Weekly Songs - 19 June. 2022

1.     Fable

Junkyard Groove is all about Ameeth Thomas who is the front man, soul and spirit of the band. He believes that that the only constant existence in the band is him and he is perfectly fine going solo, with band members and instrumentalists changing around him for different projects. All these details aside, if you are reading this, just take a break and listen to the brilliant rock number, one that elevates to a global scale or quality. This is proof that music produced in India is definitely right up there with the rest in these genres popularized by, and originated in the West like Rock. Ameeth’s vocals are nothing short of tantalizing reminding me of great voices like Chad Kroeger from ‘Nickelback’. The vocals keep me glued, as I who claim to be a multi-tasker am struggling to do anything beyond listening to the enticing vocals, thumping drums and electrifying guitars. The writing is excellent and you pay attention to the beautiful words, and the way Ameeth sings “anything we say, anything we want, we can make it up as we go along” with a tinge of falsetto, is memorable. Past the 2.30-minute mark we hear a stunning electric guitar solo by Vikram that perfectly encapsulates what we hear right through. This is not just a ‘Fable’, this is just as Real as it gets. Ameeth plays all other instruments in the track.

2.     Baby Jaan

This Delhi-Gurugram based band is a coming-together of some supremely talented and experienced musicians and I was mighty impressed with their recent single. Sumit Pratihast has this very likable vocal delivery style which oozes of confidence and style and he also has written and composed this track. There is some very solid support on the drums and guitars by Palash Bedi and Jishnu Banerjee respectively. The vocal harmonies are extremely crucial in this track as they form an inseparable layer right through. The song very vividly reminds me of Shaan’ astronomical hit “Tanha Dil Tanha Safar”. Gavin Pacheco plays the bass guitars and Sumit contributes himself on other musical accompaniments. Anindo Bose at Plug ‘N’ Play Studio does the mixing and mastering for the track. Ths song is just not about the solid instrumental support, Sumit’s singing is excellent at times like the portion where he sings “Teri yaadosh mein dhubke , rehna hai aur kahin na jana hain”. He displays subtle vibrato which is delightful to hear unlike misunderstood rock-styled songs where only decibel levels rise.  The recording engineers are Anindo, Mukul Jain and Abhinav Upadhyay. The artwork illustration is handled by Liana Petri. 

 3.     The Same

 Some nice stories need or entail good music as well. This particular short in the anthology series “Modern Love Mumbai” was one of the best showcasing a cute love story set in Thane. If you watch this story, and as it slowly comes to the climax the relevance of this song in the background is apt and clear. Neel Adhikari is the composer and lyricist, and I have featured him before for a Bangla track called “Karon Amar Akashe”. The moment Karsh Kale comes on board as the lead vocalist, the song gets elevated into something else. Karsh has been a very impressive musician/producer and I have featured him many times but his vocals simply never make you feel like ‘It’s the same’.  He has a baritone voice and it suits the English lyrics better for some reason. The synths are straight away reminiscent of the magical 90s Pop and it is Neel on both guitars and synths. The way the scale and notes shift as Karsh sings “the same” just after singing “Now the roof is gone, nothing quite feels the same”, pure magic both in singing and composition. I would pay to just go hear those lines, as Karsh elevates the scale one more time. Karshni Nair comes out of nowhere and makes her presence felt with her low-scaled vocals. Neel and Kelly D’lima back on the vocals in the harmonies, layer that feels not forced but very functional. Yohaan Pissurlenkar is the bassist, and he has been featured for his role in songs like “Kow Your Hail Mary”, and Sanjay Das does the mixing, additional synths and production. The song feels like a chirpy promising love song, and at the same time one which creates some mystery and suspense almost like making you wish the couple got together on screen but unsure about what they would do. Samarth Chawla does the additional production with Matt Jeferies on mastering.

4.     Moonbrain

 Shikhar C will immediately grab your attention whether you like it, want it or not. The guitar strokes are particularly strong and imposing and with a voice like that of Bryan Adams (sounded like that to my mind). The electric guitar solo comes in thanks to Melvin Mukerji, but behold the drums by Gaurav Khanna, as he stops just for a second when Shikhar sings “Stop here just for a second”. Soorya Praveen is the bassist, as he proclaims his powers and presence the moment Shikhar finishes the line “Im stuck waiting by the Sea”. The shift in the Octaves when Shikhar sings “Moonbrain” twice, the use of strings and their arrangements in the background by Aman Arakh all are very noteworthy features of this fantastic number. Aman has produced the track along with mixing and mastering and kudos to him for getting all the intricate elements right in the final product.  Shikhar also does additional production, and he sings like a dream.

