Naren's indie round-up/ March 2023, Ep 1

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR

Various artistes/ Jalalo Bilalo

Promoter: Raahein By Dear Sunshine 

Rating: *****

The Rajasthani folk song 'Jalalo Bilalo' has been presented by many artistes, and has even been accompanied by a ghoomar dance. This latest presentation by Raahein By Dear Sunshine retains the flavour of the song, with some additional tweaks on guitar, keyboard and bass.

After an intro on Sindhi sarangi, the main vocals are sung by Anwar Khan, Husain Khan and Aslam Khan. Their coordination is superb, and they smoothly glide into the higher notes at the end, while expressing the longing of a woman in love.

Traditional instruments like dhol, dholak, bhapang, morchang, khartaal and matka are used, with Risshi S. Sachdeva handling arrangement and production. Tushar Mahajan's studio-shot video brings out the sheer magnificence of the performance. On another note, will Coke Studio Bharat ever do something like this?

Taba Chake/ Udd Chala

Label: Self-released

Rating: *** 1/2

Arunachal Pradesh-bred Taba Chake goes on a throwback to school days on his new song 'Udd Chala'. The video shows two schoolgoers, played by Mihir Ahuja and Janeth Pingham, fall in love.

It's a very fresh and cute video song, with Taba singing, "Teri hasee sabse haseen, dhadka hai yeh dil mera". The song has a very 1990s Indipop teenage feel, reminding us of the days when Channel V and MTV reigned.

Last year, Taba teamed up with music director Shantanu Moitra and folk duo Maati Bani on the fabulous 'Natkhat Nadiya', from the Songs Of The River series. This is another good addition to his catalogue.

Jasleen Aulakh/ Raunaqaan Reprised

Promoter: RRE Studios

Rating: ****

Three months ago, singer Jasleen Aulakh and composer Rajshree Agarwal released the song 'Raunaqaan'. They have now released a 'Reprised' version with a soulful air.

The words have been written by Manoj Vashishth, who talks of the hopes and aspirations of a woman entering matrimony. The main line is, "Main ta jaana jogi de naal", and Jasleen's folk-meets-Sufi style sounds just right, with Abhinay Jain's production, Kailash Sharma's guitars and the back-up vocals adding to the charm.

The singer appeared on Sunday at the Mahindra Roots Festival at Bandra Fort Amphitheatre, Mumbai. Though she didn't present this song, she impressed with her live stage performance and spontaneous interaction.

Chirag Todi feat. Dot./ Spiced Lemonade 

Label: Self-released 

Rating: *** 1/2

On his latest song 'Spiced Lemonade', Ahmedabad-based composer-guitarist Chirag Todi teams up with Delhi-bred singer Dot. It's a perky song about being happy in a love relationship.

The lyrics make an impact, as Dot. sings, "Give me a day beneath the shade, gimme a glass of spiced lemonade, you got the day ahead of you, and I've got you, why don't we stay?"

The melodic guitar, Marc Damania's smooth bass and Divyang Arora's drums play along, and a synth solo by Nayan Kapadia lights up the latter half. The song has a nice, catchy vibe.

Behrupiyaa/ Frazzled

Label: 5am Audio

Rating: ***

Aditya Pushkarna, who also goes by the name Behrupiyaa, is a music producer and synth enthusiast who has used a series of discarded sampling tidbits to create his new track 'Frazzled'.

At just two minutes, the tune just whizzes past. It's a routine electronic piece which doesn't focus on any melody, but the highlight is in the visuals created by Sameer Uddin. Colourful and fast-paced, they go eye-in-ear with the music.

Though 'Frazzled' is available on audio streaming platforms, one would advise listeners to check it out only on YouTube to get the actual experience.