Naren's indie round-up/ April 2024, Ep 4


BY NARENDRA KUSNUR

Jeanne Merchant feat EPR iyer/ Lucky Tonight 

Label: Merchant Records

Rating: ***

Jeanne Merchant, wife of music director Salim Merchant, puts out the club-friendly 'Lucky Tonight'. "Wanna get lucky, lucky lucky lucky tonight", she sings, her 'lucky' sounding more like 'lahee' to go with the cool vibe.

A rap stretch by EPR Iyer comes as an interlude. He raps, "Let me tell you these shooting stars, they don't let us sleep, jaywalking through polyrhythms in a busy street". 

Tushar Mahajan's video makes smart use of lights and visual effects. The rhythms and vibrant melodies add to the party mood.

pruthvi/ twentytwo 

Label: Misfits Inc

Rating: ***

Mumbai-based singer-singer-songwriter Pruthvi Dhawale, who goes by the name pruthvi, writes the song 'twentytwo' as a reflection of her age. It's a dream-pop song with producer sudan working on a simple melody line.

The lyrics talk of the dreams faced by a young adult, and the fears that go with it. Words like, "Wanna buy my mom a big ass house, but that would take another 10 years to figure out" are relatable.

The singer is accompanied by the Pretend Band, where the guitarist, keyboardist and bassist are all young women. The video, directed by Pranav Marde and pruthvi, has a youthful flavour.

Aamir Rizvi/ 9999 Miles

Label: Self-released

Rating: *** 1/2

Late last year, Kolkata singer-songwriter Aamir Rizvi had released 'Under The Sheets', which talked of an earlier relationship. Now he sings about a long-distance relationship on '9999 Miles'.

"You travelled the distance for me, but I couldn't do the same for you", he sings. With a steady acoustic guitar as back-up, he has a vocalised portion at the end to enhance the effect.

Aamir has a pleasant voice texture, and a narrative style of writing that expresses his thoughts clearly.

Dr Prakash Sontakke/ A Tryst With Raag Jog

Label: Self-released 

Rating: *** 1/2

Bengaluru-based slide guitarist Dr Prakash Sontakke explores the pentatonic raag Jog in his latest album A Tryst With Raag Jog, recorded in immersive audio format. Charudatt Phadke accompanies him on tabla.

The raag is in three movements spread over 17 minutes. The percussion-less Alaap sets the tempo. The Madhyalaya has a melodic structure, with good layakari, before the faster Drut portion takes over.

A suggestion to listen on headphones. Sontakke's stylised playing can get a closer experience.

Vipin Mishra Project feat. Pervez Quadir Gunguni

Label: Self-released 

Rating: *** 1/2

Indie composer Vipin Mishra teams up with singer Pervez Quadir on 'Gunguni', a melodic track that's reminiscent of the 1990s Indipop era.

Lyricist Kapil Sharma 'Soz' writes, "Gunguni gunguni, dhoop ka woh saaya hai; makhmali makhmali, chaand utar aaya hai". Vipin's guitar fill-ins complement the catchy vocals.

Vipin was recently in the news for the documentary series Folkroad, where he and two friends rode on motorcycles to the Zanskar valley of Ladakh in search of nomadic music. Details are in this blogger's article in The Hindu, reproduced on my Facebook page.





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