Top Indian Songs of the week - 5th December 2021

This is the list of Top Songs released in India for the week ending Dec 5, 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 5th December 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 Top Songs this week on SPOTIFY

1. Paramapadham

It is the name of the track and simply skyrockets to the top of the charts this week, leaving its 300+ competitors on the sidelines. This Tamil song is rich in every musical sense and I hope it inspires many bands and composers to look deeper within and try and get their best out in the open. Since 2019 December I have been following the work of Chenni Street band their previous album had some pleasant and likeable tunes which I featured, but if there was one complaint to nitpick it was that they lacked a little bit of variety. ‘Safarnama’ was a recent track released by the band and it already was an answer to my doubts, as the track had some lovely fusion bits and took me by surprise. Now comes this new track and I was floating in pleasure listening to the excellent live instruments and arrangements. The brass section and bass guitars are mind-blowing good, and even before the first words are uttered by Srihari Jagannathan, the lead vocalist, you will fall in love. Srihari also has produced and written the lyrics which have an excellent message about life’s vagaries and even ridicules our superstitious beliefs. Adithya Gopi on bass guitars is having a ball as he does some finger magic which is irresistible. Goutham Healer’s hi-hat drum strokes at the beginning and right through on drums are splendid. Akshay Yesodharan and Renin Raphael play along with the acoustic guitars and every element keeps you hooked on and inspired.I just loved the line “oru thenga mela vekkara nambikkai ya , un mela vechhi paaru�, which translates into “ Just show the same amount of trust you keep on a coconut, on yourself� which is a sly below-the-belt hit on our superstitions. Just get up and before grooving and dancing clap your hands for 305 Horns who are playing the live Brass section, and it is one heck of a display, which took me back to the days of “Sususudio� by Phil Collins. Mike Cordone on Trumpets and Jesse McGinty on the Tenor Sax and Trombone keep the track’s energy ebullient. Let us not forget Sebastian Sathish’s role on the Synths and Keys and it becomes more apparent during the moments of silence from the brass section. Balaji Gopinath has arranged the brass and this role is indispensable. The outro is terrific with synths coming to take over and the engineers play a vital role as well with Vivek Thomas on mixing and mastering, with mix assistant Rahul Narayan and Lijesh Kumar on recording.

2. Doora Hogo Munna

A year or so ago I first heard Sridhar V Sambhram compose a track and it was sung by Anwessha and this was called “Manamohana�. This was a fabulous melody and only confirmed that he is here to stay after a multitude of hits in the previous decade. This beauty starts off on the Piano and it is soothing as the morning calm and late night breeze, and this section is arranged by Sridhar himself. Then come the big guns, through the strings section and we have Vasuki Vaibhav on the vocals. He is a super star musician who can sing, write and compose and is one of my favorite young musicians to watch out for. Sridhar explore so much and offers plenty to listen to and like in the Pallavi and Anupallavi sections of the song itself. There are influences of the Simhendhra madhyamam raga. The track also bears some similarities to a Ajay-Atul compostion like “Yaad lagla� thanks to the grand strings arrangements. Pramod Maravanthe is the lyricist and the track is programmed by Davy Suresh Kumar. The solo violin in the interlude with strings and keys in the background is delicious. The strings by Bangalore Strings Ensemble is recorded by Ajay, with Charan Rao on guitars and we also hear a Midi Saxophone in the second interlude with some more elements from the brass section. Sanjay MP has mixed and mastered the track

 

3. Amina

      There is nothing more enriching than embracing diversity, and it hold true for music especially. I loved it the movement I hear this one as I could feel the energy and my body and feet itching to move. Kenishaa brings home Africa itself through this amazing composition, as she also sings and writes the lyrics. This Bengaluru based musician gets all the flavors of Africa spot on, combining with Israel Thomas, Ashish Borde and Vishnu R. MT Aditya Srinivasan has produced the track along with recording all the live instruments. Sumesh Nayadi records the vocals and handles the mixing and mastering. The singing clearly stands out and I was thrilled to hear a song which resonates so much with “This time for Africaâ€? sung by a global icon in Shakira. The title line is sung brilliantly with harmonies and the all the programmed violins and rhythms enhance the quality of the track. Afro_french Keyboardist Israel handles the instrumentation spectacularly and wait for a Violin and Keys jugalbandi past the 2^nd minute. Kenishaa Francis swaps between lyrics in English and Swahili quite fluently. Ashish and Vishnu are the bassists.

