Archive for the ‘music’ Category

REWIND 2016 : Non-Bolly Songs We Played In Loop This Year + Dinchak List

Posted: December 27, 2016 by moifightclub in cinema, music, Music Recco, rewind, songs & videos, Year end special
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The list might include some songs that some of us might have heard earlier. Pardon me for my late discovery. As the saying goes, a thing of beauty is joy forever. So here goes the playlist. If you want to read, then scroll down, else just play it and let us know what you think of it.

Dhafer Youssef is a Tunisian composer and after coming across his performance in Bombay (recorded by a dear friend and shared with me), I have been itching to tell the world about him. If you haven’t heard his earthy tunes, I suggest you head straight to his Youtube account. I have included a 4 year old clip in the playlist. Trust me, his work is much wider than what you will see in this playlist.

The sun won’t set (Anoushka Shankar – Norah Jones) – Although the entire album (Traces of you) is brilliant, this song somehow did the trick for me. Norah Jones and Anoushka’s Sitar have such a musical symmetry to it. Ravi in Hindi means Sun. The song is an obvious tribute to their father and a classic one at that.

Bajre da sita (Neha Bhasin) – Much before we came across her splendid version of jag ghumeya, Neha came out with this beautiful interpretation of a folk song. Easily one of the most promising voices we have today. Hats off to the light arrangement by Sameer Uddin as well.

Ismail Ka Urdu Sheher – Is a Sci-fi comic conceptualized by Zohaib Kazi. He penned and composed the music for his comic (yes! music for his comic) which was breathtakingly good to put it mildly. You can read our recco post on the same here. The album has artists like Sara Haider, Zoe Viccaji, Jaffer ali Zaidi, Omran shafique, Samra khan and Nida Khurram. Do pick this one up. Easily the find of the year. There is a distinct feeling of a free fall in what Zohaib does, and I love it! (Fun fact – The last song in the playlist is also composed by Zohaib and it came out 4 years ago. check it!).

AsWeKeepSearching – I am late to discover this band and even though we have put the link to their song called ‘tattva‘ (which came out in 2013), I strongly urge you to check their album titled Khwaab. The entire album is here. Search the song titled ‘Other side’ and melt away. We are looking at you people @Aswekeepsearching, give us more!

Ahesta bero (Ahmad Wali) – Essentially a wedding song. The understated singing and the simple 90s like arrangement of the song is heartwarming to say the least. Heart aches if you hear it and think about what has happened in that region.

Sunoh – Shilpa Rao – While private albums aren’t topping the agenda of artists these days, it was heartening to see Kailash kher, Kaushiki Chakraborty, Javed Bashir, Monica Dogra (really?) and few others come out with theirs. I loved the mood of this album by Shilpa Rao, and in spite of the fact that my favorite song from the album (Ka karu sajni) doesn’t have a music video right now, the one you will see in the playlist is equally good.

Gerua/Kabira cover medley (Bryden-Parth feat. The choral riff) – Rarely have I come across a remix/re-imagined version of a song that can make the original pale in comparison. The simplicity of this mash-up made me love Gerua and Kabira.

Maya (Bipul Chhetri) – We are so happy we discovered his work sometime back and this year he gave us another stunner of an album. Do check his work out and you can buy his album from oklisten dot com.

Ae ri sakhi morey (Papon) –  In what would be yet another good album this year that was titled The story so far, Papon gave this ethereal tribute to a timeless composition in his own honey dipped style of singing. We loved it, hope you do so too!

Nawazishein  (Shuja Haider) – Discovered this song thanks to this season of Coke Studio Pakistan. Some found it terribly low on energy, some loved the helplessness in the singing. Depends which side of life you are when you play this, but do play this once, for no matter where you are, you might just end up humming Kaneezein hain…

Coke Sudio 9 – This year, Coke Studio Pakistan experimented with multiple composers and giving them company were disco lights that went haywire on their own will. It was a weak season but left us with some gems, like always. We have reviewed the season here and have included 4 best songs of the season in the playlist. Hear the soothing lullaby vocals of Ali, the reincarnation of a timeless classic by Momina and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, The rock solid combo of Saein Zahoor and Sanam Marvi, and the ever so moving Abida Parveen, who, according to me, sang the song of the season. Do check out the full playlist at the link above as well.

Tu mera nahi – Nescafe Basement (Xulfi) – Nescafe basement has been doing some really exciting work off late. Still this gem from season 4 leaves me teary eyed every time I listen to it. Great arrangement, killer flute, lovely execution and so much pain!

Mil ke baithenge + Vanjhali Wala – Angrej (Amrinder Gill) – Yes, I cry when I hear a good song and many a times it has nothing to do with lyrics. Here, however, whatever little I understood, made me waste more and more tissue papers. What a lovely composition. Hear it. Then, when i hear Vanjhali Wala, it makes me smile as it reminded me of a certain Coke studio (Pak) song that we have featured here. Delightful Amrinder!

Swahh bann ke – Punjab 1984 (Diljit Dosanjh) – Diljit Dosanjh has sensibilities that can outrun most thinking actors of today, and a voice that can melt stones. With this song, he politely pointed out that he is just not ‘bruaaaaah’ singer. Quite simply my favourite song from him, so far. Yes, it is a sad song. No, you don’t want to know the meaning of it, trust me on that.

Yad lagla – Sairat (Ajay Gogavle) – Well, to state the obvious, it doesn’t matter whether you listen to this song on V-Moda headphones or on a bad quality tweeter speaker, you cannot stop yourself from dancing. The sheer force of love and melody when combined sound exactly like this. We loved this album, as you can read here, but this remains the pick for me. Ajay-Atul, you sexy sexy people! :*

And that’s it.

Please let us know your picks and discoveries of the year. In addition to the non-bollywood playlist, we are also putting the ‘dinchak-playlist’ which might make you cringe but well, you might want to dance on it anyway. Wishing you a musical new year from all of us here @moifighclub!

Here goes the dinchak list, that contains my 2 favourite Hindi film themes from this year as well. Have fun!

– @Rohwit

REWIND 2016 : Bollywood Songs We Played In Loop This Year

Posted: December 24, 2016 by moifightclub in cinema, music, Music Recco, rewind, songs & videos, Year end special
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This year was mostly dull, film songs wise. The clutter was celebrated by digging the same old formula to return a fake spectacle of sanitized arrangement, auto-tune overload, and, in most cases zero relevance to the film which the album represented. My ‘top film songs’ are as under. Yes, it features a song from a Sunny Leone film and another song from a film you might not have heard about. These songs remain in my playlist, till today as we close the year.

I would suggest you click the play button and then keep scrolling down to read the post. The songs will play in the sequence you will read about them.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjSt-NL0s8k7YW0R-WV38dBGyQqfXfgiO

Dug dugi dug (Jugni) – Vishal bhardwaj‘s voice, Clinton‘s free flowing composition and Shellee‘s beautiful poetry, all made up for a fantastic song that lasted the whole year in spite of the fact that the film released in January. The album was quite ok but nothing lasted longer than Vishal’s balm of a voice in this song.

Dil mein hua ghotala (Saala Khadoos) – Now I am mindful that there is an ‘original’ of this song in another language, but I don’t think most songs retain their charm when they are reborn as a Hindi film song. Ok jaanu?  That said, the frisky vocals of Monali and the ‘toom toom’ in the song made it impossible for me to take the song off my playlist. Santosh Narayanan gets full marks for using strings which are intertwined beautifully in the song. Monali Thakur, sing more?

