narenmusic

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Antariksh/ Dastan-e-Dil (Shine Your Light) Label: Merchant Records  Rating: *** 1/2 Fronted by Varun Rajput, Delhi band Antariksh releases its latest single 'Dastan-e-Dil (Shine Your Light)' as part of SoundChk Season 1, a collaboration between Merchant Records and Cred Club. The song is a smooth blend of Hindi and English lyrics, aided by a strong guitar section by Rajput and Shrikant Biswakarma. The English words go, "When I look into your eyes, it melts away my pride, I feel brave and I feel free". The video, directed by Tushar Mahajan, features a live performance with the band members dressed in white. The song has a 1990s pop-rock feel which makes for pleasant listening. Frntflw with Zachary Ray & Akanksha Bhandari/ Together  Label: Self-released  Rating: *** Talking of bilingual tracks, there's this new release called 'Together', where DJ-producers Frntflw tie up with singers Zachary Ray, a Boston musician settled in India, and...

  BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Paul Rodgers/ Morning Rose Genre: Rock Label: Heartstar Music/ Sun Rating: **** For a generation of rock fans, Paul Rodgers is right up there on the list of vocalists. His work with the bands Free and Bad Company in the 1970s was followed by a collaboration with ace guitarist Jimmy Page in The Firm, and another stint with drummer Kenney Jones in The Law. Cut to the 2000s and though he's done a fair bit of live performance, he's been less active on the studio front, the only release being The Cosmos Rocks with the remaining Queen members in 2008. As such, his latest album Midnight Rose is warmly welcome, as it comes 23 years after his previous solo outing Electric . On paper, Rodgers is 73 now, but that's quite hard to believe. His voice is still fresh, melodious and dynamic, taking you back to vintage Bad Company, even reminding you of albums like Run With The Pack , Desolation Angels and Rough Diamonds . He's playing with a new band too, the o...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Hariharan/ Dabi Dabi Label: Zee Music Company  Rating: ***** In terms of sheer richness, Hariharan has one of the most distinct voice textures. On his new song 'Dabi Dabi', composer Shamir Tandon creates the right mood, making best use of the ghazal maestro's vocal finesse. The expression is just perfect as he sings Vishwadeep Zeest's lines, "Dabi dabi si tamanna tum kaho toh bol doon, kuch aur lamhe saath mere tum raho toh bol doon". The writing is adorned with gems like, "Kinaaron par yoon rehke boli jaayegi na baat yeh, Mohabbaton mein sang mere tum baho toh bol doon". With flute, guitar and violin, the arrangement is super. The best part is the ghazal's simplicity, as Hariharan doesn't stays away from extra  harkats and calisthenics, keeping it straight. It's the kind of song that merits repeated plays. A feather in the singer's cap. Hridayam/ O Bandeya Label: Self-released  Rating: *** 1/2 Comprising singer-so...

  BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Haddi/ film soundtrack Music : Rohan-Rohan Label : Zee Music Company Rating : *** 1/2 Much as I raved over actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui's portrayal of a transgender, the rest of Akshat Ajay Sharma's film Haddi left me unimpressed. It was the same old revenge drama, with even more gore than one could imagine.  The only other thing that kept me sort of engaged was the music - both through the songs and the background score. It may not be the most outstanding soundtrack from the recent past, but the songs go well with the situations, and cater to different tastes. There's a good amalgam of contemporary and retro styles, with some cutting-edge arrangements. The music is composed by Rohan-Rohan, consisting of the duo of Rohan Pradhan and Rohan Gokhale. They've done a few Marathi films, besides Sanju and Thackeray in Hindi. What's impressive is that they seem to know the pulse of the masses, and can yet come out with intense music if the need arises....

