Bollywood Music Analysis 2013

For the Bollywood music scene, 2013 proved to be pretty good. For once, the industry was entirely devoid of plagiarism accusations and there was one one or another great song playing around at any arbitrary time chosen. Music Directors, the A and B listers both churned out good music, while few let down expectations.

Nevertheless, there was still a handful of quality tracks which did well in terms of popularity too.

The top songs will be enumerated in the next post. For now, I'll discuss my views on the performance of composers and singers this year as well as the best albums.

Top 5 Bollywood Albums 2013

1. Raanjhanaa (A R Rahman)

2. Lootera / Shuddh Desi Romance (Amit Trivedi / Sachin-Jigar)

3. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy)

4. David / Kai Po Che (Multiple Composers / Amit Trivedi)

5. Ram Leela (Sanjay Leela Bhansali)

Top Composers

1. Sachin-Jigar

They've been around for more than 4 years now, and 2013 was the year they got due credit for the fantastic skill they've shown in composing.(They finally got a Wikipedia page too :D )This has been their biggest year yet with 5 full film scores(ABCD: Any Body Can Dance, Jayantabhai Ki Luv Story, Go Goa Gone, Ramaiya Vastavaiya, Shuddh Desi Romance)and guest compositions in 3 movies(Himmatwala, I Me Aur Mein, Issaq) as well. And apart from the templated Jayanta Bhai Ki Love Story, all the others were an absolute delight, with the stand out work in Shuddh Desi Romance coming right at top! No matter what, one or more Sachin-Jigar song was on hit charts all the time, round the year and with no compromise in quality and with no lack of experimentation. Their music continued to be in their signature style, bright electronic with great focus on melody, and for that they righteously deserves  the position of the Composers of the Year!

2. A R Rahman

How does he do it?!! This is the question me as well as the millions of  fans around the nation ask seeing Rahman consistently churning out quality music. Even with the humongous amount of expectations set on him, Rahman somehow manages to surpass them, raising the bar higher with every attempt. His Coke Studio @ MTV appearance catapulted the shows rating and elevated the shows quality to unexpected heights that most other artists failed to match up, even while giving their best. Rahman did 3 albums in 2013, two(Kadal, Maaryan) in Tamil and Raanjhanaa in Bollywood. Needless to say, all three were bloody good with Raanjhanaa being the pick of the lot! For me Raanjhanaa is the most repeat-worthy album of the year with each and every song so blissfully endearing. 9 tracks, and with a streak of experimentation throughout the album, Raanjhanaa proved to be a five course meal to music lovers!

3. Amit Trivedi

Mr. Trivedi opened 2013 with the exceptional Kai Po Che, delivering 3 solid songs, doing what he does best. Though what followed, Bombay Talkies and Ganchakkar, were average, he swooped in with he excellent Lootera, giving us bite into the 60's! Lootera, for me, is undoubtedly one of the best albums  of the year.

4. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy

SEL remained in their usual goodness this year, with 3 albums(Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, D-Day, Vishwaroop) reeking with good songs. While Bhaag Milkha Bhaag rose to become immensely popular, D-Day too had a fair share of tracks heavily appealing to the music audience. Vishwaroop, intially done in Tamil, was satisfying enough. 

5. Pritam/Sanjay Leela Bhansali

While commercialization of quality music isn't exactly a new thing, Pritam is among the few who actually managed to give commercial music quality. While he wasn't in the stellar form he had shown in 2012, Pritam ruled the popular charts with his hotshot catchy songs. With 9 film scores this year, Pritam's presence was there every time though quality was compromised in many albums. Nevertheless, most critics will agree that Priam's music had a majority role in making Yeh Jawani hai Deewani a box office blockbuster, with a large number of people flocking the cinema halls only for the terrifically massy music! 

Sanjay Leela Bhansali had one release this year, the blindingly colorful Ram-Leela, which he directed as well as composed music. While he has evolved a lot from the Guzaarish days, his craft with his old style were noticeable. Ram-Leela was not a great album in overall, but it sure had some great songs!

