Sachet sings in the higher vocal register in the line "jadooi sa humsafar baahon mein".

Parampara stays close to being excellent in her vocals as well with the beautiful delivery of "ishq jiska naam hai, paaglon ka kaam hai, ye hai zeher aur yehi jaam hai". The peppy interlude vocals resemble some sort of alternative hip-hop lines and sound interesting. The stanza also is well-written and keeps us engrossed in the overall melody of the song. Aftab Khan @HeadRoom Studios is the mix/master engineer with assistant Vatsal Chevli.

@sachetparamaparaofficial @paramaparatandonofficial @tseries.official @sachettandonofficial @kamil_irshad_official @mixedbyaftab @officialprasannasuresh @jazz_ozz @beingmudassarkhan

8. Mumbai Magic

Performed by DESI TRILL, Natania, Shalmali Kholgade, Subhi

Written by Natania Lalwani, Aman Moroney, Bansi Yash Sohodeb, Muhammad Mumith Ahmed, Subhi Khanna, Zaiyd Patni

Produced by DJ LYAN, THE INDIAN CONNECT

Language: ENglish

Genre: Alt Hip-Hop

Mood: Energetic

This is scintillating Alternative Hip-Hop music and probably the best that came out of India in 2024 yet. Desi Trill is a music label that is promoting the idea of 'Brown is everywhere' through some groundbreaking music. This was my favourite song from the EP that goes by the same name. This energizing song beats like the spirit of Mumbai, fast, uninterrupted, rhythmic and uncorrupted. The 3 terrific performers are Shalmali Kholgade, Subhi Khanna and Natania Lalwani. Their adrenaline gets transmitted infectiously.

The writing is very witty and relevant, with Mumbaikars in the best position to understand it. The lines with all the vocalists coming together in "Tera Yeh Jahaan, Jee Le Tu Yahaan" are beautifully executed with some style and gusto, especially that 'kick effect' after in the words "Jahaan" and "Yahaan". The song is written by a multitude of talents like Shalmali, Natania, Subhi, Aman Moroney, Bansi Yash Sohodeb, Muhammad Mumith Ahmed and Zaiyd Patni. The vocals are top-notch and each of these stars Subhi, Shalmali and Natania sing it with shining resplendence. The lines tell it all " Yeh Sheher Mera Hai Sona, Sur Khwaabo Ke Hazaar Hai". DJ Lyan and The Indian Connect produce the song.

@subhimusic @shalmiaow @themediatronic @desitrill @nataniamusic @djlyanmusic @aman_moroney

9. Oru Mazhayude

Song composed and performed by Kavya Ajit

Lyrics: Haritha Haribabu

Music Producer: Zail

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Pop

Mood: Romantic

Kavya Ajit makes me believe I am listening to someone as majestic, and monumental as Sithara Krishnakumar. The tone in Kavya's voice checks out and she continues to impress every time. This song is composed and performed by Kavya, with lyrics by Hairitha Haribabu. The intro is mild in the production and sound design with just the finger flicks and the soft and gentle acoustic guitars.

Kavya's singing rises in intensity like Mercury in a thermometer and she sparkles with her delivery, intent, mild vibrato and everything else possible. Zail does the music production and it is to his credit that this tantalising melody (with traces of Raag Hamsadhwani) gets a relevant facelift thanks to the keyboard and rhythm programming. The aalap that comes as an interlude in the form of the 'Tanam' is rich and heartwarming. As the song progresses, I as a music lover end up surrendering myself to the divine vocals of Kavya Ajit. She is also the recording engineer and the tracks are mixed and mastered by Midhun Anand.

@haritha_haribabu @midhunanand_official @ameditz10 @heyzail @akhilkrishna_dop @kavya_ajit_official

10. Ek Baar Dekh Lijiye

Composition: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Lyrics: A M Turaz

Arranged By: Raja Pandit

Singer: Kalpana Gandharva

Language: Hindi

Genre: Tumri

Mood: Contemplative

Over the years I have heard the album composed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and there are always a few songs which not only sound good but also different in terms of composition styles, arrangements and production. When I heard 'Heeramandi' I was disappointed because I could not figure out where one song ended and where the next began. He has used a very similar soundscape for all songs and, the excuse that the movie is a period drama set inside one small vicinity, does not hold water.

