Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist. Week 53:
On | On
13 songs in the last playlist of 2018. Both Saavn and YouTube have 11 songs each. Saavn is missing Kungumanira Sooryan from Neeyum Njanum and Viswasam’s Kannaana Kanney, while YouTube is missing Yaariva from Nathicharami and Anandam from Manchukurisevelalo.
A note on the songs in the playlist.
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Hai Re Farebi – 706 (Anikhet Khandekar) – Hindi: Classical musician Anikhet Khandekar hits it out of the park with a wonderfully realized mix of a classical melody orchestrated with the right amount of sounds that are anything but classical, though the base is very much rooted in the classical mode. The fusion works, and so does the choice of Anikhet’s daughter, Prathaa, for the vocals. She’s stupendously good with the singing!
Vellattu Kannazhagi – Mehandi Circus (Sean Roldan) – Tamil: Mehandi Circus’ script is by Raju Murugan of Cuckoo and Joker fame! And we know what happened the last time Raju and Sean Roldan got together, in Joker. Vellattu Kannazhagi is a charming song no doubt, and there’s a lot to like in the simple, innate beauty of the melody. If there’s anything pulling it down, it is the generic seeming rhythm, a trait that pulls down most of Rahman’s recent songs too.
Uyir – Seethakaathi (Govind Vasantha) – Tamil: Uyir seems like the lyrical version of the outstanding The Journey of Ayya that I had placed at No. 3 in the list of 30 best songs in Tamil in 2018. The base raaga from the instrumental piece seems to be intricately used in this song too and Govind’s searing vocals lend it phenomenal depth.
Kannaana Kanney – Viswasam (D.Imman) – Tamil: The other song in the noisy Viswasam soundtrack that I liked, besides Adchithookku. It’s an easy pick given Sid Sriram’s vocals and the immersive lyrics by Thamarai.
Entho Fun – F2 (Devi Sri Prasad) – Telugu: It looks like the ‘senior’ stars like Nagarjuna and Venkatesh have evolved to understand that they need a younger star to tag along with – so, after Nag’s Devadas with Nani, here comes Venkatesh’s F2, with Varun Tej. Devi’s music is surprisingly warm and low key, with a steadily soft melody with his own singing adding tremendous value.
Anandam – Manchukurisevelalo (Shravan Bharadwaj) – Telugu
Anandam is like a mix of a Devi Sri Prasad’ish song and a Vishal-Shekhar song! The spritely rhythm and Anudeep’s enthusiastic singing help hold on to the song’s feel consistently. Overall, Manchukurisevelalo, besides the title song and this one, is a surprisingly tepid soundtrack from the otherwise promising Shravan.
Yaariva & Bhaavaloka – Nathicharami (Bindhumalini) – Kannada: Aruvi-fame Bindhumalini is on her own (without Vedanth), but the quality of her music remains the same! There is a marked simplicity to her music that sounds more intimate than her work in Aruvi, possibly owing to the film’s theme. Vasundhare remains my favorite from the soundtrack, but its companion piece of sorts, Yaariva, with a similar soft, jazz feel is mighty good too. (since Yaariva is not available as a single on YouTube, adding the jukebox here). And then there’s Bhaavaloka that Bindhumalini owns with her powerful singing. The melody took me back to the Muthuswamy Dikshithar carnatic song, Akhilandeswari Rakshamam, set to dvijaavanti raaga.
Neer Kanikayil & Sanjaaramaay – Ente Ummante Peru (Gopi Sundar) – Malayalam: This is Gopi literally returning to home base! Neer Kanikayil is vintage Gopi melody, with an absolutely delightfully low-key and enveloping melody that he sings himself, with a throaty intimacy. The interludes, particularly the flute-like instrument, too add to the intimate feeling in this soft, unhurried song. Najim Harshad sounds a lot like singer Karthik in Sanjaaramaay, another song that has Gopi’s trademark sounds. This one too is easily likeable, given its familiar sound and melody, interjected with Urdu phrases.
Kungumanira Sooryan – Neeyum Njanum (Vinu Thomas) – Malayalam: Vinu’s delightful melody sounds to me like Reetigowlai raaga and Shreya’s exquisite singing makes it all the more beautiful!
Bindhast Houn – Mauli (Ajay-Atul) – Marathi: Even as the duo’s Hindi form seems middling in a year when they had the most high-profile releases (Thugs of Hindostan and Zero, for instance). But it is perhaps in Marathi that they continue to shine! Like this lovely song from Mauli! The build-up and musical flow are very similar to the sprawling music they produced in Sairat! And in Shreya and Karthik’s voice, this song is sheer magic!
They Don’t Care About Us – Rudimental, featuring Maverick Sabre and YEBBA: A song bristling with its horn-infused orchestration and a tune that surges brilliantly! The song, despite sounding negative on first glance, is actually the opposite!
