1. Naan Ninage KaavalugaaraComposed – Charan RajProduced – Charan Raj, Narayan SharmaSingers – Ankita Kundu, Sanjith HegdeLyrics – Chethan KumarMusicians - Narayan Sharma, Sunil Sylvester, Narayan Sharma, Nathan, Shruthiraj, Shadaj GodkindiGenre – MelodyLanguage - Kannada He is known as ‘Power Star’, and he passed away, way too young in his 40s. Puneeth Rajkumar, is the son of a mega star Kannada actor and he had become a massive figure, but when he died people from all over India and the world poured their commiserations because he was a simple, modest man and that was his biggest asset. Anyway, this song is a tribute to the man and is composed beyond brilliance by Charan Raj. Charan is one of my favourites from South India and he proves exactly why! The song is slow but it hardly takes a few seconds to impress and woo the listener. The reason lies in the quality of vocalists and the array of live musicians on board, in the project. I remember Ankita Kundu from one of the Indian singing reality shows she was quite good as a young girl, and here her vocals are next to perfect. Sanjith Hegde is a vocalist who according to me comes in the top 3 Indian singers are the moment, so I was not surprised even a bit by what I was hearing from him. Even before Ankita utters a note, there is so much happening with the Piano by Narayan Sharma and strings which Narayan himself arranges in a mind-blowing fashion. Ankita brings in those delicate ghamakas and I couldn’t control the mild tear that rolled down my cheek in pure joy and admiration for the music. Only after Ankita rocks you to sleep with her vocals do we get the title line sung by the majestic Sanjith, accompanied by the delicate Tabla played by Shruthiraj. Sanjith’s fabulous vocals are also aided by well-arranged harmonies. The interlude hits you hard with an Ilaiyaraja-styled flute solo played with extreme finesse by Shadaj Godkindi and your heart swells with love listening to the glorious notes. Nathan handles the Woodwind arrangements and Sunil Sylvester can be heard playing the acoustic guitars, especially in the stanza as all the percussion stops for a while. The stanza ends nicely with that line from the anupallavi and this time both Ankit and Sanjith sing it together. Narayan Sharma is also the bassist in the song and the mixing is done by Charan, with Sujith Sreedhar on mastering. I love the title line in the end sung by Ankita where she modifies the notes a bit and all I can feel is sadness in that the song is coming to end. Deepesh Krishnamurthy is the music supervisor and Divine Joseph, Kashyap, and Sree Shankar are the recording engineers. When I was listening to this, I felt some resemblance to “Sonnathu Nee thaana” by MS Viswanathan, and hence believed this to be a Raag Jaunpuri influence. However, when I had a word with Narayan Sharma he tells me this is more of a Natabhairavi influence.2. RithuragamMusic: KailasLyrics: Vinayak SasikumarSingers : Keshav Vinod, Sruthy SivadasMusic Production: Ebin Pallichan, KailasMusicians – Rithu VysakhLanguage – MalayalamGenre – Pop, R&B A few weeks ago Kailas Menon’s amazing number “Yathonnum Parayaathe” was on this list among the best songs in the country and more than 1 song from the same album rarely appears on my list. Kailas does that handsomely as, after “Rithuragam”, there will be one more song also featured in the subsequent weeks. This song is funky, and groovy, and makes you want to slow dance, thanks to its tone, scintillating keyboard programming, and bass guitars. A round of applause to Ebin Pallichan and Kailas for their production and Keshav Vinod for all the additional programming is necessary. The male lead vocalist is Keshav and he is cool in his delivery. The interlude has the backing harmonies performed by Keshav, Kailas, and Sruthy Sivadas. The stanza is where Sruthy makes the entry as the female lead vocalist, but the harmonies and bass guitars give a texture of R&B to the song. Rithu Vysakh takes over in the second interlude and he is the single man playing the String Quartet adding a very classical flavour to the song. Sruthy singing in the lower scales and Keshav opting for the higher scales is the game-changer for the song and when you hear the outro over the last 1 minute or so, the song just elevates itself with the humming, and Piano all coming together. Now, this is fantastic 1-minute music. The track is mixed by Balu Thankachan and mastered by Gethin John, with Midhun V Dev, Vimal John, Vipin G Kumar, Ebin Pallichan, and Amal Mithu as recording engineers.  3. MeherbaanComposer, Producer – Sagar Dhote Singer: Sneha Astunkar, Abhay JodhpurkarLyrics: Aditya KalwayMusicians – Shomu Seal, Satyajit Jamsandekar, Shweta SrivastavaLanguage - HindiGenre – Indie PopWhen you see a certain logo, you are bound to form an opinion even before trying it out, and this is based on established trust. Yes, and when I see the ‘M’ stylized in red, I know that the Merchant Records label will ensure this song is of wonderful quality. Sagar Dhote is having his stock price rise with every song release and my respect and admiration for him as a composer is not looking back at all. A couple of months ago he composed and produced a very melodious number called “Bas Yun Hi” sung by Sneha Astunkar and he uses her again along with an additional force that goes by the name of Abhay Jodhpurkar. When you hear the first line maybe you won’t even be that thrilled, as it seems like a very run-of-the-mill melody. But wait for Sneha to finish singing “Do aankhon ka yeh silsila”, as she traverses like a step-function into the higher scale. The subtle ghamakas are so beautiful and sound very difficult to execute. Shomu Seal plays the guitars and Sagar does all the keyboard programming. The stanza has Abhay singing in his usual serenading style with some gentle delivery and an even gentler Tabla played by Satyajit Jamsandekar. Sagar exhibits skill in scoring some very unpredictable notes from here as Sneha’s segment has twists and turns with the Keys and acoustic guitars guiding and aiding, and he cleverly lands back in the opening lines of the song. Let us appreciate Shweta Srivastava, the singer-songwriter, who has designed all the vocal harmonies, and Sneha and Abhay who have just added layers of beauty to the tune through their expressive vocals. The track is recorded, mixed, and mastered by Ajinkya Dhapare with assistance from Virat Bhushetty. Two more wonderful young talents have worked on this project viz. Aditya Kalway is the lyricist and Shivansh Jindal is the executive producer. 4. FaqueeraComposer: Anand BhaskarSingers: Jatinder Singh, Anand BhaskarLyrics: Ginny DiwanMusic Production: Ajay JayanthiMusicians – Hrishi Giridhar, Ajay Jayanthi , Mihir DesaiLanguage – HindiGenre – Folk Fusion Ignore him at your peril! Well, that is what I can say, about Anand Bhaskar. If you think you can ignore his music, we know who is losing out. He is one of the finest composers I have been reviewing since I began doing this and It gives me great satisfaction that a guy of his abilities is finally getting a lot of real opportunity in the movie/web-content space. The album ‘Masoom’ has some excellent singles along with a terrific background soundtrack. This song to me seems like possessing an influence of Raag Jog (Naatai in Carnatic) in the beginning but as we go along, there is some Raag Bhimpalasi according to my understanding. Jatinder Singh is emphatic and explosive in his vocals and he holds the song on his shoulders. Ajay Jayanthi who is part of the team ‘Anand Bhaskar, is scintillating on the strings and he also produces this number. The

