Naren's indie round-up/ May 2024, Ep 3

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

Neha Bhasin/ Furqat

Label: 5am Audio

Rating: ****

Formerly of the girl band Viva, Neha Bhasin has been regularly releasing a mix of folksy Punjabi and Hindi pop numbers. After a few Punjabi tunes last year, she's now out with the ballad 'Furqat'.

Music is by Sameer Uddin, who blends a dubstep flavour with the traditional sounds of the esraj played by Arshad Khan. Neha's vocals are heartfelt on Juno's lines, "Furqat ki gali, in haathon mein mili, mohabbat pagli, jo naseeb ko mere khali, fursat na tujhe, ik pal bhi jo mere liye, in haathon mein likhi, furqat ki gali".

Sameer Uddin also directs the video, featuring Neha and dancer Saumya Kamble. It is shot in Wai, Maharashtra, using hills and a giant lake in the background. It goes with the feeling of separation that the song conveys.

Joy Sengupta feat Hansika Pareek/ Pariyon Ki Duniya

Label: Self-released 

Rating: *** 1/2

Joy Sengupta makes his debut as composer and producer with 'Pariyon Ki Duniya,', a simple, melodious ballad about a teenage girl who falls for her Prince Charming. Vocals are by Hansika Pareek, who has a sweet voice texture.

Lyricist Pinky Poonawala captures the essence of the song through lines like, "Pariyon ki duniya jaisi kahani, apni bhi hogi, hai na?" Interestingly, the charming flute part is played by Nastya Saraswati, known for her skills as a violinist.

In keeping with the young look, the creators go in for an animated video. It's got simple, fairytale-like imagery, like the song.

Chirag Todi feat. Nihira Joshi-Deshpande/ Jag Jaage

Label: Self-released 

Rating: *** 1/2

Talented musicians Chirag Todi and Nihira Joshi-Deshpande team up as composers on 'Jag Jaage', a vocal fusion track blending Indian classical elements with jazz-rock flavours. While Chirag plays guitar, Nihira is on vocals.

The tune has a fair amount of improvisation, and the drums by Madhav Mehta sync well with Nihira's natural singing. Likewise, Chirag and sarod player Rohan Prasanna have smooth parts, with Jonathan Edwards managing arrangements.

Lyricist Sreenath uses positive elements on lines like "Yeh jag saara, jag uthe saara, tere geet ho malhar, leke aaye jo bahaar". It's a good blend, well-executed.

Madmast/ Jugnoo

Label: No Binary

Rating: ****

Madmast is a Mumbai-based Hindi--rock band which has released a string of highly listenable singles since it was formed in 2017. The latest 'Jugnoo' talks of an artiste's life and pursuits.

The song has all the elements needed for a good pop-rock song - from Vaaibhav Sharma's fluent vocals to the guitars, keys, bassline and drums. The hook, groove, tempo changes and climax make it perfect for concerts.

The song ends with the lines "Yeh dil banjaara, yeh dil banjaara, yeh dil banjaara, ye dil", set against silky guitar lines. Chant along!

Underground Authority/ Duur

Label: Self-released 

Rating: *** 1/2

There's more Hindi-rock from Kolkata band Underground Authority on the song 'Duur', which talks of a broken relationship, false promises and a desire to get away through travel. The band earlier had EPR Iyer on vocals, but Siddhant Sharma came in his place last year.

The song has a catchy hook and singalong chorus, with the lines, "Kyon hue duur, hue kyon" appearing repeatedly. Guitarist Adil Rashid directs the video too, moving from a biker's journey to a live concert. The ending had a singalong vibe.







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gig review/ Deep Purple in Bengaluru

Image
BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Deep Purple at Bandland  Genre : Rock Details : Bandland rock festival, Embassy International Riding School, Bengaluru, December 17 Organisers : BookMyShow Live  Rating : **** 1/2 We all came out to Bandland, on a Bengaluru riding ground, to shoot videos on a mobile, yeah, capture the classic rock sound. Ian Gillan and the Purples, were at the best place around, space-truckin' on a black night, we danced on dusty ground.. singing, Smoke On The Water, drones in the sky, Smoke On The Water... taan taan taan, taan taan tadaan, taan taan tadaan, taan taan... Three days after British rockers Deep Purple enchanted the crowd at the Bandland rock festival in Bengaluru, the gooseflesh lingers like the whiff of cologne. For many, they have been college heroes, cocktail companions, the kings of melodic power, the epitome of hard rock. Older-generation fans or youngsters, they knew many of these songs by heart. Every word, every instrumental passage, every back-up vocal lin
Read more

Gig review/ Sting @ Lollapalooza

Image
BY NARENDRA KUSNUR   Sting @   Lollapalooza   Genre : Rock/ pop-rock Details : Mahalakshmi Race Course, Mumbai, January 28 Rating : **** You'll forget the sun in its jealous sky, as we walk on fields of gold... The sun had set a long ago, and the walk had been tiring and endless. But everything changed around 8.20 pm when Gordon Sumner aka Sting marched on to the Budweiser stage with a message in a bottle. For the next 85 minutes, every little thing the Englishman in Mumbai did was magic. The green carpet in front of the stage had been converted into fields of gold. The hardcore Sting fans should get those puns, and there were plenty of them who watched his concluding act at the two-day Lollapalooza music festival at the Mahalakshmi Race Course, Mumbai, on Sunday. Some had attended his shows abroad, some were seeing him for the first time, and others had been present at Mumbai's Rang Bhavan in 1980, when he played with his band The Police, or at the Amnesty International festiv
Read more

Gig review/ L. Shankar

Image
BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Artiste : L Shankar & Group Concert : Aditya Birla Group Masters of Music  Genre : Fusion/ Carnatic  Details : June 16, Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, Mumbai  Rating : ***** The sudden excitement was palpable when violinist L. Shankar announced that he and his group would play many Shakti tunes at Sunday's concert in Mumbai. He had already opened the evening with a dazzling rendition of Carnatic composer Muthuswamy Dikshitar's 'Vathapi Ganapathim', and if one thought he would focus on classical fare, that was not to be. Five of the remaining six pieces belonged to the repertoire of the original Shakti line-up, comprising him, guitarist John McLaughlin, tabla genius Zakir Hussain and ghatam maestro Vikku Vinayakram. Together, they had pioneered the Indo-jazz fusion sound in the 1970s, before going different paths over a decade later. Playing those old Shakti classics had a major issue though, at least for fans. They had originally been written for two mel
Read more