Top Indian Songs of the week 8th January 2023

Here are the best of Indian music for the week ending 8th January 2023. Out of these 11 songs only 2 were released in 2023 , while the remaining were released late in December 2022. 

1. Muttathe Mulla

Singer: K S CHITHRA

Music: by 4 MUSICS 

Lyrics: B K HARINARAYANAN

Programmer: NIHIL JIMMY

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Filmi Melody

4-Musics have been creating songs in Malayalam mostly and sometimes in Tamil and they do a wonderful job in creating untarnished melodies rich with live instrumental activity. I have featured them before but this one is probably their best yet. It is sung by the evergreen Diva KS Chitra, and it is almost beyond belief to hear her sing even today with this kind of vocal stability, control and impact. The group 4-Musics from Kochi has members Biby Mathew, Jim Jacob, Eldhose Alias and Justin James. The song has such a beautiful Pallavi and Anupallavi section with Chitra at the peak of her powers. It is set probably in Hamsadwani Ragam and the flute by Rajesh Chertala and acoustic and bass guitars vt Sumesh Parameswar decorate the track with great fervour. The way the Tabla starts off reminds me a some of Ilaiyaraja's greatest works and we have Anand and Boby Mathew playing the Tabla. The interlude has Cochin Strings in total domination mode, and with a few more Flute interventions, the song moves into a delightful stanza. It is such a rich melody that probably will end up being one of the best Malayalam releases of 2022. The strings and flute play cat and mouse in the second interlude. Balu Thankachan is the mix and master engineer, with Shekhar, Adhurv Babu as recording engineer

 @the4musics @kschitra @rajeshcherthala @thebaluthankachan @nihiljimmy_

2. Zariya Tu 

Performed by Romy

Written by Romy, Sufi Khan

Language: Hindi

Genre: Romantic Ballad

I did feature a song already called 'Maang Loon' a couple of weeks ago but did claim that the EP 'Zariya' has even better songs. So here it is, with a brilliant romantic ballad called 'Zariya Tu'. It is written by Romy and Sufi Khan with vocals by Romy. The sound of the acoustic guitars, bass, the string section in the background and the thumping rhythms all keep you incredibly glued to the proceedings. One more thing that works in favour of Romy is the amazing vocal harmonies arranged to perfection. I have a feeling there is a great influence of Raag Pilu (Kaapi Ragam in Carnatic). The song with some reverberating strings. I also love "Naina Pech Ladaayen by Romy and Simran Choudhary in the same EP and it has a sort of Latin Jazz feel to it, a groovy number that will make you want to dance. Finally, the slow sizzling melody called "Tu Mera Banja" sung by Vivek Hariharan and Madhubanti Bagchi is like an ode to AR Rahman's Bollywood music of the 2000s. Some amazing rhythms and keyboard programming along with fabulous singing intertwined with a melodious stanza make it a wonderful track. 

@mainhoonromy @vivekhariharan @bagchi_mb @thisissimran_ @philosufi167 

3. Mon Re Krishikaj Janona 

Lyrics & Music: Ramprasad Sen

Music Arrangement: Joy Sarkar

Singer - Arijit Singh

Language: Bangla

Genre: Ballad

It has been a while since we heard some good music in Bangla and finally it takes Joy Sarkar and Arijit Singh to get there. The song is composed and written by Ramprasad Sen a saint and poet who lived in the 13th century. Joy Sarkar the composer and producer, handles all the arrangements for the song and he also plays the Saz and Guitalele. The wonderful brass and strings section can be heard in the background and it can be credited to Souptik Mazumder and Achin Sarkar who have programmed. Arijit's vocals touch your heart unlike many of the Bollywood songs, where he goes about singing like a man with no heart, and maybe the bad compositions in Bollywood are to blame for that. Bubai Nandy plays the flute and Goutam Basu is the recording, mixing and mastering engineer. The Piano keeps the song grounded in its stated intent of being a slow and sombre song. It sounds very much like a Rabindra Sangeet owing to its slow tempo and structure. Ramprasad Sen is someone who brilliantly combined the Baul and Kirtan styles in his compositions. Sukanto Singha, Anirban Sinha Chowdhury and Joy all have taken up recording duties in the track. Arijit does remarkably well in transmitting the pain of the protagonist. I also am intrigued to listen to the Shreya Ghoshal version now. 