Haminastu (Fitoor) – Rarely have I come across a song so beautiful about Kashmir. Tapas’ superlative string play, Zeb‘s spirited singing and Amit Trivedi‘s talent culminated into a magnificent song that will outlast us all.

Bollywood Diaries* – I wish I could write a recco post about this beauty. Oh wait! I did! You can read me raving about the album here. Vipin Patwa‘s music and Dr. Sagar‘s lyrics were beautiful and devastating in equal measure. Hear Titli (By Papon), my pick of this album. It might have escaped your attention but tell me if it doesn’t affect you as a song, as an album. Highly recommended.

Single chal reya hai – Mohit chauhan got the bhopali accent right and Krsna‘s composition made the song even more adorable. I do suspect that the lyricist Rajshekhar has paid a tribute to Javed Akhtar by mentioning him, subtly. Anyway, the cute song’s high point is – Tu hai ab tak akeli, humko khal reya hai…ha! what fun!

Le chala (One Night Stand) – Jeet Ganguli can melt us with his romantic tune is old news. For One Night Stand (the film), he teamed up with Jubin Nautiyal for a song that deserved much wider audience than it got. This is one of the better penned songs by Manoj Muntashir and even if you are rolling eyes thinking ‘Sunny Leone’s film? really?’, give this song a listen, you will know what I mean. A romantic song, done right.

Waiting* – Mike Mccleary is much more than someone who makes ‘English-type’ songs. He has a distinctive sound and it is time for the ‘gyaani’ mainstream people to fuse his sound with good lyrics. The effect of that would be something to look forward to, just like it was in this album. My pick is tu hai to main hu, of course.

Mehandi (Dhanak) – While the album didn’t set my playlist on fire, this song from Dhanak rocked and how! Tapas Relia‘s earthy fusion and raw singing by Anwar, Swaroop & Niyaz sounded just too good to miss. Do not miss the khadtal all throughout! This is just a glimpse of what we can achieve in bollywood music if our neeyat is at right place.

Udta Punjab* – This album by Amit Trivedi didn’t soar exactly but gave us the delightful Kanika Kapoor in memorable da da dasse, Splendid re-imagination of ik kudi, and my favorite title song of the year – Udta Punjab. Disclaimer – Now the lyricist is somewhat related to our blog, but trust me when I say this – Haven’t heard such wildness in a song this year. Andar da kutta, rifle dikha ke mushayre lutiye forever! Also, fuck disclaimers! Amit trivedi and Vishal dadlani should be fined for sounding this good with a song that has Bakaiti written all over it.

Jag Ghoomeya  (Sultan) – Salman, err! Sultan had some decent tunes to its credit but Neha Bhasin’s affectionately sung version stole my heart and hid it somewhere in those strings that accompany her throughout the song. A song for bonfires and those mushy evenings. Kudos to Vishal-Shekhar and Irshad Kamil as well.

Chu liya (Hai Apna Dil Toh Awara) – We don’t come across such simply composed songs anymore. So kudos to Ajay Singha for creating this song. Papon and Neha Rajpal sound like fragile lovers. (Fun fact – The central riff of this song is pretty similar to Bipul Chettri‘s asaan from the album that we featured here 2 years ago. Still it is a damn good song.)

Mirzya* – If only music could save the fate of a film! I was quick to pronounce Mirzya as the album of the year in my post here and it pretty much remained so till someone else invaded the playlist. More on that later. Mirzya, if not the best, can be surely called as the most experimental album of the year. We have included the title song of the film in the playlist but the entire album remains our favorite.

Dariya (Baar Baar Dekho) – Granted that the song is a case study in excessive auto-tuning, still, I love the way Arko has retained the emotion so well in lyrics and the way he has sang this. Hopelessly in love, flowing like a dariya.

Besabriyan (MSDhoni – The Untold Story) – Amaal- Armaan Malik are good guys but it is becoming increasingly difficult to find out which song of theirs belongs to which album. Still, this gem from ‘Dhoni’ makes me soar the way Udaan‘s music did. Yes, big statement, but Manoj Muntashir has penned a beauty and full marks to Amaal and Armaan for such a fabulous effort.

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil* – For me, the album of the year. For me, the album that should get Amitabh Bhattacharya and Pritam all the awards. The way songs came together and helped the narrative was unparalleled this year. Channa mereya is where I have been living since I heard it for the first time, I don’t think I will ever relocate from there. It has a destructive pleasure that lucky few among us have experienced. Give all the awards to Arijit Singh already!

Haanikaarak bapu (Dangal) – While I love Raftaar‘s Dhaakad a lot, I go crazy at the smart lyrics and crisp presentation of this song. Sarwar Khan & Sartaz Khan Barna are such a treat! Also, Amitabh Bhattacharya should be weighed in gold for every word, and the way he has used them here – haanikarak, baapu, torchar, vaahanchalak, mogambo, khalnayak…wooot! Total riot.

This does it! Yes, this year had Mr. Rahman coming out with an inconsequential album that neither sounded true to its time nor the present. This year also had Neerja which fit the film well but sadly didn’t stay in my playlist beyond the film’s release and stay in theaters. We had almost Sanam Re which was almost instructive in telling us not to expect much from the songs as it is. Then we had embarrassing attempts like Zubaan, Terra Surrooor, Fever and so on.

That said, we have a ‘Dhinchak Bollywood’ playlist as well that we will share in our post about the non-film songs of the year. Till then, share your favorites and let us know what you think of this playlist.

– Rohwit

(* signifies that I liked the entire album but in the interest of keeping the post shorter than an Ashutosh Gowarikar film, I had to pick one song)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjSt-NL0s8k7YW0R-WV38dBGyQqfXfgiO

The Humma Song vs Humma Humma of 90s

Posted: December 20, 2016 by moifightclub in music
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Humma Humma, Bombay (1994) – Constrained spaces, two lovers unsure of what they have got into and where they have landed. A Muslim girl who has come to a strange place with a Hindu boy. She does not see the familiar green fields in this big city that does not allow one inch of privacy. Here they cannot hug and perhaps steal a kiss without a bunch of eyes looking at them.

Cut to – night. Hormonally charged souls moving around and somehow the constrained space becomes a propeller rather than a deterrent. And then they hear a celebration where a viking and a beautiful lass indulge in a musical foreplay and mind you, the girl is not singing. Her moves are not fake; they don’t need her to wear shorts.  She can make you pant just by exchanging a look with you. The man has to woo her, so the man tries. There is not a hint of ‘hotness’ in the voice of Remo Fernandes. What you hear is pure energy that isn’t auto-tuned or sanitized to sound just perfect in the earphones. This song is for big bad music systems, where the sound will hit your heart in a way you will feel you are getting a heart attack and you thank God when the song ends, because you will rewind and wait for the ‘dhichak dhichak dhik dhik aah‘ that launches you into space and you feel like you haven’t felt before, perhaps like when you felt someone you love for the first time, breathing out on your neck.

