Top Indian Songs of the week - 27th February 2022

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 500 tracks released in the week ending 27th February 2022, I have rated and reviewed the 15 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.

1. Rebellion Road Friends from Moon sounds like there are many musicians working on this project and that belief continues to be dominant when you hear the music. Well it is just the creation and execution of one individual called Ritwik Shivam from Delhi and this singer-songwriter creates a massive impact in this single. He has written, composed performed, produced, mixed and mastered this rock-centric number with help on illustrations alone take from Shruti Rustagi. The electric guitars and drums are prominent, but elements like the bass guitars and harmonies also add variety to the tone. The electric guitar solo interventions are a treat and the singing is exemplary to budding artists in the rock genre. Like he correctly describes, the song is ideal for playing in your home or car with full blast and when you want to open up and feel cathartic.

2. Saacha Sahib This is apparently the first single Kanishk Seth’s upcoming EP called ‘Surmayi’. He has got pedigree alright, being the son of one of the most established vocalists in Hindi Kavita Seth. But that is not all you can credit him with, and I have probably witnessed that much before his prior single turned out to be a raging hit on the internet especially among Instagram ‘Reels’ makers. I reviewed and rated “Rang Saari� back in May 2020 as one the best songs in India and here he not only matches but does eve better. Kanishk is the producer of this tantalizing semi-classical fusion set in Raag Shahana while Kavita ji has composed and sung it with impeccable grace. Being an amateur in identifying Raagas I was tempted to call it Bhimpalasi, but apparently Shahana too comes under the Kaafi that, hence my confusion hearing the tonal proximity. Javed Bashir adds that masculine touch along with the aalaps that take the song closer to the classical loyalties. The electric guitars are played with thumping energy and execution by Marco Pisani, and closely listen to the soothing Violins by Wei Xiao. The Tabla and Tabla Bol are played by Chaitanya Natu, but the rhythm arrangements and production is fabulous giving it an EDM touch as well. The outro is a great confluence of all these styles, with the Kanishk doing the mixing and mastering. Kabir is the lyricist and the acoustic guitars and Duitara are played by Kavish Seth. Shikha Sharma and Adarsh Panicker create and direct the concept of the video while Shikha, Adarsh and Anisha Panicker handle the animations.

3. Naan Pizhai I can say that this is probably Anirudh’s best composition in a while, and this beats the rest of songs released in the last 2 years by a fair distance. I only feel a resemblance to his early days when he could also compose melodies. Suddenly all that vanished with more dance numbers to please the larger section of listeners, while there is no harm in that, except that it does also not hurt to create such wonderful pieces like these. This song is already becoming a rage among Instagram reel makers, and it is without a doubt probably January's best song. Anirudh has composed and arranged with lyrics penned by Vignesh Shivn, which are quite impactful. The movie ‘Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kadhal’ already had a good number released last year. It is nice to see that other than the opening lines and a few more sung by Anirudh, he gets in Ravi G to probably sing the complex notes where the composer would probably have sounded less convincing. Shashaa Tirupati becomes a great choice for the female lead and she does deliver with a punch. The keys at the beginning are like the flowing breeze or the ocean waves that gently tough our feet and with the keyboard, synth programming by Anirudh, Arish and Pradeep PJ perform the additional keyboard programming. The song does evoke memory of tunes like “Malargale� by AR Rahman and maybe that is why there is a hint of Saranga, or maybe even a bit of Raag Hamirkalyani like we can relate to “En Uyir Thozhi� by MSV. All said and done this is a brilliant song with some great Orchestra scores by Balasubramanian G(the composer of the movie N4 and song “Thaniyae Kadhal�) and he has also co-ordinated working with the Budapest Scoring Orchestra. The conductor is Zoltán Pad, Bálint Sapszon as contractor and co-orchestrator being Abhishek Vishwanathan. The librarian is Agnes Sapszon and recording engineer is Viktor Szabó, with Rajesh Kannan as pro tools editor. Anirudh’s voice has a magnetic effect on you and it is on full display in this and the best line of the song is probably “azhaga siricha mugame�. Navin plays the flute in the interlude and I love the humming that follows. Keba Jeremiah can be heard playing the bass and electric guitars, and the grandeur of the orchestra comes to light due to some programming also by Ishaan Chhabra. The rhythm programming is by Anidudh additional engagement by Shashank Vijay. The track is engineered by Srinivasan M, Shivakiran S, and Pranjal, with mixing by Vinay Sridhar and Srinivasan and Stem mix and master by Sai Shravanam.