@joythejoyous @arijitsingh @bubaibansuri 

4. Fool's Gold

Performed by ruhdabeh

Written by ruhdabeh

Language: English

Genre: R&B

This is the second successive EP that Ruhdabeh has released in a really short time and I did feature one single back in the earlier collective and in the latest called "about hue" I loved 'fools gold'. Tanay Purlekar is the producer, and Ruhdabeh has written, composed and sung this with such elan. Deivat Tapodhan is the man on the Piano that just feels like magic. She sings with such honesty and is filled with real emotion and the Piano aids in every note being delivered. The most favourite line that shines in the composition is " I realised, I can't even look her in the eye" and the notes drop towards the words in the end in the most unexpected fashion. Ruhdabeh raises the tempo in between and so does Deivat in harmony on the Piano. Her vocals are splendid and soar without shackles. 

@tanay_parulekar @ruhdabeh @deivat_t 

5. Gabrielite

Vocals/Acoustic guitar/Composition/Lyrics by Darren Fernandes

Arranged by Ser O Duo

Language: English

Genre: Ballad

Darren Fernandes is someone who I am featuring for the first time, and what a way for the artist to make a debut on my weekly charts. First of all the lyrics appealed to me right from the moment he sings " Or are you scared of your raging mind". The Flute at the beginning by Tomas Carrasco reminds me of Ian Anderson in Jethro Tull. Moa Edmunds Guevara plays the gentle nylon guitar. The track is sung, composed and written by Darren, as he also plays the acoustic guitars. The accompaniments on guitars and Flutes are constant and keep you hooked like listening to the Pied Piper. Thomas Juth does the mixing and mastering and all the exceptional backing vocals are done by Carrasco. 

 @darrenfernandesmusic 

6. Haseen Mushkilein

Music: Santhosh Narayanan

Vocals: Aditya Ravindran

Lyrics: Kausar Munir

Language: Hindi

Genre: Ballad, R&B

Here comes the 2nd single from Santhosh's web series "Faadu". The first was a supreme single that had phenomenal vocals and an insane melody. Here it is all about the mild instrumentals, the rhythms, the whistle and Aditya's magnetic vocals. Aditya is rising like a meteoric star under Santhosh's tutelage and he has now made his Hindi debut. It is refreshing to see his Hindi diction being so good and his voice texture anyway suits the song's style. The interlude with vocal interventions and the introduction of the Clarinet spices things up nicely. The second interlude has even more interplay between the Clarinet and the mild Harmonica. As we approach the end of the second stanza, we get a symphony of guitars, bass, strings section and vocal harmonies and feel the impact of A Capella style vocals towards the end. The music is experimental and yet excellent in true Santhosh Narayanan style. 

@musicsanthosh @adityaravindran95 @kausarmunir

7. Vanambadi

Singer - Najim Arshad 

Composed, Programmed and Arranged - Shaan Rahman

Lyrics - Manu Manjith 

Language: Malayalam

Genre: Filmi Melody

Nothing works like a great combination and this is one prime example here between Najim Arshad and Shaan Rahman. The Keys are solid and they hit you hard just like the brilliantly gentle voice of Najim. Manu Manjithis the lyricist and with in the 3 of 4 songs in the album I loved this one the most. Sravan plays the strings in the background and they can be heard even in the anupallavi. Najim brings so much variation within the first few lines and every time he repeats the lines, there are some modifications. Sravan is once again active on the Strings in the interlude. Harissanker has mixed and mastered the track. This is one very pleasing song that grows on you. Shaan Rahman dazzles with all the programming and arrangements. 