1. PareshanWriter, Composer and Performer: SuzonnMusic Producer: Anubhav GogoiEngineer: Rob Murray (Wilderfox Studios, Vermont, USA)Language – HindiGenre – Indie Pop This youngster Suzonn was featured for a beautiful melodious track called ‘Humse Khafa’ back in Nov 2021. Please do listen to that song once before you hear this, as it sets a certain standard of expectation for you, and when you listen to his latest number “Pareshan” you will feel the exact opposite of the title words – Pure Bliss. As a listener, your music appreciation will tell you that Suzonn has hugely outdone himself in this song and is deserving of the number 1 spot it occupies across all the 400 songs released in the week. Suzonn a.k.a. Sujan Sinha has written, composed and performed the number with Anubhav Gogoi producing it. These men are the pride of Assam and a testament to the lineup of musical talent the state has been producing like a conveyor belt. This song would have made Anurag Saikia, Shankuraj Konwar and Papon proud. He starts off in an extremely mild fashion, as though he just is making an attempt to slowly get comfortable and sing aloud. The Keys are just like the North Star giving the song direction and then the beautiful line “bewajah rehta pareshaan”, sung and composed like a waterfall dropping and landing with grace. The strings are becoming more prominent in the background during the humming, and they are like an unstoppable force right through. The song picks up in tempo with the Piano also more free-flowing now than before, but Anubhav Gogoi decorates the song with impeccable beauty thanks to his production. I haven’t heard such an amazing strings arrangement in 2022 so far with over 7000 songs already that have been heard and analyzed by me this year. Suzonn introduces a nice bridge section as well just after a minor interlude on strings and Piano, singing “mann tu bataa, Main kaun hoon maujood”. The track is mixed, mastered and recorded by Rob Murray. 2.   MannimpuComposer, Singer : Ranina ReddyLyrics: Rakendu Mouli | Rambabu GosalaMusicians Asad Khan, Arshad Khan, Pradyumna, John Paul, Nakul Abhyankar We have heard of songs where the message is apology and repentance maybe to a lover or a friend, but how about to Mother Earth. Ranina Reddy has composed and sung this number which originated in creation during the lockdowns and it is set beautifully in Raag Yaman. Asad Khan opens the song with his Sitar solo gravitating upon us the mood of the song. John Paul who is a master of the art., strums the guitars and with Arshad Khan’s Sarangi solo giving away the Raag influences. The rhythm programming is excellent as all credits of arrangements and programming go to the famed musician Nakul Abhyankar.  After the opening lines by Ranina, and some harmonies in the background, Arshad Khan stuns you as the notes take a trajectory and deviate like you wouldn’t predict. The Sitar, electric guitars and drums combine into a pacy and energizing interlude. The stanza is all about Ranina’s low-scale vocals, supported by Pradyumna on Tabla and John’s basslines. The song’s message aligns with Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev’s message of “Save Soil” as Ranina expresses the sorrow of having destroyed Mother Earth and its natural resources. John Paul explodes with an electric guitar solo in the second interlude and it all adds such diverse elements to the song’s wholesomeness. Nakul solidifies the track’s output with all the arrangements as Asad’s Sitar solo plays a fitting end to the song. The track is recorded by Hariharan, while Balu Thankachan mixes and masters the track. 3.   Vishay cutMusic Director, Producer : Advait NemlekarSingers : Aanandi Joshi , Advait NemlekarLyrics: Akshay ShindeMusicians – Hrishi Giridhar, Lavine da costa, Ninad MulaokarLanguage – MarathiGenre - Melody It has been a while since we heard a nice Marathi melody, and like we hear when it rains, it pours. This week we have a few and they all strike you like Thor’s hammer. I hope the Marvel fans will pardon me for this comparison and if I have used any words incorrectly. To me, however, this song has the power to move mountains and seas with its stunning melody and instrumentals and kudos to Advait Nemlekar the producer, composer and vocalist. Hrishi Giridhar plays the guitars with such eloquence accompanying the lovely vocals of Advait and Aanandi Joshi. Ninad Mulaokar plays the flute solo and he intervenes with magical perfection, romanticizing the tune even more. Lavine da Costa, who is a legend and worked with stalwarts like Salim-Sulaiman, does an enviable job in orchestrating and arranging the Strings section which dominates the interlude like a Western Classical bit and the flute lifts you up in the air. I am so excited to hear Advait sing and compose because I have never heard his work before, but this creates a massive wave of expectation for me. The track is mixed and mastered by Ajinkya Dhapare and recorded by Aslam Khan with Bevin Fernandes’ assistance. 4. Mr MalangSinger: Shalmali KholgadeLyrics: Mayur PuriComposed, arranged and produced by: Bharat-HitarthBacking vocals: Amrita TalukdarMusicians - Prachtes Bhowmik, Hitarth Bhatt,Language – HindiGenre –Rock n RollOut of the blue, a song comes up and takes you by so much surprise, that you just can’t proceed to do anything that you were originally working on. I was so impressed with Bharat-Hitarth they do and I very much enjoyed two more songs in this little know movie album called “Titu Ambani”. When I did some more research I found that the duo is famous in the jingle world creating music for many famous brands and their advertisements. This is a welcome foray into the world of movies and I urge music enthusiasts to listen to the songs in the album. Shalmali Kholgade is a rock star and I can think of no one else to deliver this demanding song with incredible ease. Bharath and Hitarth compose, arrange and produce this song giving it a touch of 1960s Rock ‘n’ Roll much like Elvis Presley’s gems. Just listen to her vocals, as she incredibly alters her delivery style to suit a retro Hindi style as well. Amrita Talukdar provides the backing vocals but also gets enthused by Hitarth Bhatt’s and Prachotosh Bhowmik’s guitars which are snazzy. I can hear some Ukulele as well. The humming and vocal harmonies are well arranged, and there is a barrage of instruments from the Horns and Brass section, maybe Trumpets and Trombones and French Horns, but they all come together quite well. It is a massive task for the mixing engineer and Prathamesh Dudhane comes out on top in mastering as well. The stanza is where Shalmali takes it mild and gentle before once again moving the ante and adrenaline up. The second interlude with the guitars and Piano is a straight influence of old classic songs from Hindi as well but the song is a hit thanks to the singing, harmonies, arrangements and production. It feels like spotting an oasis in a desert when Bollywood music is going down the drain for lack of quality and originality. The Recording engineers are Ikramuddin Lochoor and Aamey Londhe. I will be reviewing two more songs from the album in the subsequent weeks.5. BetahashaSinger: Akanksha BhandariComposed, Written, Produced - Nilotpal SinhaMusicians- Mehtab Ali Niazi, Shahrukh Khan, Sharafat HussainLanguage – HindiGenre – Semi- classical I was blown away by the number, and as I have always been told, when I see the symbol “M” denoting Merchant Records, I know there is going to be some superior quality ahead. Nilotpal Sinha composes, produces and also writes this semi-classical number that just doesn’t stop oozing richness. The way Akanksha Bhandari sings is just phenomenal, with a mild sense of vulnerability in her voice depicting the message of the song. Shahrukh Khan’s Sarangi is stunning right from the beginning, and it drives the classical elements forward along with Sharafat Hussain’s Tabla. The interlude has joyful notes played on the Sitar by Mehtab Ali NIazi, and simultaneous the pathos is derived from the Sarangi. The delivery by Akanksha is just perfect in terms of her decibel level and energy as well, and I can feel a woman wanting to be loved with subtle and gentle expressions of romance. Shivansh Jindal who is an up-and-coming indie musician is the Executive Producer for the track and the song is mixed and mastered by the masterful Kohinoor Mukherjee. The song seems to be having influences from Raag Desh in my opinion. 6. Raah dikha deMusic Composer: Shubham Shirule and Ana Rehman (Jam8 Studio)Lyrics: Shloke LalSingers: Mohit Chauhan and Asees KaurMusicians - Sunny M.R. and ZIA, Utkarsh Dhotekar, Suresh Lalwani, Jitender H Thakur, Mohan, Ram Chandran, Dev Modi, Chinmay Deore, Sharmilee, Rajkumar Dewan, Roland Fernandes.Language – HindiGenre – Indie Pop, Melody Let me tell you straight away that songs like these are a rarity, especially in Hindi, songs which make you fall in love with the idea of music without having to destroy your ears with a high noise level of dance beats or having to listen to cuss words and offensive and degrading language. This song composed by Shubham Shirule and Ana Rehman is priceless. Apparently, their mentor is Pritam and now you know where they have taken inspiration from. The most supreme talents like Sunny M.R. and ZIA have arranged and programmed along with Utkarsh Dhotekar, and right from the start the sounds give you a hint that it is the work and production of Sunny M.R. and listen to the impactful strings even before Mohit Chauhan begins singing. Jitender H Thajur plays the Violin while they are arranged by Suresh Lalwani. Jitender is accompanied by Mohan on Viola and Ram Chandran on the Cello. It really feels like you just got to feel the fresh air in your lungs after being suffocated to death, when you hear Mohit’s voice after listening to some very mediocre singing and a million of them mimicking Arijit Singh. Dev Modi on drums and Chinmay Deore on percussion start making an impact with strings just interjecting at every instance. The arrangements couldn’t have been