BEST PICKS FROM TAMIL MUSIC THIS JUNE 2021 - HAVE YOU HEARD THESE YET??

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The composer of the month is MS Krsna for his two amazing scores "Piravi" and "Maranthathey", and he also is the singer of the month for performing in both these tracks. Godfray Immanuel and Santhosh Jayakaran are the musicians of month for their contributions in live instrument performances in 2 different tracks each. Finally Niranjan Bharathi is the lyricist of the month for writing lyrics for 2 tracks in this list.

Doorika

It hardly takes 2 seconds to fall in love with this track, as Haricharan opens up his throat and sings in his comfortably good high-pitched voice. It is interesting because that is not how songs usually begin, when they depend on starting of a lower base. Ayaz Ismail’s composition is spot-on and deserves credit for trying and succeeding here. This youngster sits in Dallas and has his studio setup from there, and after his super-duper hit with Javed Ali, this time he employs another master of the arts in Haricharan. Ayaz is also a singer/producer and we cannot wait for more Tamil projects from him. Anthony Plant is on the acoustic guitars, which delightfully gives the romantic element, while Mike Gage on the drums is stunning and delivers all the oomph the song needs. Mike also plays the bass guitar, which can be heard like cookie crumbs all over the floor.  There is a mild interlude on the acoustic guitar after which Haricharan sings the verse with great passion. Ayaz is the mixing engineer with supervision from Raaj Jagtap, while the supremo Donal Whelan does the mastering. The verse has a brief pause with the drums fading away, and it helps you focus on the lyrics “Thalli Nindre Alli kolvom, Unmai kadhal seivome va va”. Niranjan Bharathi writes these amazing lines maybe even referring to the power and passion of a long-distance relationship. The outro is a fitting and fabulous finish with Hari’s stylish humming, guitars and drums which all are played with innovation and intent.

En Laddu Laddu

This is a fun track sung by Harihara Sudhan with a very cool and casual attitude that is necessary for pulling off a track like this. The beats make u tap your feet and remind you of “Kuchi Kuchi Rakamma” from AR Rahman’s Bombay and we have to thank Andruson, David and Varun for the live rhythms. This track is from the album Kadaisi Kadhal Kadhai and is composed by Chetan Krishna who has done especially well in the stanza, and the best sounding the lines are “ Mazhaiyana thoovina idiya veesura”. It is very witty and interesting in terms of the lyrics also which are penned by Mani Muthan and RKV. The title lines have a nice violin background in the end. The track is mixed and mastered by David Selvam and Mithun Manoj does the live recording.

Idhuvum Kadanthu Pogum

It is Sid Sriram's voice that is like bait that you can’t just help but take. The use of harmony is fantastic and their humming adds a great tone to the song and the backing vocals are by Sai Krishna Kumar, Arvind Annest, Shibi Srinivasan, Nishok, Tanvi Shah, Anjana Rajagopalan, Sinduri Vishal, Padmalatha, Medha Ramaswamy. The percussion is something that absolutely stands out thanks to its unique touch that is constant and feels like it is speaking a language of its own. Karthik Netha's lyrics say that "Idhuvum Kadanthu pogum" which means that Even this shall pass, but I sincerely believe that once you hear this track, it will never pass or get out of your mind. The acoustic guitars in the interlude are by MS Krsna who has also done the arrangements for guitars, and it is interesting to see how Girishh Gopalakrishnan, the composer has brought this super-talented Indie singer-songwriter for this invaluable contribution on the guitars. Now Girishh has composed arranged and programmed the track and he as impressed me a great deal since his terrific score for the album "Mookkuthi Amman" released last year. This track has already created a massive wave of expectations about his future projects and why not! Girishh has also done the keyboard, synth and rhythm programming while Shyam Benjamin is on the Keyboard and EP. The wonderful strings you hear at the end of first interlude are arranged by this Pan-India musician Samarth Srinivasan. As the verse begins, Napier Peter Naveen Kumar's bass provides the perfect support for Sid's vocals and the strings become an inseparable component of the track further into it. All additional voices are from Girishh, Ramshanker S and Krsna with voice arrangements by Anjana Rajagopalan and Ramshanker who are now the usual suspects and part of this wonderful team with Girishh and the other respected composer Ganesan Sekar, who has also been involved in additional arrangements with Ramshanker. The track is mixed and mastered by this pillar called Sai Shravanam with music co-ordination by Samson. The electric guitar is played by Joseph Vijay and the unmissbale strings are by Chennai Strings, conducted by Yensone Bagyanathan. The members are Kalyan Sundaram, Sheik Imam Saheb, Sebastien P.J, N.P Kerala Kumaran, K. Murali, K. Sasi Kumar, P. Mohan Rao, R. Samson, B. Jaya Chandar, Hemanth Raj Muliyil, P. Basker, Jugfinia Anita Francis, V.R.Sekar, R.K.Vijayendran

