narenmusic

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR MC Altaf feat. Zaeden, Shah Rule/ Samjhe Na Label: Gully Gang Records, Believe India Rating: **** Three singers blend their individual styles in one of the better desi hip-hop releases of the year. Rapper MC Altaf is joined by singers Zaeden and Shah Rule on 'Samjhe Na'. Zaeden delivers the catchy hook and the others flow in seamlessly. With classy production by Stunnah Beatz and an underlying rhythm n' blues meets hip-hop touch, the song talks about how busy schedules of artistes affect their relationships. The interchange of Hindi and English lines is well-done. The video by Arsh Grewal goes well with the song lyrics, as the men are supported by models Nisha Joshi, Riyaa Sharma and Anushka Laha. The end result has a 'hard vibe'. Tubby/ Yaar Mila Nahi Label: Inkk Audio Rating: *** 1/2 Composer and producer Indrajit Sharma aka Tubby plays the role of a singer in 'Yaar Mila Nahi'. It's a melancholic number, with lyricist Sonam Saini wr

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Amit Gupta and Shruti Pathak/ Ishq Hai Kaafi Label: Hitz Music Rating: *** 1/2 Singers Amit Gupta and Shruti Pathak get together on this song composed by Gourov Dasgupta. It's a simple love song sung soulfully. Amit has a good range as he sings Devshi Khanduri's lines, "Ishq hai kaafi, mere liye har dafaa, ishq hai kaafi, mere liye baakhuda". Shruti complements him well, coming in during the middle of the song. Sachin Gupta's video captures a live performance, with the singers accompanied by guitar, keyboards, bass and drums. Routine shots there, but they serve the purpose. Guru Randhawa/ Signs Label: T-Series Rating: *** Known for songs like 'Lahore', 'High Rated Gabru' and 'Tere Te', Guru Randhawa has attracted a large following among Punjabi listeners. His latest album Man Of The Moon has seven tracks, with the video for 'Signs' being released first. The song, written and composed by Guru himself, has a pleasa

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Death Cab For Cutie/ Asphalt Meadows Genre: Indie-rock Label: Atlantic Recording Corporation  Rating: *** 1/2 Though formed in 1997, Washington indie-rock band Death Cab For Cutie took almost eight years to break into the mainstream, with their 2005 hit album Plans . The track 'I Will Follow You Into The Dark' became an anthem on afterlife. The group has had a devoted following since, with vocalist-guitarist Ben Gibbard being known for his descriptive, narrative style of lyricism, displayed on songs like 'Soul Meets Body', 'What Sarah Said', 'I Will Possess Your Heart', 'Unobstructed Views' and 'You Are A Tourist'. There have been ups and downs during the past decade, but the fans eagerly await the new releases. That quality of wordsworthiness is pretty much evident on 'I Don't How I Will Survive', the opening track of their new album Asphalt Meadows . After a short guitar intro, Gibbard sings, "Listen

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Ozzy Osbourne/ Patient Number 9 Genre: Hard rock/ heavy metal Label: Epic Records/ Sony Music Rating: **** Some 55 years in the field, rock star Ozzy Osbourne still packs a punch. He's just released his 13th solo studio album, containing 13 songs. Interestingly he doesn't use the number 13 in the title, but calls it Patient Number 9. The title track opens the album and after a short Syd Barrett-inspired madcap laugh, you hear one of the coolest opening guitar riffs in recent memory. It's not surprising that the song features guitar great Jeff Beck. The theme revolves around a mentally ill patient, with the words, "When they call your name, better run and hide; tell you you're insane, you believe their lies". Typical Osbourne. Beck isn't the only star guest. The list of guitarists includes Eric Clapton, Tony Iommi, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam and Ozzy regular Zakk Wylde, who appears on four tracks. Expectedly, there are some outstanding s

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Easy Wanderlings feat. Nikhil D'Souza/ Mayflower Label: Self-released  Rating: **** An eight-member collective from Pune, Easy Wanderlings is known for its introspective lyrics and smooth blend of pop, soul and folk. Its latest track 'Mayflower' features guest vocalist Nikhil D'Souza, whose texture suits the song. Written and composed by founding member Sanyanth Naroth, the song is from the upcoming EP Caught In A Parade . That title is actually part.of the lyrics, as Nikhil sings, "When I awake I'm caught in a parade, where we wait and worry in vain". The song focuses on jealousy and the feeling that things could have been better. The smooth build-up, Sharad Rao's guitar lines and the string arrangements are first-rate, and the video by Malay Vadalkar and Sanyanth has been marvellously shot. Top stuff here. Rahul Advani/ Ready To Breathe Label: Self-released  Rating: *** 1/2 Raised In Singapore and based in Bengaluru, singer-songwr

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Shantanu Moitra with guests/ Songs Of The River - Ganga Genre: Music for OTT documentary series/ folk  Rating: ***** Besides Hindi film soundtracks, Shantanu Moitra is known for his thematic concerts. His shows inspired by the Himalayas and the Chandrayaan moon mission have met with success. As someone who loves travelling and adventure, he took upon himself the mammoth task of cycling along the river Ganga from Gaumukh in Uttarakhand to Gangasagar in West Bengal. This journey has been converted into Songs Of The River - Ganga , a Disney Hotstar documentary series produced by the JSW Group in six episodes. Moitra was accompanied by a team travelling on road. And while the series has many interesting tales, lots of geographical trivia and breathtaking photography, this blog looks at its musical content. After all, being a composer, Moitra had to be inspired to create some new tunes. The first five episodes thus feature guest artistes, and there is footage on how the s

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Shreya Ghoshal with Jatinder Shah/ Tere Bajjon Label: VYRL Originals Rating: **** Over the past couple of years, Shreya Ghoshal has been regularly releasing non-film songs, including some in regional languages. The latest 'Tere Bajjon' is in Punjabi, and her singing is perfection personified. Jatinder Shah's video starring Prateik Babbar and Simi Chahal has a Bollywood shaadi song hangover, with romance, melodrama and lavish sets. Jatinder has composed the music too. Lyricist Kumaar writes, "Tere bajjon, bajjon ae, tere bajjon naina da kaam rona, jyaada jaggna te kat sona". Shreya's melodious voice and flawless diction take it to another plane. Kalpana Gandharv/ Chaand Nikle Promoted by: Bazm-e-Khas  Rating: *** 1/2 One has heard many singers render versions of the classic 'Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo', popularised by Pakistani great Farida Khanum. Here, singer Kalpana Gandharv presents her lesser-covered gem 'Chaand Nikle'. Wo

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Jaimin/ Cutting Loose  Genre: Folk-rock Label: Self-released Rating: ***** In 'She', the seventh song of his debut album Cutting Loose , Kolkata-based Jaimin sings, "She's a graveyard, I asked her the meaning of ashen, she turned into one; She is history, she saw I was hooked up with future, and turned into one". The eight-minute 30-second song is filled with such golden lyrical nuggets that you feel like hearing it repeatedly and absorbing the words and meaning. The other 13 songs of the hour-long album provide pretty much a similar experience. To talk from personal listening experience, it is one of those recordings that made me carefully listen to the words from the first listen, rather than get straight into the tune, melody or rhythm. Those aspects came after a few replays, when I increasingly realised how intricate and nuanced the orchestration was. The violin-playing on 'She' is one such example. Then, there are the Dobro slide