Top Tamil Songs of August 2023

Here are the best Tamil songs released for the month of August 2023. 

If you are a musician submit your new music here.

1. Nam Tham

Composed & Arranged by Kalyani Nair

Lyrics: Pradeep Kumar

Solo Vocals: Kalyani Nair

One-man String Quartet: Rithu Vysakh

Language: Tamil

Genre: A-capella 

I cannot feel more elated to write about and feature a woman composer at the very top of my week's list. Kalyani Nair is one of the most talented in India and she is rising steadily with every passing day. The Indian Choral Ensemble (TICE) is the brainchild of Kalyani and Karthik Manickavasakam and this single from her upcoming EP is a testament to the talent that Kalyani can boast of. She composed and arranged the song with lyrics by Pradeep Kumar. 

The seeds of Nam Tham probably were sown long back in 2009 according to Kalyani. In Carnatic music, we call compositions as Ragam Thanam Pallavi, with all 3 segments adopting different styles. Thanam is like a Raga Aalap but with syllables A, Nam and Tham. This composition is based on this with some Tamil lyrics later in the song written by Pradeep. Kalyani's very first tryst with classical Hindustani music was in Raag Kalavati and hence this composition follows that scale mostly. 

This is the kind of song that can turn your sour, bitter day into something more meaningful and magnificent. TICE is in full flow and no it is more than 40 members strong. We have the high Sopranos with the performers on First Sopranos are Padmaja Sreenivasan, Samanvitha G. Sasidaran and Sushmita Narasimhan, 2nd Sopranos Nidhi Saraogi, Nalini Vittobane and Mezzo Sopranos having Sriradha Bharath and Avantika K. 

The way these vocalists combine is pure magic and it all comes from Kalyani's years of experience and love for A-capella music. She has arranged vocal harmonies for some of India's finest composers like Santhosh Narayan, Pradeep Kumar and Sean Roldan. The way we hear so many layers and with so many lags, and just past the 1-minute mark, the whole bunch sings " Nam Tha" and we are transported to paradise. The intensity keeps rising and we have the introduction of the strings, with Rithu Vysakh being the 1-man string quartet. The Altos are comprised of Fathima Henna, Aishwarya Ravichandran and Vidhya Vijay on First Altos, Triya Sushma, Nithyasri A on Second Altos. The Tenors are Pranjal Thakore, Sarthak Kalyani, Manikandan Chembai and finally the Basses are Karthik Manickavasakam, Ragu, Dhiyanathiru T, Arul C Durairaj, Regis Tony SD and S Kingslin Pon Bhabha. 

Kalyani performs the lead vocals when we reach the halfway mark in Tamizh and I hope we have musicians across the country take inspiration from such magnificent work. This along with the next song at number 2 is proof of why music in the South dominates the rest of the country. B Prasanna is the Stereo Mix/Master engineer, and the recording engineers are Lijesh, Davidson and KS Maniratnam

@theindianchoralensemble @kalyaninair86 @rithuvysakh @pradeep_kumar1123 @karthikmanickavasakam @b_prasanna 

2. Nesam Maruma

Singer : Anjana Rajagopalan

Lyrics: Mohan Rajan

Music: Girishh Gopalakrishnan

Language: Tamil

Genre: Opera

Nessun Dorma is a famous Aria performed by many Opera Singers. It was written by Giacomo Puccini, but popularized by Pavarotti after his performance for the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. This team of Girishh, Anjana and Mohan have re-created India's first Opera SIngle. It is a Himalayan task and has only been possible thanks to the ingenious efforts of the team of musicians. 

Every word which is originally in Italian, has been recreated to sound similar but the words are Tamil. For example, the title "Nesam Maruma" sounds almost the same as "Nessun Dorma". If we get to the arrangement, it is thanks to Anjana Rajagopalan and the whole production and adaptation are carried out by Girish Gopalakrishnan. These are some of India's brightest talents and so let us celebrate them. 

