Top Indian Songs of the week 5th March 2023

Here are the best songs released in India across languages and genres for the week ending 5th March 2023. 

If you are a musician submit your new music here.

Check out the You Tube review of these top 5 songs here

1. Emone

Music composed & arranged by Vijai Bulganin

Lyricist: Suresh Banisetti 

Singers: Vijai Bulganin & Aditi Bhavaraju

Language: Telugu

Genre: Filmi Melody

This is what mind-blowing music is made of. I have listened to this song religiously every day since its release, purely because every note, every instrument, and every beat makes my heart swell with joy. If somebody had told me that Ilaiyaraja had composed this song, I would have believed that this is his work of genius. Can anyone give a bigger compliment in the world than compare a song's composition to that of the G.O.A.T. Ilaiyaraja? The song takes me back to his composition "April Mayile" from the album "Idhayam". Vijai Bulganin, take a bow, as he is certainly one of India's finest composers and his consistency and ability to weave magical melodies, know no bounds.

The way this song begins itself, with the Piano, then the amazing guitars and the woodwinds. I am sold immediately and with all the humming I can only thank God that such music exists. It is a lesson to anyone calling themselves a musician to give their utmost efforts and make good original music. If they have to write bad lyrics, and make only remixes or make party songs, they should look for another profession to pay their bills. Please leave music alone to composers like Vijai Bulganin and they will ensure the future of Indian music is in safe worthy hands. 

Lalit Talluri plays the magical Flute, Abin Sagar is on the Ukulele and Guitars, and Shallu Varun is nothing short of heroic on bass guitars. The fantastic programming and production are possible thanks to Jishnu Vijayan, the Keyboardist and Anudeep Dev who has done the vocal arrangements and been the recording engineer also. Vijai is solely responsible for the score and all the major arrangements otherwise and when you have a team like this magic gets created quite often. The humming is by the chorus team of fantastic singers Lakshmi Meghana, Sindhuja Srinivasan & Nada Priya. After the first line sung by Vijai, that humming is accompanied by a mild but obvious trumpet sound elevating the line to greatness. 

Initially, I felt that maybe someone else could have sung the male lead vocals, but the more I hear I feel, that Vijai's vocals are so earthy and rugged and sound a lot like Ilaiyaraja himself. Now I believe there couldn't have been a better choice. The song has such an elaborate anupallavi and I realise that many composers today would have already been clueless about what more to compose by the 90-second mark. The strings section is like a never-ending dream thanks to the Chennai Strings Orchestra conducted by Balaji. What can I tell about the interlude? Lalit Talluri shines with the Flute solo and then the vocals harmonies and Strings simply drizzle exorbitant goodness. Wow, the Piano and the mild drums at the end of the interlude just before the stanza starts, is one more example of how minute things can impact a music lover. 

At the end of the first line in the stanza which ends with "emone", pay attention to the otherworldy strings and humming. I can only get up and give Vijai a standing ovation. After all this Aditi Bhavaraju who is a phenomenal vocalist comes and sings like a breeze making things even better. In the end, I loved the landing as uses "Pattukonna prema" line, like a step to drop into the pallavi. Aditi does an excellent job singing the lines in the low pitch giving such a well-rounded colour to the song. The recording engineers are Anand Gurrana, K K Senthil Prasath with Robin Sebastian as the vocal engineer and Roshan Sebastian as the mix and master engineer. The beautiful words are written by Suresh Banisetti

@vijai_bulganin @aditibhavaraju @lalittalluri @roshansebastian @_jishnu_viijayan @sureshbanisetti_lyricist @abinsagar @shalluvarun02 @robinsebastianmusic @anandgurrana @lakshmimeghana @sindhujasrinivasan @nadapriya.nedadurivendi

2. Becky

Music, Lyrics: Brecilla 

Music Producer: Pranav Kamat

Arrangements: Pranav, Brecilla

Language: English

Genre: Indie pop/A Capella

Brecilla is according to me one of the top 5 Indie singer-songwriters in this country today. It is her gifted vocals and envious skill of composition that set her apart from the rest. I have featured her a few times and every single is a celebration of music. I was so glad to see her name among the top 24 of Nexa Music Season 2 and I am pretty confident that her single is the best of the lot after listening to around 18 of the 24 songs. 'Becky' is a song about herself as Brecilla composes, writes and sings this with immaculate ease and poise. An important element of this song is the backing vocals and which belong to Ananya Sharma, Karma Sherpa and Pranav Kamat. 