 @shaanrahman @najimarshad @manumanjith_s

8. It's Dark

Songwriting, Music Production, Mixing and Mastering: Shivang Arora  

Language: English

Genre: Alt-Rock

I listened to this song on my headphones as the Spotify app played a few songs from my designated "to-do" playlist. I have listened to Shivang Arora's work but didn't want to keep any expectations and hence had an open mind. The song starts slow with hardly any impact as only his vulnerable voice and guitars pull the weight. I just kept focusing on other things around in the airport and then Raghav Bhutani tapped me with his drums and I paid a little more attention. Then the Keyboards by Shivang and bass guitars by Jerry Allen Samuel and Shivang started doing their thing, and then the impact was harder with the lead guitars. It all now begins to make sense like a Coldplay single and with just minimal vocal interventions, Shivang managed to keep me haunted and hooked for the entire length of the track. The guitars and drums keep flowing like a never-ending Cadence and I got the precise feeling like when I heard Coldplay's "Fix you", towards the outro. 

@shivang.wav @reghev_drums @jerryallen.samuel 

9. Soorat Kyun

Composition, Lyrics and Production: Vikrant Pande

Vocals: Akshit Arora and Mainak Chakraborty

Language: Hindi

Genre: Semi-classical electronic fusion

It is funny how Vikrant Pande reached out to me saying he has a new song that got released and he would love me to listen to it. By that time I already had listened, been impressed and already kept it aside for featuring among India's best. To me, there is an influence of Raag Bhimpalasi and the song is composed, written and produced by Vikrant. The vocals belong to Mainak Chakraborty and Akshit Arora with the latter also being the artist handling the artwork. There is such tranquillity when the swaras are being uttered and the duo combine very well in their delivery. The rhythm and keyboard programming are up to the task. Harry Arora has done the mixing and mastering. The DOP is Harshwardhan Poddar with Abhishek Pal as Director and both of them on editing. Sunidhi Gawande handles the BTS videos and edits. The song is very free-flowing and experimental than being rigid and true to one Raag and such creativity is always welcome

@my_naak @akiaroraa @pandevikrant2 @harrythisside @sunidhigawande

10. Kya Karoon

Singer - Sanam Puri

Lyricist and Composer - Jaani

Music Producer - Vaibhav Pani

Language: Hindi

Genre: Filmi Melody

This is one of the two songs this week that were released in 2023 and what a way to start the year for Jaani who is one of my favourites. He writes the lyrics and composes the tune and the guitarist/producer Vaibhav Pani turns producer for this beautiful song. Sanam Puri is the vocalist and he brings in a fresh voice on board, expressing a lot of vulnerability just like what the tune and words are intending. The song gets elevated by some fantastic production when Sanam sings " Ho, mehfil usko sunke, rone lag gayi". The Keyboards, and guitars all add value with every impending note. When the opening lines are repeated again, we get the Tabla, rhythms and vocal harmonies as well that solidify the song. Vaibhav plays the acoustic and bass guitars. Abhishek Gautam does the mix and master. The final segment with multiple layers of vocals singing the title line is wonderful to hear. 

 @vaibhavpani @jaani777 @sanampuri @mix.abhishek

11. Easy

Written by Kenneth Soares

Vocals: Kenneth Soares

Language: English

Genre: Indie Pop

This is one fine track which reminds us of some fantastic easy-going songs like "That thing you do" by The Wonders. The song begins with a plethora of guitars all converging upon us. David De Menezes plays the bass guitars as well as the Violin. The constant drums keep the tempo and mood of the song upbeat thanks to Shashwat Karkare. Somewhere near the midway point the impact of the drums slowly perishes with Synths taking over. Apurv Agrawal does the production, synths as well as secondary guitars. I love the message that Kenneth Soares gives me " Friends say that I am crazy, but I am fine". The interplay of guitars and drums rejuvenates the song from time to time and I can say that falling in love with this track is Easy. I was waiting for the violin when I read the credits and David does it brilliantly with his solo in the outro. Kudos to the arrangements and production by Apurv. We do hear backing vocals by Vimal Ravindran. The track is mixed by Apurv and mastered by Drona Acharya. 

@_kennethsoares @davidde11 @sorry_ihaverehearsal @maybedrona