Loner

The track has been a huge hit as it features a heart-throb among TN girls in Ashwin Kumar, but there is more to the song than just its video. It has some excellent singing by Anand Aravindakshan who has this performed excellently and differently from the other styles we know which he is comfortable with. The song excellently composed by Adykriz , vaguely reminds me of “New York Nagaram” sung and composed by AR Rahman, and the track has some excellent sounds like the strings in the interlude, humming by the female lead Nalini Vittobane, and soothing keys and of course Keba Jeremiah’s guitars which enhance at the right times. The programming is by Jc Joe and AK Priyan. The track is mixed and mastered by Jey with Sharvee and Avinash Sathish as recording engineers. Mohan Rajan is the lyricist who writes here on loneliness and separation.

Makka Song

The three-man show called MAKKA the band came up with a lovely number on Valentines Day this year and this is their second outing is equally good if not better. Ranjith Govind, Rahul Nambiar and Aalap Raju compose this which is more like a inspirational anthem, and with even deeper meaning, about how there are no inequalities by birth, caste, race, creed, gender nationality but music is the only thing that unites us all. True That! Bruce Lee has got fingers just like his namesake and gives this song the feeling of a rock number. There are two more stalwarts brought in with Bhuvanesh Narayanan on the keys and Siddharth Nagarajan on the drums. The inspiring lyrics are written by Kolahalan. The rap bits act as the verse in the song and the strong message of unity is delivered without mincing any words literally. Watch-out for the stunning guitar-drums duo in the outro

Maranthathey

M.S Krsna is a singer-songwriter-guitarist-producer, from Chennai and he is quite predictably the musician of the month for his two splendid singles in this month itself and also for his contributions in another fabulous song composed by Girishh G. Krsna is a self-taught guitarist who writes primarily in Tamil and was brought up in a musical family, and all that pedigree is on display when he is in full flow like this. “Maranthathey” is a song about those of us who are meant to fly but leave our wings tied to things that don’t matter. For those of us in TN who are not aware of Compass Box Studios, I would introduce them as one of India’s primary and most exciting production house to promote Indie music from across the nation. Raag Sethi is a name we should remember for he and his team are the holders of that inextinguishable fire that spreads the light of music and puts away the darkness and struggles of young budding musicians. Krsna is literally on song here as composes as Ilaiyaraja-esque track of the 1980s.  Presented with an infectious melody and arrangement that is progressive yet Pop! Chirag Todi provides support on the guitars to Krsna who himself has sung and played the acoustic guitar. The humming bits are truly pacifying and how many points do we give for creativity? Meera Desai does backing vocals and does this brilliant mouth trumpet intervention in the interlude joined by Krsna. Protyay Chakraborthy has this very touching solo on the violin just before this. Raag Sethi the producer is on the bass guitars. Let us not forget the role played by Shivang Kapadia.