better and often do we hear so many live instruments all in one place, and this deserves huge applause to Ana, Shubham, Sunny, Zia, and Utkarsh. The title line “Raah Dikha De” is just magical not just when Mohit sings but an extremely inspiring chorus does it that includes Subhashree Das, Akash Mukherjee, Aaroh Velankar, Vacha Bipin, Archita Ajgaokar, Rudrik Mistry, Sonu and Ishteyak Khan. Shloke Lal clearly brings his A game with his lovely lyrics. Let us also pay attention to the Piano played by Sharmilee and as ZIA arranges the keys, we have the Keyboards and Synths handled by Shubham and Ana. Asees Kaur proves that she owns a powerful and likeable voice that probably is wasted many times. Here when she opens the stanza with a very cool and laidback approach you start enjoying the minute yet meaningful vibrato she introduces at just the right places. Roland Fernandes is on guitars with another very common name on bass viz. Rajkumar Dewan. Everything goes silent when Asees performs giving all the spotlight on her, and then the bass, guitars, drums and keyboards along with the harmonies beautify the background. It is amazing to just hear the way Asees moves into the opening lines after the stanza as she seamlessly moves to the higher scale with ease. We can all just stand up and thank Niraj Singhai who is responsible for the concept and Ideation. The song is a celebration of music and how every player has a role to play in the ultimate sound and output, and we get more proof when that aggravated and upbeat drum bit leads us into one final “raah dikha de” moment, this time with the entire chorus. The audio engineers who have worked on the project are Hemaksh Kalsi, Subhashree Das, Akash Mukherjee, Aaroh Velankar and Pranav Gupta. Antara Mitra and Brianna Supriyo handle music supervision, with Antara also doing the curation.   7. Chaal ka badaleliSinger: Abhay JodhpurkarMusic Composed; Arranged - Hrishikesh, Saurabh, JasrajLyrics: Jitendra JoshiMusicians - Shriram Sampath Kalyanee MujumdarLanguage - MarathiGenre - Melody Like I mentioned a while ago, it is pouring Marathi and another pleasing number is here for us sung by the serenading Abhay Jodhpurkar while it is the brainchild of Hrishikesh, Saurabh and Jasraj as the trio composes and arranges the track. The song is from this album called “Medium Spicy” and what a great way to begin the track, free flowing strings and a strong-lunged whistle. Abhay proves once again that he is probably one of the best Indian vocalists who can sing beautifully across languages. The guitars and bass start playing the mild impact along with the flipping sound of the fingers acting like percussion. Hrishijesh, Saurabh and Jasraj also do all the programming and arrangements. Kalyanee Mujumdar is simply sensational on the Violin solo in the interlude and she is supported on the Flute by Shriram Sampath. The guitars complete the outro and the song is mixed and mastered by Tushar Pandit, Kittu Myakal and Tishar also on recording. 8. TruceWritten, composed, Vocals – AnamiProduction – Varun Murali @ The Red Music BoxLanguage – EnglishGenre – Indie Pop, Ballad This Bengaluru-based singer-songwriter has been featured on my website with a brilliant track called “Vultures” and now she’s back with a ‘truce’. Before you start reading this or listening to the song go musically prey on “Vultures”, wow I love how I wrote that ironic line. Anami is next to perfect in her vocals in this song and a very close second to her is the song’s production and programming and who else but Varun Murali of ‘The Red Music Box’. He does a stupendous job of production, arrangements, mixing and mastering. The guitars at the beginning with the rhythms set a beautiful tone and sound and it is like Anami’s vocals and the production sounds are find Truce and entertaining us equally without competing for our attention. A brilliant line both lyrically and musically is “We’re caterpillars learning to be butterflies” where Anami just sings the line with immense passion, and skill, if you observe the rise in scale as she sings the first part and her delivery and breath adjustment when she sings the second part. ‘This is a truce with the voice inside you” is how we all try and lead a happy life and Anami summarizes it perfectly. The guitar riff is simple but it gives a song texture like the “Dream is collapsing” by Hans Zimmer. There is a nice portion where Anami plays and teases just with the word try, maybe like saying try harder, or keep trying different ways, all symbolic and encoded. The song makes the shift upward to a higher scale and only some artists and songs achieve it without looking forced, Anami does it well. The strings in the background are mild and give a nice layer to the tone.9. RaaiSinger- Rekha BhardwajMusic Director-Sravan BhattacharyyaLyrics- Ritam SenMusic Production and sound design- Dev ArijitMusicians Debashish Halder,Language - BanglaGenre – Ballad, Semi-classical This is a Rekha Bharadwaj special as she does a beautiful, soulful aalap at the start and when everything around you must stop. The Piano is the only accompaniment with some mild percussions, but the arrangements are perfectly done to make sure we don’t get distracted away from Rekha his vocals. Sravan Bhattacharya and Dev Arijit are the arrangers with Sravan being the composer. Slowly you start hearing the acoustic guitars but the Sarangi Debashish Halder makes a lasting impression. Alok Punjani and Abhimanyu Chatterjee are the recording engineers. The song gives me a flavour of Raag Desh and we have Subhadeep Mitra on mixing and mastering. 10.  Babul MoraMusic Produced by Deepak PanditSinger: Pratibha Singh BaghelMusic Co-Produced by Gaurav VaswaniMusicians – Deepak Pandit, Prashant Sonagra, Tapas RoyLanguage – HindiGenre – Semi-classical, fusion The Queen, Diva whatever you want to call her, she is the voice of Ghazals and any influences of that brand of music, a voice which AR Rahman said he always listens to a.k.a. Pratibha Singh Baghel. She has worked with composer/Producer Deepak Pandit and whenever they have a song is generally brilliant in sounds, sense and substance.  The song felt like Raag Sindhubhairavi in Carnatic and Tapas Roy can be heard playing the stringed instruments like maybe the Harp and we have the Live Orchestra from The Budapest Live Symphony Orchestra in charge. Pratibha just keeps you glued with her vocals and you can’t help but close your eyes, and shake your head in approval of what you hear. Deepak is a master in producing such tracks with a fusion of Classical Indian music and Western Classical styles. The strings section is heavenly in the background and in the interlude. Prashant Sonagra plays the Tabla ever so delicately and the Piano adds the extra element of Western influences to the mix just listen to the stunning humming just before the second Antara starts.  Gaurav Vaswani also co-produces this track and it is a mystery how this classical song could be even envisioned with such wonderful western sound support and arrangements. Deepak also plays the violin solo and the track has recording engineers K. Sethuraman, Sanket Tole, Ezekiah Naniwadekar, Harshul Khadse and Anushree Manjrekar. The track is mixed by K Sethuraman and mastered by Christian Wright. There is more in this EP called “inheritance” and I shall review more in the subsequent days. 11.  Heer MeriMusic Composer - Shahzan MujeebLyrics - Mandy GillHook Lyrics - Shahzan MujeebSingers - Ash King, Shalmali Kholgade, Shahzan MujeebLanguage – Punjabi/ HindiGenre – Indie PopMusicians - Roland Fernandes, Rajkumar Dewan, Tejas Vinchurkar, Vishal Pathak, Ishteyak Khan, Rudrik Mistry, Chinmay Deore, Dev Modi,    It is that project again ideated and conceptualized by Niraj Sanghai, where some excellent young musicians mentored by Pritam are composing originals and presenting for our listening pleasure. It is called Roposo Jamroom. If it was Shubham- Ana for “Raah Dikha De”, it is Shahzan Mujeeb for this catchy number. Ash King impressed me immensely with that high-pitched delivery and what do I say about Shalmali Kholgade. This is her second song ins this week’s list and she is a superstar vocalist once again proving it here. We have heard Tejas Vinchurkar on flute before but he only arranges that portion on flute played by a young Vishal Pathak. Vishal keeps intervening nicely in the opening segment itself. Rajkumar Dewan the bassist and Roland Fernandes on guitars do their thing as usual. The title line “Oh Heer meri” is sung to perfection and with a mild but lovable ghamak by Ash. Gibson George does an outstanding job producing the track and he also does the arrangements here which you can understand is a mighty task for a song with so many levels of live instrumentals. Ishteyak Khan plays the Tabla, while it is Dev Modi on drums and Chinmay Deore on percussion. The chorus team once again impress like the previous song, and that includes Subhashree Das, Akash Mukherjee, Aaroh Velankar, Vacha Bipin, Archita Ajgaokar, Sonu and Ishteyak Khan. The upright Paino is played by Rudrik Mistry and Gibson Georges's production thanks to the Keys and Synths sounds like the work of geniuses Salim-Sulaiman in many places. The recording engineers are Subhashree Das, Akash Mukherjee, Aaroh Velankar and Aniruddh Anantha, with Ashwin Kulkarni on mixing and mastering, Akash Mukherjee and Subhashree on BTS Mixing. Once again here too is Brianna Supriyo and Antara Mitra on musical supervision.  12.  Don’t shut your eyesVocals: Niranjan MenonComposition: Niranjan Menon, Sarthak Ray, Kanishk DiwakerProduction: Niranjan Menon, Sarthak RayLyrics: Niranjan MenonLanguage – EnglishGenre – Indie Pop/ Ballad/ Alt-Rock How very unique? Is it an irony? Who cares just listen to this number that encapsulates some western pop/ballad and b

