There is a lot of music released these days and some yester-year greats like Hariharan have recently commented on the clutter of music. This is where I chip in and make things easier for music enthusiasts, so that a properly filtered and refined set of songs, and EPs are available. This time I am recommending two excellent EPs by two very different kinds of female artists viz. Pratibha Singh Baghel and Sona Mohapatra. The composers/producers who have worked with them and created these gems are the duo of Deepak Pandit, Gaurav Vaswani and Ram Sampath respectively. I just began reviewing music back in 2019, and very soon the pandemic struck, making me all confused and befuddled about the impact of lockdowns on musicians and their work. It was almost like nothing applied the breaks on musicians and inventive ways of recording artists and instrumentalists separated physically and geographically, and two artists who kept a steady influx of releases were Sona and Pratibha and they show here that it is not just about the quantity but predominantly about the quality. My very first memory of Sona Mohapatra & Ram Sampath is "Ambarsariya" which is of the best Hindi melodies I have known yet and owing to very little exposure, and actual low supply of "Good" Bollywood music, I never paid attention to the genius of Ram, but better late than never I guess. The two EPs that I am recommending are 'Inheritance' produced by the brilliant composer/violinist Deepak Pandit along with Gaurav Vaswani and 'Shut Up Sona' produced by Ram Sampath. Pratibha impresses as always with her outstanding vocal strength and Ghazal-styled delivery, while Sona uses her unique vocal texture to deliver 4 songs with incredible poise. Here is the review of 'Inheritance' firstThe EP has 4 tracks with my favourites being "Hamari Atariya" and "Lakhon Ke Bol", and I would assign them a score of 8.5/10 and 8.25 on 10 respectively to these tracks, with "Babul Mora" getting 8 and "Saiyyan Bina" at 7.5. Overall I would give the EP a very enviable score of 8/10. I had already reviewed "Babul Mora" a couple of weeks ago in the list of India's best weekly music, and would soon be doing a full review of "Hamari Atariya" as well. In terms of a score "Hamari Atariya" is mind-blowing bringing in elements of Western Classical music, and Deepak Pandit along with Gaurav Vaswani probably have just given us one of the best singles of 2022. Tapas Roy plays the stringed instruments with Prashant Sonagra shining on the Tabla. The Budapest Live Symphony Orchestra gives us the grand opulence of the music in all the tracks and Deepak intervenes with his solo Violin at the right instances, creating an Indian classical texture. The second interlude gives me the impression that it is influenced by Raag Keeravani. Pratibha Singh melts your heart with her emotionally charged voice. "Babul Mora" had a very Raag Sindhubhairavi impression and it is closer to the grammar of Indian classical music unlike "Hamari Atariya" which had fused other styles. The song is more pathos-inducing and like the other songs has K Sethuraman on mixing, and Christian Wright on mastering.  "Lakhon Ke Bol" is that track that will just make you sit down and gaze at the sunset without any worry in the world. It most probably has influences from the Raag Maand and it has some splendid strings and Tabla decorating the background, and Pratibha showcasing her full potential. The production by Deepak and Gauarv is simply breathtaking and I can safely say that Deepak Pandit is one of the most talented producers/composers in the nation today. The final track in my order of preference is "Saiyyan Bina" and by most standards, this too will cut among the best performed and produced songs, and this according to me does exhibit some influence of Raag Bihag. The recording engineers are K Sethuraman Sanket Tole, Harshul Khadse, Anushree Manjrekar, Ezekiah NaniwadekarMoving onto Sona Mohapatra and Ram Sampath's 'Shut up Sona', it comes a very close 2nd with an average EP score of 7.75/10. The most impressive numbers were "Rang De" at 8.25/10 and "Piya Se Naina" with a score of 8/10. "Mangal Gaan" too was a very enjoyable number with an impressive score of 7.75/10. I have already featured and reviewed it a few weeks back and this was a refurbished number that Ram Sampath created for the Coke Studio many years ago. Set probably in Raag Desh, this is an energetic number with original lyrics by Hazrat Amir Khusro. John Paul has also produced this and played the guitars with Ram' composing the tune. The flute Solo we hear is by Rajeev Prasanna."Rang De" stands head and shoulders above the rest thanks to its amazing production and arrangements. Sanjoy Das plays the guitars (watch out for the brief solo) and with Nitish Ranadive on Tabla and lyrics penned by Meera Bai, the song is a charmer. I am not very certain, but maybe there is some Raag Kaapi influence somewhere in the number. The track is recorded by Nitesh Bisht and like all the songs in the EP, Amey Wadibhasme does the mixing and mastering. "Lal Pari Mastani" would be rated the last in the EP in my opinion, and here Vrashal Tejasingh Chavan does the additional production, and Munna Dhiman pens the lyrics. The song sounds like a little bit of Raag Bilawal to my mind. "Mangal Gaan" has some powerful singing and lyrics and this is the most serene of the songs and probably this too is set in Raag Desh. The use of drums, bass guitars and the flute is really exciting and elevates the song. This song is also produced by John Paul and Ram, and the Bols by Sona and Nitish Ranadive are inspiring additions. Check out these two EPs and celebrate the work of great musicians