Best Indian Tracks of the week - 10 October 2021
This is the week's best music from across the nation. Music from every state written in every language, composed as a part of Movies and by Indie artists is listened to and after analyzing more than 300 tracks released in the week ending 10th October 2021, I have rated and reviewed the 16 absolute best tracks in the country. This is truly India's ONLY multilingual music review and music curation page. Week after week, without any breaks you will get the review and links to the best work from musicians all over the country.
Find the full playlist of 16 tracks on SPOTIFY
1. Aalo Ta Tumi Naao
The top spot for the week quite deservingly goes to this fabulous Bangla song. It all begins with the soothing keys and all that credit goes to Shamik Chakravarthy who not only has composed this but also made all the arrangements. Alivia Jasim owns the voice that truly holds the track together. Raja Chowdhury is simply brilliant on the guitars. right through and especially in the interludes. There is a recognizable strings section during the verse and we have Tarun Das on the recording and Goutam Basu on mixing and mastering. Alivia uses her vocals skillfully to jazz up things and also provide some good old classical vibrato as well. The lyricist is Rajiv Dutta. The last minute or so has some excellent electric guitar solos only to to be matched by Alivia's singing.
2. Ila
Sithara Krishnakumar is one of the best vocalists in the country today, and its is her ability to stun you with her vocal stability and subtle likable shifts in tonality. The track starts off with the guitars by Liboy Praisly and they resonate something like Saraswati Raag because I could hear a bit of ""Karpoorai Bommai ondru"" by Ilaiyaraja. Mithun Jayaraj is the composer with Binesh Damodaran, Venu Varrier and Yoonas Khan. The strings are strong and imposing along with a woodwind instrument and it could probably be the Saxophone. Mithun's singing touches you along with Sithara's magical voice and as the song progresses we get a sense of maybe an influence of Gowrimanohari raaga. Dhanush Nayanar has done the sound design, with Sreejesh Nair handling the mixing and mastering. Nikhil Ram's flute solo comes into the second interlude and all the pathos gets captured through the choice of the instruments, the arrangements and emotive singing.
3. Bhimpalasi
Anirudh Varma is a Pianist and composer who I have come to pay a lot of attention to for his excellent and consistent work. Not just instrumentals, even vocal tracks are amazing when he is part of it. An album called ‘Homecoming’ is coming up and this is the 1st single in that . The composition is all about love and care that we extend to our closest ones and quite evidently it is based on Raag Bhimpalasi. Anirudh plays the Piano,keyboards and also handles the arrangements and composition. Rohit Prasanna's provides the ideal opening needed with the tranquil flute solo, and we can already hear the guitar support from Shrikant Biswakarma and Abhishek Mittal on electric and Madhur Chaudhary on bass guitars. Mohit Lal on the Tabla and Dimpal Kumar on the drums keep the tempo in check with flavors of classical and western music being induced when they alternate. There is an excellent array of classical Hidustani vocalists in Aanchal Singh, Aastha Mandle, Kavya Singh and Vaishnavi Tyagi. Saptak Chatterjee another favorite young musician of mine gets involved with Anirudh in vocal arrangement and production. The flute interventions are top-notch and they help achieve a sense of calmness amidst the fast paced singing and wonderful tongue-twisting Konnakkol by Santur Kundu. The track is recorded, mixed and mastered by Anindo Bose at Plug 'n' Play Studios and Aastha;s vocals are recorded by Jagdish Bhandge. The roles played by the electric guitar and bass guitar are indispensable. I certainly cat wait for the remaining tracks from the album.
4. Radhari Jonney
How awesome is this for Bangla music, as we have one more right here in the top 6 ? Anurag Chatterjee and Niharika Nath are the lead singers in this melody but it is the latter who serenades us with her sweet voice. Sushanta Nandi is the flautist and he blows us away further into the melody composed by Anurag himself. The bengali lyrics are penned by Anurag and Raja Chatterjee. The beats and the harmonies are something that completely took me by surprise in a very positive way. The lingering effect and sound of flute persists well in to the interlude. the verse is wonderfully written and structured and helped by some pitch-perfect singing. Arnab Chowdhury does the musical arrangements but Jakiruddin Khan's guitars are like the beautiful beads on a string. Antarip Adhikary has mixed and mastered the track.