When it comes to this vocal performance, I have no words. People who have come from Chennai, are quite aware of Anjana's abilities as a vocalist, especially in the Opera style, but this is something else. We are probably listening to the best vocal performance of 2023 by any Indian artist. Just Listen, enjoy and don't mind if you get a tear or two rolling down your cheeks. 

The more you hear, the more you tend to appreciate the work that has gone into it. The strings section, and the Harp all are so beautifully arranged. But a standing ovation is needed for Girishh, Anjana and Mohan. The backing vocalists are Roshni Sharon, Shilpa Natarajan, Valentina Gasper, Ebenezer Arunkumar, Prashant Gasper, Dobbin Raj and Regis Tony SD. After she hits that final high note the, strings section takes over and this is what magic is. Subbiah Arunachalam is the recording engineer, Sai Shravanam is the mix/master engineer. 

All the amazing symphony we hear is performed by the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague with Samarth Srinivasan supervising the recording session. 

@anjanarajagopalan_musician @mohanrajan_lyrici @girishhgopal

@ar_subbiah @thinkmusicofficial @samarthsrinivasan @saishravanam @jilpaa @roshnisharon @prashanthnick 

3. Kangal Edho

Music: Dhibu Ninan Thomas

Lyrics: Yugabharathi

Singers: Pradeep Kumar, Karthika Vaidyanathan

Arranged by Kalyani Nair

Genre: Light Music

When a batsman comes to the crease, sometimes the very first ball he strikes or defends with the middle of the bat, tells a lot about his/her form and what lies in store for the innings. The opening humming by female vocalists tells that kind of a story here. Behold some brilliance as we listen to the song, as we have one of the most talented and consistent composers in South Cinema if not India itself viz. Dhibu Ninan Thomas. 

Karthika Vaidyanathan blazes through with a brilliant vocal performance and her sensational vocal control is evident in the ghamaka on the words "edho" and "thaane" in the opening lines. Shruthiraj plays the Ganjira if I am not wrong, and it is pure Heaven when the Piano by Dhibu starts playing.

Just when I was surrendering myself to the pristine beauty of the tune, Pradeep Kumar struck me harder with that glorious voice. How brilliant is the line " Oru aayiram vaanavilla un poovizhi kaatuthadi", from lyrical, musical and vocal execution perspectives? We are only 50 seconds into the song and it is more melodious, and classy than most albums released in 2023. Once the Anu Pallavi is done, we get to hear Karthika singing the Pallavi again, but this time Dhibu fires up the Synths. 

The flute solo by Kamalakar adds to the serenity, but mildly reminds me of AR Rahman's "Radha Kaise na Jale". Behind the Synths and flute, we also hear that faint Clarinet by Nadhan. There are segments here that remind us of Suddha Dhanyasi Ragam, like the interlude and the stanza. When it begins takes us back to the Ilaiyaraja super hit song "Pottu Vacha Malliga Mottu". The second half of the stanza strikes you with its innate beauty, such is the poise with which Dhibu has written the notes, Kudos to Karthika for singing "Ennennavo unkitta sollida thonuthada" like a dream. Kalyani Nair is in charge of the amazing arrangements. 

Naveen Napier makes the song stylish with his bass guitars and the strings section by Budapest Scoring Orchestra adds vitality, especially in the outro. We have Peter Illenyi conducting the orchestra and Balasubramanian G on Orchestra Co-ordination. Mani Ratnam, Dennis and Avinash Sathish are the recording engineers, Balu Thankachan on mixing and Shadab Rayeen on mastering. 

@dhibuninanthomas @pradeep_kumar1123 @karthikavaidyanathan @yughabharathi @kalyaninair86 @bala_musician 

4. Rathamaarey

Lyrics - Vignesh Shivan

Vocals - Vishal Mishra

Composed, Arranged and programmed by Anirudh Ravichander 

Additional Piano & Synth Programmed by Leon James

Genre: Light Music/Pop

A movie that hardly had any good moments, except for Rajini fans. The music was a let-down as well, as much was expected from Anirudh. This song however turned out to be the saving grace as its melody, lyrics and mainly the vocals offer immense quality to cherish and bask in. Vishal Mishra has been reviewed, lauded and featured by me for the last 3 years as one of India's best vocalists. Here he comes at you with a smashing voice. 

