Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist.
Week 197: On Spotify | On
9 songs this week! All the songs are available on YouTube and Spotify.
Le Sajna – Babli Bouncer (Tanishk Bagchi) – Hindi: Tanishk is more popular (or unpopular, as the case may be) for his remixes and recreations given the frequency with which he indulges in them (or, is asked to produce – a chicken or egg situation?). But he has been fairly consistent in producing really good original songs too, and this song fits that list. It’s a simple, bouncy, and thoroughly enjoyable song made better by Altamash Faridi’s affecting vocals.
Gaya Gaya Gaya – CHUP! (Amit Trivedi) – Hindi: After quite some time, we have 2 big films with Amit Trivedi’s music (CHUP! and Goodbye). While the songs released so far from Goodbye barely worked for me (including the pub anthem sort of ‘Hic song’), CHUP! seems to have started on a considerably better note. I was a bit disappointed that Balki did not go back to Ilayaraja, but Amit’s first single from the film makes me look for more, hopefully. The melody works effortlessly though I find the background music lacking Amit’s usually more resonant nuance. The singers elevate the tune considerably – Rupali Moghe and Shashwat Singh (Rupali also sang Goodbye’s Hic song, incidentally).
Kanneer Sindha – Thiruchitrambalam (Anirudh) – Tamil: While this is very much Vijay Yesudas’s stellar show—he carries the song so well just like his famous dad used to during his heydays—Anirudh too works his sound magic in the background almost competing with the hugely affecting vocals. It’s a terrific mix. The interludes, in particular, are almost… almost Raja’esque!
Theliyaledhu Ga – Em Chesthunnav (Gopi Sundar) – Telugu: There’s so much to observe and enjoy in this song by Gopi Sundar. Swetha Ashok’s solo vocals, is phenomenal – that ‘Ye janmalono’ pivot is handled beautifully, in particular. And then there’s Sandeep Mohan’s guitar! Observe how he plays it after ‘Ninu choosaaka naakemayindo’… lovely!
Thenthulli – Kotthu (Kailas) – Malayalam: A Sibi Malayil movie’s music deserves a closer look and I see he has chosen to work with Kailas, perhaps for the first time (after recent associations with composers like Bijibal and M.Jayachandran). Thenthulli is not really fresh or striking, but it does have a simple charm that draws you in, thanks largely to Sruthy Sivadas and K.K Nishad’s singing.
Arikeyonnu Kandoru – Vellaripattanam (Sachin Shankor Mannath) – Malayalam: I don’t recall hearing Sachin Shankor Mannath’s name or music earlier, but when I checked, I did listen to the first single from Vellaripattanam last month (Enthu Naada) and did not find it interesting in any way. But the composer does make a mark in Arikeyonnu Kandoru! It’s a spritely tune made even more likely by KS Harisankar’s (and Nithya Mammen’s) singing. The anupallavi seemed to be going in very odd directions, though.
Vasanthi – The Anirudh Varma Collective, ft. Sowmya Gurucharan & Abhay Nayampally (Indipop): An impromptu and free-flowing exposition of Vasanthi raaga that is insanely enchanting! Abhay Nayampally’s carnatic guitar has a similar richness and depth of U Srinivas’s mandolin, and Sowmya Guruchuaran’s crystal clear elucidation of the raaga is a sheer delight to listen to. As the raaga’s strands make themselves clearer, I couldn’t help trace famous songs that use the raaga – like Eeramaana Rojaave’s incredibly beautiful Adho Megha Oorvalam, and Mudhalvan’s Kurukku SiruthavaLe.
Sleepyhead & Je Suis la Pomme Rouge – The Night is Clear (Parekh & Singh) – English/Indipop: I totally dig this band’s sound and their third album is more of the same… and that’s a good thing! It’s a warm, familiar, and very likeable sound. The individual songs worked in varying degrees for me, but the 2 songs that stood out are these (I had written about the latter earlier this year, in January).