The Humma Song, Ok Jaanu (2016) – Cut to an India where a young couple cruising around on a bike, where the guy is not applying brakes ‘strategically’ so that he could feel his pillion’s body against him. The pillion is already ‘one’ with the rider. They do the snake-moves driving instead. Why? ‘We float-on-the-road-babeh’ that’s why! Meeting and finding a place for meeting isn’t a cause of worry.

We aren’t in a dim lit room, our rooms have mood lighting. The song isn’t humma humma, it is The Humma Song. The sense of occasion and anticipation is moaning from the title of the song. It is 2017, the man needs to be wooed too, so the woman sings as well. She has to. It is not a bad thing, Shashaa Tirupati is brilliant. The song starts too self-aware; there is an excellently written rap portion which perhaps captures the mood of the original song to the T. The only time the shehnai sounds like lovers climaxing is when the rap ends and leads you right to it. There is greater bass; this one is for the headphones of smart-phones. This one is for the silent clubs in London. No-one has run away from their village, no one is dying to ‘do it’, they want to do it right. Of course they love each other; their filter-rich Instagram will have you believe that. They might not have the sexual energy of Manisha-Arvind which was more driven because the couple reached a place of certainty from an uncertain past, but what Shraddha-Aditya have is a surety about how their love will be expressed in that place where they don’t have to ‘steal’ a kiss or a hug.

It is easy to chug the new one away saying the earlier one was a classic and frankly if that would have been a way of life, we would have never heard Indian classical music’s gift to us that is called a Thumri. We re-create, we laugh at purists, for they don’t know the delicious taste of fusion. Is all this wrong? No, it is just the spirit of times where we now exist. If we oldies are unable to search chemistry in them, may be we should stop looking at the The Humma Song and look at Humma Humma again, because while the latter had liberation written all over it and the former has self-aware celebration tattooed on its neck. Both are fine. Let us leave it at that.

The Humma Song is targeted at the generation that has grown up listening to and watching Humma Humma on Boogie Woogie and other dance shows. This was all much before they were hit by the highs of wifi, 1080p videos. Post-wifi the world spiraled down to booze parties with songs and gentle gyration to the tunes of Humma Humma and other such songs. The way you hear Jubin hum The Humma Song is a perfect example of that. Booze parties or not, we need just the right amount of thrust to float and while we are at it, a new video with fresh colors and high resolution won’t harm either. The old one, till the last I checked looks pixelated on all YouTube channels it is available.

Finally (and this is where my music reviewing is coming in the way), let us look at the composer of the song. He had a promising future at the time when the song came out. He had to prove himself with every beat that made way from his studio to the music stores that the promise bestowed on him was right. He is comfortable now. What did you expect? Same energy? Na! This is a self-assured way of showcasing to ‘YOLO’ folks – “Look, I can be hip too!”

Personally, I would take raw, unfiltered energy any day, to carefully constructed noise. Passion is best expressed uninhibited, where you break a glass or two while you are at it, forget the mess it will create. Let me rewind (not ‘repeat’) Humma Humma, but I won’t judge you if you like The Humma Song, in fact I would try and hum the song like Jubin, as I sit and reminisce about how The Humma Song would look like with the visuals of Humma humma, isn’t that lovely?

– Rohwit

(P.S. – I still haven’t seen the video, I would like to see it when the film comes out to find out if it fits the narrative like those baggie pants of 1990s or does it look super chic like ‘tights’ we see today. Both are fine, been there did that)

Best Of Coke Studio-9 : Round-Up + Playlist

Posted: September 28, 2016 by moifightclub in music, Music Recco, Music review
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Coke Studio 9 has come to an end. The experiment of bringing six music directors (while Strings remained Producers) was presented a bit differently than the Indian version. Here, we bombard a music director’s entire set at one go. Pakistan version composed an episode with a single song from every composer. In the order in which the songs appeared, here goes the list of my favourite tracks from this season.

Scroll down to the end of the post for the youtube playlist. So this is the way we do it – start the playlist, listen to the songs and then start reading the post.

Jaanay na tu – To me, this remains one of the best songs I came across this year and not just in Coke Studio. There is not a single fault a nit picker like me could find. The sincerity of Ali Khan is matched by a tune that changes towards the end and with such subtlety that you would probably not notice it at all. It infects you nevertheless. I loved the texture of Ali’s voice and the range that he explored. Not every song needs to bring the house down, some can lull you to sleep with a smile on your lips. This one, does just that.

Aafreen aafreen – Re-imagining classics is something that CS-Pakistan does rather well. So when they picked up this song and turned the tune by its head, it didn’t please a lot of people.I have a theory that if you cannot play and manipulate ‘classics’, then they would never be explored by the current generation who is rightfully bent on better acoustics and ‘clear’ sound. So when Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Momina sat down with a soothing guitar by the side and an ethereal tune for company, it sounded good. The ganpati pandal right next to my apartment was playing this non-stop. Now, ask yourself, would they have played the original (which remains a classic and my absolute favorite) with such fervour? Oh, and too much respect for Javed Akhtar sahab. You listen to this alone and you blush, what a feat to achieve, sir. Thank you, for the song!

Maula-e-kull – The powerful voice of Abida Parveen is best left with minimal arrangement so that we can all connect with ourselves in her characteristic long taans and powerful rendition. That is exactly what Shani Arshad cleverly did here. With a running time of approx. 10 minutes, you are guaranteed to be transported in the space where only the supreme devotion exists, i swear I was in that space. I strongly urge you to explore this and wait till the song changes its pace, it will sit in you ‘run’ playlist, I bet. My pick of the season.

Khaki Banda –  This power packed song by Umair and Ahmed Jehanzeb pretty much did its job well. The lyrics were sharp, piercing and a commentary on the state of us humans that hasn’t changed since ages. Just listen to Ahmed towards the end (karda phirey part) and then quietly go and listen to this song which he sang long time back that pretty much besotted all of us. The man has got range and sur.

Dilruba na razi – What’s a Coke Studio season without a good Pashtu fused song? While I did have issues with the arrangement, Zeb’s beautiful singing and Faakhir’s energy ensured I start swaying even though I was frowning. What can you do when Ustad Tanweer is hell bent on getting us all dance-y? Super effort!

Ala baali – Fantastic percussions are a given with CS-Pakistan. This season, however, it was a task to keep the sound from overpowering the vocals. Nirmal Roy and Jabar Abbas were clearly audible and were amazing to say the least. Doesn’t Jabbar sound like a soothing Sukhwinder? That ‘habibi’ vibe was tantalising and the Bulleh shah part grows on you as well, a pretty pretty song!

Aaya lariye – Granted that this song is quite distracting with lighting all over the place. Still, I picked this one up because it touches an oft ignored genre. Rufi was superlative and Meesha was naughty, and God those ‘jijja’ calls were infectious! The brass band (from M-Audio keyboard) played a key part in lending a celebratory character to the song.

Shamaan pai gaiyaan/kee dam da bharosa – Kashif, who is the runner up of Pakistani Idol  2013, has a voice that is soothing, and thankfully the song he was given exploits this trait very well. When he goes ‘haar ke baye gaiyyan’, he means it because it pinches your heart as well. That said, Rachel enters like a diva with a call that is measured, painful and malicious. Don’t miss the way Rachel swoops in at 5:24 in the song along with the electrical guitar and changes the mood of the song. Pain, Malice and Melody…perfectly mixed.