Vishal excels the Tamil diction, and here he pronounces all the words correctly is a mystery. One of the best lines is "Enakku pin ennai thodarpavan nee". The words here involve a lot of proper tongue placement and he does it to perfection, a lesson for many young singers. Vignesh Shivn is the man behind the wonderful words. It comes at a nice point in the movie talking about Father-Son love, and we are treated to a beautiful tune here. Keba Jeremiah plays the acoustic guitars and we get some snazzy stylish bass guitar notes thanks to Sajith Sathya. 

The flowy, dreamy flue that plays in the background with the lines " puthalva, va va " is by Navin and all the fantastic programming on keys, synths and rhythms is by Anirudh, with composer Leon James working on additional synth and Keys programming. Vishal stuns you with his vibrato as he sings the lines " Katthikoore en makkamaare". The interlude has the electric guitar by Keba, with a gentle aalap by Vishal, something he does better than anyone else. There is an influence of Raag Bilwal ( Shankarabharanam in Carnatic) here in the song and we are reminded of beauties like "Thoda Thoda" by AR Rahman from the album 'Indira'. 

Vishal's Tamil diction becomes a thing of joy, something that even greats like Udit Narayan failed to achieve. you will know for yourself when you hear the line" Vettri kathaigal Nooru Niththam Ketkindren". It is a testament to his skill, work ethic and mastery. Anirudh and Jishnu Vijayan are on the harmonies and we have Jishu, Arish-Pradeep on additional keys programming while Shashank Vijay is on rhythm programming.  

The recording engineers are Srinivasan M, Shivakiran S, and Rajesh Kannan and we have Vinay Sridhar & Srinivasan M as the mixing engineers, while Luca Pretolesi at Studio DMI, Las Vegas has mastered the tracks with assistance from Alistair Pintus. The Musicians' Co-ordinator is Velavan B, and Ananthakrrishnan as the Music Supervisor. 

@anirudhofficial @vishalmishraofficial @wikkiofficial @leon.james @kebajer @le_sajbro @_jishnu_vijayan @flutenavin 

5. Thottu Thazhuvum Thedrale

Singer: Savitha Sai

Lyricist: Balaji Venugopal

Music: Sean Roldan

Genre: Light Music

He is unstoppable in 2023, is Sean Roldan. I'm so delighted to see him shine like this, after all, he is one of the best things to happen to Tamil Music in the last 10 years. This song is one of the two good songs from his latest movie album 'Luckyman' and he gets vocalist Savitha Sai to serenade us. Sean, without any doubt, is the composer to take us closest to the heydays of Maestro Ilaiyaraja with his stunning melodies. The female humming at the start reminds us of so many of Ilaiyaraja's songs that used to be sung like this by S. Janaki. 

The stunning acoustic guitar accompanies and we are transported to paradise, along with the bass guitars and the Piano. The Tabla and Harmonium come in and this takes me one step further to the song "Un parvaiyil oraayiram", by Ilaiyaraja hence there is possibly a Raag Bihag influence here. I like how the arrangements shift to a mildly Western influence with the acoustic guitars. The lovely line "Alai thooram ponalum, karai thedi varume" gets the added thrust of the Tabla. Balaji Venugopal is the lyricist. The line that lands into the Pallavi is another beauty. Sai Shravanam is the mix/master engineer and this team deserves huge credit for giving music lovers a song for our souls. 

@rseanroldan @savithamusic @balajesaar @saishravanam

6. Mutta Cutie

Song Composed and Arranged by Justin Prabhakaran

Singer - Anthony Daasan

Lyrics - Maathevan

Genre: Dance-Pop

I loved this movie album "Adiyae" and once again Justin Prabhakaran shows his mettle and consistency as well. I had already featured one song many months ago called "Vaa Senthazhini". Now we have a dance track that gets the heartbeat racing thanks to the production by Justin and vocals by Anthony Daasan. 

