narenmusic

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR TV Dinner/ Non Believers Label: Self-released  Rating: *** 1/2 TV Dinner is the new project of Nischay Parekh, after his earlier outfit Parekh & Singh announced their disbanding. After releasing his song 'Guessing Games', Nischay is now out with 'Non Believers'. The song has an interesting story. He began writing it in 2016 after heartbreak, but completed it recently after marrying his best friend and becoming a father. As such it's about the promise of true love and never giving up. With a simple pop melody and relatable lyrics, Nischay has a winner here. A colourful video by Kevin Chris Johan goes perfectly with the lines that talk of numbing the pain and making it better. Tarun Balani/ Lajpat Nagar Sometimes Label: Berthold Records Rating; *** 1/2 New Delhi-based jazz drummer and composer Tarun Balani is due to release his debut album Kadahin Milandaasain . The.single pays tribute to the refugee colony he grew up in. 'Lajpat Nagar Somet...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Andorra/ Live in Mumbai Genre : Modern jazz Details ; NMACC Cube, April 3 Rating : **** There's something about north European jazz bands that gives them a unique touch. Maybe it's the adventurous in playing or the level of improvisation. Danish quintet Andorra proved that once again at the Cube theatre of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) on Thursday. On a nine-concert tour of the country, organised by Gatecrash India, the band gave a bravura display on their Mumbai leg. From the very line-up, one would have expected some magic, and they gave exactly that. There were Mads La Cour on flugelhorn, Simon Krebs on guitar and Peter Kohlmetz Moller on keyboards, assisted on rhythm by bassist Morten Jorgenssen and drummer Nikolaj Bundvig. Though the artistes have known each other from music school 20 years ago, this band is only five years old, with three album releases - the self-titled debut, Current and their February release III . They belong to Od...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Hanumankind/ Run It Up Label: SLDM Enterprises/ Universal Rating: ***** After the super-success of 'Big Dawgs', Kerala rapper Hanumankind, producer Kalmi and video director Bijoy Shetty get together on 'Run It Up'. Once again, we have a first-rate video,  this time showing various martial arts, Kathakali dancers and energetic drummers. The song has its own charm too, with Hanumankind singing, "Now we go from angry young man to happy and glad, to find a solution for us" and "So run it up, the sun is up". The athletic singer appears in various crowd shots, filmed marvelously. The song has boundless energy that keeps you glued. And those percussion bouts propel you into another zone. One must admit here that it's the video that lifts the song considerably, leading to the optimum star rating. Diyatom Deb/ Repeat Label: Self-released  Rating: **** Shillong-bred Delhi-based singer Diyatom Deb has been associated with the groups SkyEy...

  BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Santana/ Sentient  Genre : Latino-rock Label : Starfaith Rating : *** 1/2 In the 1999 album Supernatural , rock band Santana collaborated with different artistes with varying styles. Its success prompted frontman Carlos Santana to repeat the formula on subsequent releases Shaman , All That I Am and Blessings And Miracles . The new Santana album Sentient has its share of collabs too, but this time many songs have been dug out from the vaults. There are tunes recorded with pop legend Michael Jackson and jazz great Miles Davis, who are both no more. There are songs recorded with rhythm n' blues star Smokey Robinson and fresh takes on earlier pieces. And there are also remade versions of Santana's own tunes. The songs are compiled in a way that the listener gets to experience Carlos Santana's quintessential guitarwork consistently. The Mexico-born American guitarist is known for his signature style. Though he has tended to sounded repetitive and formul...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Film review/ Midas Man Director : Joe Stephenson   Cast ; Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, Jonah Lees, Blake Richardson, Darci Shaw, Emily Watson  Rating : *** The recent Red Lorry Film Festival organised by BookMyShow at the PVR Maison and Inox in Bandra Kurla Complex had two films of interest to Beatles fans. I missed One To One : John   & Yoko , which I hope to catch when it's out in theatres in April. There was little hype about the other film Midas Man . The movie aroused my interest only after a casual glance of the synopses of films slotted, while I was deciding which ones to watch. It only mentioned this film was about Brian Epstein, without getting into detail. Epstein was a legend in his own right, having managed the Beatles from 1961 till his premature death from an overdose on August 27 1967. In fact, he was the man behind the great band's mop-tops look, their first record deals, their introduction to George Martin of their label Parlophone and t...

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR BombayMami/ Fire In Delhi Label: MNRK UK Rating: *** 1/2 After making waves with her track 'DhinDhinDha' last year, Indo-Swiss singer BombayMami comes out with 'Fire In Delhi'. Though the formula is pretty much the same, blending western and Indian elements with a catchy dance sound, this one has the hookline and the singalong factor. Equally impressive is Nayan Sharma's video, where BombayMami is wearing a lehenga while doing an Indian dance and traversing Swiss locales in Indian jewellery. A Kathak dancer (Tulani Kayani) adds her touch. The vocals mix BombayMami's English lines and rap part with Metula Raja's Indian classical vocals, as sitar, sarod and tabla add the desi instrumental flavour. The hook goes, "Take what's mine, do what's right, aay haay". Aay haay, indeed. Aadya Jaswal/ To Try (from the album Sanctuary) Label: Self-released  Rating: **** Gurugram-based singer-songwriter Aadya Jaswal has come out with her...