4. Rabba Just last week Hemachandra Vadala was involved in a smashing song called “Chal Chal Chalo� which was in my top 15 in India. Well here he does one better singing his own composition which is a clear home-run on all counts. When it comes to Sufi-style music it was AR Rahman who set the gold standard, and then Salim-Sulaiman were a close second and even today they have taken over as the pioneers, but Hemachandra has created magic here. He has produced, sung and composed this heartwarming number that elevates your spirits every-time you hear it. The Telugu lyrics are written by Kittu Vissapragada, with Hindi lyrics by Himani Kapoor. The combination of the Piano, bass guitars and Tabla is simply scintillating, and something that you can only enjoy through an auditory experience. There is a 20 second solo on the drums by Kuberan which will just get your head nodding in approval and then the song progresses into the charanam. NC Praveen plays the piano, and Vikram and Santhosh play the percussion. The beautiful lines singing the Title is by a team comprising of Arun Kaundinya, Naresh Mamindla, Bharath Raj, Hymath, Jayaram, Harsha, Sai Madhav, Chaitu Satsangi and Manikanta. The vocal performance comes to light in the stanza where Hemachandra is quite impressive in the higher scales. Deepak SR is exquisite on the electric guitars giving it a rock genre effect and Abin Paul has mixed and mastered the track. The vocal arranger is Sai, and Mastan is the recording engineer.

5. 31 It is interesting how artists pick the title of their songs, and here we have Hyderabad born artist Niteesh Kondiparthi saying “31�. I was assuming it would probably be his age, but I presumed wrong. It has got to do with the last day of the year when a song was about to be released by him. The guitars by Niteesh himself raise the curtains but the noticeable bits on the bass guitars by Rohit Eragula keep your attention keen. The song already is a hit in my books with the intervention and arrangements of the Horns by Advait Mahesh. There are layers of the horns section and I’m thoroughly impressed with the composition and production of this song. Kalmi does the co-production along with Niteesh and plays the keys synchronously with the drums by Akshay Athreya. Sanjay Das does the mix and master while Vihari Cherukumalli does the editing Meghana Veerapaneni handles the photography.

6. Gehraiyaan The movie wasn’t all that bad and actually seemed better than most reviews. However I have been more critical of its music compared to the general populace, which went nuts over the OST. Maybe it was because I have heard the prior works of OAFF and Savera before, and I hold them to a higher standard. If you don’t follow what I am talking about, check out “Duur� by OAFF and Kamakshi Khanna which appeared in “A fame game� on Netflix, and listen to “Landfill� and “Swim� by Savera. Having said that I loved the title track of the movie the most and here is my review of it. The strings by Yoed Nir and the shiver in Lothika’s vocals are the two key elements that impress me in this track. OAFF and Savera hold so much promise as composers and producers and I must salute the movie producers for trusting new names in the indie space, and it hopefully will be like the light at the end of the tunnel for aspiring musicians. Feel the Organ sounds that is something out of an “Interstellar� OST and the production and rhythms look spotless and stellar as well as we have Prathamesh Dudhane on mixing/ mastering and Ankur Tewari on musical supervision. After the opening lines, there is a pause, and the Strings are simply mesmerizing at this point and the poignant vocals of Lothika are aided by backing vocalists OAFF and Savera. Krina Shah is the recording engineer with Ganesh Nabaria assisting. The Hindi lyrics are penned by Ankur.