1. I don’t sleep enoughVocals – Anubha KaulWritten, Composed – Anubha KaulProducer – Aman Jangwani The duo has just been one of the best when they work together on various projects. Aman Jagwani and Anubha Kaul have done phenomenally well and that is why I have always featured their work like “This Place” and “Hope” at the top of the India charts. Now, this is a hat-trick of features and before listening to this, I strongly urge you to listen to the other two tracks I have mentioned in the lines above. Anubha is just insanely good with her vocals and I get tensed here thinking how she will hit the notes on the way down in the lower scale, but she does it like a walk in the park. The keys come along and decorate the background, and the way she hums it lingers on in your head, just before those beautiful lines “I dream a little too much, and I still don’t sleep enough”. Aman has excelled in leaps and bounds in production and the quality of output is a testament to the man’s work. The layers of vocals behind the main track are interesting and create an aura of infinite space and hence add to the mystery and intrigue of the message in the song. Aman also mixes the track, while it is Ayan De on mastering.2. Ilamazha ChattinMusic: PS JayhariSingers: Pradeep Kumar, Nithya Mammen, Amrita JayakumarMusicians  - Charu Hariharan, Sandeep Mohan, Varun Kumar, Rithu Vysakh, Abin Paul, Avinash Satish, Donal WhelanLyrics – Santhosh VarmaGenre – MelodyLanguage - Malayalam I just read the names of the vocalists, and then I knew the song will be an absolute belter. It is a shame that Pradeep Kumar doesn’t sing more in other languages, as he hands down have one of the most pleasing voices in the industry. The Pallavi is as pleasant as one can find any romantic song with Sandeep Mohan aiding on guitars. The anu pallavi part where he sings “ariyum kuttalam aruvi thullatam” is beauty packed into a few lines. The introduction of the Ghatam by Charu Hariharan adds a nice local and rustic flavour even before the interlude start. Varun Kumar plays the flute in the interlude and then we are served a treat with Nithya Mammen singing those lines in the moderately higher scales. How can one sound incredibly sweet like a truckload of sugar dumped on you?  I wonder what Def Leppard would do singing “Pour some sugar on me”, if he heard Nithya sing. Here in the charanam is where I felt there was a tinge of Shankarabharanam Raagam. Paulson gives a tease in the background with his solo on Sitar towards the end of the stanza, but I love how the anupallavi is used to connect the charanam and pallavi once again, especially when it is the most melodies line in the song. Paulson goes beyond just a tease in the second interlude, and we have Amrita Jayakumar on vocals in the humming. How skilled is PS Jayhari the composer for having two completely different tunes for the 2 stanzas and there is so much he has offered like the way songs in movies have been in the 1980s and 1990s? I am supremely impressed with PS Jayhari and this is the second time after his song in Tamil “Sellama” a couple of months ago. He also has done keyboard and rhythm programming. Rithu Vysakh plays the strings as a constant support element throughout the song, with Sandeep also playing the bass guitars and Mandolin. Avinash Satish, Sai Prakash and Akshay are the recording engineer, and with Abin Paul on mixing, Donal Whelan does the mastering.3. Sun Bhi LeComposer - Vishal Mishravocals- Arijit Singh & Vishal Mishra, Prateeksha SrivastavaLyrics - Raj ShekharMusicians – Shomu Seal,Language – HindiGenre – Light, melody I have told many times that Vishal Mishra is a shining light amidst all the darkness surrounding Bollywood music, and he proves it yet again. The movie could be small and low-budget called ‘Ittu si baat’ but the generosity of music is big and abundant. For starters just notice how the poster has the words “Vishal Mishra Musical” and sadly barring South Indian Cinema nowhere else will you find such huge importance given to a music composer. I am glad Vishal smashes this one and after a long time, we have Arijit Singh's number that touches your heart. The last time that happened was back in May when we heard Somesh Saha’s “Maan le”. Prateeksha Srivastava gives a Rajasthani/Gujarati folk tone with her vocals at the beginning, and the Shehnai sounds like an influence of Raag Saranga. Arijit then just strikes you hard making it impossible to focus on anything else. The Keys and programming of all sounds are just phenomenal and all that is thanks to Vishal himself who takes care of arrangements too. Stop everything you do and just listen to an AR Rahmanesque interlude with the humming, guitars and strokes by Shomu Seal. It does probably have a flavour of Raag Yaman Kalyani here and I could just play this part on loop a million times. The rhythm programming will bring a smile to your face by getting the right elements like the Dholak, Kanjira etc at the right time. Shadab Rayeen does the mix and master with Pukhraj Sonkar and Anup assisting. Trihangku Lahkar is the recording engineer while Kumar Gaurav Singh assists Vishal. 4. Ultay Hor ZamaneMusic Producer, Composition & Singer - Kanishk SethPoetry - Baba BullehshahMusicians - Wei Xiao, Ricky YoungKanishk Seth is someone I eagerly look forward to when he releases something, because he has the knack to fuse classical Indian music along with techno and modern sounds, without corrupting either and he only lets the lines between them naturally blur. It is a skill that not many can claim to be good at, and here is another proof of his sublime expertise in doing that. I fell in love with the live instrumentals used here as they delivered a very fresh sound and the fusion is even better because it gets global exponents an opportunity to exhibit their work. Kanishk has composed, sung and produced this number while the original poetry belongs to Baba Bullehshah. Wei Xiao’s Violin and Ricky Young on the electric guitar just make this one heavenly experience. The swaras are by vocalists Yatharth Sharma and Devashri Manohar. The opening lines to me had some Shivranjani Raag influences. The interlude is filled with the fantastically haunting Violin and the guitars soon follow suit. The outro is magical with the concoction of the Violin, the swaras, the programmed sounds and a mild humming. Kanishk truly excels here even at the mixing and mastering, especially because there are too many components to coagulate perfectly. 5.  Osaarilaa RaaMusic – Rahul RajSinger -  Sid Sriram Lyrics: Rehman Musicians – Sumesh Parameshwar, Haritha RajLanguage – TeluguGenre – Light, Semi-classical, melodyRahul Raj is a fantastic composer and I have been thrilled to listen to his brand of music always. This is not the first time I am featuring this brilliant musician, but definitely his first foray into Telugu. Rahul infuses melody and that too with a mix of classical Raagas and it just not only makes the listening but the reviewing process too way too much fun for me. Sid Sriram becomes a natural choice as the lead vocalist for such melodies whereby he can bring his Carnatic experience to the table. I could definitely hear Aabheri and Sri Raagas, but Rahul says there is also Madhyamavathi in the mix. Sumesh Parameshwar is just killing it with the acoustic and bass guitars especially. Haritha Raj is just a supremely talented Veena exponent and she just breezes through competing with the westernized guitars. Rahul’s arrangements are breathtaking in that he introduces the bass guitars and Veena almost non-stop in the stanza and it keeps the whole segment fresh and catchy. Any words like catchy, would not do enough justification to this beauty but this is loop-worthy beyond doubt. Let us not forget the rhythm programming too, which is quite impressive. The track is mixed by Harishankar V and mastered by Pablo Schuller. 