Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 152: On Spotify | On
13 songs this week. YouTube has all 13, while Spotify is missing just one – Atif Aslam’s new version of Dil Jalaane Ki Baat, even though Spotify actually has a playlist by the name of “Dil Jalaane Ki Baat – Atif Aslam” which does not have the one song mentioned in the title! Sounds like clickbait.
Milaa Yun & Lakeeran – Haseen Dilruba (Amit Trivedi) – Hindi: After the 2 songs last week, 2 more from the same movie (that has only 4 songs, btw!) – this is a pretty good album by Amit Trivedi, overall. Both Milaa Yun and Lakeeran are mellow, slow-rock’ish songs that Amit usually aces. He had last composed such songs in Paris Paris, the long-pending Queen remake in the South.
Purvaiya & Ananya – Toofaan (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy) – Hindi: Going by the composing trio’s incredibly high standards, I was mildly disappointed with the Toofaan soundtrack. Even the motivational songs, that they usually get electrifyingly right (in films like Bhaag Milkha Bhaag), here sound very average (title song). And there are other composers involved too, in 2 songs – this is quite odd for a soundtrack by the trio. But they get at least 2 songs wonderfully right. Shankar leads Purvaiya and what a magnificent different that makes, along with Javed Akhtar’s fantastic lines. The melody is almost like that of a bhajan till it is interjected by the punchy ‘Tez chali re Purvaiya’ hook. The soundtrack’s best is Arijit’s Ananya! The spartan, almost-spoken song is reminiscent of Simon and Garfunkel’s intimate melodies and it falls upon Arijit to hold the entire melody via the power of his singing.
Socha Na Tha, Jaaye Na Tu, KTMBK, Dooriyan & Kya Karoon – Genesis 1:1 (Zaeden) – Indipop: Zaeden’s (Sahil Sharma) debut album includes some of the songs that I have previously written about earlier, including Dooriyan and Kya Karoon. Overall, this is a highly confident and accomplished album that has a uniform mood and sound all through making it very listenable, and very easy on the ears. Socha Na Tha’s pleasant ballad style is accentuated by the captivating hook and Zaeden’s falsetto-laden voice. Jaaye Na Tu almost sounds like a Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy song and that is a compliment! Hanita Bhambri joins Zaeden in Kahoon Toh Main Bhi Kya (KTMBK) and the duet works beautifully given the gentle and lilting melody.
Slum Anthem – Kodiyil Oruvan (Nivas.K.Prasanna) – Tamil: When I saw the names of the song’s singers that included Gautham Vasudev Menon (besides Premji Amaren, Vijay Antony, Nivas.K.Prasanna himself), I was pretty confused – the man is already known for his limited, staccato dialogs in the lowest pitch possible that warrants “Please wear headphones for best experience”. But trust composer Nivas to produce a highly entertaining kuthu track that gets progressively interesting given the variations he layers in the rhythm and constantly shifting tonal changes! Thankfully, Gautham has been given simple, nursery rhyme like verses that he manages competently. Nivas adds so many interesting phrases that lift the song effortlessly – that ‘Nee Yaaru’ question and response structure was the best, as also the superbly colloquial lyrics by Super Subu.
Sivakumar Pondati – Sivakumarin Sabadham (Hiphop Tamizha) – Tamil: The extended intro with limited lyrics and the overall package clearly indicate that Hiphop Tamizha wanted to emulate Master’s Vaathi Coming. While Anirudh’s song was at a different level, Hiphop Tamizha doesn’t do that bad either. It’s pulsating and very catchy, and retains the energy till the end.
Ranga Rattinam – Kuruthi Aattam (Yuvan Shankar Raja) – Tamil: This is vintage Yuvan slow poison that he usually handles incredibly well. And I thank Goddess AngaaLa Parameswari for Yuvan choosing not to sing it himself. Anthony Daasan does the singing mighty well, even if his rustic voice seems unusual for such soft ballad.
Dil Jalane Ki Baat – Atif Aslam (Tassadduq Shad, Saad Sultan) – Pakistani Pop: What a lovely, lovely recreation of a Noor Jehan classic (composed by Tassadduq Shad)! The ghazal’s new version is given the austere backing it requires by Saad, while Atif does his vocal magic impeccably, as always. In fact, the song’s crescendo’ish ending gives him ample scope to demonstrate his singing.