7. Sohneya Manish Sharma sings this Punjabi melody that fuses some of the Classical Rajasthani folk elements with the suave solo on the Sarangi by Farhan. Aditya Agrahari is the composer of this soul-stirring number that reminds me of the Raag Maand. As the stanza opens up, we have the Keys and flute by Raghavendra helped by the Tabla but the introduction of the drums in the later stages is inventive. The team at music label Yaaram have mixed and mastered the track.

8. Mere Maahiya It is a great time for musicians and music lovers, well I say that because regional musicians are moving up and getting to score and be heard by a larger audience. Just like the great Ajay-Atul scored for the Bollywood movie Jhund (It is not their debut though), we have the pair of Rohan-Rohan who wave their magic in Marathi cinema and albums, now have a Hindi music video. Alamghir Khan rises and soars in to the skies from the very start and if his vocals imbibe spirit, the keys are neutralizing that fervor with more of tranquility and hence they go well together. The song is written by Rohan Gokhale and the pair have produced and composed this song along with all the additional arrangements. The main arrangements are spectacular and we have Shon Pinto and Madhur Hatiskar to credit for that. The song begins in a way that automatically makes me assume the next lines are “Kajra Re�, that uber hit by Shankar Ehsan Loy. The way the high-pitched singing by Rohan is followed by Yashita Sharma on the bass scale sounds nice and the vocals are very arranged. The tonality and structure also sounds a lot like Pritam Da’s “Kabeera�. The guitars and bass are quite effective with that layer of drums keeping the tempo up right through. The track is mixed and mastered by Shadab Rayeen.

9. Aaya ye Jhund hai We just spoke about the stalwarts Ajay-Atul and here they are creating a smash hit that absolutely raises the adrenaline just on hearing. The use of local traditional percussions with the trumpets works like sheer magic and that is something I have come to learn and appreciate from the musical repertoire of Santhosh Narayanan. Atul Gogavale is the lead vocalist with Jay, Mallhar Sarja and Ajay Gogavale on the backup vocals. The pair also arranges, produces and conducts the variety of instruments used in this track. I did appreciate the percussions, but another unmistakable reason for success is the use of the chorus, which comprises of Umesh Joshi, Vijay Dhuri, Swapnil Godbole, Jitendra Tupe, Janardan Dhatrak, Rahul Chitnis and Vivek Naaik. The track is recorded and mixed by Vijay Dalal, and mastered by Gethin John. The stanza uses the pause in singing quite effectively and it is followed by a nice humming and the way the stanza land on the opening lines is through bridge which is already used in the pre-stanza part called “anu pallavi� in traditional Carnatic music. Even without all this analysis, the best way to enjoy this song is to keep it on full volume and let the body lose control. A big Kudos to Satyajit Jamsandekar, Raju Kulkarni and Ashish Aroskar who have played the percussions.

10. Namaste Funky to the core, and I was stunned when I heard it the first time and it took me less than 15 seconds to keep the song in a separate folder of potential weekly chart-toppers. The group calls itself Groovedarshan and what an apt name for the groovy music it is delivering like this one here. The electric guitars are psychedelic and drive me crazy in a very good way that is. The use of the bass guitars in the layers beneath constantly and use of vocal giggle that sounds like laughing are all very creative. Sundaresh Sankrith has recorded mixed and mastered the track, with Prashin Jagger on photography and art direction. Aditya Ashwath who is the lead vocalist has also produced the track and written it. There is a brief moment on the guitars where the song’s tone turns a little classical and I am not sure if I heard a bit of Asavari Raag. The band is also comprised of Yash Chittal on guitars and bass, Shabarish Garg on drums and Pankaj Tak on guitars and bass and he also does all the artwork and visuals.

