Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist. Week 45:
On Apple Music | On Saavn | On YouTube
26 songs this week. Apple Music and Saavn have 24, and are missing Panimathiye from Vallikudilile Vellakkaran and Kala Shah Kala from Jindari, both of which, the music labels have made available only on YouTube. YouTube is missing the full version of Thugs of Hindostan’s Suraiyya, Manwa and Jangama from Swarathma’s Raah E Fakira and Fopchu’s Chapel O Fopalop.
A note on the songs in the playlist.
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Suraiyya (Thugs Of Hindostan, Hindi): The song’s obvious appeal is the fact that Katrina Kaif’s hips get out of her body, heads to the neighboring city for a vacation and sends her a postcard from there, all courtesy Prabhudeva. But Ajay-Atul do a phenomenal job too, offering a flamboyant tune and sound package, aced by Vishal Dadlani and Shreya Ghoshal. This is a much better song than the first, Vashmalle, that was rather generic.
Yaaradiyo (Gorilla, Tamil): That’s quite an unusual name for a Tamil film! The song is great, though. Sam hands over a tune to Sid Sriram that make him sound a bit different than his usual range. And that Sam writes many of his songs himself (package deal?) continues to be an interesting trend.
Maate Vinadhuga (Taxiwaala, Telugu): Jakes Bejoy makes his Telugu debut rather soon after starting out in Malayalam and moving to Tamil. Impressive melody featuring the current blue-eyed singer of Telugu film industry after the massive success of Inkem Inkem. Really catchy ‘Maate Vinadhuga’ hook, though Sid sounds his usual self, lending the tune a generous familiarity. Comforting familiarity, though.
Karavali Song (Sarkari Hi. Pra. Shaale, Kasaragodu, Kannada): This is one of the 4 extra songs released from the film. The prominent celtic-sounding phrase, the inclusion of Chemmeen’s Kadalinakkare Ponore and the excellent kids chorus keep this song on a spritely note.
The entire album (Folk Fusion, Kannada): This is a fantastic effort by Lahari Music. They get DJ Yash Gowda to create ambient, brilliantly recreated versions of familiar Kannada folk songs and the result is absolutely delightful. The modern orchestration and catchy sound accentuate the simpler, earthy sound of the folk melodies manifold and present it in a brilliant new avatar. Excellent line-up of singers as well, from Ananya Bhat, Vijay Prakash, Raghu Dixit, among others.
Ente Maathram (Johny Johny Yes Appa, Malayalam): The kind of melody that one has to come predictably expect from Shaan Rahman. Sachin Warrier’s fantastic solo vocals lift it further. Sumesh Parameshwar’s guitars stand out, as always!
Panimathiye (Vallikudilile Vellakkaran, Malayalam): Deepak Dev, who has been missing in action since last year’s Masterpiece (was hardly one), strikes back with a confident 4-song soundtrack here. The one I liked the most is Panimathiye, that singer Meenakshi aces! Deepak’s gentle and likeable melody gets a lovely pop ballad sound.
Jau De Na Va (Naal, Marathi): Composer AV Prafullachandra’s music demonstrates an almost Ajay-Atul style nuance and complexity in the arrangements. Sung by Jayas Kumar of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs fame (supported by Rugved Kulkarni & Rucha Kulkarni), this is a thoroughly joyous song to listen to!
Kala Shah Kala (Jindari, Punjabi): While Gurmeet Singh’s tune is a pleasant throwback to a different era of simpler, earthy music, the song’s clear highlight is Mannat Noor’s vocals. How is she not in Bollywood yet, I wonder!
Manwa and Jangama (Raah E Fakira, Indipop): A surprisingly tepid affair from Swarathma. The tunes are consistently ennui-inducing and very similar to each other. However, besides the title song, Manwa works, with its excellent guitar and violin mix on top of the Euphoria’ish tune. It’s also a bit disappointing that the band doesn’t have more Kannada songs given how good the sole Kannada song, Jangama, is!
Pachondhi (Ranjit Govind, Indipop): A delightful heart-break & letting-go song from the point of view of the woman! Very catchy (music by Ranjit Govind) and aptly colloquial lyrics (uncredited). The lead in the video, Nisha, is very good too!
Waste It On Me (Steve Aoki featuring BTS): The Korean boy-band’s first English track (entirely in English)! Catchy EDM with that horn-like sound making an easy earworm!
Rhythm in My Blood (Icona Pop): Good old Swedish dance-pop! Simple, smooth and very catchy. The ‘Feel the rhythm in my blood’ stays long after the song is over.
Easy, Only Ticket Home, Start Again, Glow, Faces & Hearts On Fire (Only Ticket Home, Gavin James): I haven’t heard Gavin’s debut album, Bitter Pill. Many songs in his second album, Only Ticket Home reminded me of both Robbie Williams’s (ex-Take That) and Rob Thomas’s music (Matchbox Twenty). But the tunes are also like a mix of Coldplay, with consistently anthemic hooks (in songs like Always)!
Chapel O Fopalop (Fopchu, feat. Father G-Cuz): This is one heck of a genre shifter! Delhi-based Fopchu produces a bizarre, jazzy and funky mix that is hard to appreciate immediately, but also hard to ignore 🙂