4. Peele Amiras

Shekhar Ravijani is going it alone these days and after a smashing single with Meghdeep Bose called “Boonda Baandi� and another self-composed single ‘Rang’, this one is teaming up with a Mumbai based Indie folk band called “Kabir Café� who are about to release their first album called Sabr. Neeraj Arya the main man and Shekhar are the vocalists in this delightful folk tune with some heavy local percussions played by Vicky Brahmankar. Guitars and Bass are played by Poubuanpou Britto Khangchian and he does a smashing job of it. At the interlude, Mukund Ramaswamy plays the solo violin where you simply drawn into a zone of tranquility and then the tempo and ante is picked up thanks to Viren Solanki on drums. Piyush Acharya plays the harmonium in the second interlude and gives the track a very retro filmy feeling. The sound engineering is impeccable thanks to Swapnil Tare on recordings and Hanish Taneja on mixing and mastering.

5. Nindiya Re

They have become my favorite Indian rock band, and why wouldn’t they when their brand of music has made it to my weekly rankings on 4 consecutive occasions. With “Khwaab� from the previous album and 3 new releases all from the latest yet-to-be-released “Gharq�. Nidiya Re is another proof that “The Lost Symbols� is finding its place in the top echelons of Indian music. Gunjan Soral’s bass guitars and acoustic guitars lead the way closely followed by Aman Raj’s vocals. It only gives you the impression that it is a slow lovely romantic song, but as the electric guitars by Gunjan and Arun Singh Naruka’s drums set the place ablaze, you feel the ‘rock’ style in the core. The electric guitar solo feels a little bit like Titan watches music from Mozart’s Symphony no. 25. The energy drops to a sane sober version for the verse with strings in the background and the last 90 seconds is a fantastic portion with electric guitars, programmed strings and drums completely overpowering you with richness. Gunjan also records, mixes and masters the track, with Pallab Baruah doing the album illustration and artwork, Debasish Sarmah handling the animation.

6. Dheere Se

This is a reprise version of Gaurav Topakhane’s Dheere Se, and I probably never heard that, because this music review profile took over my life in a great way only in late 2019. I have featured Garuarv in a couple of splendid tracks before and this reprise version is certainly a shift from his style. The track is produced by Ashish Kujur, and the mixing & mastering is done by stalwarts Ronak Runwal and Nitin M Krishna respectively. The Keys are the predominant being here and they guide the track. Gaurav’s vocals are so soft tender and they need to be to deliver a version like this. Slowly (Dheere se) the strings starts to play in the background with the most apt beats and rhythm that stops short of taking focus away from the vocals. The notes are excellently written for the Piano that plays like it has a mind of its own , and the last 1 minute of music production speaks volumes about the team and it deserves your attention with your headphones on. Listen to the background humming and a stunning pause at 4.02 on the clock.

7. Better Place

The Piano is not called the Key just liked that randomly, one reason could be that it really is the key to all that unlocked musical potential in someone, or maybe a key to open up those hidden emotions waiting for catharsis. Whatever it is the Piano played here is fantastic and sets the stage running for something even better. Vernon D’souza from West Bengal has written, composed and sung this touching piece dedicated to his uncle who passed away recently. The singing is extremely effective in delivering the message forward but what gives the song its weight is the arrangements and production, which is Alstan Remedios’ contribution. The 17-year old Mumbai based producer has also mixed and mastered the track and he adds these wonderful layers to the track. The lines are beautifully written as Vernon sings “ God takes the one He most adores�. Souvik Adak is the vocal supervisor and as Rohit Das does the shooting and video editing, while Joyonto Baskey handles all the post production work.