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Classicool by Purbayan Chatterjee/ Bhairavi Label: Self-released  Rating: *** 1/2 The brainchild of sitar exponent Purbayan Chatterjee, Classicool takes traditional compositions but gives them a contemporary flavour. Thus we have an ensemble comprising him and Megha Rawoot on sitar, Sangeet Haldipur on keyboards, Nastya Saraswati on violin, Ojas Adhiya on tabla and Shikhar Naad Qureshi on percussion. 'Bhairavi' is a video from their self-titled EP, released recently. The popular classical raag is played in a 10-minute rendition using the dadra rhythmic pattern. After a slow introduction, the piece builds up, increasing the energy with the introduction of see-tar, before returning to a thumri composition. It's a melodic piece played with virtuosity. Ronkini Gupta/ Bohot Pehle Se Label: Music Today Rating: *** The brilliant classical vocalist Ronkini Gupta has done her share of light numbers in the films Tumhari Sulu and Taali and the series Mukhbir , ...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Event : All About Music 2023 Details : Grand Hyatt Mumbai, September 7 to 9 ( Being a conference, rating not given, like in other blogs. Pictures taken from All About Music's Instagram page) By the second morning, the staff at the beverages counter knew my taste. "Regular coffee with milk," they beamed. My problem began thereafter. The corridor was as packed as Platform 4 of Dadar railway station, making it difficult to walk in the din. I also didn't know which direction to head later, with so much happening simultaneously. Welcome to All About Music 2023, held at the Grand Hyatt, Santa Cruz East, from September 7 to 9. The crowd seemed to be much larger than last year's event at the Taj Lands End, Bandra, and there was much more on the agenda. One thing stayed the same though. Many had come mainly to network, instead of sitting in the two ball-rooms attending sessions ranging from music marketing and artificial intelligence (AI) to live events...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Donn Bhat & Isheeta Chakrvarty/ Garaj Label: Self-released  Rating: **** Producer-musician Donn Bhat teams up with singer Isheeta Chakrvarty on the cutting-edge track 'Garaj'. The words and basic melody are from a traditional composition in the monsoon raag Megh, but a contemporary, ambient feel is added to create a club effect. There are influences of Radiohead and Nitin Sawhney as the track builds up for some 85 seconds before Isheeta begins with "Garaj ghata, kaari bijuriya, paawas ritu aayee, dulha na man bhaaye". English lines alternate wonderfully with sargam passages, moving on to the climax. Satyarth Shaurya Singh's video uses street captures, travel shots and dance images in a stylistic manner. It complements the fusion of the musicians. Diljit Dosanjh & Camilo/ Palpita  Promoted by: Coke Studio Rating: * Ah! So collabs are 'lit' these days. Who cares whether the colla-bore-ators have any connection in what they do. Th...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR   Band : Syncopation  Genre : Jazz-funk Details : September 6, BlueBop Cafe  Rating : **** 1/2 ( Pictures taken by blogger) Formed by guitarist Risshi S. Sachdeva, Delhi-based Syncopation first made news with its album Tune In , released in 2013. Their forte is their wonderfully improvised and energetic blend of jazz and funk, which came alive on Wednesday night at The BlueBop Cafe on Linking Road. The band is ready with its new album The Indian Sky , whose first single 'Around My House' was given a four-star rating in this blog a couple of weeks ago. That was obviously one of the highlights of the show, where unreleased tracks 'Almora' and 'Motherlove' were also showcased. After gigs in Delhi-NCR and Kolkata kicked off this tour, Mumbai attracted a moderate but appreciative crowd, being a mid-week slot. In a way, that was good, as the bar chatter often takes over the mood on Friday nights, when the venue regularly hosts shows. Tonight (Sept...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Band : Amyt Datta Electric Power Quartet Genre : Jazz-rock Details : NMACC Studio, September 1 Rating : **** ( Picture taken by blogger) Somewhere in the second half, three musicians of the Amyt Datta Electric Power Quartet stepped aside, letting the frontman do his own thing. What one heard guitarist Datta do on the solo track was pure magic. It wasn't as energetic as some of the previous pieces, but touched a chord with its sheer soul. Sadly, the track's name wasn't announced and only after the show did we discover it was called 'Camellia'. On the rest of the pieces in the hour and 45 minute set at the NMACC Studio on September 1, Datta was accompanied by keyboardist Samrat Mukherjee, bassist Aakash Ganguly and drummer Sambit Chatterjee. The Kolkata-based musician was in supreme form all through, proving yet again why he's respected as one of the finest guitarists in the country. He had the right blend of technical wizardry, raw emotion and...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Aabha Hanjura/ Mere Makaan Label: Ziply Productions  Rating: ***** After a brief introduction, Aabha Hanjura sings, "Mere makaan, mere makaan, badhta hi jaa raha hai tujhse mera faasla". On 'Mere Makaan', she talks of the plight of Kashmiris displaced by the turmoil. It's a very meaningful and hard-hitting song, which also evokes nostalgia and sadness through lines like, "Jo baagh maine lagaaya tha, khilta hoga mere bagair kya?". Written and composed by Aabha, it has been produced by K.J. Singh. A highlight is the subtle use of piano and cello, and the feeling is enhanced by Sujish Das's video which shows the singer walk the paths of Kashmir. The repetitive use of the words "Mera makaan" at the end leaves a lump in the throat. In the end, it's the lyrical content that touches most with its power. What We Gonna Do?/ Muntazir  Label: Noise Regiment  Rating: *** This Chennai-based Hindi-rock duo interestingly calls itsel...