Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 158: On Spotify | On
12 songs, this week. YouTube has all 12, but Spotify is missing 2 – the fantastic Ilayaraja mash-up and The Veyil Song in Malayalam.
Ilayaraja mash-up – Sathya & Stanley, ft. Lavita & Sanjana – Tamil: This is an OUTSTANDING mashup! It reminded me of Crazy Mohan jokes coming thick and fast in a film where you don’t have time to assimilate them all – here the songs change rapidly and you are left breathless, trying to identify and cope up! I really liked that they have included musical pieces too, like that Poo Maalaiye (Pagal Nilavu) prelude at 3:00 or the interlude from Valaiosai (Sathya) at 3:56. Also, the seamless movement to a song’s middle parts is goosebumps-inducing – for instance, that call from Kaadhal Vaanile and response from Maalayil Yaaro!
Jeeraga Biriyani – Yennanga Sir Unga Sattam (Guna Balasubramanian) – Tamil: This is an unusual song, in terms of the combination of what is being sung and how it is tuned! Benny Dayal sings Jegan Kaviraj’s lines that call the lady love as ‘Jeeraga Biriyani’ (the Tamil-style biriyani that is made not with the ‘North Indian’ Basmati rice but with ‘Seeraga Chamba’ rice!) and the melody has a lovely Middle Eastern twang that keeps it steadily interesting.
Enakkenna Aachu – Kasada Tabara (Yuvan Shankar Raja) – Tamil: For an anthology with as many as 6 composers, I did not find the songs all that engaging. The one song that stood out for me is this one, by Yuvan. It’s a classic Yuvan template and he sings it himself too (about which I have said a lot already and won’t waste any more time 🙂 ) – a lush, thoroughly engaging melody with hugely enjoyable nuances in the background.
Obulamma – Kondapolam (M M Keeravani) – Telugu: There is SO MUCH 90s Rahman in this song that I had a tough time associating Keeravani’s name as composer! More than the tune (beautiful as it is), it is the backgrounds where that early-Rahman feeling comes through so much. Fantastic song, with excellent singing by Satya Yamini and PVNS Rohit.
Bandeena Bandeena – Raja Raja Chora (Vivek Sagar) – Telugu: As a fan of Vivek’s music, I really wanted to like the songs of Raja Raja Chora. This is also considering this film’s director worked with director Vivek Athreya in Brochevarevarura that had the same hero and Vivek’s excellent music. But, most of the songs, barring this one, don’t work for me. This one, probably thanks to Pradeep’s singing, stood out – Vivek’s melody makes it an easy listen.
So So Ga Lyrical – Manchi Rojulochaie (Anup Rubens) – Telugu: Anup nails both the tune and sound so well – a faux-classical melody accentuated with that veena-sounding instrument (electric guitar?). And Sid Sriram singing it can only make things even better!
The Hey Song – Veyil (Pradeep Kumar) – Malayalam: It’s great to see Pradeep branching out to languages other than Tamil… considering he debuted with an outstanding soundtrack in Telugu, this is hardly surprising. This song has the Santhosh Narayan trademark, though – that strings (Macedonian Radio Symphonic Orchestra) entry at the two-and-a-half minute mark is one instance! The song is powered largely by Aasha Sriram’s intimate voice and she handles Pradeep’s unusual melodic turns beautifully! The sound Pradeep conjures offers a lot to observe and enjoy – for instance, that shift to a thumping sound at 1:27, is a wonderful touch!
Maai Bappa Vithala – Nitin-Prasad – Marathi: Nitin’s melody, for a deeply devotional song, uses Charukesi raaga to stupendous effect given how much depth it offers to an expression of faith. And in Ajay Gogawale’s voice, the song gains tremendously, leading to a heady ending!
Luna, Lover & Vibe – Diljit Dosanjh; Music by Intense (Punjabi): Diljit’s new album is a very good listen overall, given the distinctly international, hiphop sound (barring Vibe, perhaps). My favorites include Vibe too, but Luna and Lover, with their synth-funk sound, are thoroughly enjoyable!
Manike Mage Hithe – Chamath Sangeeth, ft. Yohani & Satheeshan – Sinhala: The song, originally composed by Chamath, sung by Satheeshan and Dulan ARX, and released in July 2020 was a huge hit, but the cover version sung by Yohani and Satheeshan, and released in May 2021 has become so big a hit that there are hugely successful cover versions in so many Indian languages! The song’s gentle lilt is reminiscent of Anirudh’s Why This Kolaveri, and I reckon much of the cover version’s success is owing to Yohani and her enchanting voice.
