Fresh Single Review - 5 June, 2022

1.    Yaadein

They have always been on the radar, have ‘Last Minute India’ a band from Mumbai that primary focuses on Alternative rock as the style. ‘Yaadein’ is a single that belong to the album called” Kaagaz Ki Naav”. The song to me is their best yet, amongst all the ones I have heard so far and it finally shows the true potential of the band. The core strength seems like the lead vocalist Abdul Shaikh and he impresses right off the bat sounding like the stylish and husky Atif Aslam. The band is equipped with all elements and very efficient instrumentalists and we have the drums by Yash Khona and lead guitars by Austin Furtado accompanying Abdul on vocals. The rock quotient is quite high and it hardly takes the band 1 minute to showcase that, as we hear a fabulous and zingy electric guitar solo with Bhumit Gor on Rhythm guitar and Subodh Gupta on bass guitars. The drums and guitars take a back seat allowing Abdul to perform both emotionally invested and charged and when the tempo and energy needs to be raised the pounding drums and crackling guitars set the stage on fire. Subodh also joins in on the backing vocals which form a nice layer and he writes the lyrics as well. The track is mixed and mastered by Jagdish Bhandge and the impressive artwork is by Sanjana Kadam. Very often when we have a rock band, the lead vocalist is more focused on having a high decibel level alone, but here Abdul Shaikh is immaculate in his delivery and all his vibrato and only to be matched by the electric guitar. Darshil Gala is the band’s manager.

2.   Kaash

Natasha Vora reached out to me when she released her new song called ‘Kaash’ and this was her debut Hindi single. I had not heard of her before especially she is settled in Los Angeles, but it took me under 5 seconds to fall in love and be entirely prepared for the magic that was about to unfold. This singer-songwriter who was born in Bhiali, Chhatisgarh went to study economics, and when she decided to quit that to pursue music, a star was born. Being a economics buff myself, I reckon the world has too many of those, but needs supreme musical talents like Natasha. She has written, and sung this song with Akshat Pradhan being the brains behind the production. The song is a guitarist’s delight and we need to stand up in appreciation and approval for Hunter O’dore’s excellence, and he apparently studied at the Musician’s University in LA along with Natasha. She sings like a dream and not just an ordinary one, it feels like a dream within a dream within a dream which I just don’t want to get out of, something like in Nolan’s ‘Inception’. The use of harmonies adds that blues feeling to the song and one can just shut his/her eyes and be transported to New Orleans with Hunter’s basslines. I love the lines “ Toh rukh ja, samja mujhe, oh rukh ja, bas thodi der”, and how the rhythm stops and pauses accordingly. Samarth Dhawan does the mix and master with Katsuya Sezaki doing the recording. Franco Salas is the photographer and Anushka Tendolkar handles the graphic design.

3.   Kanha

The giants are back and that too with a bang. Ajay-Atul are probably one of India’s finest composers and I love it when don’t rest on their past laurels but rather create melodies and scores at a rampant consistency like this. The other songs in the album are worth your time and I will be writing a bit about “Bai Ga” also but this one is something that will hold your attention and raise your hair, well it just did for me as I was typing the review.  The strings section is brilliant and just truly is a representation of their idol Maestro Ilaiyaraja. Ajay-Atul compose, arranged, produce and conduct the brilliant Orchestra as well. Ajay Gogavale is the vocalist and reminds us of some of their smashing hits even before ‘Sairat’. The track is mixed by Vijay Dalal and mastered by Gethin John. Chinmay Mestry is the sound engineer and Guru Thakur is the lyricist. The line “Muralitsa” and the strings that follow will melt you into surrendering to the beauty and powers of music. The fusion of the Konnakol and symphonic strings in the end is fantastic.

