Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist. Week 32:
On | On | On
33 songs, this week. Yes, these days are full of fantastic music! Saavn comes close, with 29 songs (still missing Coke Studio Explorer, which are YouTube-only as of now). The only other song missing in Saavn is the Bengali song from CrissCross (that’s available on YouTube and Apple Music). Please do check the notes below to cover/listen to as many songs as you can.
A note on the songs in the playlist.
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Summer Pack (Childish Gambino): It may be the monsoons here in India, but it’s summer in the USA! So, after a politically charged This Is America, Childish Gambino aka Donald Glover drops a 2-track summer pack! Both are wonderfully summery. While Summertime Magic’s laidback R&B vibe and Glover’s repetitive ‘Do love me do love me do’ hook are easy on the ear, Feels Like Summer is even cooler and relaxed, straight out of the 80s summer catalog!
16 Steps (Martin Jensen, Olivia Holt): Danish DJ Martin Jensen, of ‘Solo Dance’ fame, returns with another possible hit here. The tropical house number with a catchy sonic beat gain a lot from Olivia’s singing, with that airy vocal edge.
Vaara Re (Dhadak, Hindi): The last song from Dhadak, and a Hindi original, thankfully. Like the title song, this one expands on Ajay-Atul’s brilliant repertoire, with its beautifully encompassing orchestral sound, with an enjoyably identifiable strand of sitar.
Paniyon Sa (Satyameva Jayate, Hindi): Rochak Kohli’s tune is good enough, on predictable lines, but the charming ‘Paniyo sa’ hook lifts it. And while Atif Aslam sounds his usual, likeable self, that Tulsi Kumar does too is a pleasant surprise.
Tera Fitoor (Genius, Hindi): Himesh Reshammiya is back! And he is not singing… not yet. His dependence on Arijit Singh pays him very well, as much as the simple, sweet melody he composes, along with that mildly lilting rhythm.
The full soundtrack (Karwaan, Hindi): Read the .
Mohobbat (Fanney Khan, Hindi): Tanishk Bagchi uses just one hook from Naushad’s Jawaan Hai Mohabbat (Anmol Ghadi) and builds an entirely new, bling’y song. Excellent work that expands on the meaning of a remix.
Thallipora (Pakshi, Tamil): After Thallipogathey… Thallipora! Composer Girishh Gopalakrishnan’s song truly comes alive in singer M.M.Manasi’s fantastic singing, even as his music adds to the pace and spirit, particularly the highly imaginative backdrop to the hook.
Adhiroobaney (Saamy Square, Tamil): Perhaps the best song by Devi Sri Prasad, who moves from Singham to Saamy franchise, usurping Harris Jayaraj’s position! Sung by M.M.Manasi, the lively tune and the mighty ambitious orchestral interludes add to the song’s charm.
Pappara Pappaa, Nilladhey Nilladhey & Iraiva Iraiva (Lakshmi, Tamil): Read the .
Thirudathey (Marainthirunthu Paarkum Marmam Enna, Tamil): The best song from the short 4-song soundtrack. Achu picks up the singing duty and handles Pa.Vijay’s humorously colloquial lyrics in style. The jazzy sound is absolutely tantalizing, though reminiscent of Santhosh Narayan.
Kanne Kanne (Indipop, Tamil): Ok, 7UP Madras Gig has a really good thing going! The 4th song, by composer Leon James, is fantastic! Leon is on top of the incredibly catchy tune that comes delightfully alive twice; first when he drops the beat, and again, when Jonita joins in absolute style, to turn the song into a lively duet!
Dung Dung (Saakshyam, Telugu): Before Vijetha hit the market, this was Arjun Reddy-background music composer, Harshavardhan Rameshwar’s full-fledged composing debut. This one’s an ok affair, with Soundarya Lahari being the best. The other listenable song is Dung Dung, with its racy, faux-folk sound mixed with a nice, upbeat electronic sound. The highlight-on-paper 12-minute song featuring K.J. Yesudas, S. P. Balasubramaniyam and Hariharan is a background’ish medley at best, while that song spawns multiple smaller variants that fall into the same category.
Kalyanam Vybhogam (Srinivasa Kalyanam, Telugu): Veteran S. P. Balasubrahmanyam gets a much better song here! Mickey J. Meyer’s ambient, expansive sound is intact and makes for a highly interesting backdrop for the otherwise-austere prayer-like melody that SPB aces.
Mellaga Mellaga (Chi La Sow): There’s a frothy lightness to composer Prashanth R Vihari’s melody that takes shape wonderfully with the Mellaga hook. The song’s clear highlight is singer Chinmayi, though, who breezes through it, giving it life.
Inkem Inkem Inkem Kaavaale (Geetha Govindam, Telugu): This is Sid Sriram’s astounding show! He is so, so good with the vocals, and literally carries Gopi’s unusual, lush, slow-burn melody. The choice of veena for the interludes works wonders too.
Udaya Sandhyayil (Prashna Parihara Shala, Malayalam): Composer Pramod Bhaskar’s orchestration seems from a different, milder decade. The tune too goes with that feel, and much of the sound reminded me of M.M.Keeravani’s body of work, particularly the strings. Pleasant listen.
Moovandan Manchottil (Oru Pazhaya Bomb Kadha, Malayalam): Sung by Vineeth Sreenivasan, Arunraj’s dreamy melody goes old-style, with stellar work by Cochin Strings. A shade of Ilayaraja’s Senthoora Poove (16 Vayathinile) makes it all the more interesting.
Yenammi Yenammi (Ayogya, Kannada): Even though the super-catchy rhythm that goes ‘Chumpa chikka chikku jum’ seems predictable and familiar, Arjun Janya’s tune, and the singing by Vijay Prakash and Palak Muchhal, together elevates the song.
Duniya (Crisscross, Bengali): It’s great to see Pritam’s JAM8 doing good work across languages. In Duniya, the tune by Subhadeep Mitra (for JAM8) has a lively, rhythmic energy that gets accentuated by Nikhita Gandhi’s singing and Nyzel Dlima’s guitar and mandolin.
Teri Mustang (D. Cali featuring Fateh Doe, Punjabi): Typically glitzy Punjabi hiphop mix which, when you replace the Punjabi lyrics with English, could easily be heard anywhere in the US. The production and singing are top-notch, as expected.
Tere Bin Soona, Naseebaya & Ha Gulo (Coke Studio Explorer): Toronto-based Mishal Khawaja’s Tere Bin Soona pulls her out of the Instagram world and showcases her phenomenal vocal prowess. The haunting tune goes perfectly with her range. Naseebaya, is of Baloch traditional folk origin. The dambora, played by Darehan and Shayan, layered over Mangal’s almost prayer-like tune, creates a hypnotic effect. Add to it the show producers’ electronic sounds – a fantastic fusion! Ha Gulo, written by Kashmiri poet Ghulam Ahmad Mehjoor, gets an energetic new backdrop, despite working with sarangi and the Kashmiri tumbaknari. Muhammad Altaf Mir and his band (Qasamir) keep the rendition very, very authentic.
