Naren's indie round-up/ Sep 2023, Ep 2

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. The latest is this Coke Studio tie-up between Punjabi star Diljit Dosanjh and Colombian artiste Camilo. Yeh lo!

Now, we'd rather prefer Diljit on his own. And Camilo is much better in the company of Shakira and Pedro Capo than he is when trying to sing Spanish in a Punjabi accent... or is it Punjabi in a Spanish accent? And what are those funny sound effects that sound like a traffic jam?

Got it. The song is called 'Palpita'. Perfect. It gives you palpitations.

Nihira Joshi-Deshpande/ Toote Chhaate

Label: Self-released 

Rating: ****

There's an interesting story behind singer Nihira Joshi-Deshpande's new song 'Toote Chhaate'. Some years ago, she read a poem by Alok Ranjan Srivastava on Instagram. She approached him with the idea of converting it into a full song, and soon invited musician Rhythm Shaw to design the instrumentation.

The result is a romantic rain song with a pop-rock feel, and an interesting use of free verse, metaphors and phrases. While a broken umbrella is used as the motif, a Gulzar influence creeps in on lines like "Aadhe aadhe se bheegey, aadhe aadhe se jaley, aadha aadha khud ko chhupaaley" and "Sard hawaaon ko aao, raahaton se mila de".

Nihira has an extremely melodious voice, and the guitar and keys act as perfect accompaniments. The graphics in the video represent the mood of the song well.

Shreya Ghoshal/ Jee Bhar Ke Tum 

Label: DRJ Records 

Rating; ***

The brilliant Shreya Ghoshal has been regularly doing songs outside the Hindi  film world. Most of these are wonderful melodies, which stick to a very Bollywood way of composing.

The same is the case with her latest 'Jee Bhar Ke Tum', composed by Javed-Mohsin and written by Rashmi Virag. It's a pleasant song with a simple melody and words that talk of taking time to understand one's feelings.

Even Sneha Shetty Kohli's video is very film-like, with Mukti Mohan and Pavail Gulati (in pic) making a good pair. It's a hummable tune, though a formula-driven one 

Band Zed/ Jammin

Supported by: Songdew

Rating: *** 1/2

Band Zed comprises four musicians from Mumbai who've been part of different outfits. Guitarist Jude Albuquerque was with the 1980s band Zed, which he's reviving.

Jude thus writes the comeback song 'Jammin', and plays a couple of sizzling guitar solos. Vocalist Kirit Fernandes, the youngest in the group, is joined by veteran bassist Aaron Daniels and drummer Agnelo Fernandes.

Lines like, "We're jammin people, we're jammin just for you" are crowd-friendly, with a singalong vibe. This is an apt nod to the glory days of classic rock.