Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist. Week 55:
On | On
11 songs, this week. Saavn has 8, and is missing Neeyoraal, from Kalikootukar, Marghazhi Reloaded’s Dwijavanthi and Superheroes Without Capes, by Thayir Sadam Project. Have embedded them below. YouTube has 10 songs and is missing only Funktuation’s Poovey (which is on Saavn).
A note on the songs in the playlist.
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Wako Naam Fakir – Fakir of Venice (A.R.Rahman) – Hindi: This is Rahman of yore, considering the film has been in the making for a decade. I’m assuming this was probably composed in a very period. The soft, lilting tune that accentuates Kabir’s poignant verse and Rahman’s own voice keeps you completely invested in the song. Also, that tune change for the antara!
Behe Chala – Uri (Shashwat Sachdev) – Hindi: My pick of the soundtrack is the one that doesn’t pump up the adrenalin or go hyper-jingoistic. Shashwat’s music reminds me of early Rahman, with an instrumental selection that beautifully complements the ‘behe chala’ sensibility, as if water is flowing serenely. Yasser Desai is a great choice for the singing too.
Chamba – Electro Folk Series (Music by Aditya Dev, based on a traditional Himachali/Chambyali song): The song was earlier featured in Mohit Chauhan’s album, Fitoor (as Mai Ni Meriye). Aditya Dev’s Electro Folk variant doesn’t tamper much with the actual song and keeps it equally likeable. It’s the singers who take the song to a new high, particularly Neha Kakkar, besides Sonu Kakkar and Aditya Dev himself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNqUr5WD3ro
Kannamma – Ispade Rajavum Idhaya Raniyum (Sam C.S.) – Tamil: Sam opens his 2019 account with a catchy, well-produced song. The song starts without any bang since the pallavi seems plain enough, but Sam builds it really well, layering the catchy ‘Sokkatha’ phrase and then using the punchy sound for the rest of the song. The interludes (Vishnu’s flute, in specific) and Anirudh’s singing are good highlights.
Poovey – Funktuation (Tamil): I loved Oora Paaru (had added it in my top 30 of 2018 under non-film/Indipop) from Funktuation. Poovey sounds almost like listening to Jamiroquai sing in Tamil!! Full marks for staying in character with the funk and adapting Tamil perfectly into the flow.
Merupula Merisina – Prema Katha Chitram 2 (JB) – Telugu: Despite the Mohit Suri’ish/Pritam’ish Hindi sound, JB aka Jeevan Babu continues to offers good music and yet be largely relegated to the second/third rung of Telugu music.
Aarum Kaanaathe – Allu Ramendran (Shaan Rahman) – Malayalam: A rather predictable/familiar, but sweet melody from Shaan. The choice of the singer — Adheef Mohammad — works wonderfully for this melody.
Neeyoraal – Kalikootukar (Vinu Thomas) – Malayalam: A song that I could easily mistake for being composed by Vidyasagar. The base classical melody and the soft music contribute to that feeling effortlessly. Not to take anything away from Vinu Thomas, his song is hugely listenable. And the singers – Swetha Mohan and Najim Irshad – really own it.
Dwijavanthi – Marghazhi Reloaded Episode 3 (Mahesh Raghvan, Sharanya Srinivas, Shravan Sridhar & Akshay Anantapadmanabhan): Wonderful effort by the 4 people involved. Mahesh’s Geoshred on the iPad, in particular, is such a resonant sound to focus on! Sharanya’s singing too is brilliant. The raaga, that I identify as the one behind the famous song, ‘Akhilandeshwari Rakshamam’, is the real winner, given how well it has been expressed here.
Superheroes Without Capes – Thayir Sadam Project: I had ranked the Thayir Sadam Project’s Crazy Little Thing Called Chakravakam at No. 14 in my list of top 30 non-film songs for 2018. This new song is a very nice effort! Ambi Subramaniam’s violin phrase, in particular!
You And I – Tom Walker: Tom revisits his massive hit from 2017 with a more ebullient sound. It works yet again, flawlessly!