The mesmerising impact of the Keys stays in your head, just like the harmonies and we have Pranav playing the Keys. Just pay attention to the layers of vocals coming in leaps and bounds and both Pranav and Brecilla must be credited with the arrangements of all the vocals and live instruments. Brecilla herself plays the saxophone which turns out to be a great addition. She is exemplary in her vocals giving more than a 100%, singing with heart and adding delicate vibrato. The interlude is a beautiful mix of the Saxophone, humming and Keys, leading us into a bridge section and this is where all her skills as a writer/lyricist come out. 

Pranav does a fine job producing the song and he also is the mix/master engineer, so credit to him for bringing the song to life and getting the elements together.  

 @brecilladsouza @pranavkmt @karmasherpamusic @ananyas.music @nexamusicexperience 

3. Madhura Gathama

Singers : Armaan Malik, Shreya Ghoshal

Music: Mani Sharma 

Lyricist: Shreemani

Language: Telugu

Genre: Filmi Melody/Fusion

The one song which I did feature from the movie was 'Mallika Mallika' dung by Ramya Bahara. This one is a notch above the rest of the songs in the album and Mani Sharma shines through. There is the quintessential melody rich with Classical Carnatic Raga elements and with the phenomenal vocal capabilities of Armaan Malik and Shreya Ghoshal the song stays etched in our hearts and minds. 

The Sitar sets the ball rolling and we are given an auditory treat by Armaan's magical voice and high-pitched delivery. To me, there is maybe some Raag Khamas influence in places. The impact it creates with the Tabla, and the tonality is very similar to say AR Rahman's album "Jodhaa Akbar". The interlude is drifting probably towards a bit of Raag Sarang. The two vocalists engage in a tete-a-tete with some amazing vocals and the landing into the Pallavi happens with a beautiful ending line in the high pitch. The use of the Sarod and the percussions take us back in time to a period drama and Mani Sharma excels in the production and arrangements. Shreemani is the lyricist

 @shreyaghoshal @armaanmalik 

4. Kaa

Performed by - Isheeta Chakrvarty, Pratik Shrivastava, Project Damru

Written by - Ashish Jha,  Isheeta Chakrvarty

Produced by - Ashish Jha

Language: Hindi

Genre: Electronic Pop-Semi classical fusion

Ashish Jha a.k.a. Project Damru creates a scintillating piece here that stands out like a BGM score of an epic movie. The initial humming, followed by the pathos-inducing Violins and then the Keyboards create mystery as well as an eerie sense of fear. The song is composed and produced by Project Damru with mind-bending vocals by Isheeta Chakrvarty. We get a sense of electronic pop fused with Classical Indian music. 

Isheeta gets cracking along with her vocals which are free-flowing and unshackled. I get a sense of Raag Bhimpalasi amidst all the keyboard and rhythm programming, Isheeta spins some knots with her fine voice and improvisation. It is tough to get out of this web of impactful music, and the highlight for me is the humming that goes " rara ra rarara". Pratik Shrivastava aces his performance on the Sarod and this with the synths in the background is technically a beautiful feat that makes you nod your head endlessly in utter shock and you are in a state of surrender. Isheeta uses all of her power in her lungs to give a magnificent scream into the skies towards the outro and I can only say that I am waiting with bated breath for the rest of the songs by Project Damru. Steffi Elsy HAvier handles tha cover art. 

@isheeta.c @projectdamru @sarodpratik @prathmeshdudhane @boostuffy @masi_pacha 

5. Bikhre

Performed by - Vibha Saraf

Written by - Vibha Saraf

Produced by - Muheet Bharti

Language: Hindi

Genre: Ballad/Semi-classical Melody

Vibha Saraf is gifted as a vocalist and she has been on my radar for a while now. When she shared this song with me, I was dumbfounded by the sheer quality of the song. It is the indie music scene in Hindi that single-handedly is carrying the flag and salvaging the pride of music in Hindi, with Bollywood music moving from bad to worse. Vibha has written the lyrics, composed the melody and sang with a touch of class and panache. You feel like you are pulled with a string towards her, with every note rendered. 