The song begins with a tone that reminds me of "Musthafa Musthafa" by AR Rahman. The Accordion sound is a great addition along with Anthony's vocals. The anupallavi section arrives and we hit the dance mode when he sings " Kaatti adikkuthe, saathi enn jokerah, maathi sirukkuthe". Maathevan writes the interesting lyrics. The interlude has the mild Violin played by Akkarsh Kashyap, and we get the stanza. 

I rise and clap for Justin for the way he has beautifully composed the stanza and the proof lies in the line "pakkathula vandha peraliaiye". I also want to congratulate Justin for giving Anthony a very good tune, because I believe his potential has been undone by many composers by making him sing bad songs. The backing vocalists are Shibi Srinivasan, Velu, Aravind Annest, Sugandh Shekar, Priya Prakash, Karpagam, Hemembiga and Padmaja Srinivasan. 

The second interlude has Napier Naveen playing the bass guitar, it comes out more evidently along with Joseph Vijay on acoustic, electric and slide guitar. Sruthiraj and Mohan get brilliant percussions along with the Mandolin by Joseph. We can also hear the Kazoo by Justin. Sebastian Sathish handles the additional programming, Kashyap Rammohan and Senthil Prasad are the recording engineers. The tracks are mixed by Balu Thankachan, assisted by Paul Daniel at 20db Black, and mastered by Gethin John at Hafod Mastering, Wales, UK 

@prabhakaranjustin @the_maathevan @shibisrinivasan @napier_naveen @padmaja.07 @aravindd_annestt @supervijayoffl @aquestercalledakash @akkarshkasyap @sebastiansathishmusic 

7. Kaikku Ettinadhu

Composed, Arranged, Produced and Sung by Vijaynarain

Lyrics: Super Subu

Genre: Country/Pop

I have always admired Vijaynarain for his singing, but he is also a talented musician otherwise. I did enjoy some of the songs he composed for his movie album "Dagaalty", but here is an indie single that lifted my spirits. Vijaynarain has written, composed, arranged, produced and performed the vocals for this delightful track. 

Keba Jeremiah plays the acoustic guitars creating an effect of country music that we hear in the US, and the fiddle in the background by Bruce Hoffman adds to that feeling. The writing is witty and Vijay gives the song a nice upbeat mood with his vocals. Darbuka Siva's 'Visiri' song is what I was reminded of thanks to the song's tone and arrangements. 

Alex Hoeffken plays the drums and Naveen Napier is the bassist. I love the lines "Ennai yaarum un kitta nera kanna pathu pesa sonna, bakku bakkunu bayam vandhu", showing how simple words can still be loved thanks to their relevance. Super Subu This portion of the stanza is when my mind kept going back to Ilaiyaraja's "Mamavukku Kudu ma, kudu ma, ada onne onnu". Musically, my favourite lines were "sindhama, setharama, vazhinji pathen kozhanji pathen", and that shows that Vijay does have the potential to write an enjoyable melody. The vocal harmonies make for some interesting layers. Lijeshkumar does the vocal production and Rupendar Venkatesh is the mix/master engineer. Maniratnam is the recording engineer at The Mystic's Room. 

@vijaynarain @soupersubu @raju_jeyamohan @thinkmusicofficial @kebajer @vinsu.sam @napier_naveen @alexhoeffken @rupendar_venkatesh

8. Malarthan Vizhundhadhu

Singers: Hesham Abdul Wahab, Ravi.G

Lyrics: Karthik Netha

Music: G.V.Prakash Kumar

Programmed by Ravi.G

Genre: Semi-classical

The moment the song begins, it is clear that we have a song with heavy Hamsanadam Ragam influences along the lines of super hit songs like "OM Namaha", "Sorgame Endralum", "Isaiyil Thondanguthamma" by Maestro and Vidyasagar's " Poovasam". GV Prakash is the composer and he gets another in-form composer Hesham Abdul Wahab to sing the lead lines along with Ravi. G. The two men have great camaraderie and sing with amazing gusto together. 

