Naren's indie round-up/ June 2022, Ep 5

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR

Yogesh Rairikar feat. Ashwin Srinivasan and Amruta Natu/ Suno Na...

Promoted by: Yogesh Rairikar Originals 

Rating: ****

To mark music director R.D. Burman's 83rd birth anniversary on June 27, composer Yogesh Rairikar has created the original tribute 'Suno Na...'. The basic idea is to produce a tune using Pancham Da's style and trademark touches.

Ashwin Srinivasan, who's also written the lyrics and arranged the song, takes to the vocals mic along with Amruta Natu. The song is well-executed, with the pauses, ID Rao's saxophone interlude, Manish Kulkarni's Spanish guitar and even the climax following the Pancham style sheet effectively.

The video begins with a segment wishing the maestro. Much of it is shot in the studio but there is a part where musicians pay obeisance to a portrait, created by Sumeet Patil. All in all, it is a timely and heartfelt tribute.

Antariksh feat. Shruti Dhasmana & Abhay Sharma/ Yeh Jhootha Samaa

Label: Self-released 

Rating: *** 1/2

The brainchild of composer-guitarist Varun Rajput, Delhi-based Hindi rock band Antariksh has produced some fabulous songs. One of its highlights was 'Quest', where former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman appeared as a guest.

The latest song 'Yeh Jhootha Samaa' uses a blues-funk tinge, with Shruti Dhasmana's vocals lending a twist. The guitars by Varun and Shrikant Biswakarma are crunchy, and saxophonist Abhay Sharma of The Revisit Project makes a mark.

Lines like "Har pal ek samjhauta yahaan, yeh jhoota samaa" are impressive. The song is another feather in the Antariksh cap.

Sheetal Gupta/ Mehsoos

Label: Crescendo Music & Films

Rating: ***

Crescendo Music, one of the Indipop heavyweights of the 1990s, continues its journey with 'Mehsoos', composed, written and sung by Sheetal Gupta. It's a simple song that exhorts people to live life to the fullest.

Typical lines are, "Goonjne do hawa ki aahaton ko, padh loon mein bhi khoi si silvaton ko". Santosh R Nair's production sticks to the melody.

Mohit Vadia's video features Kanhaiya Singh and Divya Rai, who play a couple in love. Shots of the singer act as interludes. There isn't much of a storyboard, though, and such videos are too common.

Ashutosh Phatak & Arjun Vagale ft Saba Azad/ I Hear Your Voice 

Label: Self-released 

Rating; ***

The idea for this song germinated 10 years ago when composer-entrepreneur Ashutosh Phatak and filmmaker Shashanka 'Bob' Chaturvedi talked about how some musical collaborations spontaneously happen over a few drinks.

So when Ashutosh was in one such 'hang' session with DJ Arjun Vagale, they invited singer Saba Azad, with Shashanka ready with a film concept. The black n' white video thus captures the song 'I Hear Your Voice' as it's being shot, complete with studio talk and amendments, till it's performance-ready and beyond.

Nikhil D'Souza joins the mix with additional lyrics and backing vocals. The song has an alternative pop-rock feel and nice hook, but it's the video's documentary style that makes it different.

Divakar Subramaniam/ Rocketry's Sri Venkatesa Subrabhatam 

Label: Tricolor Films India

Rating: ****

Clarification: This doesn't fit into the 'indie' nature of this column but it deserves to be written about all the same.

Most of us would have heard the legendary M.S. Subbulakshmi's timeless 'Venkatesa Subrabhatam'. Now, in R Madhavan's film Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, a new rendition has been used.

Arranged and produced by Divakar Subramaniam, it features chorus singers Vignesh G, Sai Vignesh, Venkataramanan L., Nikhil Shankar and Vikram Pitty.

If the Subbulakshmi recording was 21 minutes, this touches 28. It's definitely worth checking out