8. Fata Faati

Amit Trivedi is going places, literally, all over India to capture some of the best sounds and featured them in his musical compositions. This is making him more Pan-India and that is interesting to see more Bollywood musicians now reaching out to understand and depict regional music in their own styles. The track is a Bangla folk delight sung by Goutam Das Baul and Rana Mazumdar and composed and produced by Amit. The folk instruments used clearly represent the Baul genre and the backup vocals make this for some lovely listening, and the team itself is comprised of some established musicians like Rajiv Sundaresan, Arun Kamath and Suhas Sawant. The lyrics are beautifully encapsulating the greatness and most loved aspects of West Bengal thanks to Rana’s writing. All the additional programming is by Raja Rasaily with Urmila Sutar as the Sound Engineer. The Dotara and Ektara keep playing all through the track and Tapas Roy is the man behind this. Many listeners might not be able to appreciated folk music in its truest form, but presenting it through some modifications like this definitely expands its reach. The track is mixed and mastered by Shadab Rayeen with assistant Engineers Pukhraj & Milan. The track is produced by Krutee Trivedi & Amit Trivedi with Executive Assistant Rajeev Rajguru and Manager, Aditya Hanchinal

9. Shambhoo Re

Hansraj Raghuvanshi is a singer who ususally sings devotional songs and this one too is on Lord Shiva. It gives me great pleasure that my rankings cover all genres of music and devotional is not far behind these days. The track has many influences of Raag Charukeshi, which becomes apparent in the opening lines, interludes and stanza. Gulshan Kumar presents the track, and produced by DJ Strings. Hansraj has composed, written and sing the track. The Tabla, harmonium and flute add the traditional flavor, but the bass guitars are a constant presence creating an excellent westernized experience.

10. Go Grow

Owl’s eye was a fabulous number and I had immense expectations for Rachel Singh thereafter. The Shehnai was a masterpiece addition in that single and here she brings in the Flute and who better to play it than Rakesh Cahurasia who thrives on some monumental pedigree. Rachel has composed and written the single along with Pierce Leon, but she plays the acoustic guitars and lends her vocals. Rachel is scintillating in delivering this and it requires exceptional vocal skill to sound so authentic and mesmerizing at the base scale. Joshua Singh has played the percussion and mixed the track. Rakesh’s flute interventions are subtle and spontaneous but they add so much of spice to the mix here. The flute solo after the first minute with the guitars in the background is something that will stick on to your minds, and kudos to the team, which makes a memorable single despite being a very simple composition. Ayan De has mastered the track with Naisha Bhargabi handling all the artwork. If you let this track “go� forward, it will �grow� on you.

11. Until you found me

'Until you found me' talks about things in life which are bound to happen no matter what. The people we meet, the experiences we walk through, the emotions we feel and how it all connects has always made me wonder how each of our stories are being developed on this planet. Time has been kind enough to me because now when I look back, I see how my story unfolded and this song 'Until you found me' is a reflection of her in my story. Recorded, mixed and mastered at Shimmr Studios, Chennai. Written, performed and sung by Sidharth Nair Produced by Ashwin Vinayagamoorthy Guitars by Rishab Ravi Synth/keys by Nived NP Backing vocals by Kausthub Ravi mixed and mastered by Sivanesh Natarajan at Shimmr Studios, Chennai Music video conceptualized and shot by Rithesh Rohan R.

