Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly new music playlist. Week 14:
On Apple Music | On Saavn | On YouTube
15 songs in total, this week. But not even one platform where all 15 songs are present, together! Shyam Piya is on Apple Music and Facebook, not on YouTube and Saavn. Baalam Ji is on Apple Music and YouTube, but not on Saavn. IndoSoul Karthick Iyer’s new song is only on YouTube! And Shadow and Light’s new album, Sabar is Saavn’s Artist Originals – so, only available on Saavn! So, my request – please try all 3 playlists to listen to all 15 songs this week. Wish there was a service to build cross-platform playlists and be able to play them via my mobile!
A note on each song in the playlist.
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Shyam Piya (Sona Mohapatra and Ram Sampath): Ram takes the Meera Bhajan made iconic by Anup Jalota and infuses it with a fresh lease of life, courtesy Talvin Singh’s tabla and Sanjoy Das’s guitar and most importantly, Sona Mohapatra’s incredibly involved singing!
Baalam Ji (Salim Sulaiman): Composing duo Salim and Sulaiman who are almost out of the Bollywood circuit (despite a stupendous soundtrack in Jai Gangaajal, 2016 http://bit.ly/2mDd1Dw) continue to produce lovely music, like this Rajasthani folk fusion featuring Sattar Khan!
Azaadiyaan (3 Storeys, Hindi): Clinton’s tryst with 3-song soundtracks (considering 1 song in this soundtrack is by Amjad Nadeem) continue and he continues to wonderfully well! Azaadiyaan is amazingly serene, letting up only for the title hook, that Bianca Gomes handles so well!
Zaroori Bewakoofi (3 Storeys, Hindi): Besides Mohit Chauhan’s honey-coated singing, the chorus hook, ‘Kahani atrangi si’ by Vivienne Pocha, Crystal Sequeira and Bianca Gomes is clearly the song’s highlight. And there’s Clinton’s vocal trumpet too, btw!
Runa Zuna (Memory Card, Marathi): With a flute intro that sounds like the one in Gupt’s Yeh Pyaar, the melody in Runa Zuna, by Mitesh-Pritesh. is almost single-handedly propped by Mahalakshmi Iyer’s stellar vocals! But yes, Javed Ali joins mid-way and makes the song even better!
Konte Naatey (Aamhi Doghi, Marathi): Mangesh Dhakde’s tune is pleasant enough, but it is Vaishali Mhade’s singing that elevates it to a lovely new level.
Aalaliloo (Karu, Tamil): There’s palpable tenderness in the way Swagatha S. Krishnan handles Aalaliloo, rendering Madhan Karky’s gentle verse as if they are brittle. Sam’s music is wonderfully serene, even segueing into a rhythm that’s equally gentle.
Konjali (Karu, Tamil): Konjali is an absolute stunner! From the sparse mridangam to the beautifully appropriate nadaswaram, to Sathyaprakash and Neha Venugopal’s lead vocals, Sam’s sound is almost like that of Sharreth’s!
Adiye (R. K. Nagar, Tamil): Have always felt that Premgi Amaran was a better composer than a comedian on screen. Adiye, from R K Nagar is a pretty good song! Very Vijay Antony’ish. Seemed like Gowrimanohari raaga to me.
Paalthira Paadum (Captain, Malayalam): Another late full album release. The best song by Gopi Sundar is this Shreya Ghoshal delight! The tabla-coated melody is so very Gopi (those interludes featuring his own high-pitched humming and strings!), and Shreya is heartbreakingly good!
Kannanthalir (Velakkariyayirunnalum Neeyen Mohavalli, Malayalam): Composer Viswajith who had, in 2016, produced some lovely songs in Rudrasimhasanam, returns with an expansive melody! Vijay Yesudas is in great form, though, at places, I almost thought I heard Hariharan!
Kuyilai Polave (Two Sides of Karma, Tamil): Karthick Iyer, has been producing some great non-film music and the 1st song from IndoSoul’s 3rd album is a great start, with its beautiful Khamas-raaga melody, adorned with Karthick’s splendid violin, and vocals!
Pathjad, Samandar & Vaade (Sabar, Shadow and Light): Shadow and Light is Pavithra Chari and Anindo Bose. The sound—comprising jazz, pop, electronica & R&B—is very, very good, though I’m not fully convinced with the tunes. Liked these 3 songs the most from the album.