The mild Keys and guitars don't disturb the wonderful soundscape dominated by the trembling vocals of Vibha. The title line probably stands out like the icing on the cake. Vibha delivers an emotionally touching humming just before the Antara. Muheet Bharti who is a phenomenal talent and who has been a regular on my weekly charts as a singer, composer and producer, takes charge of this song's production. 

The stanza starting with " jaane jaana, khusboo hi khusboo hai, yaadein teri" is fantastic both in musical and lyrical terms and this is where I sensed some mild influences Raag Pilu (Kaapi in Carnatic) or maybe even some of Raag Simhendramadhyamam. Either way, I can assure you that your senses are piqued and Vibha deserves a rousing ovation for this brilliance. Muheet displays his skill with some fantastic backing vocals through a male humming and the interplay of Keys, finger snaps as rhythms. Viraj Singh handles the song art. 

 @sarafvibh @muheetbharti @viraj2singh

6. Chal Phir Wahin

Composed, Produced, Written and Sung by Suryansh

Language: Hindi

Genre: Synth-Pop

Talk about a one-man show and Suryansh does exactly that with this fantastic track that invokes memories of great musicians of the past and presents like Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Pritam. The soundscape and production are magnificent. Suryansh has written, composed sung and produced this track and every step he has taken in the rhythm and keyboard programming is well thought out and executed. 

His singing is on point, as he explores the higher pitch with ease and great emotional connect and sensibilities. The Keys and strings in the background decorate the track adequately. Thanks to his beautiful penmanship, the song stands out in its message and impact. I love the rhythms towards the end where they get a little experimental. This is brilliant for a debut by this KMMC graduate, and interestingly he has already worked for AR Rahman on projects like Cobra in the Kannada version as a vocalist and also in PS-1. 

@suryanshmusic 

7. Ishq

Singer, Lyrics, Composer: Nirvair Pannu

Music: Deol Harman

Language: Punjabi

Genre: Folk Fusion

This is the second time I am featuring Nirvair Pannu in a matter of months, and this has gone down to the quality and creative production elements that make it possible. Nirvair like many Punjabi artists has a phenomenal voice, with a massive lung capacity and wide vocal range. He displays that once again here but Deol Harman brings about his mastery in his production. 

The guitars along with the bass and Strings sections give a western flavor to a very earthy folk song. The use of folk percussions along with maybe the Dotara brings in rustic elements and juxtaposes them with the western instrumentals. We also have the Harmonium in the interlude and then the Esraj probably all reflective of the folk Punjabi textures. The mix and master of all these elements have happened at the Vintage Wave Studios.  

@itsdeolharman @vintagewavestudios @nirvair_pannu @jukedock

8. Peace Lilly

Performed by: Aarya

Lyrics Written by: Aarya

Composed by: Aarya

Music Produced by: Rahul Popawala

Language: English

Genre: Indie pop

One more back-to-back as we have another famed indie artist who decides to go solo. Aarya who has been featured by me before for songs like 'My Pride' once again shows that he doesn't disappoint. The bristling sound of guitars and Aarya's touching trembling voice feels like the work of John Mayer who tends to be the inspiration for many artists these days. The way he sings the title 'Peace Lilly' in that falsetto just makes you love the song even more with the song. 

We begin to hear not just one, but two layers of guitars and even the vocals come in layers and all this intensifies the depth of the track, like a mild male humming in the background. Aarya does well, composing the nice bridge section which deviates quite noticeably from the main segments, and here too his vocals never stop to explore. The track is produced to great effect by Rahul Popawala and the vocalist/Violinist/Engineer Protyay Chakraborty has mixed and mastered the track. 

@aaryboyy @rahulpopawala @24fretproductions @protyaych

9. Jogi

Lyrics, Composition, Vocals - Shreyas Bhartiya

Vocal Production - Githin Sam George

Music Production- Brince Bora

Language: Hindi

Genre: Semi-classical Folk fusion

I am quite happy that musicians have started submitting their music directly on my website, and I am thrilled with the quality of these songs as well. Please check out my homepage and submit your song. The link can also be found at the top of this page. This song composed, written and sung by Shreyas Bhartia has such great vocals and instrumental arrangements especially the magical combination of the Guitar, Ukulele along with folkish percussion. 