5. Mere Warga
Brilliance on the Violin, and there it was , the track's fate sealed to be in this weeks top 5. Kaka is the man behind this show entirely as Singer, lyricist and composer as well. The keys in the background drive the quality of the track forward with music direction by Sukhe Muzical Doctorz . The singing especially in the verse where he reaches the higher scales is worthy of mention. The violins just dont strike us at the beginning but in the interludes as well. The track is mixed and mastered Yograj Singh & Suyash Singh. The film and video we see is by Scope Studios. The female Lead is Akanksha Puri and the Second Lead Sophia Doon in the video. The tune might not be something we never have heard before, but the arrangements and music instrument choices keep this one apart from the rest
6. Khali Khali Agide
Raghu Dixit and Vasu Dixit are becoming very dependable composers not just in the indie space but movie-based music as well. This movie has got some people talking about the acting performances of the lead characters but what I am interested in is the was the music adds layers and Vasu doesn't disappoint. Shilpa Mudbi is the female lead vocalist and she possesses a voice which is not you run-of the-mill tone and that itself keeps you intrigued. The Sitar in the interlude is exquisitely played by Shruti Kamath and this where I sensed some Raag Gowrimanohari(Patdeep in Hindustani) influence, and it is interesting how she lands back on the opening lines. Joel Sakkari is solid on guitars and the verse has both Shilpa and Vasu singing in harmony. Pranav Swaroop's violin solo in the second interlude is another piece worth listening to. The track is mixed and mastered by Hriday Goswami with lyrics by K.Kalyan. Watch out for that lovely background on violins just after the beginning of the second verse.
7. Under My skin
This is one surprising track that really caught my attention, and though the initial sounds were nothing spectacular but the moment Kaja Riedle starts singing, it gets elevated. The song is written by Kaja, a singer-songwriter from Berlin and an artist who goes by the name ButtonChutney. Utkarsh Amarpuri from True School of Music is a musician and producer and he has mixed, mastered and produced this track. The singing and production are of superior quality and the sound of the keys and guitars and some EDM touch all add some value or the other.
8. Kichu Kotha Baki
Bangla music must be on a high, with its 3rd entry in this week's best of Indian music. Ashmi Bose sings like a Pro at the top of her game and it is the beautiful words of Buddha Mukherjee that bring a smile to your face even if you cant follow the language. He also has composed, and arranged this wonderful track and I must say that the label Soumya's Academy does support and promote good quality Bangla music. The guitars by Monotosh are simple yet solid as a support cast while the song did show some influence of Raag Maand. The track is Mixed & Mastered by Zamar Indian Ensemble. The interlude is laden with guitar strings and the verse is a display of Ashmi's vocal skills. The lines in Hindi "" Chhodh denge hum"" alone sound like a piece out of a Bollywood romantic track, while otherwise it is a slow, sober bengali track.
9. Thodi si dua
Merchant Records need no introduction nor accreditation, as they continue to produce, support and promote some of the best of Indian indie music. This particular track is composed, written and performed by Kamakshi Rai with Garima Obrah also contributing to the lyrics. I am constantly reminded of this famous track ""Baby I love your way"" by UB-40. Karan Parikh's guitars constantly act like the connecting link in the track which revolves around some effortless singing by Kamakshi. The track is Mixed & Mastered by Aftab Khan at Headroom Studio. With just 45 seconds to go, the notes get a mild shake-up and it is always interesting to move away from any monotony. Garima does a splendid job in writing lyrics in Hindi which carry the same emotion as the ones in English written by Kamakshi. Tallz a.k.a. Karan Jhaveri produces this track and also lends his voice.
10. Akhiyan Udeek Diyan
This is a re-creation of an old masterpiece by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, sung by Master Saleem and all the credit to the music direction goes to Manan Bharadwaj with Sarthak getting involved in the arrangements and programming along with Manan. The singing is obviously something that stands out in the song and it makes you feel like it is an original by the genius Nusrat ji. Mayukh Sarkar is splendid on the guitars especially the bass-lines. The original lyrics were penned by Khawaja Pervez and the track is mixed and mastered by Eric Pillai.
11. Jhula
Sayani Palit is always on my radar, because she not only sings like a dream, but also composes some brilliant music. I believe this one has some element of Raag Desh in it. This track is sung by Sayani while it is produced by Suvam Moitra. A component of the track that strikes as brilliant and innovative is the beats, and rhythm with so many things happening and all that credit goes to Avirup Das Bunty. Swarajit Ratul Guha's flute solo is something to cherish as he gets very creative and also maintains a classical style also when needed. We can hear the sounds of Harmonium as well and though the tune is not something unheard of, the creativity is seen in many ares like I expressed.