Minnalai

Simon K King is one of my favorites in the Tamil music scene and he churns new songs with incredible consistency and this track is the second likeable number from the album WWW. Yazin Nizar is really now at the top of his game with singing duties across 3 languages in the south, and he for sure is cherishing and excelling at it. He does have a very dependable voice especially when it comes to singing in the higher scales and you can sense that in the stanzas of the track. Finny’s flute accompanies Yazin from the very beginning. Shravan’s solo on the violin in the first interlude is truly excellent and invokes a head-nod of approval for Simon’s arrangements and it is more playful in the second interlude. Godfray Immanuel single-handedly excels at both the acoustic and electric guitars, while Vasanth David’s drums set the perfect tone and tempo for the track. Ku Karthik should be credited for writing these poetic and romantic lines for the track.

Naan Nanaigiren

This track is composed by Vibin Baskar and it is sung by Cassandra Racheal Premji. The lyrics are written by Srini Selvaraj. The Melodica sounds invite you into this extremely pleasant melody with a very soft and tender rendition by Cassandra and helped by backing vocalist Mukhil Mayuri in the humming portions. The track is once again proof that simplicity can be soulful. The bass guitar is played by Jasper Kenny and the Melodica is played by Andrew Peter. The track is programmed, arranged, mixed and mastered by Vibin and Preethi Murugan is the song editor.

Nee/Naan

This is the most mysterious and intriguing number in this months list. It starts off to haunt you straight away with Krithika Nelson’s stunning vocal stability and her high-scale delivery. She sings every note with perfect stress and the keys in the background played by Santhosh Jayakaran add to the gloomy and eerie set up almost like its part of a horror movie. The song is written and composed by Krithika herself and the words are meant to create the aura of a break-up or separation gone bad, well you know it when she sings “Tholainthu po”. The shocking part for any avid listener or me will be how abruptly this intriguing track shuts off almost creating sadness, and wishing for more considering there was so much promise. But wait, apparently the composer wanted to create exactly this emotion, as this is how it would feel when a relationship progressing well suddenly turns south and is flushed out of the drain. Wow, kudos to Krithika for being able to successfully express herself in words and notes. Santhosh does the programing while two very popular names from the AR Rahman team contribute to this track viz. TR Krishna Chetan on mixing and Suresh Perumal on mastering.

Oshi

Shilpa Natarjan is a very popular name in Chennai and she keeps knowcking on the doors of indie music now and then. This one is a dedication to a cat that passed away back in 2019 and it is so heartening to hear that songs are being written for pets and animals as well.  Last month we had a song about a bond between a man and his dog composed by Prateek Gandhi, and here it’s about Feline love. Shilpa has composed and performed this track with some wonderful keys in the background. Varuon Thushyanthan has written these words of love and remembrance so beautifully and only a man who truly loves pets can write this way. GD Prasad has mixed and produced this track. One aspect that elevates the track clearly is Shipla’s singing which shows so much range and variety all in in just under 180 seconds.

Piravi

Here we have MS Krsna again, and this one is written, composed, sung, and produced all by him. Veronica Renny has also contributed in writing the lyrics. The use of falsettos could be overdone in some tracks, but Krsna uses it so diligently. The highlight of the track is when he sings “thana nana nanana”. There is an interlude right in the middle where Krsna plays his guitar so brilliantly that it disguises itself like a Veena. Saurabh Joshi has played the Tabla, mixed and mastered the track.

Thaniyae Kadhal

No greater feeling of Joy emerges than you when see a youngster produce some amazing work, be it any field. Here we have G Balasubramanian making his debut score for a movie and just the fact that he could get Chinmayi and Abhay Jodhpurkar to lend their voices suggests the confidence of this composer. Niranjan Bharathi and Lokesh Kumar have written the wonderful words for this track while all arrangements have been done by Balasubramanian himself. The title line comes just a tad later after the opening lines, but it is definitely the spotlight part of the track. Those lines, “rendu usurum seranum, otha usura maranum” is sung by Chinamayi and Abhay together and it does feel like two souls are conjoining when you hear that line. Anu Koshy and Abhishek Vishwanathan have done a top-draw job here on all the additional programming and orchestral arrangements, you will appreciate it when you hear the violins at the right time in the background. Anantharaman Balaji plays the solo Violin, and Sam Solomon plays both the acoustic and bass guitars. Ashish Venkateshwaran plays a lovely little solo on the flute in the interludes, followed by some keys. Balasubramanian does something very exciting by writing a beautiful verse with varying notes but he ends the charanam by using the Title line as the connector “Thaniyae kadhal”. The use of this technique and employment of the flute and the violin (an excellent and elaborate solo on the violin in the second interlude) as instruments to deliver the interludes – all probably show some inspiration from Maestro Ilaiyaraja himself. Keerthivasan RM has done the mixing and mastering while Vivek and Manasa have contributed as track singers.