Top Songs - Coke Studio at MTV Season 3

So Season 3 of Coke Studio at MTV comes to an end. Better than Season 2? I think yes, definitely, why not? The production quality was better, the aesthetic appeal was better, lineup was better, popularity was better and on an average there wasn't a single disappointing episode overall. Even the various artists' one, which I consider was the weakest, had its own perks so there is that.

Having 8 episodes, with an ensemble of top notch artists, Coke Studio India strived to be, if not above, but in par with its Pakistani counterpart. Whether it has achieved that or not is another topic of discussion, but the efforts are appreciable and thankfully going in the right direction. Roping in A R Rahman was a highly clever decision, I'd say. For one thing, the show got a wider reach riding on Rahman's popularity. I don't think people took notice of Season 2 like they did with Season 3. It definitely helped the other artists too, Papon and Ram Sampath mainly. The good artists they are, their popularity among the masses weren't too great before the show, their songs were definitely, but their faces weren't. I'm glad for that.

Speaking of the artists, Rahman shined as usual, throwing us some intelligent gems like Zariya, Ennile Maha Oliyo and Aao Balma and giving a tremendous start to the season. Ram Sampath followed, maintaining the momentum to an extent, though a notch below Rahman. Nevertheless, his songs Piya Se Naina and Kattey are among the most popular of the entire season. Clinton Cerejo came next and while he wasn't in his stellar form he showed in Season 2, got us satisfied with his contrasting choice of genres. Baina, Kalappi and Marghat. I mean, even superficially, the tracks are grossly different. With the early release of Bismillah, expectations from Salim-Sulaiman were in the peak and they kind of dealt with it beautifully. Kare Mann Bhajan and Cheene Mora Chain for instance. Papon's and Amit Trivedi's episodes along with Rahman's comprises my top 3. Papon, the clear underdog among the producers gave a pleasant surprise, churning out high quality tracks like Benaam Khwaayishein, Dinae Dinae and Khumaar, took our attention through the perky and energetic Tauba. Amit Trivedi on the other hand was rock-steady, above all creatively, just like in season 2. 5 songs, one less than the usual and all my favorites! Hitesh Sonik was in his usual self. Haal Ve Raba intrigued, Ghar tried to ape Husna and Ramaiyaa will be among the top songs of the season. The various artists' episode was the weakest, as I said before, but then again you can't speak bad of Vyakul Jiyara and Man Manam. Where in the former, Vijay Prakash revealed his excellent prowess as a composer and in the later Sonam Kalra mesmerized with her singing.

Lets talk about the best singers. Ani Choying Drolma & Farah Siraj scintillated us with Zariya while Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, needless to say was legendary. Bhanvari Devi and Sona Mohapatra ruled Ram Sampath's turn while Vijay Prakash, Kailash Kher and Sidhaarth Basrur did at Cerejo's. Kailash Kher again was the highlight of Salim-Sulaiman's Bismillah and Salim Merchent proved again how good a singer he is. Anweshaa Dutta mesmerized in Benaam Khwaayishein, she is definitely somebody to watch out for the future! Papon along with Benny Dayal and Harshdeep Kaur did a great job in his episode. Amit Trivedi made sound every singer with him just great. Himself, Tochi Raina, Kavita Seth, Karthik, Shalmali Kholgade, Tanvi Shah and Jaggi, to name! Hitesh Sonik worked magic with Piyush Mishara as expected and Hans Raj Hans was in superb form too! Then again, his wife Sunidhi Chauhan was the best of the lot, singing Ramaiyaa with such grace! Vijay Prakash nailed Vyalul Jiyara as composer and singer both and Sonam Kalra has shown immense promise.

Among some of the other artists worth mentioning is Mohiny Dey. 16 year old she is and already among the top bass players in the country! Also Rushad Mistry, bassist, but of course he doesn't need any more compliments for the talent he has. Sivamani totally rocked his part in with Rahman.

I don't have a definitive top 10 or 15 number of songs from the show, its higher basically, and I don't know how to rank fusion music in an order. There is no benchmark, the genres are so diverse and different so comparisons are are out of the equation. So I trust my ears, posting the songs which I've heard the most number of times and which I'll prefer hearing over the others in the coming weeks and months.

