narenmusic

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Musafir Café/ OTT soundtrack  Music : Garvit-Priyansh, Raghav Kaushik, Neel Adhikari  Genre : Hindi OTT Label : Netflix Music/ T-Series  Rating : *** 1/2 Did Sudha (Vedika Pinto) do the right thing? Should Chander (Vikrant Massey) have gone to the hills? Poor Preeti (Mahima Makwana). The storyline and cast of Ruchir Arun's Netflix series Musafir Café seems to be the hot discussion these days - till something else comes up. What many people are not talking about is the music. And that's what this blog will focus on. After a while, here's an OTT soundtrack with some meat. What's interesting is that besides the original songs, the producers have released an album of Unplugged versions. Given the series theme, the songs deal with love or heartbreak. The lyrics, divided between Aniket Shukla and Amrita Saluja, are particularly impressive, matching the moods and situations in the narrative. They are backed by simple compositions, with well-layered harmonie...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Vernon D'Souza/ Lay Down With Me  Language & genre: English, pop-rock Label: Self-released  Rating: **** 1/2 Singer Vernon D'Souza has been a regular performer on Mumbai's live circuit. He has earlier released the song 'Gypsy On The Run' and now comes out with the anti-war number 'Lay Down With Me'. Interestingly, the self-directed video begins with a short clip of boxing legend Muhammad Ali. The opening words are, "I can see them tearing at the night sky, they're slowly painting all our cities red, they pit you and I against each other, knowing that we both will end up dead". Hard-hitting! The video uses symbolic motifs like a masked man (played by Tuhin), a chess board and scenes depicting destruction. Produced by Paul Indian, the song falls in the pop-rock space, with some wonderful guitar parts. Overall, an excellent and timely piece. Noush!/ Snakes & Ladders Language & genre: English, Latino-pop/ dance Label:...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Friends often ask how I manage to attend shows every day. Obviously, I don't. What happens is that most events in Mumbai take place between Thursday and Sunday, and that's when a bit of binging happens. Not all the four days but on two or three, either if I have to cover them officially or if they seem exciting on their own. I still have four free evenings a week. Last weekend was filled with activities - so I managed four shows between Friday and Sunday. The good thing is that they spanned four diverse genres. Here are brief notes on all of them. Of course, attending them means I missed out on a few big ones. Friday, July 24: Khazana ghazal festival, day 1, The Trident, ghazals: This is the 25th year of the prestigious event, and as always drew a packed house. The special highlight was that Sonu Nigam would perform, though before the show, one wasn't certain what he would sing. Sonu nailed it, singing many of Pankaj Udhas' famous songs. After all, Pa...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Deepika Seth/ Ittefaq Language & genre: Hindi, love song  Label: Grapevine Records Rating: **** Deepika Seth's 'Ittefaq' is the first single from forthcoming album Qisse Kal Ke . It's about meeting someone, wanting to settle down and anticipating a strong relationship. It's a simple composition sung with feeling. The lyrics stand out, as Deepika sings, "Kya yeh ittefaq hai jo tum mile, lamhe azaad hai jo tum aa gaye ho". Later, she asks, "Talaash thi jis mohabbat ki, kya ye wohi ho raha hai?" Get the gist? The song has been co-written by Sagar Varma. Production is by Rohan Upadeo, with gentle strings by Protyay Chakraborty and guitars by Sambhav Pratap Singh providing the right ambience. Shraddha Pandit/ Kya Batayen Language & genre: Hindi, ghazal Label: Merchant Records Rating: *** 1/2 After starting off as a playback singer in the late 1990s, Shraddha Pandit has been recently focusing more on writing lyrics. However,...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Rolling Stones/ Foreign Tongues  Genre : Rock Label : Promotone/ Universal Rating : **** Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger will turn 83 next weekend. In the studio, his voice sounds like he's 43. On stage, he moves like a 23-year-old. As for guitarist Keith Richards, we stopped counting a few decades ago. The two stalwarts, along with regular guitarist Ronnie Wood, are at the helm of the band's 25th British and 27th American album Foreign Tongues . It's a typical Stones record, maintaining the class of its 2023 predecessor Hackney Diamonds and a string of older records. There's lots of rock n' roll, lots of blues, gallons on guitar licks, a couple of intense power ballads, a few twangy harmonica spells, tonnes of Jagger swagger.  One disclaimer, to begin with. The PR handouts talk of a long line of celebrity guests. Truth is that some make only fleeting appearances. Paul McCartney plays bass on one track, and Bruno Mars guests on cowbell on one...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Arati Ankalikar-Tikekar/ Ghana Garaje Genre; Hindustani vocal Details:  Experimental Theatre, July 11 Rating : **** -- Suhas Vyas/ Morning Ragas Genre: Hindustani vocal DetaIls : Ravindra Natya Mandir, July 12 Rating : *** 1/2 The weekend provided a double treat for followers of Hindustani classical vocal music. More than anything, they got to hear rare compositions, rather than the fare one often hears at such gatherings. On Saturday, July 11 evening, vocalist Arati Ankalikar-Tikekar excelled at the Ghana Garaje programme of monsoon melodies organised by the National Centre for the Performing Arts at the Experimental Theatre. Then, in a new series initiated by Grace Foundation and curated by Pancham Nishad, Suhas Vyas presented a rare bouquet of morning ragas at the Ravindra Natya Mandir on Sunday, July 12. Ankalikar began with the popular Miyan Ki Malhar. While that didn't seem like an uncommon choice, what was impressive was it it lasted a good 70 mi...