Main rasta – The only song of Noori in the list and the one that wasn’t trying too hard to be everything to everyone. I absolutely loved the funk of the song and the way entire house came around was a treat to see and hear. Junaid has a natural ‘chest’ voice and he uses it well and Momina, well she was quite good here as well.

Lagi bina/Chal mele nu chaliye – There are artists that made us Indians sit up and take notice of Coke Studio Pakistan. Saein Zahoor and Sanam Marvi top that list. This soulful song saw both of them collaborate and boy did it work! We hear songs where they say Bulleh Shah danced, I think Bulleh Shah danced because he heard Zahoor sing. Do check this one out!

Nawazishein/Tera wo pyar – When Shuja Haider fused his two songs (which you can hear here and here) asking Asim and Momina to do the honors, we got a soulful romantic song that might be accused of being too mushy, but hey! If we can hear a ‘typical one sided lover song from Bhatts’ filmed on Ranbir Kapoor and go all weak in the knees, this one deserves a listen and a repeat one at that. The string section of this song is where magic happens in addition to pretty much everything that contributed to the song.

Tu Kuja mann kuja – In this remarkable song, we saw Rafaqat Ali Khan sahab with Shiraz Uppal and lovely humnawas sway us the way only pure devotion can. I think this was Shiraz’s best composition of the season.

Nimma nimma – Sabir Zafar’s words are matched by the vulnerable vocals of Shani Arshad, who has also composed this song. With Coke Studio-Pakistan, touching varied genres are a given and this one is a call to mother and a very melodious one at that.

Rang – Amjad Sabri’s last outing that was complimented exquisitely by Rahat Fateh ali khan and humnawas. The highlight would always remain the ‘allah’ call by Sabri that used to be a Sabri signature in their days.

Observations  – Somehow, I got a feeling that everyone was trying too hard to give it all. Hire an exotic instrument, get a good singer, and let us all do this together. The cohesive sound was totally missing from this season and after a stellar season 8, it hurt a lot. That and those distracting lights. If you hire a group of chimpanzees and give them laser pointers, they would do a better job than what studio did this time round. It *is* important because Coke Studio is as much a video property as audio. So spare me ‘focus-on-music’ argument. Look at how the studio evolved from season 1 (where one could see cameraman running all over) and you would understand how the visual theatrics were never a part of the studio’s presentation. Subtlety has been forcefully evicted. Noori was probably overwhelmed by the opportunity and wanted to reinforce their presence in almost every song that was given to them. It was quite distracting and put me off. I loved paar channa de but the way Noori made a mess of the song towards the end put me off and it remained a song that you would love humming, but would just like to see it getting over when you hear the Coke Studio Version. Ali Sethi was given just one song, that is wrong on so many levels!

Applause – The biggest plus was the new backup vocalists and we saw them being put to good use. In fact, one of the reasons of picking nimma nimma was the way Shahab Hussain participated in the song, enveloping the feel so well. Hussain was one of the backup vocalists of the season. Also, I absolutely loved the house-band and guest musicians. It was so nice to see Amir Azhar make a return after we saw him in this song, years ago in the studio. Javed Iqbal sahib was the ‘head’ of string section, and boy, did he make his presence felt! We also liked the varied genres the studio touched, ranging from a  call to the mother, a lover taunting her innocent better half,  to a marriage dance song done just right. All the singers were top class, to say the least. 

Looking ahead – We don’t know what Rohail Hyatt is doing these days but he really needs to be engaged again because the overall vibe of the season wasn’t promising at all. Granted that Strings were splendid in season 8 but they have managed 3 seasons so far and all we remember is  just one out of that.  The cohesive sound, subtlety and experiments Rohail did are sorely missing.

Let us know your favourites!

– Rohwit 

(ps- you can find individual episode reviews on my blog – Almostareview.wordpress.com)

Finally! We Have The Album Of The Year – Mirzya

Posted: September 12, 2016 by moifightclub in bollywood, cinema, music, Music Recco, Music review
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I heard about the tale of Saheba and Mirza for the first time, in my favorite song from Jab Tak Hai Haan – Heer. Guess who wrote that. Now, If the first name they splash on the screen is Gulzar’s, you know the makers are serious about their sh*t. The music of Mirzya is out and while I try hard to keep myself equanimous, pardon me if my feelings jump out of the keyboard and infect you with some enthusiasm and drunken stupor. Read on!

Mirzya

The album contains 15 songs and some are in the form of less than a minute of powerful recitations – composed and voiced by Daler Mehndi. What is clearly a storytelling technique, in these tracks, not only you understand the character, you get a feel of particular situations as well. Take the Yeh wadiyan for example,  the track is screaming ‘flashback flashback!’ But even then you would want to play it again. We get these lines in the title song as well.  In Mirza se darre and Mera mirza sher, the way Daler Mehndi soars, you will have goosebumps, the fearlessness of youth in two lines. What attitude! In Lahoo luhaan – Daler slightly errs in the beginning but paints the gory detail about a bloody fight that went on till the fighter started losing his ‘havaas’.  Even if Punjabi is not your language, fear not – it will make you soar nevertheless because Mehndi does NOT falter in Puchh na pende or Phaa paye na…in fact, in the latter, hear how resigned is Daler when he says – Tu phir na jammi, Mirjiya. You feel the pain, you lose hope along with the singer. He has already won. Now, on to the songs of the album..

  • Mirzya – Sain Zahoor does what Sain Zahoor does. He sweeps you off your feet and S.E.L. bombard you with perhaps the most vibrant track of the album. There is a goosebumps gooseFOREST inducing Akhtar Chanal Zahiri as well and if this wasn’t enough, we get the ever so dependable Nooran Sisters and Daler mehndi jazzing things up and all this under 4 minutes. I kid you not, I couldn’t go beyond this track for a while. A bombastic start to the album!
  • Teen Gawaah Hain – Notwithstanding the earthy beginning of the song where we hear Sain Zahoor calling out, the tune of this love ballad reminded me of ‘mere mann ye bata de tu’ from KANK. Having said that, it’s what young love sounds like. A playful guitar stealing a glance while the constant pace eases your mind, making everything dreamy and slow. In antra, hear how Siddhartha leaves the last word of the first line, making you feel his passion. Listen to his ‘khol’ in the line ‘aasman khol ke dekhne do’ and you will know what I mean. A pretty pretty song! (I kept thinking the back up vocalists will break into ‘love will find a way’)
  • Chakora – God only knows why I wanted to talk to my dealer the moment this song started. It is comforting to see Bollywood waking up to Akhtar Chanal Zahiri, and not only that, using him well! Add some trippy beats to his recital or perhaps overlap him while someone is singing and you would probably want to make love to a joint near you. Mame Khan and Suchismita Das lend the ‘bollywood folk’ feel to the tune in their own cute style. Stunning song!
  • Aave re hichki – The opening 37 odd seconds of Esraj (or sarangi), is a class act by S.E.L., not to say that the song isn’t good otherwise. The song has fuses a bit of dervish-like sound on a simple free flowing tune. A minor grouse – You don’t go ‘hitchhh’ when you get ‘hichki’, you go ‘hikkk’. Clearly, Gulzar sahab wasn’t present in the recording.
  • Hota hai – I am sure it is just me but a ‘tun tuna’ start from Nooran Sisters put me off…and then I heard Sain Zahoor and Akhtar Chanal Zahiri (ACZ) together and it all made sense. The fantastic beat pattern of the song that stops to accommodate Sarangi and meets ACZ’s solid voice is to be heard to be believed. In addition to these powerhouses, I absolutely loved Shankar Mahadevan’s voice towards the end. For the uninitiated, please do check out Sain Zahoor and Akhtar Chanal Zahiri independently as well. They have brought studios down across the border. The brute force in the song makes you want to break the law, do the impossible and be weirdly proud of it all. A fantastic song by all means and well, I changed my mind. The ‘tun tuna’ is not all that bad afteral…..TRAAA!
  • Ek nadi thee – Thank God someone gave K. Mohan a tune that is not very ‘K Mohan’ if you know what I mean. All his songs have been sounding similar to me lately. This one is a glorious exception. Intimate claps and a bonfire like improv singing (of course with sexy strings) has made this quite a different song from the usual ‘unplugged and reprise’ like songs we come across.
  • Doli re doli – Who in their right mind would do a babul song with a slow jazz like treatment? S.E.L. did it here and boy, does it sound delicious. It has me conflicted whether I am supposed to be sad or happy, and I love the song for that. Clearly an example of what S.E.L. can achieve if the makers are willing to let them be.
  • Kaaga – It is a fine feeling when you see the artists you have been rooting for since long, go ‘mainstream’. I shrieked like a teenager when I heard Sain Zahoor and Akhtar Chanal Zahiri and here in kaaga, we hear the flawless Kaushiki Chakraborty with breathtaking strings and brass! The sound towards the end of the track can be so easily mistaken for a ‘superhero climax theme’. That said, I wish there is a longer version of this song hiding somewhere because it would be soul satisfying, just like this one is.
  • Mirziya theme – I might not reach out to the theme to play it again and again but I blame songs of the album for that. You are too consumed by the time you reach this track. It fills the album well, is no ‘Udaan theme’ by any measure, but is still good. Sarangi and flute. Enough said.