The other song I do love is ‘Bai Ga’ which sounds a lot like there is a Raag Puriya Dhanashree influence. Aarya Ambekar gives a spell-binding vocal display and it feels like you are on this incredible floating hot-air balloon soaring higher and higher without a worry in the world. You will be enthralled by the world of percussion that Ajay Atul bring you into with Vinayak Netake and Prasad Paddhye on the Tabla, Krishna Musalem Satyajeet Jamsandekar on the Dholki and finally Prarap Rath, Ajay himself and Satyajete on percussion.  The Sitar is played by the genius Purbayan Chatterjee in the interlude supported very ably by the men on Tabla in the stanza. Listen to the mild Keys in the background. Towards the end Varad Kathapurkar plays a dazzling solo on the flute and I remember him from his performance in “Me Vasantrao”. The chorus comprises of Aditi Kulkarni, Maithili Joshi - Panse, Mrunmayee Dadke, Sharayu Date, Sonali Karnik, Shalmali Sukhtankar

4.   Nilashakalam

In an age when songs hardly extend past the 2.5-minute mark, here is one splendid Malayalam number that spend more than 70 seconds just on the Pallavi and Anu pallavi. The anupallavi portion is probably the best portion with some enchanting assembly of sounds from live instruments. We can hear the strings section by Cochin Strings and played by Francis Xavier, Josekutty, Carol and Albin and a separate solo on Violin by Francis. The Keys play along in the background and they are programmed by Dil Vinu who also does the strings arrangements. Dr. Sandeep R is the composer and he has also produced the number with lyrics by Dr. Sukesh RS. Arvind Venugopal is the singer and he brings a freshness to the table through his vocals. The interludes and the stanza are laden with excellent strings and the track is wholesome for various reasons both vocal and instrumental arrangements. I love how the stanza gains traction, as it starts off slow and pacified but feels like a raging wave as it ends. The mixing and mastering is by Mani Ratnam and Teena Mary joins in on the backing vocal where we hear her humming. The recording engineers are Jisto George and Sanjai Arakkal, with artwork by Roshan Xavier.

5.    Tere Bina

If Natasha was studying economics before moving into music, here we a full fledge finance graduate from NYU who decided it was time to take up music whole-heartedly. This is just so positive to hear and read because it is all proof that no matter what you do, you can always work on your dreams and make your way closer to achieving it. His name is Arnav Maggo a singer-songwriter from Delhi and he combines with another precious talent called Vasuda Sharma who studied in Berklee College of Music. It might start off to give an impression of a run-of-the-mill song with guy and his guitar, but be surprised as it elevates with every moving second and note into something magical. As the title suggests the song is about a bond between two people that is heading towards its demise, something we never want to experience but it is one of those inevitable things at times. So the sadness is deep-rooted in the lyrics and delivery styles as well. The song is performed and composed by both these lead artists with Vasuda on lyrics and Arnav on guitars. Arnav does exceedingly well in the baritone kind of scale, and when both of them sing we get so invested in the message like Vasuda asking “tumse juda hokar jayein kahaan”. The strings section is the surprise package and that steals the show giving the song gravity, meat and what not. Severn Duo play the strings, and watch-out for some magic on the strings at the 3-rd minute mark, just before the bridge section. A solo violin plays adding to the pathos and the outro has a well arranged bit with the lead vocalists singing in unison almost making us hope that they never separate but only unite. The mixing and mastering is done by the expert Anindo Bose at Plug ‘N’ play studios. As far as the video goes Shrutiman Deori and Kirtiman Singh do the conceptualization and cinematography. Arjun T Bhardwaj handles the editing and Makrand does the Color grading. A special mention to the Severn duo comprising of Jess Townsend playing the Violin and Tom Mccluskey on the Cello.

 6.   Just another pretty face

 There are different kinds of music lovers, the one who focus on the lyrics, and then those like me who just focus on then music, notes instruments and vocals. Apparently this song was penned by Mithun when he was in a bad place but eventually came out of it with flying colors and the song is a message to everyone out there to cut the bad company and be focused on the good things in life. Such a great thing to hear from a young musician and he is already a Doctor from Manipal who can sing and compose. I am sold in-fact much before I knew all this about the guy, the purity of the song, and its overall production had me captivated. Rajath Rao is the producer who deserves a massive round of applause for giving the song direction and depth. Adesh Vinod plays the guitars and supports the very likable vocals of Mithun Kiran who very ably manages a nice falsetto too. We have another expert in Roshan Sebastian on mixing and mastering, and I loved the bridge portion which only glorified the track further. Let us hope Mithun needs no more disappointments in life to create great music like this. He has written, sung, composed and co-produced. The outro on the electric guitar feels like sweet redemption something that Mithun would have felt at the end of all this.