12. Palkein

Keshuv Huria like many budding musicians graduated from AR Rahman’s KMMC in Chennai and the quality of that education is written all over the track here. Keshuv has produced, arranged, composed and obviously sung this single and there is nothing here that won’t make you fall in love with it. I sense a definite inspiration and influence of AR Rahman and that is never a bad thing, in-fact I keep getting reminded of “Agar Tum Saath ho� and that is why this is probably based in Raag Desh. Otehre than that Keshuv’s composition stands alone by itself, and there is a melody which we find only in the 1960s and 70s and kudos to him for bringing back richness of yesteryears. Listen to the Accordion and whistle which are subtle but show that Keshuv is willing to experiment. The stanza is excellently composed with some support on the bass guitars as well. Once we get back to the opening lines, we can hear the Piano and strings in the background all complimenting each other very well. Usman Saghar Wazirabadi is the lyricist, Hammad Rashid is the bassist, and all additional vocals along with mixing and mastering are done by Reena Gilbert.

13. Do Gallan

Neha Kakkar sings so many tracks that one could lose track if you don’t stay on top of it. In my honest opinion, a lot of what she sings doesn’t make it to my lists and rankings because they are repetitive and uninspiring. This one however is a melody I just couldn’t ignore and Neha is pitch-perfect in her delivery. The Sarangi kicks things off and it is played by Harpinder Singh Kang and closely behind we have Rhythm Shaw on acoustic guitars. Neha’s singing is exceptional with her usual emotive style but an indispensable component is Rhythm’s guitars. Rohanpreet Singh makes Punjabi sound so good when it is sung in a romantic melody like this. Garry Sandhu has written composed the tune, with music direction carried out by Rajat Nagpal. The verse produces even better singing by the lead vocalists who provide the right amount of tantalizing vibrato needed for the song. The track is produced, and programmed by Rajat, with mastering by Naweed. The Sarangi is recorded by Shawn and vocals by Rahul Sharma and Sameer Dharap. The percussions are excellently programmed and arranged because they take over and pause alternately. I loved the basslines too along with the harmony near the end of the track.

 

14. Mor

We have had some amazing Punjabi tracks in 2021, and this starts off in a very predictable fashion, but the way the tune transforms with some sensational EDM and dance/pop influences is just top-draw. Ruby Khurana is the singer with Seji Dhillon’s composition. The introduction of the flute keeps the melody and likability on a high. There is one solo on the flute in the interlude and that deserves a round of applause for the creativity and skill exhibited. Go ahead and dance your heart out for this one. Ranbir Grewal is the lyricist.

 

15. Space for you

Slight Diversion is an artist who has been around for a while now but this is the first time I have heard his composition. Kenneth Basumatari and Tapas Relia produce this track which talks about letting new people enter your space and life, just like how the artist has now entered my radar of musicians. His vocals are straight out of an American rock song of the 1980s, and he is ably supported by Kenneth on the bass guitars and Nikhil D’souza on guitars. You can hear the way guitars become the primary backbone of the track, especially watch-out for a duel on electric guitars battling it out with no strings attached, between the composer and Nikhil.

16. Aao Na

Hitesh Rikki Madan was outstanding in his earlier outing for a Punjabi track called “Gal Sunn Zara� and it featured Sanjeeta Bhattacharya. I was thoroughly impressed with that breezy track which was a welcome deviation from the usual styled Punjabi singles which tend to be over-the-top. This one is a treat because it involves him and his young sons who are budding musicians. The Madans all sing, but Ariv plays the bass guitars, and Advay plays the percussions like Cajon, Shaker and Drum practice pad. Hitesh takes care of the rest of the business playing the guitars, Ukulele, keyboards and along with the composition and vocals he has also arranged, programmed and produced it. Manish Dhawan and Hitesh write the lyrics which talks about love and affection within close family members. The singing by these youngsters is quite good and the track feels like a good-old Bollywood song of the 1990s and it gets me to recalling “papa kehte hain� maybe because of the string guitar strokes. Listen to the fabuolous acoustic guitar and bass guitar solos one after the other past the 2-minute mark. Hitesh has recorded the track and it is mastered by Andres Mayo. The sing of the trio in harmony is another interesting bit, but I certainly look forward how fine musicians these young boys grow into.