Most of the film music albums this year have been remarkably impervious to the flow of creativity and freshness. If this album makes you want to stop everyone, and make them listen to this, don’t worry, You are not acting strange. Mirzya’s music is *the* real thing and not an oddity in template infested bollywood that requires quotes around it as if it was a strange thing. I don’t know how the film would be, I don’t care how the film would be. I am just celebrating what would easily be the film music album of the year. This is what fundamentally good things sound like. Hear Hear!!

I wish there was an option to buy an album twice on iTunes!

– Rohwit

(PS – To give credit where it’s due, I absolutely love T-series for including the artist credits in the jukebox link. You can access it here)

Amaal Mallik on “The Vicious Cycle Of Our Music Industry”

Posted: September 6, 2016 by moifightclub in bollywood, music
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383017-amaal-mallik-1Amaal Mallik has emerged as one of the most promising new music talents in the last few years. In just a short span of time, he has delivered some really chart buster songs.

In his latest FB post, he has written about the music industry and its bitter truth. In an industry where nobody really speaks the truth, it’s quite refreshing to see a young talent speaking his heart out. Do read.

The vicious cycle of our music industry

Music that is promoted heavily tends to become a earworm and eventually becomes a hit….More people request for it on the radio, as they dunno any better.

Jo Dikhta Hain Woh Bikta Hain, and jo Bikta Hain woh Aur Dikhta hain and the cycle continues…..

And we all think ‘Yeh Hain Naya Hit Gaana’….

Sorry but YouTube Views, iTune downloads and Radioplay is not the only yardstick, Even I keep putting posts saying 1M 2M views but that’s because we all are stuck in the new social trappings, which we can’t do much about,but we can atleast work towards making newer music.

Listening to my own music and what bollywood is churning out since 2 years now, sparing a few good albums like – Badlapur, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Kapoor & Sons, Fitoor, Uḍta Punjab, Baar Baar Dekho, Sultan & Banjo recently…..

Every love song today sounds like Aashiqui 2, every wedding song a Chittiyaṅ Kalaiyaan, every club song a Chaar Baj Gaye or Subah Hone Na De, or a Sooraj Dooba Hain or a Chull…..

There is so much of music within me, and all of us as composers that is dying to come out but it’s not commercial enough for the labels or the producers.

We have all forgotten our own inner voice because of others…..Others who decide whether we will compose for a certain film or will be humiliated and thrown out of it….

Directors have lost their voice and are going to labels and begging for a hit song….This is not how things were, where is the confidence of the captain of the ship ?

If labels are deciding the music of films (Almost All), where the music needs to be a chartbuster and the story doesn’t matter it’s okay, but what about a soundtrack that has to be honest to the script ?????

I think the Director, Music composer, Lyricist and the label guys should create something special for a film instead of putting stock music…..

All of them should be jamming together, which is next to impossible to achieve, but that’s what will change it…..

That’s how we will achieve a score that will work with the film & in time become a radio hit too.

Not trying to hurt any body, I’m sure many lyricists and composers will agree with me….

Just need to plan a way forward….

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi…..Peace !

Ismail Ka Urdu Sheher – Music Review

Posted: May 26, 2016 by moifightclub in cinema, music, Music review
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Illustrated Book Cover - Plain

‘Ismail Ka Urdu Sheher’ is a Sci-fi comic by Zohaib Kazi. He has been associated with Pakistan’s Coke Studio for a long time. I have never come across a  music album that is cut for a comic, so it was obvious that I was too keen to explore it. What I found next has taken the shape of the write up below.

Have you ever heard the sound of faith when it tells you that you can fly? That is exactly the feeling you get when you hear Sara Haider’s alaap in the intro song of the album. It is hardly 2 minutes but be rest assured these 2 minutes would make your spirits soar.

Samra Khan doesn’t get lost in the  geek talk that introduces Wake up/Jaago. Partly in English, the song really didn’t affect me much singing wise. Of course the tracks of the album are meant largely to further the narrative, but I feel this composition would have been better without the Hindi/Urdu lyrics. Just the background radio would have been enough. In Awaaz/the last radiowave, Jaffer Zaidi and Samra khan try to merge with the sound and the effort is good in pieces. I did feel there was no need to ‘compose’ this into a song because just the music would have left a larger effect on the senses.

Black coffee starts with addictive keyboard notes that will play in your head long after the song is over. Sung by the solid Jaffar Zaidi, it has all the qualities of a ‘never-leaves-the-playlist’ song. Jaffar’s voice has a heavy vibe to it and this composition uses the same for good effect. The Santoor towards the end is smartly used! In the reprise version of this song, we hear Abbas Ali Khan teaming up with Sara Haider, and a bit more complex music arrangement at play. Sara is top class though she doesn’t get much to do in the song but like me, most probably you would also be indecisive to pick the favorite from the two versions. What competes with Jaffar’s rock solid singing is an overall celan rendition  and that alaap from Khan towards the end of his version.

Orange sung by Samara Khan has all ingredients of a 90s pop song and with the help of good back up vocals, the song breezes through. I might not go back to the song again but it has a likable quality to it, the way we (90s kids) remember Ace of base today.  In Mehr Jaan, you would hear Zoe Viccaji giving us one of those late night, ‘by-the-guitar’ songs that talk of longing,  and make you miss your loved one who has left you with a song on your lips. Like always, Zoe is superb. Kinara makes you forget the sadness of Mehr Jaan. With Sara Haider teasing her way along with an equally tantalizing guitar by Omran Shafique, it’s very easy to fall in love with the song. A simple, melodic song that is a perfect fit for slow dances as well as a long drive.