 5.     The One

Aishwarya Andrade released her debut album called “Discovery” and it helped me discover a new artist, that I quite like and will probably end up following closely now. Ash Andrade as she is known delivers her best in “The one” according to me as she writes, composes and performs with Brandon Mendes on mixing, mastering and overall production. I love serene the song starts off with repetitive mention of “the one” in multiple layers of vocals. The guitars and vocals are soothing like how the words “you are the one” itself would make one feel, being at the receiving end. The drums probably programmed, gently gain momentum and tempo and you start shaking your head and tapping your feet. As the song progresses, Ash shows greater confidence especially in the bridge singing “You’re running after me, you’re ever seeking for me”.

6.     Mehroom

A lot of the songs this week are extremely well composed melodies with the predominant guitar, yet every one of these is different from each other making it a fantastic list. Raman Negi has written, sung and produced the track. The song starts off like the calm before the storm, but the storm sure does arrive, just past the 1-minute mark when Raman sings “Aarzoo dhunde kushi ke tikhane”, this is some vocal delivery of outstanding quality at the higher scales. Gaurav Chintamani has co-produced the track and he has recorded and mixed the track. The song has a nice shift in notes and trajectory when Raman sings “ Aawaz de mujhe”. The electric guitar solo comes in for a brief while in this wholesome number. Brian Lucey masters the track, and the video is a film by Maan Boruah.

7.     Ghum Kahin

Hansika Pareek is a fantastic vocalist and she has been featured on my lists for songs like “Bano” and “Besharam si Nazarein”. Even if you just glance through her Instagram account you will hear wonderful covers of some famous numbers and the best part is that she explores languages she doesn’t speak. Shubham Srivastava is the male vocalist who we hear right from the start and he creates a great platform over which the song then tends to build. Shubham is the composer, lyricist and producer and he must get more than the lion’s share of credits for getting this track the way it from start to finish. The guitars and keyboard programming is effective and keeps the song’s creative value high. There is an electric guitar solo, along with the Harmonica at the interlude after which Hansika goes from 0-100 kmph in no time, metaphorically meaning that she hardly takes time to outperform vocally. The subtle yet stunning things she does with her vocals is truly impressive and the song is a electronic pop song that will be on loop after you hear it once. Lowkey does the mix and master

8.     Dekhlo Wahaan Pe

It is a Chandigarh based band and they call themselves a western-classical fusion band. No wonder they have a beautiful name “Gamak” known to be the Vibrato in Indian classical music. The band consists of Mrinal Sippy on lead vocals and rhythm guitars, Gaurav Arora on Lead guitars, Kushal Sood on drums, and Vaibhav Kathuria on bass guitars. The EP that the band released is called “Four Lane”, and I loved this track the most. The guitars lead the way with the mild drums and gathering intensity. The vulnerability in Mrinal’s voice is refreshing as it draws you deeper. But he doesn’t stop there, as he explodes into the higher scales singing “na jaan kyun, aasoon behaye”. His band mates Gaurav, Kushal and Vaibhav provide backing vocals creating a nice layer of harmonies. Just as the name in the band, Mrinal gives those minute gamakas when he sings “mujhko rulaye”. The support on drums and bass by Kushal and Vaibhav is adequate. Gaurav sizzles on the electric guitar in the background past the 2.30-minute mark if you pay attention. The track is mixed and mastered by Mrinal and Gaurav with Kushal assisting. Mrinal Sippy has written and composed the track.

 9.     Give Up

Natania Lalwani just got featured last week for her project with Sejal for her track “Runaway”, and Avanti Nagral is no stranger to these reviews either. She had been featured for two splendid tracks in the past like “The long way” and “Imperfect”, and here we have this Boston/Mumbai artist simply sounding stunning in this song. Natania and Avanti are the lyricists with Austin Armstrong producing the track. The song talks about realizing about self-love and self-worth, and the video is a picturization of 5 stages of grief. The humming is probably the best portion of the song which is somewhere between depicting vulnerability and determination to rise back up. Avanti is impeccable in her delivery and listen out to that line where she sings “not live up, not live up” especially the vibrato-laden second line. She does really well introducing a mild bridge as well and that is why the song feels complete. The video credits belong to Devansh Mehta as director and DOP, Gopi Vadsak as co-director, and Brinelle D’mello as creative director. Brinelle and Jashima Wadhera as the EPs. Bhushan Govilkar does the mixing and mastering.