6. Aa Brahmanenba Music – Bharath BJSinging – Mehboob SaabLyrics – V Nagendra PrasadMusicians – Keerthy Narayanan, Siddhart Kamat, NelsonLanguage – KannadaGenre – Pathos, semi-classical Bharath BJ has been featured on my page for a fabulous Kannada song a few months ago called “Rangu Raate” sung by the indomitable Vijay Prakash. This too is from the same movie called ‘Wheelchair Romeo’ and is sung by Mehboob Saab with heaviness and a sense of Pathos which is very much intended. The song is definitely having some mild influences on Raag Maand, especially in the Pallavi. Siddhart Kamat who has been featured a few times plays the guitars but a lot of credit goes to Keerthy Narayanan who does the programming. Nelson plays the solo on the Violin in the interlude and Bharath Bj tells me the number is loosely based on Raag Khamaj, and you can easily sense that with the way there are similarities with the super famous Bollywood number “Zindagi maut na ban jaye” sung by Sonu Nigam in ‘Sarfarosh’. The track is mixed and mastered by Bharath himself.  The second interlude is grand in style and execution like a symphony and Bharath does exceedingly well in getting the basslines in place to add groove and funk to a semi-classical slow song. Mehboob Saab gets all the emotive elements on the dot with his delivery and impressive but under-played vibrato.7. Babul - Richa SharmaPerformed by: Richa SharmaWritten, Produced: Dhruv GhanekarLanguage – HindiGenre – Folk FusionJust a couple of weeks ago I showered praise on Dhruv Ghanekar for his splendid show and only saviour for the movie ‘Dhaakad’. The title track sung by Vasundhara Vee was emphatic with solid energy and orchestral grandeur. This is the second track I am recommending and this is no less. Clearly, the album is one of the best we have heard in Bollywood in 2022 and although that is not a very difficult thing to achieve considering the quality of Bollywood music, I can assure you that Dhruv’s score is as good as any we have heard in Indian movie albums in 2022. Richa Sharma is flawless in her delivery and the song starts off like an old classic song from the 1960s steeped in pathos. Then Richa just blasts away and Dhruv’s creative use of electro and techno sounds to modernize works just as well. The Punjabi folk tone becomes apparent in the production where Dhruv dominates the scene. Dhruv tells me that the folk is based on Raag Bhairavi, although with my limited knowledge I also heard some Raag Revati. Richa’s expression and modulations are hugely influential ingredients in the outcome of the song.8. Confide Composer, Producer – Moosa SaleemLyricist, Vocals– Moosa Saleem, Jeremiah de RozarioLanguage – EnglishGenre – Country, PopMoosa Saleem is one of the busiest music producers around and if I am not wrong, he has produced at least a dozen tracks in 2022, which is phenomenal and I must admit this is the first of those I am featuring and reviewing. Jeremiah de Rozario is a highly rated singer and for the first time, he is featured here singing for another musician’s production. Rozario brings in that element of western vocals that is apt for a song like this and the guitar riffs merge very well into the tone of the track. I feel there is the slide Guitar in use as well and that is why it belongs to the Country style of music we hear a lot from the US. The hummin and the vocal arrangements create a mesmeric effect .

1. Oh MamaComposer – Anurag SaikiaSinger – Neha KarodeLanguage – EnglishGenre – Pop, JazzMusicians – Ishan Das, Gauranga Shekhar, Arabinda Neog, Dipakshi Kalita, Pratikhyaa Sarma, Bishal Sharma, Nawaz Hussian, Jitendra JavdaMovie - Anek It really feels amazing when you rate a musician highly and constantly review and feature their great work, and soon enough one of the best composers in the land uses that singer for one of his/her scores in a big banner movie album.  OK let me break all the suspense, the singer/musician I am talking about is Neha Karode and she just sang for Anurag Saikia in the recently released “Anek”. Neha has been featured multiple times on my music reviews and Indian playlists and she always makes it right to the top. Go check out her number 1 songs of the past like “Lat Uljhi” and “Piya Bin”. Anurag never ceases to impress and where he makes several strides as a composer in this album is the diverse styles that he brings to the table. The song is sung by Neha and Anurag, with Anubhav Sinha, the director himself writing the lyrics. This is a vocalist’s dream come true to be able to get a song that demands so much from you vocally and Neha smashes it like a nut with a hammer. Oblong Sioni and Ishan Das produce the track and though I haven’t seen the movie to judge the point where the song comes, it still has a considerable impact on the listener. The sounds are unique along with some fabulous backing vocals by Gauranga Shekhar, Arabinda Neog, Dipakshi Kalita, Pratikhyaa Sarma, and Bishal Sharma. The keys and bass guitars combine to add gravity but the strings elevate the song which is owned by Neha for her impeccable delivery. How she manages to sing a song with such westernized Jazz influences might be new to some but, for those who have heard her production of classical-Jazz fusions, this is right down her alley.  The juxtaposition of the drums, electric guitars and humming just energizes the song.  Ishan plays the guitars and Nawaz Hussain is on the drums. The Violin and Viola have been brilliantly played by Jitendra Javda. The track is mixed and mastered by Pankaj Borah with Pranjal Borah as his mix assistant. Rupjit, Pranjal, Ashish Anand and Utkarsh Parab are the recording engineers and the drums alone have been mixed by Akash Sawant.2. Bekal - Aditya KalwayComposer, Singer, Lyricist – Aditya KalwayLanguage – EnglishGenre – Pop, Semi-ClassicalMusicians – Muheet Bharti, Salim Sulaiman  I always get thrilled when I see Aditya Kalway’s name because he is the man behind “kalabaaziyaan” a song that probably instilled belief in me that excellent music still exists and indie musicians have taken that mantle away from Bollywood at least. He doesn’t disappoint me at all and even after that massive number Aditya got featured for 2 more of his wonderful numbers “Aasman ke raaz” and “Aakhri zarra”. This one here is loaded with stars like a galaxy of its own and every musician here has been featured multiple times even before you listen to the track on the Spotify link below, your expectations should be reaching a steady rise. Aditya has a voice that can make many vocalists jealous and thank God he is not one of those Arijit Singh copycats who I am tired of. As a music reviewer, it is a delight listening to his music and even better writing about it as he sticks to the knitting of what good music is all about – Melody. Great words and instruments aside a good tune will always connect well and create the necessary impact and ‘Bekal’ is exactly proof of that. Muheet Bharti is another phenomenal musician, and I will be featuring his new single soon here, and he plays the guitars with the Strings by the Violin/Viola duo called Severn Duo which I recently featured in. The Keys along with guitars guide the structural backbone of the song with Aditya's delightful voice taking over every ounce of our attention. Look at how he sings these lines “Mann ye zyada bekal sa, Tera chehra ek hal sa” with those delicate vibratos. In the subsequent lines, you can hear the splendid strings as they intervene in quick bursts, arranged by Salim Sulaiman. The bridge segment begins with “baat me teri itna asar kyun hai’ and this is when the strings amp up in the background. Ajinkya Dhapara does the mixing and mastering for the track with Virat Bhushetty’s assistance. The song written, composed and sung by AdityaKalway is the answer to your dull and uninspiring day and it has some fragments of similarities to “Kuch na kahom Kuch bhi na kaho” by the gigantic RD Burman, and I don’t think Aditya will mind that comparison one bit.3. I thought you were the oneBand - PeachLanguage – EnglishGenre – Pop, Alt-popMusicians – Shristee Bhitri Kothi, Vimarsh Pandita, Ali Armaan Zaivi, Archit Agarwal, Himanshu Rawat  I have heard this expression often referring to something as ‘Peach’, almost calling it the best of the lot. Well, This 3-member band from Dehradun sure sounds like a ‘peach of a band’ who goes by the name ‘peach’. The band is just over 1 year old but they seem to be creating and performing at a level that to me by astonishing. We as lovers of music can only be thankful that 3 individuals gave up their professional careers in other fields and have decided to give their everything for music. Vimarsh Pandita is the lyricist and composer, and he along with Ali Armaan Zaivi are the guitarists with Ali also being the producer. Shristee Bhitri Kothi is the vocalist, and together they cook up something