Top Indian Songs of the week 29th December 2024

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Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 29th December 2024

1. Aaghaz-E-Ishq

Music Composed and Produced by Satyajeet Jena

Singers: Satyajeet Jena

Lyrics by Mrityunjay Pandey

Language: Hindi

Genre: Sufi-Pop

Mood: Romantic

Satyajeet Jena comes out of nowhere and creates this Sufi stunner, and I am trying to take my mind away from the song to be able to pen the next word of the review. The song is classy, with oodles of melodic goodness and it is written and produced by Satyajeet, with lyrics by Mrityunjay Pandey. I am taken back to the Lord of Sufi Music in Indian movies i.e. AR Rahman. This is a massive compliment for this youngster who seems to be an insurmountable talent. 

The Harmonium plays mildly and then the gentle melody plays on the acoustic guitar thanks to Blesson Naik. Satyajeet programs the electric guitars, keys, bass and synths and the sound design and arrangements seem flawlessly beautiful. He wins your heart over with the delicate vocals. The interplay between the Harmonium, guitars, bass and Tabla is pure divinity. Could there be some Raag Bihag in the melody? or maybe some Raag Bilwal?

The Tabla is played like a gentle heartbeat by Subhasish Satpathy. The interlude gives you a pop flavour and that sounds refreshing against the Sufi-esque verse.  The Tabla arrangements are done by Utkarsh Wankhede, the recording engineer is Puspak Sen Giri and Satyajeet is the mix/master engineer. The Sitar solo is another fine addition in the interlude and one must congratulate on Satyajeet's vision. I am reminded of gems like "Hoshwalon ko khabar Kya" when I hear Satyajeet perform the verse. 

The line " us se rishta mera kuch is tarah" is beautifully penned from a chord progression perspective and I would be remiss if I failed to put this song at the very top of Indian songs. Satyajeet has brought the perfect end to this fabulous year of music for me. 

@satyajeetjena_official @imrityunjay @satpathy_subhashish 

2. Atom Bomb

Lyrics: Kaviraj

Vocals: Vijay Prakash and Vaish Kannan

Composed, Produced & Arranged by: Charanraj M R

Programmed by: Charanraj M R

Language: Kannada

Genre: Light Music

We end the year with a solid romantic single from the master Charan Raj. He had an outstanding 2023 as a composer/producer and I hope 2025 is going to be another year of hearing more magic from him. The violins in the intro make me ponder about the similarities with "Horatta" from the amazing album 'Saptasagardache Ello Side A'. Narayan Sharma and Charanraj handle all the string and woodwind arrangements. The strings are played by Cochin Strings.

Vijay Prakash is having a ball as a male vocalist singing with a swag. Viash Kannan complements him well as the female lead vocalist. The percussions and all rhythm arrangements make it a very catchy song, so kudos to Charan who does all the arrangements, programming and music production. As we listen to the melodious chorus segment "Atom Bom, Nee Nannu Atom Bomb", the strings delight us in the background. Sunil Sylvester is the guitarist and Venkatesh G Bhat is on bass. 

The interlude is where Charan is driving the song forward and upward, and Violin melody is a thing of beauty here. The stanza brings in a smile with the way Charan writes the melody, and the lead singers deliver it with a dash of romance. The lyrics are penned by Kaviraj. Pay attention to the strings and woodwinds in the background as Vijay sings " Vishwamitra naane, neenu Menaka", and I am taken back to the days of Maestro Ilaiyaraja. The playfulness in Vaish's singing as she performs the line "dumtaka dumtaka" brings cheerfulness to the listener. The recording engineers are Vishnuraj MR, Aniket Mohanty, Arjun and Ashwin Prabhath. Sujith Sreedhar is the mixing and mastering engineer.  

@charanraj27185 @vijayprakashvp @vaish_offl @narayan_sharma227 @venkateshmusic_ @sujithsreedhar

3. Isabella

Composed, Arranged & Programmed by: Lydian Nadhaswaram

Lyricist: Vinayak Sasikumar

Singer: Mohanlal

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Light Music

Mood: Pathos

Lydian Nadhaswaram is a genius, and many in Tamil Nadu know this prodigy quite well. He is a composer, multi-instrumentalist with precocious talent. After signing in 2019 as the composer for Mohan Lal's "Barroz", the film was finally released in 2024. I loved this song which had traces of Maestro Ilaiyaraja's works. The melody, the interludes, all the instrumental arrangements and the elaborate Orchestra evoked such feelings of similarities. 

Mohan Lal performs the lead vocals, and Vinayak Sasikumar penned the lyrics. The melody feels like Raag Abheri for me, and although Mohan Lal's singing is perfect, the emotional aptness in his delivery wins hearts. At various interludes, including the intro, we hear the Bansuri and Key Flute played by Amirthavarshini and S Akash. The highlight is the constant live rhythms by A Sivamani and Lydian. The interludes shine brightly thanks to the Fame's Skopje Studio Orchestra, conducted by Oleg Kondratenko. The stanza is beautiful, with the melody tearing my heart into pieces thanks to the pathos. Lydian plays the acoustic, bass guitars and also the mandolin. 

