Top Indian Songs of the week - 3rd April 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 350 tracks released in the week ending 3rd April 2022, I have rated and reviewed the 17 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. Love Safari Rarely do songs impress you so much that they make you go crazy about it. It is all you can keep playing on your mind and you wait for the first excuse to play them with your headphones. ‘Love Safari’ is right smack at the center of that category and I knew it is going to end up being the best track of the week across the nation. Job Kurian is the man for the job, literally as well and he is in full control of the vocal delivery like he can do no wrong. The emotive singing at the beginning and the swaras he sings in the interlude just feels like a gift from God. Turning to the composer Kiran Jose deserves a huge round of applause for creating, composing, writing, arranging and programming this little wonder. It has come influences of Raag Durbarikanada and Kiran makes this song so worthy that it will find a place among gems for 2022 for sure. The Guitarlele is playing in the background and Arun Krishna not only does that, as he plays the guitars, and plays and arranges the bass guitars as well. The intervention on the saxophone is like an icing on this marvelous cake and it is played Nikhil Ram who we know as a flautist. Subin Kumar plays the Violin while Paachu is on the Tabla and Shree Shankar handles the Melodyne. Shree also has mixed and mastered the track. The highlight of the track is that interlude bit where the song deviates from just be a romantic slow melody into a qawwali, all this shows the skill of the composer.

2. Rongo Koro na This one is a very close second and it would have topped the charts on any other week, if not for ‘Love Safari’ at number 1. The Baul genre of folk music is very addictive and meditative style of music and when you hear someone like Raju Das Baul sing it you will go into trance. I have lost a sense of myself and just kept moving my head every time I play the song. The guitarist Ritaprabha Ray has produced, arranged and of-course played the guitars for this masterpiece. It is written by Ray Kedar with mixing and mastering duties performed by Rhitabrata Kar and all the lovely calligraphy and artwork done by Joyjeeta Bose. The rhythm and percussion right at the beginning along with the guitars possess you and whe you hear Raju sings these lines I feel like all the great miseries of life have vanished. Cizzy just intervenes writing and singing the rap portion and how well it conjoins with the rest of the song. This is an exemplary bit of how Rap should sound, considering all the poor Hip-Hop we hear in the name of expletives and womanizing we hear from many famed celebrity artists. The guitars and all te keyboard programming come together in the background with Cizzy asking you to “Awaaz koro na�. There is some clear influence of Raag Sindhubhairavi ( Asavari in Hindustani). The video is well shot as well with Joydeep Das on cinematography and Rahul Guha on editing and direction. Ritaprabha and Amita Ray produce the video as well.

3. Cicada Anju is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from the US and this song is a number of years of work, planning and creativity and we should be thankful that it has finally seen the light of day. Anju has written, sung, composed and done the string arrangements for this. But she claims she has waited long for this dream team to assemble and Atlas Finch has co-produced and worked on the instrumentation while Leonardo Vásquez Chácon plays the Viola. Within seconds you know the work that has gone into a song, and the guitars and other instrumentation entice you. To make matters worse for you if you were already distracted by the song is that Anju now begins to vocalize and you just need to surrender. Like she says in the song “you linger in my lungs�, this is deeply romantic and also holds true of the effect she creates with her voice, as it lingers in our eardrums. The bass guitars add so much meat even as Anju takes a pause and breath between lines. John Mark Nelson does the mixing while Alec Ness handles the mastering. Lily Xie does all the artwork and this project is symbolic of global music and artistic talent coming together. Anju explores her higher vocal scales and the way she hits the falsetto is like a tough gymnastic move and she lands perfectly. The Viola by Leonardo adds that layer of pathos and gravity and you cannot afford to miss a second of what happens in the audio. Closer to the 4th minute is when we first hear some rhythmic intervention on drums and the instrumental arrangements are truly world class. Cicada the large insect can never be ignored as it will make its presence felt with its massive sounds, just like that Anju and the team have created a number here that can just not be ignored!