10. Khali

“Subah” and “Bewajah” have been featured among the best in India and Dig V as he calls himself          tends to impress me every time. He is the composer, and vocalist in this track with lyrics by Lavraj.   The producer is none other than Aman Sagar who too has been featured many a time, and for those who don’t know him, he is winner for the Jio-Saavn Spotted contest. He won in the Hindi Catehgory where Salim Merchant, Jonita Gandhi and Papon were judges. A close aide of Aman Sagar is Prabtoj Singh who have done many projects together and he has done the additional production for this one., and Dig V too has worked on the production of the song. The Piano plays in the background but the Nylon guitars take the lead by Shubh Vai. Aman also plays the electric guitars and get wowed by it in the interlude solo, as Sahil Masih plays the bass guitars. Dig V’s vocals feel raw and serenading. The team involved is a celebrity whos’ who of the music world with Sunny MR on mastering duties, Aman and Aryam in mixing. The label BGBNG representatives are Raghav Meattle and Shambhavi Singh.

11. Shuru Shuru Se

I haven’t seen all the shorts from the anthology series ‘Modern Love Mumbai’ but we have had 3 songs from the series here featured on India’s best music charts. If it was “Raat bhar” by Vishal Bhardwaj and Meiyang Chang last week we have “the same” and “Shuru Shuru Se” this week. Shankar-Ehsan-Loy show that they still got it when it comes to make delightful music and the lead vocalists for this one are Shankar himself along with Shashaa Tirupati. We are transported to the 2000s, and for good reason musically. Soumil Shringarpure is the producer and he definitely smashes this one with heavy Keyboard and Synth programming that just fits fine. There is not much one can complain about when it is Shankar and Shashaa in the lead vocals. The harmonies too have been wonderfully arranged with lags which always sound pleasing. The track is mixed, recorded and mastered by Ameya Mategaonkar with lyrics by Tanishk Nabar.

12. Kya Mai Kya Tu

Agnee the band has been around for more than 15 years, now with a new single, this is almost a bounce-back of sorts. Mohan Kannan who was a banking executive started the band back in Pune in 2007. Koco on guitars and John Jaideep Thirumalai on bass guitars sizzle straight away and you just can take your attention to anything else the moment the song begins. Mohan Kannan is mesmerizing with those strong vocals, and I definitely was late to the party. I say this because just last month I was exposed to Mohan’s singing with Pritam’s “Kahani” for the album ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’. The slow dose of rock gets to you as it just is reminiscent of those great numbers by Guns n Roses and Mettalica. Amitabh Bhattacharya pens the lyrics and the drummer here is Hrishikesh Datar. Koc does more than just guitars, as he produces and arranges for the track.  The guitarists and drummer have a field day with their minor but noticeable solos in between, just like jugalbandis in classical Indian concerts. The track is mixed and mastered by Enrico “Kikko” Sesselego. This song reminds me a lot of “Jo Bhi Main” by AR Rahman for the movie ‘Rockstar’.

 13. Hero

Palash Muchhal and Jubin Nautiyal keep creating new music at a rampant rate but many songs somehow never appeal to me. This time the duo combine for a song in a new movie called “Jungle Cry” which is supposed to be a sports drama based on a true story. The string guitars set the tone for an inspirational number which is expected in a sports drama. Jubin gets every facet right in his vocals, showing solidity and egging the team on from the perspective of the coach maybe. The flute solo very peculiarly reminds Amit Trivedi’s “Pashmina” from the album ‘Fitoor’. The harmonies always work well in anthems and inspiration tracks like this. Palash does quite well in the composition and production, the best segment is the stanza with the first two lines, followed by a nice flute solo. The original lyrics are written by Shailendra Ji.

14. Its over

Sidharth Bendi recently produced a fantastic number by Priyanka Nath called “run” and that is when I was introduced to this musician. This is composed, written and performed by Sidharth with co-production by Sudan. It is almost lullaby like, pleasant and soothing with bith acoustic and bass guitars doing wonders in the background. The song also has very peculiar rhythm sounds, and maybe it is a Lo-fi touch to the song but it is creative and appealing like arrhythmia. There are strings and harmonies all executed and arranged quite well. Kruthika Pillai and Prudhvi Mitra handle the artwork. The outro with the solo violin and humming melts your heart away.

15. Persephone

 Gaia Meera from Mumbai must be applauded for her creativity, and that is not just in one faint aspect. The title for starters is never a word I have heard before and when you go ahead and play the number there are elements of beauty that soothe you beyond repair. She has written, composed and performed this along with her best friend the Ukulele. The weight of the instrument is felt, maybe it is a Upright bass that I hear but it is noteworthy addition to the arrangements. Mikhail Cazi does all the production. The bass guitars are phenomenal almost making you take notice of its presence. As we head into the track, the drums and rhythms become an important component. The last 1-minute is a joy ride or a roller coaster with stops in tempo, and alternate rise in tempo.