The second interlude has this Solo Violin by Ananth Krrishnan playing the melody and Lydian on the Piano. We can just get up and clap our hands, in celebration of this talent called Lydian, who handles so many elements in this song and shines in every department at this tender age of 19. he can be heard playing the Tabla and electronic rhythms here, taking part in the backing vocals along with Varshan. Lydian has composed, arranged, programmed and produced the songs in this album. The tracks are mixed by A Vairavasan and mastered at Abbey Road Studios, London. Amirthavarshini is the Music Supervisor and Archana Kaleeswaran is the Amly Studios Manager

@lydiannadhaswaramofficial @amirthavarshinimusic29 @mohanlal @barrozthemovieofficial @famesproject @andrewtmackay

@sonymusic_south @archkalis

4. I Don’t Feel A Thing

Performed by Kitanu

Written by Omkar Raghupatruni, Pranav Wahi, Rijul Victor, Rohan Prasanna, Siddhant Sarkar

Language: English

Genre: Rock 

Mood: energetic

Kitanu is a band I love because their rock music sounds very original. The Sarod (by Rohan Prasanna) used as a key instrument adds tremendous richness and flavour. The band members are Omkar Raghupatruni, Pranav Wahi, Rijul Victor, Rohan Prasanna and Siddhant Sarkar. Behold the amazing electric guitars by Omkar, bass, by Parnav and drums, by Rijul, that drag you into the song in the intro. Frontman Siddhant Sarkar makes your heart beat faster with that passionate and stylish delivery. 

I strongly disagree with the title of this song, I feel everything from joy to catharsis as I listen to the electric guitar solo and Sarod interventions. The interlude with the Sarod playing and the electric guitar in the background is pure divinity, telling the world that music breaks barriers. That part where Siddhant sings " I try, I try, I try.." and the heavy interventions played by the Sarod and electric guitar, punching in the same notes in the outro is a fitting end to the track. 

@rohanprasanna @abinjohnny @omkar_raghupatruni @siddhantsrkr @corridormusic @_pranavwahi 

5. Jhoomelo

Composed & Produced by Raghav & Arjun

Vocalists: Mohit Chauhan, Raghav M Kumar, Lok Gayika Hansa Devi

Lyricist: Deepak Ramola, Shankar Ramola and Pushpa Ramola

Backing vocals: Tanvi Joshi, Jyotideep Rajan, Palak Mohan, Ana Rehman & Smita Rakshit

Language: Traditional Folk

Genre: Folk Pop

Mood: Energetic

I am delighted with Project Maati S1, and we have the third song in this project being featured in my weeklies. Hopefully, S2 will be even better in 2025. Raghav and Arjun, whom I have featured as part of the Bollywood industry, are two fine musicians, and the duo shows off their abilities without disappointment. The song is composed by Raghav and Arjun, and where they elevate the song is through their fabulous arrangements and music production. The vocals are by the mesmerizing Mohit Chauhan along with Lok Gayika Hansa Devi on the folkish vocals. 

The lyrics are penned by Deepak Ramola, Shankar Ramola and Pushpa Ramola. One man who impresses me is Jayesh Kathak on the Latin-styled percussions, and accompanying him is Aarifah Rebello on the electronic drum. We also have Ranjeet Singh playing folkish percussions like the Maskabeen and Hudka, with origins in Uttarakhand. The song's tone feels like a Brazilian Samba thanks to the drums, vocal harmonies and guitars as well. We have Moses Kaul, Joy Sengupta and Raghav M Kumar on guitars, and Yohann Coutinho as the bassist. 

The stunning backing vocals are designed by the talented Harjot Kaur and the artists performing it with a swag are Tanvi Joshi, Jyotideep Rajan, Palak Mohan, Ana Rehman & Smita Rakshit. The melody feels a bit like Raag Malkauns (Hindolam in Carnatic) to me. Arjun Sharma handles the stylish keys and synths and we have Utkarsh Jiswal on electric guitars. The moment when Lok Gayika Hansa Devi sings the folk lines, the heart skips a beat and we are transported to the mountains of Uttarakhand. The recording engineers are Abhishek Khandelwal, Amogh Agarwal and Praneeth Kumar. The tracks are mixed and mastered by Prathamesh Dudhane at Bombay Live Studios. 

@raghavandarjun @parthmpandya @nightsongrecords @deepakramola @warnermusicindia @mohitchauhanofficial @raghavmkumar @achintstagram @prathmeshdudhane @ruaakayy @ana_rehman @rakshit_smita @yocouts @aarifahrebello @utkrash8 @rohitdrummer1 @moseskoul @joysengptamusic @ranjeet.saaz @tan.wav 

6. Falsafa

Arranger, Producer : Akarsh Shetty

Composer: Prateeksha Srivastava

Lyricist: Prateeksha Srivastava

Language: Hindi

Genre: Pop

Mood: Trippy

I am so thrilled to hear Prateeksha Srivastava end the year with this invigorating single, which is also a detour from her usual fancied style. It is more upbeat and with no tinge of pathos or semi-classical flavours. Well done Prateeksha, as she composes and writes this number, giving more belief to me as a music lover that she is capable of making music in more a couple of genres and styles.  

Akarsh Shetty does all the arrangements and music production giving the song the fillip it deserves. The rhythm guitar playing the acoustic riffs in the background, the jaunty rhythms and the suave vocal harmonies attract my attention the most. Only a skilled performer can excel in delivering songs that keep demanding more. Prateeksha sounds groovy and when she performs the high-pitched line "kya pata kal ka, aane wale pal ka", I'm drawn and soothed. 

The interlude with the swaras is a key highlight of the song and Prateeks performs it with such tenderness and style is something to cherish. She does that quick and subtle aalap just before the line " dhalta sooraj kal bhi aaye", and that is where Prateeksha stands out as a name to watch out for in 2025. The backing vocals were designed and performed by Shubhanshu. The tracks were mixed and mastered by Hanish Taneja. 

@akarshshettymusic @shubhanshu_beyondhorizon @officialprateeksha @mixedbyhanish