Unnara Vaithai

Bindhu Malini sings and composes this semi-classical number and although this was ready and released earlier this year, the track has been given a boost by featuring it in the OST of Family Man Season 2 on Amazon Prime Video. It is her soothing voice that draws us close to the message she conveys through lyrics written by Kumar Kalaivanan. Prakash Sontakke brilliantly plays the Slide Guitar and at times it emanates the sound and feeling of a traditional Sitar. Chris Jason is hugely talented and respected at least down in the South and here he shows you why with his touch and strumming of the acoustic guitar which is like the indispensable partner along with Bindhu's touching vocals. I could be wrong but I could sense some "Behaag" raaga at times but the composer probably has gone for a more fluid melody that traverses between many raagas. The second interlude is astounding with the slide guitar taking the lead and the acoustic guitar providing a perfect backup. All this sounds refreshing and immersive thanks to Prashant Techno's arrangements and production. The second verse and third verses make unexpected turns from the first and this also shows the prowess of the composer. Abhilash Lakra is the man behind the mixing and mastering of the track.

Urugaatha

Kathiravan Udhayakumar is not a name people would know, but he has been writing and composing some splendid numbers in the indie scene for almost a year now and every one of his singles have been gems. Last month it was one in Madhuvanti raagam sung brilliantly by D Sathyaprakash. This time we have a different performer in Deepika Varadarajan who sings this raagamaliga which features lovely bits of Kaapi, Keeravani, Naatai, Miyan Malhar and Bageshree. R Sanjay has produced the track and played the keys. Manoj Kumar is scintillating on the violin as we have a solo in the interlude and Godfray Immanuel plays the guitars. Deepika is displaying textbook solidity as she sings these lines with a perfect classical touch.

Vaan

After paying the keys for Nee/Naa , here we have a single composed written by Santhosh Jayakaran. The mixing and mastering is also done by him and the song is mesmerising is its effect and impact , and yes when he asks “do you feel the magic”, we do and the video is a great accompaniment with some solid visuals. The lyrics then move into Tamil, and what is truly worthy of mention is how Santhosh changes his vocal delivery styles while singing the English lyrics and he adds a classical touch with aalap with the Tamil lines. The strings, harmony are all excellently programmed to give a well-rounded effect.

Vaanam Neringinazhl

Sid Sriram sung the Telugu version and it definitely feels like Sreekanth Hariharan nails this one in Tamil. Kartik Kodakandla deserves credit for making this track memorable and also using a different and dependable vocalist for Tamil. Karthik himself and Nutana Mohan provide the steady backing vocals. Hemanth Kashyap who is one of the rising talents plays the fiddle and when you listen to the solo pieces on the violin, you feel the power of the instrument. Pramod Umapathi's flute keeps coming in the background as well especially when the beautifully composed verse comes to an end. The use of the Melam for percussion is excellent here. The Nadaswaram with the Melam is a pair of sounds south Indians are used to as it creates the setting of a marriage and a large celebratory gathering. Karthik has employed the guitars to perfection especially when the verses begin and Sreekanth is singing in his lower scales. AP Santhasekar has done the mixing and mastering with Sai being the music co-ordinator. All the keys and rhythm programming is by Vinodh Sharma. Dr, Kiruthiya has written the lyrics for this number.

