Naren's indie round-up/ Sept 2022, Ep 4

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 pleasant melody, though there's little variation. The lines go, "Saare challeya te mundiya te gaaniya, aape maang laiyan mere kolon sohniye".

Rupan Bal's video has good shots but the narrative doesn't offer anything new. We've seen similar stuff often.

Rupinn Pahwa/ Aasmaan

Label: Treasure Records

Rating: ** 1/2

In yet another love song, Rupinn Pahwa sings, "Tu mera hai khuda, tu jahaan wahin hai aasmaan mera". Though it's a simple melody composed by Iconyk, it appears that the singer is trying too hard to sound soulful.

Luckiky, there's a freshness about Siddharth Sachdev's video, starring Vatsal Sheth and Margo Cooper. Mostly shot on a fancy yacht, with some swimming pool shots and dance poses thrown in, it has its highs.

Mekaal Hasan Band/ Raba - Live At Baroda

Label: Self-released 

Rating: ****

Hailing from Lahore, Sufi-rock group Mekaal Hasan Band added Indian musicians to their line-up for a brief while. Thus guitarist Mekaal and flautist Mohammed Ahsan Papu were joined by vocalist Sharmistha Chatterjee, bassist Sheldon D'Silva and drummer Gino Banks.

This rendition of 'Raba', written by Sufi poet Hazrat Shah Hussain, was performed in Baroda in 2013, and is now available on streaming platforms. Sharmistha begins by singing, "Rabba mere haal da mehram tu", varying the presentation of the line a few times.

A highlight is Mekaal's sizzling two-minute guitar solo at the end. That's what they call a classic coda. Brilliant stuff.

The Darshan Doshi Trio feat. Isheeta Chakrvarty/ Nadia (Cover 2022)

Label: Self-released

Rating: *** 1/2

After releasing live recordings of songs performed last year, the Darshan Doshi Trio has come out with the 2022 edition, compiling tunes played over a five-city tour in June.

While six of them are instrumentals, they have vocalist Isheeta Chakrvarty on a cover of 'Nadia', composed in 1999 by London-based Nitin Sawhney. Darshan is on drums with Rickraj Nath on guitars and Hashbass on synth bass and Ableton.

The original tune, sung by Swati Natekar, was a fabulous work of melody. The Darshan Doshi Trio and Isheeta do full justice in the fresh version. The other tunes neatly blend jazz fusion with drum n' bassy sounds. There are interesting improvisations, worth repeated listening.