narenmusic

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Prateeksha Srivastava with Akarsh Shetty/ Tum Jo Ho Yahaan Label: Self-released  Rating; *** 1/2 Singer Prateeksha Srivastava has a pleasant voice, and has sung some likeable numbers like 'Makhmal', 'Jiya Kaanch Ka' and 'Falsafa'. This blogger also saw her live performance at the Off Stage Live event at AntiSocial, Lower Parel, last week, where she displayed good stage energy and vocal control. Prateeksha's new song 'Tum Jo Ho Yahaan' is the first from her forthcoming EP Tinyt Truths . It's a simple love song accompanied by a video featuring her and Ishan Chaturvedi, and directed by Priya Mishra. The video begins with a request to wear a bindi, after which Prateeksha sings, "Jabse shaamil zindagi mein tum, jeene ka mila kaayda, jabse neendein poori hone lagi, jaana kya sukoon ka mazaa". The song has been produced and arranged by Akarsh Shetty, who also plays electric guitars. The acoustic guitars by Austin Furtado ar...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Obituary/ Chuck Mangione (1940-2025) Genre : Smooth jazz I remember the first time I heard Chuck Mangione. The year was 1983, and I was 19. I visited my regular record store in Greater Kailash 1, New Delhi, to check out some pop or rock records. An instrumental tune was playing on the speakers and I asked the owner who it was. He took out the record sleeve and told me it was 'Stepping Out' from the album Love Notes by Chuck Mangione, who played a flugelhorn which is from the trumpet family. This incident came back to mind on hearing of 84-year-old Mangione's death on July 22. My favourite tunes 'Feels So Good', 'Memories Of Scirocco', 'Children Of Sanchez' and 'Land Of Make Believe' came back to mind, and I played them on Spotify after hearing the news. I remember that introduction to Mangione's music very clearly. "What kind of music is this called?" I had asked - I must have heard the word 'genre' a...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Kaushiki Chakraborty & Shantanu Moitra/ Pankh Genre : Indie Label : Blue Dot Rating : ***** Just a week ago, singer Kaushiki Chakraborty and music director Shantanu Moitra had dazzled the audience at Mumbai's Royal Opera House at the launch concert of their album Pankh . The same night, the six-part web series describing the six songs was put up on YouTube. While we've known Kaushiki as one of the leading Hindustani classical vocalists of her generation, Pankh sees her taking a virtual flight in a different direction. Though she has done songs like 'Lagi Lagi' on Coke Studio 2012 and 'Bhagirathi' in the 2022 series Songs Of The River: Ganga with Shantanu earlier, this is a complete set of wonderfully created songs by the duo. She had earlier done the album Karvaan in 2015, but Pankh has a totally different approach in terms of content and style. A good chunk of it draws from personal experiences. As an album, Pankh moves almost like ...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Rohit Kulkarni/ The Soldier  Label: Self-released Rating: **** After making his mark with the tribute band Think Floyd, singer-guitarist Rohit Kulkarni has released some wonderful solo tracks, including those on the 2020 album The Boy Who Dreamed . His latest single 'The Soldier' talks of war and struggle. The lines begin, "The dimming of the day has begun, the dimming of the soul has begun; the dimming of the light that once shone so bright is fading into the falling night." The video, by Shrimukta Sahoo, Pallavi Batra and Rohit, alternate war action shots with images of the singer. Rohit has a clear and resonant voice, and the subtle guitars perfectly enhance the backdrop. This time, he doesn't use a lead guitar solo, but that's an interesting change.  Srija/ Do I Know Label: One Little Independent Records Rating: *** Two months ago, Delhi electronica artiste Sijya put out 'Tabla', the first single from her forthcoming EP Leather ...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Surel & Lyla/ If I Die Today Label: Malo Rating: *** 1/2 After releasing the song 'Pomegranate Lips' late last year, singer-lyricist Lyla and composer Surel Ingale are back with 'If I Die Today'. Helped by a brass-heavy sound and lush keyboards, the song has a raw jazz vibe. Lyla sings, "If I die today, will the sun still rise, will the music still play, will the moon still shine?" The video by Akshita Agarwal begins with streetside and market shots, before going to seaside rocks. Mihir Patel's cinematography brings out the song's mood well. It's a tune thar impresses with its raw nature. Nida with Derric D'Souza/ Glimpses Label: Self-released  Rating: *** 1/2 On her new song 'Glimpses', Pune singer-songwriter Nida Siddiqui begins, "I almost parked my bike next to yours, I almost stopped to say I could not have been here if it wasn't for you". The title track of her forthcoming EP Glimpses , the song...