Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 170: On Spotify | On
A rather short playlist this week – just 8 songs! The YouTube playlist has all 8, while the Spotify playlist is missing just one – Hamsika Iyer’s Muruga.
Pottu Thotta Pournami, Nagumo, Nagumo Revival & Puthiyoru Lokam – Hridhayam (Hesham Abdul Wahab) – Malayalam: As soon as I heard Pottu Thotta Pournami, my mind reached out to Raja’s ‘Koyil Mani Osai’ from Kizhakke Pogum Rayil – the Suddha Saveri raaga connection, I presume. Sachin Balu and Megha Josekutty’s vocals are outstanding—particularly how their vocals are woven alternatively in the anupallavi—as also a wonderful layer of sax by Nikhil Ram. Nagumo seems like a specially planned recreation of Thyagaraja’s classic considering Mohanlal, Priyadarshan and Sreenivasan are famously known for the song’s use in 1988 classic Chithram, and now their children, Pranav, Kalyani, and Vineeth are making this film! Punya Srinivas’ Veena is a superb addition to this new version while Arvind Venugopal’s vocals seem effortless but soulful. The song’s other variant, Nagumo Revival, is a wonderful listen too, given the many new musical shades added to it. Puthiyoru Lokam sounded very Shaan Rahman’ish to me. But the mix – of Vimal Roy’s Western-style vocals and Bhadra Rajin’s Indian-style vocals – is fantastic, and stamps Hesham’s unique signature.
Parudeesa – Bheeshma Parvam (Sushin Shyam) – Malayalam: Sushin is truly in a zone these days! After Kurup, he strikes again in Amal Neerad’s new film, with Sreenath Bassi delivering the song in style amidst a flourish of Maxwell’s Trumpet.
Ae Deewane Dil – Deepak Jeswal (Indipop): This is an unabashed tribute to R D Burman and it did take me back in time instantly! But, however much I loved that nostalgic feel, it came across more as a tribute to Jatin-Lalit given how the duo had internalized Pancham’s sound and produced their own original sound on top so wonderfully. This is not a complaint, however – I love the duo’s work as an extension of Pancham’s. Deepak’s music also seemed to carefully and clinically deconstruct many of Pancham’s familiar phrases by changing the pitch – this is too is not a complaint 🙂
Muruga – Ku.Sa.Krishnamurthy, Ft. Hamsika Iyer (Indipop): Set in the incredibly haunting raaga Madhuvanti, the melody is nothing short of mesmerizing! Hamsika’s vocal prowess is also on full display and she handles the already heady melody brilliantly, with Rajhesh Vaidhya’s impeccable Veena backing.
Kana Yaari – Kaifi Khalil (Coke Studio Season 14): The second song in the new season of Coke Studio hits jackpot! The Balochi track, composed by Kaifi Khalil, also features folk singer Abdul Wahab Bugti and the hijabi rapper Eva B. Eva B’s rap is a special highlight of the song even as Abdul’s Balochi flavor is the song’s solid base. Kaifi’s tune is incredibly lilting, bringing it all together beautifully.