11. Kho Na Jaana Vivek Singh has written, composed and sung this extremely feel –good song that you will just want to play on loop more than a few times as the tune tends to stick to you head. It is a very hummable number without too many complications. Love tracks like these just don’t fade away too soon from your memory and the song is co-composed by Junoo. There is a strong use of the Keyboards for this one and the title line is the best of the lot and so is the humming that follows. Karan Harplani as director and Piyush Bhalothia as DOP do their roles quite well. It is no wonder that the music label is Merchant Records, can you expect anything less in terms of the quality then?

12. Blood starved Beast His video was so outstanding, that it later got nominated for many awards in the US especially, but I was so impressed with his track ‘Kohima’ that I featured and reviewed it as one of the best Indian songs released for that month. This one is another excellent number in the ‘metal’ genre with Saahil Bhargava composing, performing and writing the song. The song is produced by Eric Emery and he also does the mixing and mastering with additional production duties handled by Keshav Dhar. The song is dark and almost gothic with its content and idea based on a video game steeped in action and horror called ‘Bloodborne’. The singing is reflective of the emotions a player feels as he goes through the stages of the game trying to defeat a monster, and the drums and electric guitars keep the intensity at a high level. The best moment for me is when the Piano plays in the foreground at a brisk pace, with the electric guitars in the deeper layer.

13. Raatein Soyi Hain A common theme that seems to have captured the minds and imagination of many musicians is the separation of two lovers geographically, and that ha sonly been one irrefutable truth especially during the lockdowns of Covid-19. This one too takes inspiration from a similar situation, but without some catchy music and confident singing, no message really gets through. That is why Pragya Sodhani writes, composes and sings this soft and hummable song that delivers the message of longing and love 100%. Things move into a zone of strength and likability when you have the support of another trusted and able musician on board, and that is where Dhruv Visvanath adds sheen to the track through his production and guitars. Some meditative humming begins the show, quickly aided by Dhruv’s strumming, and obviously Pragya’s able singing, which shows a wide vocal range within a short span of time. The layers of vocals, with harmonies, are beautiful in their arrangement are probably the highlight of the track. Ayan De does the mixing and mastering and the solidity of the track lies in its singing, production, arrangement and execution.

14. Sister Superior I listened to the whole album called “What a life� and the songs definitely did appeal to me but the one that stuck and stayed the longest in my head was this. The singing is par excellence and I guarantee that you wouldn’t have had head a better male vocal performance in the last few weeks yet. Aakash Mehta explodes and exhibits his potential in delivering with great finesse and creativity as well, he also has written the lyrics. Shashwat Bulusu of Vadorada comes on board with his arrangements and also produces all the tracks of the album. But there is no credit getting take away from the solid drums played by Jyotirmay Menon, Uday Bhardwaj who sizzles and sets the stereo on fire for me with his solo guitars. I also hear the Organ being played right through, and Shrujal Patels bass guitars. The track is mixed by Krishna Rao, and mastered by Donal Wheelan.

15. Dhokha At first glance it could sound like a million tracks that keep getting churned out in Hindi and Bollywood space, yet there is something different about the tune, or atleast fragments of it, which make you want more. Manan Bhardwaj writes, composes and directs this tune with Arijit Singh’s vocals making it a fine combination. One definite takeaway from the track is the variety of percussions used and that too with excellent arrangements thanks to Manan and Sarthak’s programming and arrangements. Shreedhara Chari plays the Tabla, Dholak and other percussions, with Shashikant Sharma also playing the Dholak. The track is mixed and mastered by another stalwart Eric Pillai, and Surajit Ghosh Mazumdar records. The music supervisors working on the track are Raj Chanana , Shivam Chanana , Sonal Chawla & Vivin Sachdeva. The percussions go exceedingly well with the bass guitar support and some nicely executed backup vocals. It all sounds like a little bit of Raag Asavari to me.