narenmusic

Still from Varijashree Venugopal's video of 'Harivaa Jhari' BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  So far, this blog hasn't reviewed much regional music, barring songs in Punjabi and Rajasthani, and a few abhangs in Marathi. Most often, it was because of unfamilarity with the language, and thus the exact lyrical meaning of the song. There have, of course, been regular releases of regional songs. So one felt it may be fine to start a round-up maybe once every few months. For the lyrics, one will have to depend on translations or song descriptions found on YouTube. Because they may be followed by those who understand Hindi, songs in Punjabi and Rajasthani will continue to be reviewed along with the regular indie releases, which will be resumed next week. Here's the first lot: Amrit Ramnath/ Kanavugal Kanden (Tamil) Label: Sony Music Rating; ***** The son of singer Bombay Jayashri, Amrit Ramnath is known for songs like the brilliant 'Manase' and 'Nee Oli'. His latest Tam...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Dhruv Ghanekar with guests/ Voyage 2 Genre : Folk-fusion Label : Wah Wah Records Ràting : **** Nine years after he released the album Voyage , composer, producer and guitarist Dhruv Ghanekar has come out with the sequel. The broad idea of Voyage 2 is pretty much the same, as he blends Indian folk melodies with global tunes and textures. Interestingly, all the five lead vocalists are women. Two of them, Ila Arun and Kalpana Patowary, were featured on the earlier album. This time, Nandini Srikar opens the album with 'Subrabhatam', a contemporary version of the shloka  associated with M.S. Subbulakshmi. This version has a drum n' bass blend. Vaishali Samant, of 'Aika Dajìba' fame, appears on the peppy 'Jatra', which has flavours from Norway, Brazil and Portugal, and has a very hummable melody line. Asha Sapera sings the Rajasthani number 'Rasiya Chunari', which has a dose of funk. Ila Arun sings four Rajasthani tunes, of which '...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Remo Fernandes/ Rain, Rain, Rain Label: Self-released  Rating: **** Goan star Remo Fernandes recorded the song 'Rain, Rain, Rain' last year but couldn't complete the video because it suddenly became sunny. So he waited for the first heavy ahowers this year to complete it. The song has a nice pop-rock feel with twangy guitars and a catchy hook. The lines begin, "Rain, rain, rain, you wash away my pain, pain, pain, you break away my chain, chain, chain, oh keep on raining, rain". It's a happy rain sing that invokes a sense of nostalgia. And the video, shot and edited by Remo himself, has a green and wet look thar makes it fresh. Vernon D'Souza/ Gypsy On The Run Label: Self-released  Rating: *** 1/2 Recently, we heard singer Vernon D'Souza present the classic 'Unchained Melody' live at the Timeless.. Always & Forever show in Mumbai. His new solo original 'Gypsy On The Run' is a complete contrast, as it comes in the b...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Rosa Linn feat. Denny/ Universe (Mil Jaana Tu ) Label: Nvak Collective  Rating; **** Known for her hit 'Snap', Armenian singer Rosa Linn is now doing versions of her song 'Universe' in with additional lines in different languages. After Italian and French, she has opted for Hindi. Next in the queue are Arabic and Spanish. On 'Universe (Mil Jaana Tu)', she collaborates with Indian singer and composer Denny. The ballad talks about how a relationship can work in another universe, when it's not plausible in this world. The blending of English and Hindi is smooth. Rosa is fabulous on the high notes and Denny balances things with his melodic style. While the song is produced by popular artiste Cirkut, the Hindi lines are written by Aashiq Khan. It all blends well to create a power pop goodie. Manthan/ Rencontre Label: 7407847 Records DK Rating: *** Delhi-based singer-songwriter Manthan used to earlier release cover versions òn YouTube under the...

  BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Timeless.. Always & Forever 2.0 Artistes : Various Genre : Pop, soul, RnB, rock n' roll, rock, blues Details : St Andrew's Auditorium, Bandra, July 7 Rating : **** There's nothing quite as gooseflesh-y as a well-rendered pop ballad with powerhouse vocals. We heard quite a few of them on Sunday evening, from Vernon D'Souza's rendition of the Righteous Brothers-popularised 'Unchained Melody' and Giselle Pinto's high notes on ABBA's 'The Winner Takes It All' to young Kelly D'Lima's outstanding cover of 'The Power Of Love', first recorded by Jennifer Rush and made legendary by Celine Dion. Of course, the show titled Timeless.. Always & Forever 2.0  wasn't only about the mushy or maudlin. As the name suggested, it incorporated a wider variety of genres, as long as they came under the colourful umbrella of being evergreen. There were rock n' roll, soul, blues, rhythm n' blues and even vintag...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  The Yellow Diary/ Kahe Kahe Label: first.wav Rating; **** The Yellow Diary has a trademark sound, thanks mainly to the boyish voice of Rajan Batra. Their latest song 'Kahe Kahe' has the additional advantage of a really cute video, directed by Mitali Solanki and featuring a Catholic wedding couple played by Sejal Kurmi and Abhishek Khan. The lyrics, written by Batra, go, "Kahe kahe kahe yeh jahaan mera naam kahe, par koi jaane na mera dil tere dil se kya kahe". Accompanying the singer are Harshvardhan Gadhvi on guitars, Himanshu Parikh on keys, Stuart D'Costa on bass and Sahil Shah on drums. The song has a catchy hook and bubbles with freshness. It's a song couples can sway to. Shor feat. Shalmali Kholgade/ Dil Mile Label: Self-released  Rating: *** Producer-singer Shor teams up with singer Shalmali Kholgade on 'Dil Mile'. The song has a nice electro-pop sound and a smooth flow. Shalmali's vocals are expressive on lines like, ...