tasty. Let us hope the other tracks in their debut EP ‘Confluence’ turn out to be as good and even with half as good as this, they would be worth our time. The bass guitars do the bulk of the heavy lifting at the beginning of the track, and soon enough Shristee charms her with that voice. Peculiarly the opening lines very much follow a scale that reminds me of “Take me home” by Phil Collins. The Keyboards by Archit Agarwal, bass guitars by Himanshu Rawat and drums provide all the necessary support but Shristee truly sounds enchanting. Listen to the guitar notes strumming about when the lines go “With every passing hour, wonder if you think of me”, and I felt like the guitarists just wanted to get noticed by the listener saying, “hey you music lover, did you think of us”. Prakhar Kumar does the mastering for the track.4. I’m TiredComposer, singer, and lyricist – TrishaLanguage – EnglishGenre – Pop, BalladProducer – Krimson Avenue Studios This is a teenage sensation, and I am not just saying that. Trisha prefers the lowercase t, and at an age when Indians in America participate in spelling bees, this 14-year-old just released a fantastic single written, composed and sung with exuberance unlimited. If this is how she scores and sings when she’s tired, wonder how the music would sound at the peak of her energies. Krimson Avenue Studios plays a vital role in the production of this song and when you hear you will know the value of a strong and dependable production house. The Keys are on point and the way they play generates the impact a ballad needs to create. The strings in the background are nothing short of perfection as they pull the strings attached to our hearts moving us and letting the sadness transmit from her voice and lyrics to our ears and hearts. Her way of singing reminds me of indie singer-songwriter Aditi Ramesh who is a superstar vocalist herself.5. BaadalComposer, singer, producer– The RedMooneLanguage – HindiGenre – Pop, MelodyLyricist – Rupali MogheMusicians – Rithu Vysakh, Rahul Narayan, Vivek ThomasAlan Joy Mathew who goes by the name The RedMoone has been featured many times for his indie projects as well as being a part of some phenomenal productions in the Mollywood album space, especially for the composer Jakes Bejoy. The guitars and Alan’s vocals are all that you hear and these come in various layers, but wait till you get bowled over by the one-man string quartet played by the one and only Rithu Vysakh. The vocal harmonies are executed and arranged to create a wavy feeling where the waves keep hitting the shores one after the other without ever catching a break. Vivek Thomas does the mixing and mastering and Rahul Narayan is the recording engineer.6. One Love Composer & Singer: Hemachandra Vedala (He/Him)Executive Producer: Teerdha Palagummi (She/Her)Lyrics: Kittu Vissapragada (He/Him)Genre – Indie popLanguage – TeluguMusicians – Joel Sastry, Aditya GajulaHemachandra Vedala is one of those composers who doesn’t just sit idle waiting for movie projects, as he keeps himself busy with indie singles every now and then. The last time when I featured him was for the mesmerizing number called “Rabba”. The song has some excellent guitars played by Joel Sastry who also plays the bass, and he strums in exquisite fashion. The lines “chusa chusa” along with harmonies are such a delight to hear, and rap lines are done by Pranav Chaganty. Vedala composed and sang the song with lyrics by Kittu Vissapragada. The more you hear, you will feel that Joel is like the protagonist and even the sound design is such that the guitars are not playing the supporting role but are very much the lead. The song is refreshing and creates an effusion of love, romance and all associated feelings. The outro with the swaras probably is influenced by Raag Maand. Aditya Gajula has mixed and mastered the track. Finally, we have a good song about love irrespective of your gender and sexual orientation. 7. Jaza Composition, lyrics, vocals & instruments: Nishant MittalLanguage – HindiGenre – Pop, MelodyTracking, mixing, mastering & production: Abhishek Pawar This guy, Nishant Mittal is a Master of many trades, not just a Jack. He has been a successful entrepreneur and owned many start-ups, but what impresses me the most is his talent as a composer. A few months ago I did feature him for a song called “Sahi” and just like the name, everything was just right about the number. It ended up being one of the best Indian songs released in October 2021 and was picked from over 1500 songs released. If that song had some rock tendencies, this one is just pure melody and delight to the ears. If I ever could sing half as well, and play the guitars 10% as good as this, I still would pick this song to impress a woo-a-girl. The strumming of the guitars is what we hear from the beginning and it is like a feeling of wind on your cheeks, with the windows of your car rolled down. This brilliance on guitars is accompanied by the slightly coarse vocal delivery of Nishant. The bridge is a wonderful deviation and the

1.   Jazz KalluJust a few days ago I had one of my Liv sessions on Instagram with a talented composer/singer called Ajesh Ashok and I compared him to some of the best talents in India like Sushin Shyam, Charan Raj, Ajaneesh Loknath and others. Sweekar Agasti was in that list as well, and here he is making me proud and justifying his talent and potential by composing the best song in India for the week. This as the name suggests is a brilliant rendition in Jazz style of music and since I am a fan of the genre I have a high bar. Sweekar crosses that with splendid ease and he is helped enormously by a magical sounding Damini Bhatla. She has a tailor made voice for this and I am happy for this opportunity that she has landed like a perfect 10. The singing is a masterclass in Jazz vocals and we have some very crucial support on the Keys. Sunil Abraham, Phil and Sweekar are the programmers, and they bring about the perfect harmony of the Piano and drums. Shravvya Kothalanka is the lyricist and Sweekar plays the guitar. The interlude is studded with the Saxophone solo by Weber Marley and Rajesh, but don’t forget to pay attention to the groovy bass guitars by Dan Gallagher. I wonder where Damini got the inspiration and idea to deliver vocals with such tenderness in certain places and at times with coarse punches. The track is mixed and mastered by AM Rahmathulla 2. PAATHAI - KEVA wonderful Tamil song comes up at the number 2 spot in the country thanks to some excellent collaborative work from artists around the nation. The song is written by Anand Kashinath who has featured many times here and my articles for Tamil numbers on Behindwoods. He also has produced this brilliant number. Kev and Anand collaborated and worked on this song back in 2020, and like great Tech companies were born out of garages, songs like these originated in rooms during lockdowns. In-fact go read up on this bizarre yet inspiring story of how Kevin Paul a.k.a. Mr. Kev stayed inside his room vowing never to come out till he finished composing an entire album. Kev does the vocals in the first half with Vaisakh Somanath singing the latter part. Kev plays the electric, acoustic and bass guitars, with Baidurjya Banerjee relishing the solo in the middle. It is Vinay Ramakrishnan. I will be listening to the other tracks from this album pretty soon. The track is mixed and mastered by Sajin A Stanly. The electronic sounds from some solid programming adorn the track and then Vaisakh takes the track to a newer high with his vocals.  The drums are not just run-of-the-mill, but Vinay is outstanding especially combining that solo along with Baidurjya, and this segment is pure magic, good enough to outclass any global rock single. The song has a texture and tone resembling “Aaromale” by AR Rahman.3. ASCEND - EVENODDThese Indian musicians have moved base to the US, founders Debojit Kaushik and Karan Chowdhary, but they are not only living the American dream but also keeping the dream of many Indian musicians alive by continuing their musical project under Evenodd. Zorran Mendosa has produced the track. This is like the Rock Gods have descended upon earth to perform ‘Ascend’ for us. The electric guitars are scintillating with upbeat drums and the lead vocals are nothing short of dreamy. The kind of rock music that stuns you, uplifts you and at the end of it all when you are ready and locked, energizes every cell in you. Just listen and let go of the meandering and mesmerizing music. 