narenmusic

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Rochak Kohli/ Pehli Baar Mile Label: R Music, Ingrooves Rating: **** With its simple melody line and neat guitars, singer Rochak Kohli's 'Pehli Baar Mile' is a treat to the ears. To add to that, we have a fabulous video shot in a toy train in the Himalayas. The storyboard talks of a couple (Anjali Tatrari and Naveen Kasturia) out on their first journey after marriage. Rochak is in the train with his guitar. "Pehli baar mile toh aise mile jaise saath ho sadiyon se", begin Gurpreet Saini's lines. Rochak has a soothing voice and good sense of composition. Gautam Govind Sharma's video goes perfectly with the song's mood, and one feels like watching repeatedly. Naheed & Shriram Iyer/ Kya Pata Label: Soul Sync Rating: *** New York-based doctor Naheed has been taking online vocal lessons from Bollywood musician Shriram Iyer since the beginning of the pandemic. The two have collaborated on her debut single 'Kya Pata'. It's a

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Ernest J. Flanagan/ Christmas Morn Blues Label: Self-released  Rating: **** Mumbai musician Ernest J. Flanagan has released an original blues song, and it's not about waking up one morning to find the baby gone away. Rather, 'Christmas Morn Blues' is a song with a powerful message, praying for global peace. Flanagan's words are self-explanatory. "'Round the world, there's wars going on, too much fussin' and fightin' on this Christmas morn, there ain't nothin' that we can do but bow down and pray, to that baby born new," he sings. While the production by Tony Dias is tight, there's some fabulous guitarwork by Salim John Sadiq, both in the subtle fill-ins and in the short solo. Best of all, the song sticks to the traditional blues format, with its technique and purity. Priyanka Nath/ Dancing All Night Label: Self-released  Rating: *** Settled in Hyderabad, singer-songwriter Priyanka Nath has released quite a few ori

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Anoushka Shankar Project  Genre: Sitar fusion/ crossover Details: Shanmukhananda Auditorium Sion, December 16 Rating: **** After a rage-filled introductory passage, Anoushka Shankar put aside her sitar, stood up and began reciting poetry against a clarinet backdrop. "Let our fury echo through the pages of history, let not this death be quiet like the thousands before it," were the lines penned by Nikita Gill. Anoushka was on the Mumbai leg of her current tour, playing to a jam-packed Shanmukhananda Auditorium on December 16. These lines were part of her song 'In Her Name', originally written for Jyoti Singh Pandey, who was sexually assaulted and murdered in Delhi 10 years ago, but eventually dedicated to thousands of affected women across the world. The song struck a chord, and was one of the highlights of the 105-minute performance, divided into two parts without an intermission. Though it started 30 minutes late, as the traffic delayed the arrival

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Some of the best popular Hindi music of 2022 was showcased on OTT platforms. A list of winners. -- Every December, we're flooded with year-end lists - 50 best Hindi film songs, 100 best international albums, 20 best rock albums, 10 best Indian indie singles, etc, etc. My own choices would be personal and subjective, with some selections likely to cause debate. Yet, I thought I'd compile some list to show the world that I'm also pretty much around, slogging as much as everyone else compiling such lists. The subject I've chosen is Hindi OTT soundtracks, and there's a reason for that. In 2022, this was one genre that showed a sharp rise, and promises to shape the sound of the next few years. The music of Hindi films released theatrically didn't really make a mark, and indie music didn't grow much from what it was a year ago - there were many good songs, but most got lost in the clutter. In contrast, the number of OTT feature films and series

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Jubin Nautiyal feat. Yohani/ Tu Saamne Aaye Label: T-Series Rating: *** Sri Lankan singer Yohani became a rage last year with her Sinhalese song 'Manike Mage Hithe', which later spawned numerous adaptations using different languages. She has now teamed up with Jubin Nautiyal on the Hindi number 'Tu Saamne Aaye'. Yohani's vocal style remains the same, without even attempting to deviate from the earlier hit. But she's backed by a catchy tune by Jubin-Rocky, with lyricist Rocky Khanna using lines like "Main dekhoon tujhe bhi, dekhoon main tujhe hi, kyon". The song is lifted by Navjit Buttar's video, starring Sakshi Joshi and Mateen Vakil. Set against a road journey, it has a classy look. One only hopes that going forward, Yohani slips out of her Manike hangover. Ishaan Nigam feat. Brite Roy/ O Jaana 2.0 Label: Self-released  Rating: *** 1/2 Two years after releasing the well-received 'O Jaana', singer Ishaan Nigam and compos