4. Theera Nadhi Dhibu Ninan Thomas can do no wrong. At the moment. Here he scores music for the movie “Nadhi� and he gets two dependable performers in Kapil Kapilan and Srinisha Jayaseelan as lead vocalists. The brilliant flute intervention between the lines “Jal jal kolusoli� is Dhibu showcasing his talent and it is played by Nikhil Ram in a teasing fashion. Dhibu composes, programs and arranges as always but this time is with the words of Thamarai. Listen to the savvy Shehnai by Pt. S Ballesh and you will least expect it amidst all the synths and keyboard programming. Keba Jeremiah plays the guitars and plucked strings as well. This segment feels a lot like listening to “Kabeera� by Pritam. The momentum suddenly drops as Srinisha sings and it is only Keba accompanying on guitars and then we are back to a hearing some more catchy lines including one of the best lines of the song in “Theerathathe nam vazhvu thane�. Avinash Sathish and Hariharan are the recording engineers and we have Balu Thankachan mixing and Shadab Rayeen on mastering duties.

5. Zama There is a compromise to quality and hard work, and it reflects in the output. Maybe not in likes, trends and shares but it makes you heart grow fonder when a magician is at work. Here we are talking about composer/producer Meghdeep Bose as he produces this album “Main Tera� by Azaan Sami Khan which has close to 10 songs. He has got pedigree being the son of Adnan Sami but he doesn’t rest on those laurels. Azaan is a celebrity performer in Pakistan and surely carries a voice that you can connect with. I loved this song the most and it immediately made an impact on me. The composition, lyrics and vocals are by Azaan Sami, while Music is by Meghdeep. Zaland Khan is the original lyricist for this beauty, but I wish I understood the meaning of these lovely words. The song has some astounding rhythm thanks to Arun Solanki who has performed percussions. Meghdeep dazzles on the acoustic, bass guitars and all modular synths. The texture is so Middle Eastern owing to the Strings, Woodwinds and Brass all performed by the Turkish Orchestra in Istanbul. This too feels so nice as it is a collaboration of musical talents across nervous and tense political and geographical borders. Hanish Taneja does the mixing and mastering. The interlude is a symphony with the woodwinds first followed by Strings and I feel like Alice in Wonderland. Azaan in the stanza elevates his scale and sounds so fresh and authentic.

6. Dhaage I listen to around 400 songs a week, and if I have to make time amidst my life, profession etc. I have to keep my headphones on during most of my activities. So during one of my recent sessions I keep listening but showed no great interest to some of the mediocre music that was playing. I knew somewhere in the list that there was this new composition by Anurag, but my playlist was on shuffle. The moment this song started played I somehow guessed from the instrumentation and humming and just the feeling that the song created, that it had to be “Dhaage�. I communicated this story to Anurag telling him it was a huge compliment to his brand of music. To me “Khwaab� was a tad more special but this song is not too far off as it has elements that I cherished every time I played it. The humming for starters is pensive and the synth programming is just splendid. Vaibhav Pani a producer and guitarist who has appeared many times on my lists has played a huge role in the output of this song. He has played the guitars and produced the track bringing it to a standard that Anurag’s composition and vocals deserve. Anurag has also written the lyrics with Alok Ranjan Srivastava who provided additional lyrical inputs. The way the notes move and the way Anurag sings “Baaton hi, Baaton mein� is just pure delight for the ears. When I hear “Banaate hai Dhaage� being sung at that higher scale I obtain answers to the question “Why do I even like to do music reviews�. Anurag tells me that he composed this with an intention to explore his own vocal range and feel in shift in energies not tested in some of his earlier compositions. It is a Win-Win for the musician and the music lover! Vaibhav Pani has mixed and mastered the track. It is also a lovely video with Ashish Langade working on Cinematography, Bijoya Mukherji on Screenplay and Rishi Agarwal on Editing.

7. Feels like eternity ‘Catch em young’, they say when you want raw talent and nurture it we end up witnessing the growth of something marvellous. This Mumbai bred singer/songwriter Ruhdabeh learnt music at a very tender age and apparently started writing songs since she was 12. She has self-taught to play the Guitar, Ukulele and even the Piano and that is why is her debut EP �Of Dissonance and Peace� she goes solo and does everything by herself. When I listened to the work there were a couple that really impressed with ‘Feels like Eternity’ being my top pick. Ruhdabeh, has written, composed, arranged, performed, mixed, mastered and recorded all at her home studio. The Keys start things off and Ruhdabeh sings with such eloquence and control hitting every note with poise and perfection. The arrangements of the Strings in the background do wonders to the feeling of the song and truth be told I was dreaming of that song that plays in the concentration camps shown in the movie “Life is Beautiful� giving me all the positivity and strength to carry on with life, unnerved by externalities.