4. BEQANAB - WADALII remember featuring and writing about Lakhwinder Wadali in a song produced and composed by Salim-Sulaiman a few months ago. This is another Ghazal-styled melody, just a brisk faster in tempo. Wadali ji has composed the song along with singing it but the song is produced by Aar Be. The song thanks to some excellent production has a mix of western and Indian classical sounds as well. The guitars are a strong presence with drums and Tabla in unison, it feels like fresh air hitting the cheeks. The interludes are laden with instrumental arrangements and the bass guitars provide a beautiful layer underneath the vocal strength of Wadali ji. Just watch out for that brilliant landing into the opening lines, form the antara aided by terrific drums. MS Abid is the lyricist and the track is wonderfully mixed and mastered by Sameer Charegaonkar.  5. HELPLINEKalpana is an artist who has spent time in the US and India and like many indie artists, it only helps implement facets of the art that is specific to either hemisphere. The song impressed me at the get go and there are not many who can do that when I am hearing their name for the first time. The singing is pitch-perfect, but as you can see the song is not supposed or meant to inspire from the very beginning. It treads a story in itself with the title giving away precious amounts of hints about the theme of the song. The guitars are like the heartbeat of the track thanks to Andrew Deepak. The production is immense in effort and impact and that is the sole reason we can hear such amazing sounds beyond the hymns and cries of Kalpana. I categorize it as ‘cry’ because she displays the vulnerability in her voice. Sanjai Shine and Balaji R Krishnan have gotten the elements in place to produce something soothing and substantial, knowing exactly when to let Kalpana’s vocals dominate and when to interject with layered sounds on the synths and Keyboards. It might have sounded low and mellow at the start, but she does ante up vocally and to the listener it feels like Help is on the way and hence the pumped up adrenaline. The vocal arrangements are never to be ignored in this number and we have Sanjai, Balaji and Nora Alexy working on those. The track is mixed by Pushkar Srivatsal of ‘Second Sight’, and mastered by Thomas Juth. Amulya Kundran and Yashna Tulsiani have handled album art, photography respectively 6. DHAAKAD The man has been in the papers for having returned to composition after a while, Dhruv Ghanekar. For a man who has 20 years of experience in composing, producing and playing with some of the global greats, he has had very little opportunity to prove his mettle. I did not have great expectations when I knew this was one mediocre movie, but the music simply amazed me. I'll be featuring the title song here but in the subsequent week I'll be mentioning the other amazing songs in the album plus I will be doing an album review as well. Dhruv Ghanekar has composed, arranged and produced the track, with lyrics by Ishitta Arun. This is no ordinary number as the song feels like an elaborate orchestral piece in itself. I have probably never seen so many live instrumentalists used in a Bollywood number in a very long time. Vasundhara Vee is the lead vocalist and she performs with incredible zest and control as always expected from a singer of her caliber. The last time I mentioned or featured Dhruv was last year when he produced Vasundhara’s “Run”. The flute is just majestic and mesmerizing right at the start and it is all part of the FILMharmonic Orchestra in Prague conducted by Adam Klemens. The guitars are a very western movie sounding like something out of “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”. Dhruv himself plays the Keys and acoustic guitar and bass along with the mercurial Mohini Dey . Neuman Pinto, who I have also featured in some lovely indie singles, has done the vocal arrangements and backing vocals for this track. I can go on and write about every element like the strings, the horns and so much more and this truly is what music should be like. The title line is sung with pumped up energy by Vasundhara and ably supported by backing vocals. Jai Row Kavi plays the drums while there are many percussionists involved viz. Taufiq Qureshi, Dipesh Varma, Khwab Haria and Shikhar Naad, Taufiq have done the percussion arrangements. The song flows like a river with varying intensities and all the strings we hear right through, is orchestrated by Steve Turner. The solo Sitar is played by Ravindra Chary and I listen to him sizzle in the end at break-neck speed. P.A. Deepak is the mixing engineer assisted by Vincent Joseph, and the track is mastered by Rueben Cohen. 7. ENTHA CHITRAMWhat did I just write or mention at the beginning of this article? I talked about some of the new-age composers in South India who are dominating the scene, and just like Sweekar Agasthi made it, at number 1 this week we have the other name Vivek Sagar composing here. His earlier single in the same movie sung by the legendary Carnatic artist Aruna Sairam was also featured and reviewed. This song has an Irish feel to it thanks to the multitude of fiddles and it feels like that song in Dhanush’s debut score by Yuvan Shankar Raja called “ Nenjodu ''. Anurag Kulkarni is at his best, exploring his full range vocally. Just listen to some tantalizing vocals in the chorus by ‘EL Fé’ with vocal arrangements by Roe Vincent. The fiddle is played by Ray Legere and Vivek himself plays the acoustic and electric guitars while Keba on bass. Lalit Talluri plays the flute solo to some delight in the interlude and Abhijeet Gurjale plays the Violin. The stanza has Keerthana Vaidyanathan singing the female lead vocals and many lines are sung in harmony by the lead vocalists which sounds fantastic. The second interlude is beautifully scored as well with Abhijeet playing the Violin solo. The notes are truly reminding me of Maestro Ilaiyaraja especially in the closing segment of the stanza. Sanjay Das does the mixing and mastering which would have taken a toll considering all the vocals, harmonies and instrumental layers in this song. The lyrics are written by Ramajogayya Sastry with additional programming and Synth by Vivek. 8. DUREAfter a brief gap, according to my understanding, Papon makes a comeback in Bangla after many forays into indie music in Assamese and Hindi. Rohan Roy’s strings welcome the listener in this slow and somber melody composed by Indraadip Das Gupta. I get a sense there is some Raag Khamaj in places, and to make matters even more touching and moving Iman Chakraborty jo

1.     FableJunkyard 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 JaanThis 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 OneAishwarya 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.     MehroomA 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 KahinHansika 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 PeIt 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

1.  SuperhumanIt is amazing when you can trust a certain name, and can bet on the quality of their work and output. Tarang Joseph is one of those musicians who falls right smack in the middle of that category. A regular on my rankings thanks to some consistently good composition, flamboyant Piano chops and amazing vocals. “Feeling empty” and “Destiny” were excellent tracks that both got featured among the best in the country and now we have this. Tarang gets RANJ on board, a diva with an attitude that makes most of us envious and she comes in with the savvy Rap portions along with Mary Ann Alexander on vocals. Tarang has written, composed and performed as usual with his unmissable role as the Pianist as well. Doc Awes does the musical production and it is one heck of a track possessing all the perfect ingredients.  You don’t have to be feeling sorry Tarang, maybe you and the entire team can feel superhuman for this effort. Surya Kalyan keeps the song groovy and stylish with his bass guitars. Doc Awes ups the game with the splendid horns section and drums and just when you think “wow, love where this track is heading”, RANJ brings the house down with her Rap rendition and many artists wanting to specialize in Rap/Hip=Hip can learn a thing or two from her. The constant Piano in the background with the rap feels like a deluge of energy. The track is mastered by Stuart G Hawkes and on the video credits side, the producer is Yashas Hegde with Denin Day as DOP, Divya Runwal doing the set designs, Akshaya on styling and Deanne on Makeup. Akshit Bahri handles the subtitles, with Saasmit Chhetri directing the video. 