7. Kannil Pettole

Vishnu Vijay is a dependable musician who will get you some brilliant original music that will not only please listeners at that given juncture but also stay in our hearts for many months together. However in my opinion what separates a great musician from a good, is ones ability to score music across genres and not just be a one trick pony. With songs like this Vishnu rises past the “good musician” category for sure, as this funky brass section-filled musical will make you dance, sing, and revel in joy. Vishnu also sings this number with great efficacy and the Arabic and Malaylam lines on the female vocals are by Irfana Hameed. She has also written the rap lyrics herself. The song is composed, arranged and produced by Vishnu. Subhani plays the Oud, Ruan, Saz and Babu is in-charge of the brass section, which mainly has trumpets and maybe trombone. The song just reminds me of “Sususudio” by Genesis the band, which had Phil Collins. There is one small segment, which acts like an interlude as Subhani plays the Oud at breakneck speed. Deepesh Krishnamoorthy is the manager and vocal producer, with recording engineers being Kashyap Ram Mohan, Prince Joe and Nishant. Sujith Sreedhar is the mixing and mastering engineer.

8. Ninnanne Ninnanne

SM Subhani is a brilliant instrumentalist and in all of South India, he is the go-to guy to play all kinds of stringed and plucked instruments. So just like he dominated in the previous number, he starts things off in breathtaking fashion in the Kannada number along with Charan Rao. Sachin Basrur has composed, sung and mixed and mastered the track. The opening lines feel a lot like “Venmathi Venmathiye” by Harris Jayaraj. The song has some very likable and foot-tapping rhythms and it is programmed, along with synths & keyboards by Sachin. There is a very beautiful but short interlude and the sound of probably a stringed instrument here completely draws your attention. Then a Veena solo probably ends the interlude, and this is where I felt some influence of Raag Gowrimanohari. Navya R Bhat joins in the stanza and she sings with such finesse and here in the stanza I could sense some resemblance to Raag Dharmavati like that famous song “Ottagatha Kattikko” by AR Rahman. Pramod Maravante is the lyricist.

9. Bemaniyan

Ananya Birla has been around as an indie musician and she has attained global fame thanks to some supreme hits, including one where she sang for AR Rahman, just before the Olympics singing to motivate and celebrate the Indian contingent. The singers are Ananya and Ikka. The song is not just a melody, but it has some Spanish styled Latin Jazz components, that make it even better to hear and enjoy. The trumpets and trombones by Zach Smith as part of the brass section make it one savvy ride, with Patrick Smith on the Sax, and then Ikka enters with his rap segment. Rahul Sathu is the composer and producer with Kumaar as the lyricist. The introduction of the female harmonies is a clincher and it just makes for one amazing layer. It is Shirsha on backing vocals. The track is mixed by Shadab Rayeen. Nate Hiltz plays the Jazz guitars that add to the flavor of the track and Nathan plays the Piano.

10.  Onnam Ragam

It is an interesting topic to discuss, copyrights, music inspiration, plagiarism etc. Whether it a machine or a human being copying from somebody else’s work is always crass and to be frowned upon and punished. But if a musician wanted to take inspiration from an earlier work he/she could acquire permission from the original artist and use it in the own score. However, I feel one better way is to take up an old song, give all credits to the original composer/lyricist etc. and create a very different version of the song itself. That involves loads of creativity too. Sanah Moidutty is one fine example of this as she not only composes originals, but also re-creates old classics like this one sung by KS Chitra and G Venugopal and composed by Perumbavoor G Raveendranath. The version is brilliant in its new form and credit goes to Sanah for singing it with her own tone and Prasanna Suresh does a splendid job on the production. Tejas Vinchurkar is at his mellifluous bets on the Flute and Abin Sagar does the mix and master. I am not sure but I am guessing that there is a certain influence of Abheri Raag in the song.   The rhythms in the song are fantastic along with all the other programming. Tejas continues to please your ears in the interlude and watch-out for that super aalap by Sanah in the stanza, and not just that how she manages to bring in these subtle vibrato to complete bowl you over.  Vegan Vipin does the audio edit and Himanshu Agarwal handles the cinematography and editing video wise. Sreekumaran Thampi is the original lyricist.