12. Ro Dena
Mohit Dogra does some excellent production , as I still remember his Nasamajh O dil. This is another excellent track in Punjabi sung by Pallavi Chaudhary with musical and lyrical credits going to Mohit. It can be seen that all the excellent sounds of the guitar also are programmed to great effect by Mohit. Bharat Goel another admirable composer does the mixing and mastering. Pallavi absolutely steals the show with her delivery.
13. Munthiripoovo
It is never easy to remake a movie and get the same effect as the original, well there have been some who believe it is better than the original 'Andhadun'. Leaving the movie review aside, I feel the song here certainly creates an amazing setting. Jakes Bejoy is growing in stature with every album and this one as well has his stamp. It begins with the wonderful keys , maybe because the hero is a pianist if I am not wrong. Jakes has also sung this song which has some wonderful chorus singers in Jasil M.J, Alex Peter, Austin Shymon and Shwetha Ashok is the female backing vocalist. Amal Antony does all the vocal chorus arrangements. Sumesh Parameshwar is the multi-instrumentalist in the track playing Ukulele, Guitalele,Banjitar and bass guitars all these collide so well into creating a wonderful effect. Nikhil Ram's flute intervenes with style and substance and ll this happens with Shruthi Raj's foot-tapping percussion. The track is produced by Jakes, Alan Joy Mathew, Abjaksh S and Glady. The harmonies and beats clearly are the elements that makes this a fun, enjoyable track. There is a brilliant interlude, on the Piano which is an exhibition of Jakes' skill as a composer. Midhun Manoj is the recording engineer, and the track is mixed and mastered by Balu Thankachan with assistance from Hari. Nihil Ram is next to brilliant playing the flute with consummate ease and elegance. The lyrics are written by BK Harinarayan.
14. Jamunar Nila Joley
Jamunar Nila Joley is an ancient Brajavali folk song about finding God in the turbulent blue waters of river Yamuna. But where this track stands apart is the way the composer, fuses the folk music with modern sounds. Composer Vishal J. Singh just appeared on my playlist and weekly rankings last week with ""Come away"" and this is an equally good track, but deserves even more credit for the creative fusion. Siddharth Basrur is the lead vocalist and the terrific violinist Ajay Jayanthi plays the stringed instrument. Andrey Sazonov plays the woodwinds quite impeccably. The guitars in the background especially the bass help build the excitement but what keeps you glued on to it is the voice of Kasturi Nath Singh. Siddharth's vocals are enchanting to say the least and it has to be Vishal's production and programming that brings together these lovely instruments, and I guarantee you will fall in love with the violins that keep playing right through. There is no better way to keep our folk music alive than create fusion versions like these.
15. Aaram se
What is Vijay Prakash having for breakfast these days? I would definitely like to know, in fact the whole music industry would I guess. This is the 3rd consecutive week where we have the brilliant singer appear in our rankings. The track is probably an electronic/pop and dance track but it is Vijay's ability to sound convincing in this genre especially when he can also sing slow melodies with poise and purpose. The sole purpose of Bas55ick is to bring EDM to Kannada music and he does that pretty admirably here. Adolf Shervi'n's solo on the saxophone is something to cherish and the use of a live instrument is refreshing in an EDM track. Harshith V does the mixing and mastering and Siddhu Raj is the lyricist. Adithya Nayak has done the sax arrangements and recording.
16. Safar
Parikshit Sharma is an independent and acclaimed electro-pop music producer and performer but I am hearing him for the very first time. This guy has been in the business since the age of 19 , and I am glad I got to listen to his music and it straight away brought his track to this week's last place. He has composed, produced and performed this one with lyrics by Sharmila Ranade. The track is quite enjoyable and the beats and drums are just excellently programmed in to the scheme of things. The vocals keep coming in layers helping the audio experience. The lyrical video is made by Shrey Joshi and the Mixing & Mastering is also by Parikshit Sharma . The vocals are recorded by Rupak Thakur
Author
I write album and song reviews of Tamil music every month for Behindwoods. You can also call me a sports nut, especially football, and I used to write articles on sportskeeda.com. I am a die-hard Argentina football fan and have travelled to South Africa and Russia to witness the FIFA world cup games. It is not just music, I love movies as well and you will find me quoting dialogues and moments from a lot of movies, as I believe every movie teaches me something new about life itself.