2. Is this that feelingA few combinations are always golden, and they work together like magic. Many months ago we had a composition by Meghdeep Bose which was sung by Shekhar Ravijani called “Boonda Baandhi”, a tranquil melody that perfectly fits the impending monsoon in Mumbai. Now we have nothing tranquil about this song, but is scintillating in quality and impact, bringing in elements of Latino Jazz, Calypso styles. Shekhar has composed and sung it with impeccable bravado and here Meghdeep has produced, arranged and mixed the track. The first time I heard, I couldn’t stop singing the title lines, and I only ended up irritating my wife even though she is a huge Shekhar fan, I probably should blame it on my singing. I just wanted to drive the point that this song is contagious so watch out. Priya Saraiya mixes Hindi and English lyrics so beautifully but the Hero is Shekhar and how he delivers it vocally. Meghdeep can’t be far behind and probably he has elevated a very catchy tune into something of monstrous likability. I over the years have attached great respect and admiration for Meghdeep’s work and he time again surpasses my expectations. The guitars right at the start set you up for something fiery along with the tantalizing riff on the guitars and the basslines. The song has some influences of the Vishal-Sheykhar times. Hear the amazing bass guitar notes along with the percussion when he sings “Jo dil mein reh jati hai”. How eloquently Meghdeep brings in the trumpets and Accordion into the fray of things. It is a joy ride and you need to hear it to believe it. The track is mastered by Christian Wright and Joshua Rodrigues is the mastering co-ordinator3. KhatBig names don’t surprise as much as some new singers and composers, when you suddenly hear their work for the first time. It brings a smile wider than the pacific rim. I specifically loved the guitar strokes by Arbaaz Khan who keeps the romantic quotient very high with his ingenious plucking. The line that is my favorite is “Har dam tu, haan tiu, har haal mein tu”, sung beautifully by Durgesh R Rajbhatt and Deepali Sathe. I cannot make out who among the two is more mellifluous, maybe they both equally are. Durgesh composes a soft and tender melody that oozes rich quality. The sound of the percussion instrument which is mostly a Thavil to my mind is a great addition. The interlude on guitars takes the song forward, and the stanza is a beautiful extension of the melody and the vocalists are truly like an oasis in the desert, rare and priceless. Saaveri Verma cooks up perfectly sensible and emotional lyrics that will make you shed a tear thinking of your loved one. Durgesh does quite well on the arrangements and programing which I am sure includes all the rhythms and the track is mixed and mastered by Pranjal Bohra and the recording is by Rahul Sharma and Sameer. The song does have a mild flavor of “Hey Sona, Hey Sona”, which was incidentally composed by Vishal-Sheykhar.  4. Aur kya (Chapter 1)I don’t remember the last time I featured 3 songs from the same EP in 3 different weeks by any musician from the day I started reviewing music. Is this guy Anurag Mishra cut form a different fabric? The previous songs “Khwaab” and “Dhaage” were fabulous tunes and productions and the effort that has gone into each of these is there for all to see. Every song has a story and a video that depicts a message, like this one here showcases the life of Ganesh Vanare, a photographer and influencer.  Very impressive screenplay and theme shows the main character getting a letter from his younger version and the idea of the video was to inspire others through Ganesh’s story. Anurag has composed and written this very touching number that rises and ebbs like a wave. When I heard it the first time it reminded me of an Ajay-Atul score and Anurag should be proud of this comparison. The female vocals are by this Ahmendabad based musician, Krishani Gadhvi and she acts as the perfect complement to Anurag’s tantalizing vocals. The strings arranged in the background along with the Piano, and harmonies are like extremely well assembled blocks in a structure giving stability and strength to the final output. Prasanna Suresh who has been a regular for all his composition/ production work of late especially in collaboration with Sanah Moidutty produces this one too, so he must desrve a pat on the back for all the grand sounds we hear and a fine finished good. Jaichu C and Prasanna Suesh have mixed and mastered the track. As far as the beautiful video goes, Bijoya handles the story, direction and screenplay with Abhii Kamble as cinematographer and photography by Rishi Agarwal.5. Who I loveAnanya has been featured before with a A-grade song called “State of the art” and so I recommend that you first listen to that to know what a high bar she had set for herself. Now we know sequels are always difficult for people to enjoy and they never get even remotely close to being a decent effort after the original. But Ananya stuns me with her “Who I love”. It has the striking presence of Sanjay Divecha on guitars stroking away to glory and he also has adequately flaunted his production and arrangement skills on this one. It is a wholesome number that will please the ears in every way possible, so long as you are looking for music in its purest form. Icing on the cake, well who doesn’t love that, and Ananya has that too for us with Brecilla Dsouza’s backing vocals in the number. If I am not wrong Ananya did the same for Brecilla’s single called “Know you Hail Mary” which too was featured and reviewed here. The reason I called this an icing is because I Have reason to believe Brecilla is one of the finest vocalists out there and she brings a fine element in the harmonies thereby enriching Ananya’s wonderful composition. The guitar notes are a separate song in itself and pay close attention to the acoustic and bass guitars, with some very soothing percussions. The humming is like a lovely pack of birds calling out in love. The electric guitar solo is unexpected and turns the song into something more energetic from there on.6. Mehki hawaIt seems to be a new band of boys from Mumbai and they call themselves ‘The Atlas Project’ (TAP), and I am sure with this excellent and exciting new single their name should soon be on the map. Get it? It is a great move to rope in this talented singer-songwriter Ashish Kulkarni to do the vocals. People might know him from the recent Indian Idol but I have featured him a few times even before for some excellent Hindi indie singles. The band is a pop focus group, but the song is very gentle like the blues, and the song literally feels like the cool breeze as the title says. Soumil Pandit plays the guitars, and I love the drums being so gentle like it barely exists. The harmonies are excellent arranged right from the beginning. The electric guitar solo is splendid after the initial vocals, and let us applaud Jignesh Patel for the high-hat drums and even otherwise for being solid. Archit Shah and Ruparel SMit were together as a duo making music and they probably are the brains behind the composition and programming for TAP. Some of the excellent percussion we hear is because of the specialist Omkar Salunkhe and he has been working with AR Rahman and I remember mentioning his name when I reviewed “Jalwanuma” the song few weeks ago. Omkar is a rhythm programmer, percussionist and rhythm producer. The fantastic bass guitars are by Govind Gawli and it keeps it stylist right through. The song has some excellent layers if you pay attention there are so many instruments coming and going, and I think I also heard the slide guitar if I am not wrong. The track is mixed by Vijay Dayal and mastered by Donal Whelan. Ashish truly experiments with his vocals, improvising the notes and he comes out on top every single time he does that. The song is not without a clean and nice theme and message and it is apparently about a bird called “Mehki” and it talks about the journey on flight it is taking against the heavy winds, probably indicating the journey that TAP itself is taking. I wish them a happy flight, and always a safe landing at the destination. 7. Laage re nainIt is extremely exciting when singers, instrumentalists cross the bridge over into musical composition, just like how actors enter the domain of direction. It is an uptick and a higher run of their professional ladders and it showcases their overall sense and sensibilities in music. Well Paras Nath is a brilliant flautist, just listen to him compete and at times dominate Shreya Ghoshal in “Muraliya” by Salim-Sulaiman released as a part of Bhoomi 2020. Here he as recreated, arranged this song and added some very fine textures and layers to the song. Pratibha Singh Baghel is a walking, singing ‘University of Ghazal style music’, and she nails the vocals. Dilshad Khan’s Sarangi beautifully decorates the interlude along with Pratibha’s swara delivery. The way the song also eludes a Jazz style thanks to the tempo, drums, and bass guitars is a masterstroke. Santhosh Mulekar does the music programming while all the woodwinds and Flute is played by the man Paras himself. The song sounds very much like an influence of Raag Hamsadhwani to my ears. Sameer DHarap does the recording while Elvis Garagic handles the mixing and mastering. The outro with the aalap and flute solo is fitting.8. Have you