Naren's indie round-up - Oct 2021, Ep 1

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR

Anirudh Varma Collective/ Bhimpalasi

Label: Self-released

Rating: ****

Here's a brilliant amalgamation of a traditional raag with eclectic instrumental elements. Using raag Bhimpalasi, the Anirudh Varma Collective create a fantastic environment. This is the first single from their upcoming album Homecoming.

Led by keyboardist-producer Anirudh, the piece features four-part vocals by Aanchal Singh, Aastha Mandle, Kavya Singh and Vaishnavi Tyagi. It uses bansuri, bass, electric guitar, keyboards, tabla, drums and konnakol (vocal percussion).

Metaphorically; the words indicate a bird looking for its nest. The whole build-up, tempo changes and inputs by each musician make it a 'collective' beauty.

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Claver Menezes ft Prasad Salian/ Why I Shouldn't Hide

Label: 1055475 Records DK

Rating: ***

In May, one of Mumbai's most talented rock vocalists Prasad Salian passed away. His brilliance is evident on this song from guitarist Claver Menezes' album Diverse Delusions 2.

The song has a melodic vocal line, and Prasad is smooth on the lines "I try to breathe it, I try to live it, I see why I shouldn't hide", written by Arjiun Nair. The sudden change towards the end is jarring though.

Claver's guitar and composition skills are heard all through the album, featuring various vocalists, including four songs by Ashwini Torvi. The predecessor was released in 2019, and this is a worthy follow-up.

Chandresh Kudwa/ Days Of Isolation

Label: Self-released 

Rating: *** 1/2

Guitarist Chandresh Kudwa has been on the Mumbai scene for two decades, playing with the bands Thor, Freedom and Dream Out Loud, besides doing solo projects. His new instrumental track features drummer Gino Banks, who was earlier with him in the group Nexus.

Days Of Isolation is inspired by various moods Chandresh has gone through after lockdown - happiness, sadness, anger, frustration, hope, fear. While he appears on the electric guitar in the video, he's recorded the bass parts himself.

The tune has a nice hard rock vibe, with some energetic riffs and virtuoso playing. The coordination between him and Gino is perfect.

Kamakshi Rai ft Tallz/ Thodi Si Dua

Label: Merchant Records 

Rating: ***

Mumbai's audiences have seen Kamakshi Rai in the stage musical Sing India Sing. On her new bilingual single Thodi Si Dua she teams up with producer Tallz.

Kamakshi had originally written the song in English but invited Garima Obrah to add the Hindi lines. The lines "Tere bina kya reh gaya, thodi si dua" go well with the tune's simplicity.

The singer switches between Hindi and English, and while her voice comes across smoothly, one senses some discomfort on big Hindi words like 'khwahishein' and 'khaamiyaan'.

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Deepa Nair Rasiya/ Yeh Andhkaar

Label: self-released

Rating: ****

London-based singer Deepa Nair Rasiya first hit the headlines with the album Destination in 2015. Ever since, she's released many wonderful songs blending Sufiana, ghazal, spiritual songs and Punjabi folk elements with contemporary arrangements.

Her latest Yeh Andhkaar, produced by her daughter Nimrita Kaur, talks about people's everyday struggles. "Door karo yeh andhkaar, door karo yeh andhkaar, kahaan ho tum, kahaan ho tum", the song begins.

With Nimrita's atmospheric sounds, Roopa Panesar's sitar, Deepa's expressive singing and the video featuring Meera Rasiya, this song creates a melodic impact.

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Sound Of Muzak/ It's OK

Label: Self-released

Rating: ***

In 2019, bass player Pooja Majumdar started the project Sound Of Muzak to showcase her work as a composer. Her new track It's OK, featuring vocalist Shona Sharma, goes into new age pop territory.

Talking of hope, the song has the lyrics, "Dive deep in the nightscape, dark days have always taught us well, when you see the starlight, let your soul shine again".

With Pooja's strong bassline and Palestinian player Usama Allati's guitar, the song has a distinct influence of 1990s act Enigma. Shona's vocals seem just right, though one feels the ending could have been extended a bit.

Parikshit Sharma/ Safar

Label: Inkk Audio

Rating: ***

On his new song Safar, Parikshit Sharma focuses on electropop, using a simple instrumental line to match his pleasant vocals.

The song is about hope and journeys, which seems to be the favourite subject of many independent artistes these days. Lyricist Sharmila Ranade writes, "Safar yeh kaisa, kaisa hai, junoon yeh aisa, aisa hai".

Shrey Joshi's lyrical video has some good outdoor shots, but looks a bit routine because there's no narrative. A likeable song though.