Listen to Nida Khurram in Raat Bazaar when she goes ‘saadey libaas mein, sawan naraaz hai kyu?‘ and you would wish this track was longer than 2 minutes. A track that is arranged light, but decorated with words so rich, you would hit ‘repeat’ more number of times than you would be able to count.

In Death Of Mehr-Un-Nisa, you would be greeted with complex music for about a minute and then Sara Haider soars. You would be excused to think that this track would probably be floating in a lot of music with nothing memorable to hum, yet by the time it ends, you would be humming along with Sara…’Tu rooth ke na jaa, meri jaan‘. There is an element of finality in the song that of course resonates with the serious track name, still, a good song.

With tune largely similar to Mehrjaan, Mehr-Un-Nisa Falls in love is a bit more spaced out composition and thereby sounds more insightful. Of course, the solid vocals of Jaffar Zaidi make it impossible to not sink in the song. I absolutely loved the way the song is set. It’s like someone is sitting right next to you with a Piano, letting his fingers wander on the keys the way his life has moved over the years. The sense of calm in the song is reassuring and has an abstract feel to it.

Butterfly In Space is a bit too techno for my liking but it didn’t hurt hearing faint samples of Rahat Ali and Zara Madani. The flute is the winner in this track, more like a glue that keeps the central tune soothing. Not a bad track if you like fusion. Back up vocals are good too. On a related note, I would never understand why Zara Madani is not doing more international projects?

Overall a fantastic set of songs which you must surely check. Don’t let iTunes fool you into believing that the music was released in December 2015. The album was available to Indian iTunes from May 2016.

(Disclaimer – Zohaib shared these songs (not the comic) with me in December 2015. Why is this a disclaimer? I don’t know, we felt like we must tell you. 🙂

Written, Composed, Arranged & Produced by Zohaib Kazi
Recorded by Zohaib Kazi

You can hear the album here

Complete artist credits here

A Beginner’s Guide To Ajay-Atul’s Music

Posted: May 4, 2016 by moifightclub in cinema, Marathi, music, Music Recco
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Ever since the Sairat jukebox has hit YouTube, music aficionados can’t seem to rave enough about the duo for an outstanding soundtrack. And both of them truly deserve all the praise that they are getting. What marks Ajay-Atul (henceforth, A-A) distinct from rest of the Marathi composers is their ability to bring fresh sounds in Marathi music consistently.

Sairat seems to have taken them to new heights of popularity, noticeably among the non-Marathi crowd. This post is my tribute to both of them, whose music I have followed since 2002, even before they made it big in Marathi.

A-A became a household name with their song  Man Udhaan Varyache, from the film ‘Aga Bai Arrechya!’ The entire soundtrack was topnotch and something that Marathi music hadn’t heard before. Man Udhaan was the Roja moment for Marathi music scene. Since then, they have produced some amazing soundtracks in Marathi (and I am a bit put off by their Hindi songs). This is my list of must listen Ajay Atul songs that will give listeners an idea of the range of genres and styles that A-A have worked with. The songs are listed in no particular order.

(all songs hyperlinked. click on the titles, will open in new window)

Ajat Atul

Kunjavanachi Sundar Rani (Aga Bai Arrechya, 2004) – This song is a historic tribute to Marathi film music, that traces its evolution from the early B&W days to 90s. The first section is a tribute to early days of Prabhat films. The second section moves to the next phase in Black and White era of Marathi films, which distinctly reminds of the era made popular by actors like the iconic Jayshree Gadkar. The third is perhaps a tribute to the then neo-color era that had a lot of OP Nayyar-ish sound. Next the song moves into the Dada Kondake era, where double meaning songs and comedy ruled the Marathi cinema industry. The last section is a definite reminder of the era of Marathi cinema that was ruled by Laxmikant Berde and Ashok Saraf.

Khel Mandala (Natrang – 2010) – Listen to this for Ajay’s soul stirring voice. Actually, the entire Natrang OST was a musical masterpiece and a must listen for those who want to get glimpse of Tamasha styled Marathi music. This music was so famous once upon a time that in 80s and 90s, doing Tamasha based films had become a genre. Ajay, in an interview, recounted that during his struggle days, he used to sing as a chorus in Tamshas, also doing the high pitched voices for the effeminate male characters called the Nachyas. The protagonist of Natrang, Guna Kagalkar, was one such famous Nachya.

Lallati Bhandaar (Jogwa – 2010) – Again, playing in their familiar terrain of folk, Lallati Bhandaar was an iconic song, drawing influences from the Jogtin community, or the group of females in service of God in areas of Karnataka Maharashtra border. The other song from this was Jiv Rangala (sung by Hariharan and Shreya Ghoshal) and won A-A a national award.

Navari Ali (Tujhya Majhya Sausarala Ani Kay Hava – 2008) – Navari Ali is a wedding song that borrows influences from Gujarati folk repertoire. A-A used claps and an instrument called Daaka to give a unique texture for the rhythm used in this song. Also, do checkout Chang Bhala and Swarg Ha Nava from the same film.

Chimb Bhijlele (Bandh Premache – 2007) – A sweet romantic song sung by Shankar Mahadevan and Priti Kamath.

Ghe Sawarun (Ringa Ringa – 2010) – This another soul stirring song, sung by Sukhwinder Singh and reminds of the Punjabi folk song genre made popular by singers such as Surinder Kaur.

Cycle Ekki (Shock – 2006) – A perfect dance number by A-A from a telugu film Shock. The film was produced by RGV. RGV has been a great admirer of A-A and had said that though he is an atheist, listening to A-A’s album Vishwa Vinayakam made him feel like a devotee to almighty.

Malhar Vaari (Aga Bai Arechya – 2004) – Malhar Vaari is song based on the Gondhal singing tradition in Maharashtra. The Gondhal troupes are invited to perform during auspicious occasions like wedding.

Morya Morya (Uladhaal – 2008) – Perhaps the most famous song from Uladhaal and from overall Ajay-Atul repertoire, Morya Morya was the timely reminder that Ajay-Atul would rule the Marathi music scene with their eclectic sounds. This song was such an adrenaline booster! Also, listen to De Na Paisa, sung by Kunal Ganjawala, which is quite a departure from A-A’s usual style.

Kalabha (Vishwa Vinayaka – 2001) – People going crazy over the western symphonies that A-A have used must listen to the entire Vishwa Vinayaka soundtrack. This was A-A’s first commercial album and one which slowly surged to popularity. Their much loved song, Shree Ganeshay Dheemahi, which was later used in Viruddh was originally from this album.

Sajavun Sanj Ashi (Aata Ga Baya – 2001) – An acapella from Ajay Atul sung by Hariharan and Mahalaxmi Iyer.

Mauli Mauli (Lai Bhari – 2014) – The only song that stood apart in this otherwise mediocre album. If one has seen the ‘vaari’ or been a part of it, one can instantly relate to this song. Also, though it is the usual bhakti music genre, the rhythm pattern that Ajay Atul used in this song was quite a departure from the stereotypical bhakti songs in Marathi.