8. Akhiyaan Laiyaan It sounds to me like this splendid number is based on Raag Charukeshi and the elaborate symphony of instruments nail the opening. Dr. Jaspinder Narula is performing at the heights of her powers, producing mild vibrato at will that is sure to kill! Kamran Akhtar has done the music with lyrics by Lt. Ustad Shaukat Manzoor. The Harmonium is played to such great effect, but it is amazing how the electric guitar comes into fray in the second interlude and blows you away. The song’s Executive Producer is Amirr Roshan Nadiadwala with Pramod Kaul as the director. The way the Harmonium and Tabla come together along with Jaspinder’s vocals is just bliss.

9. Teri Baatein Hi Jazim Sharma needs no introduction, as he if one of the finest classical/semi-classical vocalists around and his involvement in projects, ensures there is a reinvigorated spirit and liking for Indian Classical Ragas, but since it is presented with a flavor of modern sounds and tonality it just gets a better acceptance among all demographic Category of listeners. This one is apparently set in Raag Mishra Darbari and Yogesh Rairikar is the composer for this number. Arbaz Khan is scintillating on guitars and Mir Desai oversees the whole project with his production. The original lyrics are by Poet Ahmad Faraz. Ghazal music sounds so delectable with Keys, guitars and drums in the background replacing the harmonium and Tabla. This is where Yogesh exhibits his skill as a composer, as we also a get a brief intervention on electric guitars. All this ornamentation adds beauty but the core strength is the tune and singing. Rakesh Munjariya has mixed and mastered the track with Manvir Kalsi as Project Manager and Kirpal Sain as Director. The outro has a nice harmony portion in the background along with Jazim’s classical aalap as well.

10. Feel How brilliantly this song has been titled! I feel so much when listening to this, a plethora of emotions ranging from hope to despair, love to disdain, and joy to pathos and it is because of the way Yasmine Gill delivers these lines. She is this Italian/Canadian Soul/R&B/Jazz artist but she has an Indian surname. So let us leave aside all that and stop getting confused because none of it matters anyway. Especially when you can write, compose and sing like this! David Vondermort plays the keys teasingly along with Hanzo on drums tapping the hi-hat. Collin Steinz adds every element of funkiness on the bass guitars but David Fischer on Organ creates fresh new perspective of the song. It creates a gateway for the song to deviate from being branded purely as Soul or R&B and even maybe pushes into a genre of Gospel. Fox Graham plays the guitars and the whole project assumes a fantastic form and shape thanks to the production of Andreas Kolakoudakis and he also mixes & masters the track. This song should be what a young aspiring singer should listen to and practice along to attain better vocal strength and stability.

11. Noor Elahi I chanced upon this EP by Rishab Nair and it truly has some outstanding music, and I especially loved “hey Daata� and “Noor Elahi� the most. Vedanth Bharadwaj is the vocalist for the latter and he has this thumping voice that doesn’t let your attention drift even briefly. Rishab gets on board some excellent musicians and singers and it is the collective brilliance of one and all that shines through. The music score and lyrics are by Rishab and although I had a hunch that there were influences Raag Khamaj or even some of Raag Dwijavanthi, Rishab tells me the influence is of Raag Kalyani. The strings in the background catch my attention but then it is the tantalizing drums by Sai Hruday Pidatala and John Paul Frappier on the Trumpet who completely turn the tables upside down on this composition. The Keys provide the perfect medium for tranquility because after that mild interlude the songs energy shifts especially with Vedanth moving to the higher scales. There is a strong chorus team comprising of Sarang Pathak, Omkar Ingale, Rahul Ghoderao, Riddhi Joshi, Siddhi Joshi, Hemant Jawale, Narayani Jawale, Ayushi Shukla, Shreya Reddy & Pratik Rajankar. The use of the Tabla and Dholak by KR Mahadevan, creates a rustic flavor amidst the trumpets in the background. The second interlude past the second minute is just a piece for John Paul to showcase his skill and Rishab maneuvers well to get the track from a Jazz set up to a Classical tone.