Nitesh Bisht can be heard playing the flute, and to my ears, I sense some Raag Desh or Malhaar and maybe there is some Brindavani Sarang also. The song beautifully enriches a few classical tones and fuses with folk music and we have Brince Bora on music production and Githin Sam George on vocal production. Towards the end, Shreyas goes ballistic with his high-pitched delivery and when you combine that with the soothing flute, it ends up being mystical. Nitesh Bisht does the mixing and mastering with vocals recorded at Motion Gravity Studio and guitars recorded at Gray Spark Audio Academy. 

@shreyasbhartiya @niteshflute @brincebora @sing.sam.sing @sanidhyastudio @graysparkaudio @motiongravitystudios

10. Oru Shwasavum 

Composed and Arranged: Govind Vasantha

Singer: Govind Vasantha

Lyrics: Anwar Ali

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Semi-classical Melody

Govind Vasantha is a fantastic composer and an even better violinist but these are known facts. His singing ability is underrated but thanks to songs like these we are bestowed with that facet of his. This is set in a brilliant Carnatic Ragam called Kalyani (Yaman in Hindustani) and Govind employs some beautiful instruments like the Violin, Veena, guitars and bass to deliver the magic of that wonderful Ragam. 

Keba Jeremiah on guitars creates a beautifully repetitive riff, but it is Sachin Balu's hypnotic Veena that holds my breath in the interlude. Govind himself plays the faint Violin solo in the background. 'Christy' as an EP is worth your time, and I recently recommended it on my YT show as well as my 1-minute music reviews on Instagram. Naveen Napier is splendid on the bass guitars, and even though the stanza is quite short, Govind offers nothing short of some tantalizing quality. 

His quintessential Violin comes and goes and we have Rajan KS mixing and mastering all these amazing layers. Avinash Satish and Hariharan are the sound engineers and B Velavan is the musician's coordinator. This is the second track I have featured another song from the EP with the previous one, 'Paalmanam' which too is brilliant. 

@napier_naveen @kebajer @sachinbaluu @avinash_satish 

11. Meherbaan

Artist: Reet Talwar 

Composer: Isaac Sakima Quinn, Sophia Brennan, Jonny Hockings 

Lyricist: Shivam Srivastava 

Language: Hindi

Genre: Synth-pop

This song came in and struck me hard because I least expected this one to be a reverberating dance-pop number looking at the title. I was taken back in time to the 1980s and 1990s and once again one of my favourite bands of those times was the Swedish Synth-pop outfit 'A-ha'. Isaac Sakima Quinn, Sophia Brennan and Jonny Hockings are the composers, while Reet Talwar goes full blast on her vocals enticing us to get up and dance. Shivam Srivastava writes the lyrics.

12. Nouka Doobi

Singer: Shreya Ghoshal

Composed by: Shantanu Moitra

Lyrics: Swanand Kirkire

Language: Hindi

Genre: Filmi Melody

The great musician Shantanu Moitra is probably not anywhere near his peak, and that has started showing up in his recent albums. I watched the movie "Lost" on Zee5 and although the album got a very low rating on my YT channel for its music, the BGM scores were a lot better. Shantanu does a fine job keeping the mystery, and intrigue, all in play through his score and when emotions moved from sad to happy, his music adapted beautifully. 

This is the best song of the EP and thanks to Shreya Ghoshal's singing and Shantanu's precision in picking the live instruments that embody the 'City of Joy'. The best line is "Khoya mera pyaar, khoya khwaab khoya", which sounds very titillating with Shreya's ghamakas. The guitars and strings do their bits but the flute and the Bangla folk instruments steal the show.

There seems to be an influence of Raag Yamankalyani in the mix here. Swanand Kirkire writes beautiful words, depicting the protagonist's state of mind. Daniel B George must be complimented as much as Shantanu for the brilliant arrangements of every sound and live instrument we hear. The mixing engineer is Bishwadeep Chatterjee

@swanandkirkire @moitrashantanu @shreyaghoshal @bishwadeepchatterjee @daniel.b.george

13. Aporpoise & Your loving

Performed by - Prakriti Nanda, Sanchi

Written, and composed by - Prakriti Nanda

Language: English

Genre: Indie Pop

It is a fantastic name for an EP, 'Feel Butter', and just like its creative title the EP throws about a few songs that just turn out to be delightful. This song along with 'Your Loving' are my favorites which I strongly recommend people to listen to. Prakriti Nanda a.k.a. Prakti has written, composed and performed the tracks and we have the wonderful production by Amartya Ghosh( we featured him and his band Green Park last week). 