Of course, I haven't seen the web-series on Netflix, yet from what I heard, I found the overall album to be uninspiring, without any creativity. You can check out my video review posted on IG, and here too I appreciated a couple of songs viz. "Chaudhavi Shab" and "Ek baar dekh lijiye". The latter is what I am featuring here and if the former was elevated thanks to Shreya Ghoshal, this song here is bliss-inducing and inspiring because of Kalpana Gandharva's vocals. Her vocal tone is so fresh and feels like a breath of fresh air and sings the song with a bit of innocence and mellowed-down approach.

Sanjiv Sen's Tabla and Kailash Patra's violin combine so remarkably, especially in the interlude, and the greatness of Raag Yaman is spread all around. Kudos to Raja Pandit for his arrangements that get all the elements like the Harmonium and Violin to intervene at the right junctures. I have had the pleasure of meeting and discussing music with Raja ji. He also plays the acoustic guitars in this song along with bassist Sujay Dey. The second interlude is another breathtaking melody executed by Bhagirath Bhatt on the Sitar Solo. The vibratos are used with economy but executed in terrific style by Kalpana. The rhythm programming is done by Swaranjay Dhummal and overall programming duties are taken up by Sagnik Kolay. AM Turaz is the lyricist, Rahul M Sharma is the mixing/mastering engineer, Samir Dharap as the Recording engineer at Studio 504

@sanjayleelabhansali_ @kalpanagandharv.official @bhansaliproductions @amturazofficial @raja_pandit0786 @__sagnik @rhsharma504 @shreyaspuranikofficial @sanjivsen05 @kailashpatraviolin @bhagirath.bhatt @sujay.dey.756 @swarasonic_official

11. Yaara

Singer: Neeraj Shridhar

Composer: Deepak Rupani

Lyrics: Neeraj Shridhar

Alaap: Kohinoor Mukherjee

Language: Hindi

Genre: Pop

Mood: Romantic

I see a few new names, like Neeraj Shridhar and Deepak Jai Rupani, who I haven't featured before. Neeraj needs no introduction, he is the frontman of the band Bombay Vikings, and he has sung many hits in Bollywood. Here too he is the lead vocalist and the lyricist in this mild Hindi Pop song with Deepak's score. The acoustic guitars are flowy giving it an enjoyable romantic feeling. The song has a very 90's Bollywood texture, and that is mainly because of a hummable melody. The production elements also are fine, with the strings section and rhythm programming keeping the song appealing.

I love the slide guitar/Mohan Veena-sounding Geoshred played by the one and only Mahesh Raghvan in the interlude, and I could sense some Hamsadhwani scale in the melody. Kohinoor Mukherjee does the aalap in the outro, and is the mind behind the mixing and mastering. The outro on the I-Pad Geoshred just leaves the listener wanting more.

@itskohinoormukherjee @neerajshridharofficial @jaymehtagram @deepakjairupani @warnermusicindia @naushadepositive @followingmahesh

12. Fizool

Singer / Songwriter - Siddhant Bhosle

Lyrics - KS Abhishek

English Verse - Siddhant Bhosle

Music Production - James Colla, Siddhant Bhosle

Language: Hindi/English

Genre: Pop

Mood: Upbeat

Stylish Pop music with a beating heart and a catchy melody seems to be a successful formula for Siddhant Bhosle. Who is complaining? I love it as always and it offers something for all kinds of music lovers, with this being written and performed by Siddhant, and co-produced along with James Colla. The Hindi lines are penned by KS Abhishek, and Siddhant writes the words in the verse in English. The keys and rhythms provide the punch from the get-go.

Siddhant's delivery is beautifully crafted and the chorus segment is decorated with some wonderful riffs on the keys. The English VErse is where he showcases the ability to sing well in falsetto. When we get back to the chorus, Siddhant introduces these wonderful aalaps, that give an Indian classical colouring. The mixing engineer is João Martins and mastering is done by Jack Kennedy, and Thomas Warren on Spatial Audio.

@sitdownbhosle @jamesfromtheinternet_ @varunpuridp @_egfilms @joaomartinsmixes @tasha.patrick @iren.tovm @ksabhimusicofficial @sophycost @firstwav @masteredbyjack @gravitystudiosmumbai @mixdbythomas