Naren's indie round-up/ June 2022, Ep 1

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

Arshad Ali Khan & Ronkini Gupta/ Saiyyan

Label: Sufiscore 

Rating: ****

On 'Saiyyan', classical vocalist Arshad Ali Khan and his disciple Ronkini Gupta collaborate in a conversational format, with both taking equal turns. Santanu Ghatak's composition has been well-structured.

The song is rich in melody, and the singers make perfect use of nuances. Accompanied by Mehtab Ali Khan on sitar, Ashish Ragwani on tabla and Adinath Patkar on keyboards, they provide something aesthetic. Santanu's lyrics are simple, using traditional Hindi effectively.

Sagar Kesarkar's video uses a grand, palatial setting which is becoming common and predictable for light classical songs these days. But in the end, the sheer melody of the song rules.

Tubby/ Give Me Love

Label: Inkk Audio

Rating: ***

Composer-producer Indrajit Sharma aka Tubby has sung this new song called 'Give Me Love', with lyrics by Sonam Saini. It's a simple love song with a catchy hook and smart arrangements.

For the video, director Kunal Mehta and choreographer Sanam Johar rope in dancer-models Jason Tham and Sanjana Bamrara (in picture). There's a lot of agile dancing and smooth movement there.

The lines "Give me love, jab se mile tum, jab se mile tum; Give me love, tum se hi hai ishq, tum se hi hai ishq" stick to your senses.

Neha Karode/ Lat Uljhi

Label: Self-released 

Rating: ***

A year ago, singer Neha Karode launched the Bandish-Based Originals series, where she took a popular line from a traditional composition and added her own arrangement and words. In the fourth part, she chooses the raag Bihag bandish 'Lat Uljhi Suljha Ja Baalam' and gives it a club-jazz feel.

Thus, only the main line is retained, with Neha writing fresh lyrics. I.D. Rao's saxophone and clarinet give a fresh twist, with Natasha Pinto joining on piano. The video captures a performance of the song.

There's some interesting experimentation, and this isn't for the classical purists. Rather, if one looks at it as a jazz twist to a traditional tune, it's been well-executed.

Tanuj Manchanda/ Jhoothi Moothi Khwahishein 

Label: Self-released 

Rating: *** 1/2

Last year, Tanuj Manchanda had impressed with his Punjabi song 'Teri Yaadan Vich'. A disciple of Suresh Wadkar, he now comes up with the Hindi number 'Jhoothi Moothi Khwahishein'.

Set in raag Bhimpalasi, it has the lines 'Jhoothi moothi khwahishein ko fanaa karke, aasman ko paane chala dil: aansuon ki saazishein ko fanaa karke, zindagi bitane chala dil".

Tanuj has a mellifluous voice and good sense of melody, and Aditya Kalway's production is commendable. An interesting thing is the use of sargam patterns between the verses, with the flute by Sanoop S playing in parallel. This gives the song a special flavour.

AB Madhav/ Nirvana Shatkam Mantra

Label: Self-released 

Rating: *** 1/2

In his latest release, versatile singer AB Madhav presents the Nirvana Shatkam Mantra, written by Adi Shankaracharya over 1,200 years ago. Music is by Rohan Puntambekar, who uses a spiritual feel with lots of percussion and temple effects.

Nirvana Shatkam is said to be a very powerful and effective mantra which helps attain peace and salvation. It was the result of an incident where Adi Shankaracharya was asked who he was.

The composition is just over five minutes long, making it convenient for listening whenever possible. It leaves an impact.