The below songs are listed in NO PARTICULAR ORDER, though songs coming at the top are the ones most listened by me.

Attuned Spirits | Vasuda Sharma | Indipop Music Review

Attuned Spirits Music Review

Artist : Vasuda Sharma

Listen to the album online HERE
or 

Buy the album legally HERE

Vasuda Sharma was an unknown name for me until I heard Maajhi on YouTube one fine day. I took a liking for it and have been following Vasuda since then.  From the research I've done, Vasuda Sharma is part of Aasma, the pop band which surfaced from the second edition of the band hunt reality show Channel [V] Popstars. The status of the band is unknown, but some of the other members have made their own name in Bollywood, Neeti Mohan and Sangeet Haldipur, to name. Vasuda had composed for a movie in 2010, then went on to study at The Berklee School of Music for an year. Attuned Spirits is her return act I guess. Another interesting fact is that the album is fully funded by crowd sourcing! That is quite appreciable, for the crowd sourcing culture is yet to grow in India, some good demonstrations are needed.
So all said and done, the expectations from Attuned Spirits, Vasuda's solo debut album, are definitely pretty high! Taking a look.

Maajhi gives a heady start, the free flowing composition work magic with Vasuda's soulful vocals! The Hinglish lyrics gets along well, makes the song soothing to core. #Repeat

Sax is the highlight of the otherwise too superbly arranged Meera bhajan remake Giridhar. Here again, the melodic backbone is pretty strong which gets to another high with the well refined singing bit. #Repeat

Almost the same can be said for the breezy Barsan Lage Nain, though it takes more of a classical route towards the end portions and stands out, obviously. #Repeat

Love-drenched lyrics of  Laagi Lagan demonstrates Vasuda's excellent range and vocal variations while the strings and occasional Violin gives highly pleasing results! #Repeat

Classical base of Jaagi Jaagi Raina is evident, though not very clear and while Vasuda moves gracefully with her vocals, the arrangements simply stand out! A smooth amalgamation of Sax, Violin, Keys and Guitar (and some other indiscernible instruments too) provides one hell of background! #Repeat

Calling out to you aptly alternates between a modern, frothy outlook and an intense pathos led avatar, and the Cello along with the keys, Violin and Guitar are used to brilliant effect! #Repeat

Perplexing is the word for the heavily unconventional sounds behind Maula! The Kabir dohas are skillfully stuffed into an ensemble of sounds with an Arabic feel in parts while switching to a bass led metal like sound towards the end! #Repeat

Dhola somehow changes the entire mood of the album. Mainly because of  its rich and joyful Rajasthani dance base which gets along wonderfully with Vasuda's sweet and perky vocals! #Repeat

With Keep the Faith the album does a somersault again, this time to land on an aggressive Emo base! Vasuda sounds passionately deft and expressive while conveying the deeply laid out emotions of the lyrics with fantastic skill! #Repeat

The genre switches to bluesy base in Cruel World but the prospects aren't much exciting here, not really. The guitar interludes are great BTW which somehow raises the bar of the otherwise average composition. 

The immensely swayful tune works in great favor of Never Lose your Heart which feature a lilting A capella-ish background! Spritely singing by Vasuda helps. #Repeat

Verdict : Back with a bang?! Definitely. Attuned Spirits doesn't go wrong anywhere along the way. A masterful association of world music with Indian roots, the album is a steal! And Vasuda Sharma has taken me by surprise! She is a lot of talent. Composing, singing, arranging. I mean, how many Indian girls are out there doing all these things together and with a mellifluous perfection? Oh yes, the spirits are attuned and good things are happening to Indipop again! :D

Must Hears! : The Entire Album

AVOIDABLE<POOR<BELOW AVG<AVERAGE<GOOD< VERYGOOD <EXCELLENT!<OUTSTANDING!

Again, buy the album legally HERE. For Rs. 100, 11 bloody good songs are totally worth it!

P.S : Here is an article published in Rolling Stone where Vasuda talks about the album, song by song. If you want to dig deep into the classical bases that is the raga and stuff of the songs, this might help.
http://bit.ly/1c9HPNP

And here are the two accompanying videos released.