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


BY NARENDRA KUSNUR

Apoorva Mudgal/ Dasht-e-Tanhai 

Label: Self-released 

Rating: ****

Penned by Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, the nazm 'Dasht-e-Tanhai' was made famous by singer Iqbal Bano, also from Pakistan. Now, we have a remarkable adaptation by Agra-born, New York-based artiste Apoorva Mudgal.

Using the same melody, Apoorva's rendition is more loungey. The use of Ria Modak's guitar, Yacouba Sissoko's kora, Doug Wieselman's clarinet and Dan Kingsberg's bass gives it a unique flavour, with the vocals bringing out loneliness and nostalgia effectively.

Apoorva has directed the video herself, using white, grey and brown beautifully. It's a wonderful tribute to both Faiz and Iqbal Bano.

Pratibha Singh Baghel with Budapest Symphony Orchestra/ Mujhse Pehli Si Mohabbat

Label: Sufiscore 

Rating; ****

While on Faiz Ahmed Faiz, we have another adaptation of his classic, with Pratibha Singh Baghel singing 'Mujhse Pehli Si Mohabbat'. The song is associated with the legendary Noor Jehan.

What's different here is that Pratibha is accompanied by the Budaoest Symphony Orchestra conducted by Laszlo Kovacs. Thus we have strings and woodwinds to give a different flavour. With Paras Nath conducting and arranging the song and playing the flute, one hears a wonderful twist.

The video captures Pratibha live with the orchestra. Though this has been done in ghazals before, the cinematographer does a good job in capturing the right emotions. To top it all, there are Faiz lines like "Teri aankhon ke siva duniya mein rakha kya hai" and "Aur bhi dukh hain zamaane mein mohabbat ke siva".

Arijit Singh, Asees Kaur & Mithoon/ Intezaar 

Label: VYRL Originals 

Rating: ** 1/2

The thing about Arijit Singh is that he either sounds fresh ('Mainu Vida Karo', 'Sajni Re', 'Heeriye') or ends up repeating himself (quite often). His new release 'Intezaar', composed by Mithoon, comes under the latter category.

The song is about being hopeful even after a relationship is over. Even as Arijit gets over-emotional, we have Asees Kaur jumping into the picture, sounding like the 'before' part of a Strepsils ad.

What saves the day is the video dance by Sanaya Irani and Gurmeet Chaudhary. Musically there's a wonderful guitar-violin solo at the end. Sadly the voices are a letdown.

Rauhan Malik Collective/ Intezaar 

Label: Self-released 

Rating: *** 1/2

Hailing from Kashmir, Rauhan Malik was part of the popular song 'Ishq', featuring Faheem Abdullah. He has now released the EP Kab with his group Rauhan Malik Collective.

'Asar', from the EP, has been put out as a music video of the group performing live. Sakib Nabi's words use Urdu phrases like "shab-e-gham ki vehshat" and "iltimas-e-dua". Rauhan's expression matches the words, which talk of the feelings of a disillusioned lover.

Deepanshu Kumar's guitars dazzles alongside. There's a bit of Junoon, a bit of Parvaaz, a bit of 'Ishq' but the end result is appealing on its own merit.

Ehsaas Band/ Muje Dhundh Lo

Label: Self-released 

Rating: ****

Hailing from Ahmedabad, Ehsaan Band comes out with a progressive rockish gem on 'Muje Dhundh Lo'. This is the fifth release from its album Khudsar.

The lyrics talk of unrequited love, as Raj Shah writes, "Tanha main tanha phirta raha, zakhmon ko seene mein bharta raha". Vocalist Viral Patel has a pathos-filled rasp in his voice, and the lead guitar solo is marvellous. The rhythmic interplay is tight.

Like the previous releases 'Khwabon Ke Parindey', 'Kis Ko Kahi" and 'Khwaish', there's a sing-along vibe about 'Muje Dhundh Lo'. The songs are ideal for live performance.









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