– Kaustubh Naik

Kavi Pradeep – February 6, 1915 – Forever

Posted: February 6, 2016 by moifightclub in cinema, music, Music Recco
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राष्ट्रकवी प्रदीप के बारे में मैंने ज्यादा पढ़ा नहीं है, लेकिन माँ पापा की वजह से बचपन में इनके काफी गीत सुनें. मैं इनको ‘रुलाने वाले अंकल’ कहता था क्यूंकि इनके गाने सुनते वक़्त मुझ पर काफी अलग तरह का प्रभाव पड़ता था और एक निराशा सी होती थी. आज कवी प्रदीप का जन्मदिन है. सोचा कुछ यादें ताज़ा कर लू क्यूंकि कल मेरे पापा का जन्मदिन है और इसी बहाने पापा से नम्बर भी कमा लूँगा और शायद आप में से कुछ लोग प्रदीप को भी सुन लें. कवी प्रदीप का असली नाम रामचंद्र नारायणजी दिवेदी था. उनकी आवाज़ में वो ही खनक थी जो हम पुराने कवियों की आवाज़ में सुनते आये हैं. उन्होंने कुछ ऐसे हिंदी गाने लिखे हैं, जो हमारे ज़हन में घर कर चुके हैं, मगर शायद हम जानते नहीं है की वो प्रदीप की रचनायें हैं. उनके कुछ मशहूर गाने हैं

चल चल रे नौजवान
ए मेरे वतन के लोगों
दूर हटो ए दुनिया वालों हिंदुस्तान हमारा है
आओ बच्चों तुम्हें दिखाए
दे दी हमें आजादी
कितना बदल गया इंसान

उनकी लिखी हुई प्यार की गुहार को ही सुन लीजये. फिल्म थी ‘अमर रहे प्यार’, गाना है ‘आज के इस इंसान को’. हिंदू मुस्लिम एकता के लिए शायद इससे मज़बूत गुज़ारिश मैंने नहीं सुनी. एक फ़कीर की तरह गया हुआ प्रदीप का ये गीत आपको बिना रुलाये ख़त्म नहीं होगा ये बात पक्की समझिये.

कैसी ये मनहूस घडी है,
भाइयों में है जंग छिड़ी है
रोती सलमा रोती है सीता ,
रोते है कुरान और गीता

प्रदीप जी को शायद कभी किसी से डर नहीं लगा क्यूंकि अपनी कविताओं या गीतों में वो सरकार या धर्म के ठेकेदारों को उनकी सही जगह दिखने से से चूकते नहीं थे. उस समय जब की हम सब धर्म के ठेकेदारों से घिरने ही लगे थे, प्रदीप ने उनको आड़े हाथों ही लिया था . अब उनके लिखे हुए गाने ‘कितना बदल गया इंसान को ही ले लीजये.

राम के भक्त, रहीम के बन्दे
रचते आज फरेब के धंधे
कितने ये मक्कार ये अंधे
देख लिए इनके भी धंधे
इन्ही की काली करतूतों से बना ये मुल्क मसान (शमशान)
कितना बदल गया इंसान

आज के माहौल में कोई ऐसा लिखे और किसी सियासी या धार्मिक दंड से बच जाये, ऐसा थोडा मुश्किल सा लगता  है.

प्रदीप के गानों में, व्यक्ति को खुद से मिलाने की भी ज़बरदस्त कोशिश रहती थी. हम हमेशा बाहर की ताकतों को ही दोष देते हैं किसी भी बुरी बात के लिए, लेकिन खुद के अन्दर झाँकने से सब ही कतराते हैं. फिल्म दो बहनें के इस गाने को ही सुन कर देखिये..गाना था ‘मुखड़ा देख ले प्राणी, ज़रा दर्पण में’ गाने में मंजीरा इतनी ख़ूबसूरती से बजा है जिसकी तारीफ जितनी की जाए उतनी कम है और शायद इसीलिए ‘भजन’ के नाम से tag कर दिया जाता है ऐसे गानों को. अगर आप एस डी बर्मन के ‘वहां कौन है तेरा’ को पसंद करते हैं, तो इस गाने को भी सुन के देखिये, खुद ही समझ जायेंगे की मैं क्या कहना चाहता हूँ.  

कभी तो पल भर सोच ले प्राणी
क्या है तेरी करम कहानी
पता लगा ले पडे है कितने दाग तेरे दमन में…
मुखड़ा देख ले प्राणी ज़रा दर्पण में..

कुछ और समझ नहीं आ रहा तो प्रदीप की कविता ‘कभी कभी खुद से बात करो’ की कुछ पंक्तियों से ही इस पोस्ट को समाप्त करता हूँ.

ओ नभ में उड़ने वालो, जरा धरती पर आओ।
अपनी पुरानी सरल-सादगी फिर से अपनाओ।
तुम संतो की तपोभूमि पर मत अभिमान में डालो।
अपनी नजर में तुम क्या हो? ये मन की तराजू में तोलो।
कभी कभी खुद से बात करो।
कभी कभी खुद से बोलो।

जन्मदिन मुबारक हो प्रदीप जी, हम सब वही के वही हैं अब तक, लेकिन आपकी कविताओं और गीतों का साथ है, और उसके लिए – धन्यवाद

उनकी कविताओं में भी हर तरह के भाव मिल जाते थें. आप उनकी कुछ रचनाये यहाँ पढ़ सकते है.

 उनके कुछ गीत यहाँ सुन सकते हैं और अगर पोस्ट में कुछ गलतियाँ हैं तो बताइए.

 – रोहित

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjSt-NL0s8k6rgAt_MyWwYjgSNOYADRs6

REWIND 2015 : Bollywood Songs We Played In Loop This Year + Our Dhinchak List

Posted: December 23, 2015 by moifightclub in bollywood, cinema, music, Music review, rewind
Tags: , , , , ,
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It’s that time of the year again. And we are back with our year end “Rewind” series.

Here is a list of songs and albums that kept us hooked to film music, in the order we heard them, beginning from the oldest all the way down to the latest.

Dil-e-Nadaan (Hawaizaada) – Ayushmann Khurrana draws extreme opinions for his singing, and, I am the last one to like his work. Still, I was pleasantly surprised at his contemporary tribute to Ghalib’s classic. In Dil-e-nadaan, Shweta Subram and Ayushmann were fluid and the result was quite hummable . The song was released in January, and it continues to be in my playlist. The slight guitar riff in the background of ‘humko unse’ is what the rush of first love feels like. The entire album was actually quite good!

Jee Karda (Badlapur) – The trailer gave me an inkling to wait for the song that has the lionhearted guitar riff. Truth be told, I was underwhelmed by the album but this song is what I felt defined the tone of the film. Divya kumar is what Sukhwinder Singh used to be. More often than not, his presence in a song means the song would be good. For me, the guitar riff of the year…badass!

Dum Laga Ke Haisha (Album) – The music of DLKH is a case study in sticking to the feel of the subject without compromising on anything. While Rahul Ram, Kumar Sanu and Sadhna Sargam were reasons enough to hear the album on the repeat, Moh moh ke dhaage gets my vote. I like the Monali Thakur version better. Delicate, unbelievably sweet and durable! Kudos to a certain Mr. Anu Malik! I don’t know why I kept on thinking about the music of ‘Mrityudand’ while listening to this album, in a good way that is.