I love the arrangements for this mild track thanks to the backing vocals as well as probably the French Horn and Trombone that interject. The layers of vocals, along with the claps and finger flicks just ease you into a state of tranquility, and the outro feels like a Church Gospel. 'Your Loving' is a nice love song that once again has some relevant writing. The Keyboard riffs, the speck of the Violin and the strings in the background all make for some good production once again credit goes to Amartya Ghosh. Apoorva Dhingra does the cover art and Shrishti Chatterjee is involved in the photography. 

@praktiii @shrishtichatterjee @amartya.ghosh

14. Derailed

Performed by - Gautam Agarwal, Tannishtha Saha

Written by - Gautam Agarwal, Tannishtha Saha

Language: English

Genre: Dance-pop

The dance-pop and synth-pop genre can be sometimes very redundant sounding like some rehashed work but Gautam Agarwal and Tannishtha Saha give us something fresh. This song is from Gautam's debut album 'Better Off' and I will be listening subsequently to the other songs. Gautam and Tannishtha both write and perform, and my favourite line is " You.... my remedy sweet melody" which sets the heart racing. The synths and keyboard programming are just absorbing and fantastic. The vocals of both the lead artists are free of any blemish and kudos for that. 

15. Hori Mein & Woh Ghar

Singer: Kavita Seth

Music by: Siddhartha Khosla & Alan Demoss

Lyrics by: Shellee

Additional Vocal Production by: Kavita Seth

Siddhartha Khosla is no novice, and he might be a new name in the circle of Film music here in India, but he is known to anyone who has seen the hit US series 'This is Us' and he has also composed the score for Hollywood hits like 'Your place or mine', ' Only Murders in the building', and many more. It is wonderful to have this talented Hollywood musician score for an Indian production. Siddhartha joins hands with Alan Demoss in the composition and production and Kanishk Seth also takes part in the Music Supervision and joint music production responsibilities. 

I will be watching the movie and doing a review of the BGM score later, but for now, I am fond of two tracks in the movie 'Hori Mein' and 'Woh Ghar'. The first one is an enjoyable track invoking memories of celebration around the festival of colours. Kavitha Seth brings in her magnetism in the vocals and she also has done additional vocal production for the track.  

There are some obvious similarities with AR Rahman's 'Genda Phool' thanks to the tone and production, but ARR's song for sure comes out on top. Anyway, Omkar Dhumal on Shehnai and Rajeev Prasanna on the flute solo do a fine job in intro and interlude respectively. I love the stanza as it creates a feeling of freshness and the collective power of Utsavi Jha, Devashri Manohar & Upasana Makati embellishes the backing vocals. 

'Woh Ghar' is engaging and more impactful than the other songs, thanks to the powerful Piano and Utsavi Jha's vocals. Utsavi is one of my favourite singer-songwriters and she just got featured at the top of the charts for 'Rijhaaun' two weeks ago. The strings section in the background creates enough gravity and we get even more invested in the track as time passes. My favourite line is the bridge section as Utsavi goes 'roshan se ujhale jo, sabko hai sambhale jo". Shellee is the lyricist who makes all these songs come to life with her words. 

16. Kasino 

Music composed & performed by Exhibition NYC

Produced by Hammarsing & Khasi Bloodz 

Recorded, Mixed & Mastered by Jeremy Loucas at Sear Sound Studios, NYC 

Vocals recorded at Rynsan Shillong 

Label: Rynsan Records 

This is very different from any of the other tracks I have generally featured and reviewed, but it deserved some attention and I guess the lyrics are in Khasi, a language spoken majorly in Meghalaya. I love this hip-hop, its intensity and the production laded with electric guitars and keyboards. The best line is the one that goes "Ka Ri Um Snam, Ka Ud Ka Iam", and this Alt-Rock Rap-Rock genre feels exhilarating, something like Limp Bizkit's MI OST 'Take a look around

This is composed and produced by Exhibition NYC, with Khasi Bloodz and Hammarsing producing it. Jeremy Loucas has recorded, mixed and mastered the track. Rynsan Records is the Music Label