narenmusic

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Janisht Joshi & AtharvaMusic/ Julie Label: Self-released  Rating: **** Two things immediately strike you about the video of 'Julie', released by Janisht Joshi and AtharvaMusic. One is its really cool video, with a retro look and simple storyline. The second is the song's catchy hook, with the line, "Julie, Julie, Julie, maan ja".  The song involves a scene being shot, with a man proposing to a saree-clad lady, who first rejects him and even throws his flower back at him. Of course, all well's that ends well. Nothing earth-shattering about the story, but the presentation is superb and wacky, with Ashmita Meghrajani and Vansh Sethi playing the lead. Janisht's videos have always been above par, examples being 'Nahi', 'Yeh Duniya Jala Do' and 'Kaagaz Ke Phool'. In 'Julie', the.musicians themselves dress in 80s-styled attire, and come up with a catchy song, with AtharvaMusic doing the songwriting. Please n...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Justin-Uday and Hamsika Iyer/ Chai Ki Chuski Label: Judo Music  Rating: **** From 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' to 'Ee Hai Bambai Nagariya', there have been many songs about Mumbai. The latest one 'Chai Ki Chuski' is by composer duo Justin-Uday and singer Hamsika Iyer, with Jairaj Padmanabhan's marvellous video to boost. The film shows typical scenes from regular Mumbai life, from local trains and BEST buses to cutting chais to pomfret bais to sugarcane vendors and vada pav joints to Marine Drive and cricket maidans. Hamsika's singing is exuberant, using street styles and phrases, and she puts in a good video performance too. It's a fun song, with rhymes like chuski , dip ki , risky and kiski . Sriram Iyer's lyrics represent the Mumbai spirit, and Justin-Uday's composition bring out the city's cacophonous, chaotic charm convincingly. Jhakaas! Sanyanth Naroth & Ankur Tiwari/ Kuch Na Rahe Rating: Self-released  Rating: *** San...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Vipul Panchal/ School Ki Yaaadein Label: Self-released  Rating: **** Vipul Panchal, frontman of the group Folk Masti, gets into solo mode in the song 'School Ki Yaadein'. From the title, it's obvious what the song is all about. "Yaaron woh school ki yaadein, woh bachpan ki baatein na hongi kabhi purani", he sings, as he shares memories of the wake-up alarm, a mother getting her son ready, the uniform and lazy Sundays. The orchestration has been wonderfully done with Ankit Rathore on mouth organ, Siddharth Iyer on violin and Britto Khangchian on bass. The whole thing takes you back to your childhood. Manisha Chakravarty/ Roothe Saiyaan  Label: Self-released  Rating: *** Thumri-styled vocals blend with a pop sound on 'Roothe Saiyaan', composed, written and sung by Manisha Chakravarty. The song is about yearning and desire. The opening lines are, "Roothe saiyaan ko kaise manaaye re, bairi saawan beeto jaaye re, kaari kaari megha chaay...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  The Jazz Masters Listening Sessions Presented by : Sunil Sampat Genre : Jazz Details ; Little Theatre, NCPA, August 14 Over the past few years, jazz aficionado and Rolling Stone India columnist Sunil Sampat has been conducting The Jazz Masters Listening Sessions at the Little Theatre, NCPA. The objective is two-fold - to acquaint newer listeners about the intricacies of jazz and the contribution of various artistes, and to play some rarer music for those fond of the genre. In the latest session on August 14, Sampat shifted from his regular pattern of focusing on a particular instrument or style of jazz. His playlist comprised a varied selection of tracks, both old and new, thus providing a good mix. What was specially interesting was that he told stories about his interactions with some of the musicians, culled from six decades of attending jazz concerts. For instance, he played this French gypsy guitarist Stephane Wrembel, who followed the style of the legend...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Rhythm Roots/ Various artistes Genre : Indian percussion, semi-classical  Details : NMACC Studio, August 8 Rating ; **** The tabla and pakhawaj from the north blended with the mridangam and ghatam from the south and the shreekhol from the east. With a sarangi and violin providing the melodies, the ensemble at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) Studio Theatre paid tribute to Ustad Zakir Hussain on Friday. The 100-minute concert was titled Rhythm Roots, and what was particularly noteworthy was that the music was totally Indian, without any fusion elements thrown in. US-based tabla exponent Hindole Majumdar and violinist Ratish Tagde were joined by six musicians to create different styles. The show began with Gopal Burman playing the shreekhol, a two-headed drum used in Rabindra Sangeet and Bengali kirtanas, in an eight-beat cycle. Next came the tabla duet by Majumdar and his son Ayushman, with lehra by sarangi player Farooque Latif Khan. The music...

  BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Buddy Guy/ Ain't Done With The Blues Genre : Blues Label : RCA Records Rating : **** Chicago blues legend Buddy Guy shows no signs of slowing down. To mark his 89th birthday on July 30, he did what he loves best - release an album. Aptly, he titled it Ain't Done With The Blues . Like BB King about 15 years ago, Buddy has attained the status of 'Godfather' in this genre. We in India acknowledge his role of playing at Mumbai's Mahindra Blues Festival five times, and spreading the word about the annual event among younger players. Even if he played a similar set each time, he has had his diehard fans. The new album contains a whopping 18 songs spread over 64 minutes. Maybe, he should have cut down a few, despite their short length, to make the album tighter. The question, perhaps, was what to leave out. Obviously, he had the material and wanted to go the whole hog. The result is a good balance of autobiographical numbers, tributes and standards. B...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR aswekeepsearching/ Kyun? (Album) Label: Self-released  Rating: **** After five years, Ahmedabad post-rock band aswekeepsearching are back with a full-length album. That should be great news to those who've heard Khwaab , Zia , Rooh and Sleep , released between 2015 and 2020. In the absence of founding member and guitarist-keyboardist Shubham Gurung, the new release Kyun ? features vocalist-guitarist and co-founder Uddipan Sarmah, bassist Robert Alex and drummer Sambit Chatterjee, with inputs by violinist Ajay Jayanthi. With 10 songs spread over 48 minutes, Kyun ? takes listeners on a heady sonic journey with some marvellous guitar structures and tight drumming. There's a logical flow in the song themes, making it like a concept album. The opener 'Why?' begins with the chants of children asking questions on why certain things happen around us, leading to a trademark guitar coda. The masterly 'You Left Something' has an innovative percussion st...