12. Russeya Na Kar This is some splendid electronic pop in Punjabi, the kind that will compel you to listen on loop and make you sing if you don’t understand a word. Azaad’s voice is mesmerizing and he almost casts a spell on you and Tasho is the music director with this tune showing glimpses of Raag Yamuna Kalyani according to my limited knowledge. The line especially “Saare zindagi mein tere naal� gave me this indication, although it also sounds like that smashing hit from Coke Studio Season 14 number called “Tu Jhoom� which is apparently set in Raag Pahadi. This song takes you on a high like a chant that won’t leave your mind, and despite all the fancy rhythms and sounds the melody is strong. There is a nice interlude on the Keyboards and Noshrain will take credits for the additional arrangements along with major portions done by Tasho. Azaad delivers the song like he is on penance and he also writes the lyrics. Suyash Singh and Yograj Singh do the mix and master. The project is directed by Karan Maini.

13. Tu The song is a slow melody that is all about the guitars and hence the arrangements bear a huge say on how the song sounds and feels. Amitrabh Barooa and Siddharth Barooa do the arrangements and this gets the guitars and drums and to go ahead in tandem. Simanta Choudhury plays the drums and the Barooa duo work on the mixing and mastering. The portion with the electric guitar solo closer to end of the song is wonderful and shows quite a bit of dexterity on the fingers. The song is written, composed and sung by Aditya Goenka and he also has worked on the arrangements. Rishi Paullah and Pritisha Borthakur are the executive producers, with Priyom Borah as the Production head.

14. Memories This is a rock ballad that one can feel happy and proud of to sing along, play and claim that we have something of our own after listening to some of the great numbers like “Unforgiven� by Metallica and “November Rain� GNR and so on. Anish Nair writes, composes and performs with a deep sense of gravity and passion and the one hearing it will get sucked into the number. I even feel like I’m listening to a bit of “Blackhole Sun’ by Soundgarden, just that this is softer and calmer. Gunjan Soral has produced the track. The voice of Anish and his delivery is exemplary. The energy that the drums build up at different phases of the song is just about perfect and the arrangements of the electric guitars is done so as to not take away any attention from the vocals except that solid solo right at the end.

15. Kahaani I listened to this number and remember telling myself this has to be based on Raag Puriya Dhanasree, then when I had a little chat appreciating Santanu on his score, he told me that it is actually Raag Basant but it is close in structure to my original guess. The song is brilliant delivered by Anirban Chowdhury and if the song is in itself an A in grade, Anirban’s singing and vocal purity makes it an A+. Santanu Ghatak has written, composed this stunning beauty as it reminds me of some od Maestro Ilaiyaraja’s songs like “Andhi Mazhai Pozhigirathu� & “Piraiye Piraiye�. Akshay Menon is the producer and the track is mixed and mastered by Shivam Gupta. The instrumental arrangements, a small solo on the flute and rhythm programming all keep the song fresh despite being a very popular Raga. Rupjit Das has recorded the track, with Chitrangada Satarupa capturing the frames, featuring Kallirroi Tziafeta.

16. Chekele This Delhi based singer-songwriter, Asish Zachariah, takes an old and famous folk song from Malayalam, and presents it on a platter with some exotic garnishes. The song is a modern rendition with heavy synth and keyboard and rhythm programming. I have always maintained that it is good to have such versions to promote and popularize an older gem. The Keyboards are fabulous and it befits a situation with you driving fast and the audio system playing it in full blast and windows rolled down, feeling the wind on your hair and cheeks.

17. Better Subhi has been featured before on this website and I am proud to say that her music has appeared her. She is a singer-songwriter of Indian origin but residing in the USA, who has tried multiple things at music and theatre. Subhi has composed music for Indian movies and series and has been a winner for Chicago City’s musical grants presented to talented musical artists. This song is just a reflection all that she is and there is now amusement when I hear her vocals because she is expected to do that being a trained Hindustani singer, but what is fabulous is that 180-degree shift is style that western pop demands and yet she delivers with better than a 100%. ‘Better’ is written by Subhi and Natania Lalwani who she has worked with before and here the duo write the lyrics with Chris Wright composing and producing the song. The song is about what makes us better every day, well good music especially that unites people, makes me better every day! The guitars tempt me so much that I wish I learnt playing it back in my childhood. The synths jog in as Subhi starts singing “You know me better than I know myself�. Ideally the rhythm and the tone of the song is not one of a romantic love track, but it’s a wonder how Subhi, Natania and Chris have achieved it with their words and melody. Kudos to Subhi as her vocals generate an emotional connect and I immediately picture my partner and wife when I hear it.