Lalit Talluri plays the flute solo in the interlude, and it is dominated by some fantastic rhythms by Kalyan and percussions. Ravi. G handles all the programming. The chorus is beautifully arranged and executed with some fantastic singers viz. Vanathi Suresh, Sushmitha Narasimhan, Sivaranjani Chandramouli and Padmaja Sreenivasan. The stanza is well composed and the vocalists deliver it with panache. The mild Santoor is played by Divyansh and we have Laxman as the bassist. Jehovahson Alghar is the recording, mixing and mastering engineer at Divine Labs with assistant Manu Ravichandran. Karthik Netha writes these beautiful Tamil lines. 

 @gvprakash @heshamabdulwahab @ravig_official @vanathisuresh @sushmita_narasimhan @sivaranjinichandramouli @padmaja.07 @jehovahson @karthiknetha_official

9. Vaa Veera

Composed, Arranged and Produced by Bharath Sankar

Lyrics - Yugabharathi

Vocals - Bharath Sankar

'Manikuyile' Vocals - Vaikom Vijayalakshmi

Genre: Anthem/Symphony

The movie was excellently written and directed and when this song came about, the placement and picturisation were worthy of praise as well. Bharath Sankar has composed, arranged and produced it with lyrics by Yugabharathi. Bharath is the lead vocalist and induces elements of mild rage and inspiration suited for the protagonist of the movie. Vaikom Vijayalakshmi sings the lullaby in a typically heart-rending fashion. 

The Piano makes an intro played by Bharath and then when he hits the high pitch notes, we get two layers of amazing impact, one on the strings section and the other on the massively arranged chorus. The lines "Vaa Veera" are so emotionally charged and Bharath employs his composition skills when the notes get altered in the last part of the title line making it sound soothing and uplifting. Inspiration songs or anthems can be beautifully done like this without being massy, messy and noisy. Keba plays the acoustic guitar, while Bharath plays the classical guitar. Vaikom's lines are touching and bring a very varied section to the rest of the song. This is where we hear the classical guitar and the Budapest Scoring Orchestra in full flow, with the rhythms following, those played by Bharath. Prashanth Mohanasundaram plays the electric guitar. 

The amazing Indian Choral Ensemble arranged and led by Kalyani Nair, does a phenomenal job in the song. The group comprises 40 singers viz. Roshni Sharon, Sancia Czecilia Divina. P, Aparna Harikumar, Sangita Santosham, Alisha Mathew Thayil, Annie Jennifer, Nidhi Saraogi, Sushmita Narasimhan, Vani Nandhini, Samanvitha G Sasidharan, Kalyani Nair, Fathima Henna, Kiran Sravan, Nayansee Sharma, Sivaranjini Chandramouli, Shreya, Geethu Nirmala, Kaaviya S, Kavitha Ramesh, Pavithra Chari, Sumathi Shekar, Madhura Dhara Talluri, D. Ebenezer Arunkumar, Joseph P George, Manoj Krishna, Shridhar Ramesh, Akash V H, Chirag Shetty, Akhil Chandrasekhar, Sudharsan HemaRam, Shibi Srinivasan, Pranjal Thakore, Aditya Ganesh, Ragu, Shyam Krishna, Neeraj M Selva, Solomon Suganesan, Chax, Prashanth Mohanasundaram, Regis Tony SD

The recording engineers are Biju James, Avinash Sathish and Hariharan. The mix engineer is Balu Thankachan, assisted by Paul Daniel, and Donal Whelan does the mastering. The Orchestra Co-ordinator is Balasubramanian G. 