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Sanjay Leela Bhansali/ Sukoon Genre: Ghazals Label: Saregama HMV  Rating: *** Beginning with Guzaarish in 2010, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali has been regularly composing music for his own movies. Many of his songs are picturised with lavish sets or against artsy backgrounds. His latest project Sukoon , in contrast, is a non-film project focusing on ghazals. Naturally, without specific visuals in mind, his approach had to be different, focusing entirely on the tune, words, quality of singing and use of instruments. The album has some songs which again prove Bhansali's mettle as a composer. Besides pleasant structures, he is aided by good use of bansuri, santoor, sarangi, rabab, sitar and strings. But there are also some areas which could have been avoided. The cover says 'Originals by Sanjay Leela Bhansali', but two of the eight songs (one has two versions) are fairly well-known ghazals sung brilliantly by others before. Old-timers will recognise '

  BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Namo Fusion Genre: Fusion Details: Indus Club BKC, December 3 Rating: *** In August 2019, the group Namo Fusion released its debut album Namo . Started by violinist Narayan Raman with guitarist Sarosh Izedyar, it has been one of the better releases in the genre over the past five years, despite being an extension of the L. Subramaniam and early Shakti sound. To promote the release, Namo Fusion had shows at Stables (Andheri East), Press Club (Azad Maidan) and Indus Club (BKC). The album, containing five tracks and a reprise of the title tune, was appreciated by critics, though it got lost in the clutter of streaming platform content. With the lockdown from March 2020, the chance to do more shows in other cities was lost too. The group returned to Indus Club last week, though Izedyar is no longer in the line-up. Accompanying Raman (wearing blazer in above picture) were vocalists Vidya Harikrishna, Siva Prasad N.N. and Priyanshi Shah, guitarist Abhishek S., keyboardis

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Anuv Jain/ Mazaak Label: Self-released  Rating: *** 1/2 Singer-songwriter Anuv Jain first made news four years ago with 'Baarishen'. Ever since, he's been consistent in quality, releasing songs at intervals, without flooding the streaming platforms. His recent release 'Mazaak' has a melodic tune and nice acoustic feel. Anuv's voice is pleasant, sounding like your next-door neighbour. That, along with the simple themes he chooses, makes him so relatable. The song has a very cute video too, with Vasudha Rungta directing models Rutvik Deshpande and Sai Godbole. It's a love song and video that's woŕhy of repeat mode. Sukriti, Prakriti & Badshah/ Kya Say Label: VYRL Originals  Rating: ** India's music lovers seem to have one big obsession - to leave all their work and just spend time watching Badshah's latest video the day it is released. Statistics back that theory - barely 24 hours after the launch of 'Kya Say', his ne

(Siddharth Meghani and Sonia Saigal at That Christmas Spirit) BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Various Artistes/ That Christmas Spirit Genre: Festive/ popular Details; St Andrew's Bandra, December 1 Rating: *** 1/2 An interesting part of the stage set-up was a stall in the corner, mentioning 01.12 FM Radio Happiness. It was for a makeshift radio station created for host/ 'RJ' Brian Tellis at the concert themed 'That Christmas Spirit' at Bandra's St Andrew's Auditorium on Thursday. It took a few seconds to figure out that 01.12 was inspired by the date. Brian announced that the set list would be a good mix of Christmas songs and popular fare that celebrated the festive spirit. In reality, retro and rock n' roll far outnumbered the Yuletide melodies, but the packed hall had a blast all the same. Much of the enjoyment had to do with the way the concert was structured. Instead of singers doing long individual segments, they sang one song, or maybe two at a time, keeping t