Naren's indie round-up/ Nov 2022, Ep 3

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

Rashmeet Kaur/ Bulleya O

Label: Self-released 

Rating: ****

Known for her interpretation of the folk tune 'Bajre Da Sitta' and her trendy Hindi song 'Musafir', Rashmeet Kaur has also been releasing songs based on Sufi poet Bulleh Shah's work.

Her 'Lagan Lagi' was sung well but marred by a video that was totally out of sync. Her new single 'Bulleya O' has an appropriate black n' white video, simply showing her with a guitar.

Rashmeet blends Bulleh Shah's Punjabi lyrics with English lines ending with 'I'll be fine, without you". Bass and keyboards add to the orchestration, and the arrangement is simple yet effective, matching the soulful voice.

Dipanwita Chakraborty/ Kaash Hum

Label: Self-released 

Rating: *** 1/2

Singer Dipanwita Chakraborty is soulful on her new ghazal 'Kaash Hum', written by Kamal Kishore Rajput. The poet writes with flair, producing some good couplets.

The matla (opening couplet) is, "Kaash hum unke ghar gaye hote, akhud-ba-khud zakhm bhar gaye hote". Then, he ends the ghazal with, "Pyaar se milta jo Kamal sabse, saarey rishte sanwar gaye hote".

Dipanwita's voice goes well with the sarangi, guitar and tabla accompaniment. The video's simple setting adds to the aura.

Prem Murti/ Kahaani

Label: Self-released 

Rating: ***

Plenty of good Punjabi music has been released recently. 'Kahaani', composed and sung by Prem Murti, adds to the list.

The song is high on melody, and Prem's singing is expressive. Varinder's lyrics are filled with emotion, and there is smart use of dilruba and flute.

The video alternates between the rendition of the song and a flashback scene. It suits the theme. The singer is also known for devotional music. This adds variety to his repertoire.

Backclash/ Tu Aana

Label: Self-released 

Rating; ** 1/2

The brainchild of producer Backclash aka Aman Vanjani, 'Tu Aana' has vocals and lyrics by Anirudh Nimkar. The song follows a trendy pop-synth style, with smart use of synths.

Co-produced by SHMAR aka Pranay Gode, the song is ideal for car listening. The vocals do tend to get mechanical and repetitive, but the overall tune is catchy. Backclash has released a lyrical video, so one can sing along.

Divij Naik/ Roshni 

Label: Self-released 

Rating: ****

Singer Divij Naik comes from a classical background. His father Pt Paresh Naik has studied under Pandit Jasraj and his mother Malini Pandit Naik is an exponent of light classical music. Besides singing songs regularly, he also has had experience as a music director and has studied percussion.

Divij's latest song 'Roshni' has an upbeat and happy vibe, and his singing shows amazing control over the nuances. "Roshni, roshni, laayee hai saath mein, khudko aa chal pehchaane; Roshni, roshni, laayee hai saath hamein, chal diye khushiyon mein doob jaane", he sings.

The song is strong on lyrical content, using chaste Urdu words like 'darazon', 'mehfooz' and 'sohbat'. The lyrical video adds value.







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gig review/ Deep Purple in Bengaluru

Image
BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Deep Purple at Bandland  Genre : Rock Details : Bandland rock festival, Embassy International Riding School, Bengaluru, December 17 Organisers : BookMyShow Live  Rating : **** 1/2 We all came out to Bandland, on a Bengaluru riding ground, to shoot videos on a mobile, yeah, capture the classic rock sound. Ian Gillan and the Purples, were at the best place around, space-truckin' on a black night, we danced on dusty ground.. singing, Smoke On The Water, drones in the sky, Smoke On The Water... taan taan taan, taan taan tadaan, taan taan tadaan, taan taan... Three days after British rockers Deep Purple enchanted the crowd at the Bandland rock festival in Bengaluru, the gooseflesh lingers like the whiff of cologne. For many, they have been college heroes, cocktail companions, the kings of melodic power, the epitome of hard rock. Older-generation fans or youngsters, they knew many of these songs by heart. Every word, every instrumental passage, every back-up vocal lin
Read more

Gig review/ Sting @ Lollapalooza

Image
BY NARENDRA KUSNUR   Sting @   Lollapalooza   Genre : Rock/ pop-rock Details : Mahalakshmi Race Course, Mumbai, January 28 Rating : **** You'll forget the sun in its jealous sky, as we walk on fields of gold... The sun had set a long ago, and the walk had been tiring and endless. But everything changed around 8.20 pm when Gordon Sumner aka Sting marched on to the Budweiser stage with a message in a bottle. For the next 85 minutes, every little thing the Englishman in Mumbai did was magic. The green carpet in front of the stage had been converted into fields of gold. The hardcore Sting fans should get those puns, and there were plenty of them who watched his concluding act at the two-day Lollapalooza music festival at the Mahalakshmi Race Course, Mumbai, on Sunday. Some had attended his shows abroad, some were seeing him for the first time, and others had been present at Mumbai's Rang Bhavan in 1980, when he played with his band The Police, or at the Amnesty International festiv
Read more

Gig review/ L. Shankar

Image
BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Artiste : L Shankar & Group Concert : Aditya Birla Group Masters of Music  Genre : Fusion/ Carnatic  Details : June 16, Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, Mumbai  Rating : ***** The sudden excitement was palpable when violinist L. Shankar announced that he and his group would play many Shakti tunes at Sunday's concert in Mumbai. He had already opened the evening with a dazzling rendition of Carnatic composer Muthuswamy Dikshitar's 'Vathapi Ganapathim', and if one thought he would focus on classical fare, that was not to be. Five of the remaining six pieces belonged to the repertoire of the original Shakti line-up, comprising him, guitarist John McLaughlin, tabla genius Zakir Hussain and ghatam maestro Vikku Vinayakram. Together, they had pioneered the Indo-jazz fusion sound in the 1970s, before going different paths over a decade later. Playing those old Shakti classics had a major issue though, at least for fans. They had originally been written for two mel
Read more