@bharathsankar @kalyaninair86 @theindianchoralensemble @kebajer @yughabharathi @sonicpanik @avinashsathish @bala_musician 

10. Takkunu Zukkunu

Lyrics: Sanathan Shree Krishnan

Vocals: Sanathan Shree Krishnan, Vasantha Sankarraman

Composer: Sanathan Shree Krishnan

Genre: Electronic-Classical Pop

Sanathan Shree Krishnan is quite famous on Instagram, for his innovative music remixes, unique compositions inspired by old and new hits and so on. He also has his mother Vasantha Sankarraman singing along in most videos. This is an original composition by Sanathan and it is one joy ride for sure. 

Sanathan has written the witty lyrics and composed, produced and performed the male vocals, with Vasantha singing the female lead portions. He brilliantly gives this electronic pop song a Carnatic infusion in many portions as well, like the beautiful anupallavi. Vasantha's ability to see in the Tenor or Bass pitch is something fantastic.

The interlude has this rendition of the swaras after the synths. The stanza too is nicely composed with quite a lot of variations, with an impressive landing on to the Pallavi. Towards the end, we get to hear some upbeat rhythms and this makes it dance-worthy. 

@sanathanogram 

11. Anjalkaaran

Song Composed, Arranged and Produced by Ramshanker

Lyrics: R. Deepak Krishna

Singers: Hariharasudhan, Charee and Sinduri Vishal

Genre: Folk

Ramshanker is a young musician who is slowly making his mark, and this debut Kollywood album is a deserving break. I have already featured one song a couple of months ago from this album and this one is another very likable song. He has composed, arranged and produced the song with lead vocalists Hariharasudhan, Charee and Sinduri Vishal. Deepak Krishna is the lyricist. 

The live instruments get the song alive and kicking with a Violin solo by M Kalyan and a Cello by VR Sekar. The whistle by Vedanth Bharadwaj combined with Bongos, Kanjira Duff and another live percussion by Shruthi Raj makes it quite interesting. Vedhanth is a brilliant multi-instrumentalist and he plays the Nylon and Steel string guitars, along with the Banjo and Harmonica. We have Aravind Annest on additional vocals and backing vocalists Sinduri Vishal, Devu Mathew, Aravind Annest, Shibi Srinivasan and Vikram Pitty. 

The title in the chorus followed by the Violin and percussions is a match made in heaven. Keith Peters is the bassist and the highlight segment is the interlude where the violin solo, is followed by the Piano and mild choral humming. Sinduri joins late but she smashes it with her delivery. Ramshanker does the keyboard and rhythm programming, with Anjana Rajagopalan and Nehhen R on additional programming and recording supervision duties. The recording engineers are Avinash Sathish, Hariharan and Paul Daniel, Balu Thankachan on mixing and mastering. 

@ramshankers @singersinduri @sudhan.1011 @shibisrinivasan @aravindd_annestt @devumathew @keithpeters_bassman @anjanarajagopalan_musician @nehhenr

12. Mathagam

Performed by Darbuka Siva, Pavithra Chari, Shilvi Sharon

Written by Darbuka Siva, Kavingar Magudeswaran

Genre: Alt-Rock

Mathagam is supposed to be a thrilling police procedural on Disney Hotstar, but I have yet to see it. This song came across, however, and I quite liked it. Darbuka Siva composes and produces the high-octane single with Pavithra Chari and Shilvi Sharon as the lead vocalists.

The rhythms and percussions create a climate of tension right at the start and the strings section initially leads me to believe that there is some Dharmavathi or Madhuvanthi Ragam influence here. The two vocalists combine quite effectively and the Keys and rhythms keep things intense. The humming in the interlude at the high pitch is representative of a mysterious plot, and Darbuka does quite well to get the emotions spot-on through his composition and arrangements. Pavithra with every new month is showing great ability to diversify her vocal tones. Shilvi matches her every step of the way like a strong opponent on the battlefield

The horns section towards the end adds a nice layer to further the upbeat tone of the song. The outro amps up the energy with the rhythms, humming all coming together. If I am not wrong I also did sense some traces of Sumanesaranjani Ragam. 

@darbukasiva @shilvi_sharon06 @pavithra.chari @