 11.Tholi Choopu

 Mani Sharma is a man on a mission making one of the most impressive comeback of sorts. Here he is composing a beautiful melody sung by two A-list singers in Anurag Kulkarni and Sahithi Chaganthi. The sound of guitars is prominent and gets the listener on a high in terms of the romantic mood. The beginning of the stanza is when I first sensed some Raag Maand, and Anurag sings it beautifully like we have come to expect it. The Clarinet is the next hero of the song other than the vocalists, as it is heard right through. The second interlude is fantastic with some terrific synth and keyboard programming at play. Vickey does the recording and premix and SV Ranjith mixes and masters the track. Tripuraneni Kalyanachakravarthy is the lyricist.

 12.  Game over

 Talk about Latin Jazz, well this sounded like one splendid example of that, starting with some exciting Piano, and then came in the trumpets and the brass section as well. The music production is by Yeah Proof, a name I hear almost every other week in all songs Punjabi. But this one was quite enjoyable and the best in an EP by Karan Aujla called ‘Way Ahead’. He is the singer and writer for the song with Dilpreet Ghutta working on the lyrical video. This one is not like your regular Punjabi repetitive numbers, as even the bassist impresses in the background. A very enjoyable track that sets the perfect mood for dancing and chilling, this should definitely be on your playlist for the week.

 13. Sapphire

 Back in January 2021 I featured this Bengaluru based band called “Over the edge” comprising of members Dhanush K, Hanan Mir and Aditya Meher and I loved their song called “feel alive” They have now released an EP called “If I stay, Would you run away”, and although I am yea to listen to all the 5 tracks, the one that I hear and immediately impressed me was “Sapphire”. I will be subsequently listening to the whole EP and do a review of the same and recommend more number by the band. The slow drums last for a few seconds and it at once reminded me two number where the drums play mildly enough just to draw your focus, 1 being “Streets of Philadelphia” by Bruce Springstein and “In the air tonight” by Phil Collins. Now getting back to this gem, the electric guitars begin to play with the vocals emerging like the morning rays through the dewy morning air. There is a brilliant aura the song creates and you feel immersed right through the guitar riffs and if Coldplay did their songs at a slightly slower temp, this is how they might sound. The track to me won’t raise your adrenaline but will surely keep you addicted like the sight of a Sapphire stone.

14.  Dancing in my dream

 It is a song to soothe you, calm your nerves down and uplift those beaten spirits. I don’t know which element most contributed to that effect, it could have been Akshit Dhall’s vocals, the gentle guitars or just the overall tone and the lyrics. The slow drums add to that great aura that makes you want to do the gentle dance with your partner. The electric guitar solo creates the same impulse that the instrument and interlude had in “Everything I do. I do it for you” by Bryan Adams.  Bharath has produced the song at The Brewery Music Studio, while Ajay Majethia has played the guitars and mixed and mastered the track. Gaurang handles the artwork.

 15. Hello cheater

How does one feel when a musician approaches you asking for feedback on his/her song?  We ll I always feel great, because people value my opinion. Now if you ask me how I felt when a talented artist who is also a music journalist, by the name David Britto, of the top draw reached out to me, I experienced jubilation but also a sense of responsibility to be fair, honest and unswerving in my commitment to the work at hand. So here goes.. When I heard the song I was already thrilled reading that David Britto was collaborating with ‘The Lightyears Explode’ whose work in the past has impressed me beyond doubt. I don’t know if you want to call it Punk Rock, but I felt that would be the perfect term for the style and genre. David has composed and written this song, and we have one more song this week about aa partner who cheats. They say music is a healer, and lyrics and music like this surely will get us back on track. Saurabh Roy blasts away on the guitars and his high-octane singing keeps the track wholly charged.  He also happened to produce the track and the tone represents the period probably the early 2000s or late 90s where rock sounded like this unlike the brand of music that “Green Day” types of bands brought along, if only mildly. Shalom Benjamin is the bassist and the track is brought together wonderfully by the mixing and mastering skills of Jason D’Souza. All the fine artwork is by Anshul Bhansali.