Kya karein (NH10) – I became a fan of Rachel Varghese on the first hearing of Kya karein from NH10. Savera Mehta & Ayush Shrestha kept the sinking feel of the song with a harmony like treatment, and I absolutely loved the way the song ends, abruptly.  Haunting, heartbreaking, and so beautiful!

Chori chori (Hunterrr) – While I am still a proud lover of the title song of Hunterr, this song grew quietly on repeated listening for the simplicity of composition and emotive singing by Sona and Arijit Singh. Isn’t it reassuring to hear Arijit in a song that isn’t filled with ‘made-to-order-for-Arijit’ long taans?

Detective Byomkesh Bakshy (Album) – Having the courage to have such varied contemporary genres in a film album itself is so crazy, and add to the fact that the film was based in 1940s, you get what I call the definitive album of the year! The album was filled with right amount of hysteria, melody, joie de vivre, and sensuous sparks. I don’t think we will have a better album than this for a long time, not only in terms of music but how the music came together in accentuating the feel of the film as a whole.

Journey Song (Piku) – I like the way Anupam Roy has made his debut in Bollywood with Piku. The entire album is musically light and lyrically rich. While it was tough for me to pick between ‘Bezubaan’ and this song, I picked the journey song because it is such a happy song and that bangla in between by Shreya Ghoshal is so charming, it nearly took me to ‘Learn Bengali in one week’ course coaching!

Dhadaam dhadaam (Bombay Velvet) – No other song this year can be called ‘Majestic’. In dhadaam dhadaam, Neeti Mohan has done what our people up north refer to as ‘Kaleja nikaal ke rakh dena’. Marvelous composition, excellent music arrangement got almost overlooked thanks to Neeti. The regular forceful rhythm of the composition is addictive to say the least. It would be wrong to call this a swan song for someone as promising as Neeti, but i feel this song would take some getting to be surpassed. Magnificence and pain in equal measure. Take a bow, Neeti and Amit Trivedi!

Mann Kasturi (Masaan) – is a song that will outlive us all. Future generations would keep coming back to the song to get the meaning of life. I don’t think anyone else could have done justice to the cogent lyrics than Indian ocean and talking of Indian Ocean, my senses swirl like a lattu every time I hear Rahul ram in the song. These are the kind of songs which, when we grow old would be a reference point to the ‘music of our times was so good’ argument.

O saathi mere (Tanu Weds Manu Returns) – The song that was too good for the film, and I say this because this is a song that would have worked wonders had it been included in the film and film’s promotion. Sonu Nigam has gone choosy in picking up his songs, but if he wants to give us songs like this, I have no problems with that. The layered composition and easy lyrics just needed the gayaki of Sonu nigam to capture our imagination, and boy, did the song did just that or what!

Bhor bhayo (Bezubaan Ishq) – Osman Mir wasn’t a new name to come across, thanks to my mum who played some of his songs over last few years and insisted that I like him because he was singing in Morari bapu’s baithaks. Anyway, in a film like Bezubaan Ishq, catching his name in the credit was intriguing and once you hear his powerful voice with the magical flute in the minimal music arrangement that adorns this song, you will know why he is one of the most exciting voices we have. Hope he gets noticed a lot and goes mainstream.

Sapna jahan (Brothers) – A film as inconsequential and boring as Brothers had one good thing, and that was this song. Neeti Mohan and Sonu Nigam gave us a very 90-ish Jatin-Llalit-sque dreamy song with Ajay-Atul’s signature splendour. The lullaby like treatment of the stanzas is a super touch. Sonu Nigam, please sing more!

Insaaf insaaf insaaf hoga (Talvar) – I didn’t know Arooj Aftab. I heard ‘Insaaf Insaaf’ from Talvar, and now I cannot wait for her next outing. Trust Gulzar-Vishal to come up with a song that gives us hope in a prejudiced backdrop of our logical society. Arooj’s voice gave newness to pain. I don’t think this song was talked about as much as it should have been, because here is a song that lifts the feel and leaves that sense of loss we can all empathize with if we just look around.

Tamasha (Album) – I couldn’t find anything ‘Level-ARR-outstanding’ about the album but it did give us four good songs, and for the same, it deserves a mention. Parade de la bastille is breezy, Wat wat wat is a riot, and so is Heer to badi sad hai. What surprised post-viewing the film was the ‘Agar tum saath ho’ song. I pretty much like it the way I used to like it before watching the film. I disliked the fact that the ‘composed-to-be-liked-after-watching-the-film soundtrack’ forgot to make good use of the moans in ‘wat wat wat’ 🙂

There is a lot to look forward to in 2016, and we hope there is more innovation than routine, more melody than soulless grandeur, more masti than item number driven chutiyapa.

What are your favorites? Comment section is all yours.

– Rohwit

(Disclaimer – One of the editors of the blog was part of Talvar. Two of the contributors of this blog were part of Masaan. Also, fuck disclaimers)

You can hear the playlist here

 

Now that the ‘rewind’ is done, allow me to share the ‘other’ list that consists of songs which might not get you RT’s and endorsements from thinkers, but they are amazing when you play them and sing in your car, bathroom or any other place you think you are alone 🙂

In no particular order, here we go!

Chittiyan kalaiyan – (Roy) – If there were an award for wasting a song by badly filming it (and there were way too many this year), this song would win it hands down! Kanika kapoor can make you dance just by reading out daily newspaper and if you give her a tune that has 1990s ‘dance music’ touch, you are asking for a murderous dance song and this was it!

Hunterr 303 – Nothing and absolutely nothing can cause the same level of ‘let’s dance banjo’ mood like Bappi lahiri’s voice in a new film song treated with junk food level of sinfulness. This song had everything going for it especially the backup vocals and Bappi ‘cowboy’ lahiri giving it like only he can! Insanely enjoyable!

Tera happy budday (ABCD2) – Yet another party song by Sachin Jigar where they took a conventional song and twisted it. In this case, it worked and the ‘saarey bolo’ chants…heeeehaw!

Banno tera swagger (Tanu weds Manu returns) – Mix of Rajasthani folk, sprinkled with intelligent choice of english words and treated with punjabi  craziness..I say Winner!!!

Guddu Rangeela title song – While I love the ‘jagrata’ treatment and excellent word choice in ‘Mata ka email’, I keep going back to the title song of the film. I cannot get enough of Amit Trivedi’s yodel and his mischievous singing!

Hogi Kranti (Bangistan) – Never before sarcasm and repressed anger sounded better. Kudos on the lyrics!

Afghan jalebi (Phantom) – Asrar is amazing as we have already mentioned so earlier and this year he took the ‘dhaasu’ film dance song to another level with this belter of a track…Still addictive…Still infectious! 

Neeli bullet ( Main aur Charles) – With so many ‘nouveau riche’ making laddakh trips on it, we feel bullet the bike, deserved a song and it was long overdue (much before the ‘nouveau riche’ were born, to be precise). Lyrics might be a bit cringeworthy at times but my word the hook!

Neendein khul jaati hain (Hate story 3) – Yes! Hate story 3! Kanika Kapoor being herself in a naughty song with Mika singing so clearly that you can actually understand every single word…Junky tune and it works!

And here is the playlist…Let’s hear your favourites we have missed!

 

Disclaimer – All the editors of the blog have sometime or the other danced a bit (in public or alone) on one or more songs mentioned above 🙂

Happy new year everyone!

 

 

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