Vaanam Thoandraathoa

Vijai Bulganin is making a habit of this and it is a good thing that he gets consistently better with his compositions. He is also rising up with the world as this song is dedicated to Doctors in India who are fighting the Covid-19 battle amidst rising stories of violence and brutal attacks by unreasonable and dejected family members of the deceased. Nani the superstar in Tollywood even makes a special appearance in this video, which was made in Tamil and Telugu. The quality of the track stands out just like Vitu Pogadhe by Vijai last month and here Roshan Sebastian’s vocals belong in the A-list. He has this amazing stability as he sings in the base line “Naalai Thedu”. Madhan Karky’s exceptional lyrics are here for all to listen to and he does paint the perfect picture with his words. Roshan also handles the mixing and mastering, and Abin Sagar plays the guitars. The keyboard programming is handled by Bhuvanesh Narayanan. Listen to this wonderful Kazoo playing in the background and interludes and just near the outro and this was played by Vijai himself

Vaazhvile

Kevin Fernando is up and coming star in the indie scene and he has huge fan following all over India, and it is nice that he ha snow sung a track in Tamil thanks to Ashwin Vinayagamoorthy’s composition. Ashwin and Prasanna Balaji have penned the lyrics. This is apparently the first ever track in Tamil to be recorded in Dolby Atmos Sound. Kevin’s singing is like a breath of fresh air and Shravan Sridhar’s violin and viola effectively adorn the track. There are parts which remind of the 90s hit song “ Akila Akila” by Deva, which itself was inspired by “Buffalo Soldier” by Bob Marley. Cletus Amalan takes care of the acoustic and Electric guitar solos, and while Gaurav Sharma plays the Ukulele, Michael Timothy the producer handles the bass guitar duties. The wonderful beats are thanks to Siva Prakasam who plays the Kanjira and World Percussion. The Cajon is played by Anthony Vezza and all the keyboard arrangements are by Badrinarayan Rammohan

Vada En Chellakutty

This is a pleasant melody that came out of nowhere, and it is not surprising that is loaded with some exceptional melody, as we have the National Award winning Ouseppachan composing the music for this. Keshav Vinodh has sung this track and he strikes me as a singer who has this soothing effect like that of KJ Yesudas. The violin solo in the interlude is a class apart, and the verse is just a beautiful symphony, of Keshav’s singing, strings, Guitar and Tabla.  

Vidudhalai (Freedom)

Rohith Jayaraman is one uber-talented singer, and if you have doubts check out his singing video on instagram and he will leave you bewildered with his skills. After doing a bunch of splendid covers, this is what I wanted from him, an original. Well I got more than that, an entire EP called "Manam" and it has some fabulous semi-classical and classical tracks including a recital of poems, and a ragamaliga. This is the one that truly stood out along with another one set in Kalyani raagam called “Vetri Nadai”. Rohith works with his Guru and mother Asha Ramesh and they bring to us a true classic. Asha and Rohith have written and composed the track and the words needs special mention for their inspiring thought. The line “kallin mele paalai ootri vazhipadu seighirai, antha kallai sethukiyavar mel kalai nee uthaikkirai” is magnificent in its impact and that summarizes this whole project. The track is mixed and mastered by Anindo Bose at Plug 'N' Play Studios. Vasundhara Gupta has done the programming and Rohith has played the Tambura. Just get lost into a sea of tranquility listening to the vocals of these two exponents. The raagamaligai has Kaapi, Sama, Keeravani, Panthuvarali and Desh raagams intertwined. The list of musicians is vast on this one with the whole production, arrangements and programming by Aleif Hamdan who has also played the additional Piano along with the smashing Kanjira and the electric guitar. Layth Sidiq and Apoorva Krishna has played the violin while Anna Stromer plays the Viola and Naseem Alatrash is on the Cello. The main Piano bits are played by Ron Cha while Mylai Karthikeyan’s Nadaswaram adds all the classical Indian touches. Alex Gorchesky is the one to play the Upright Bass, and when it comes to the Percussion it is Thomas Antonio Debelian, Giri Subramaniam on the Tabla and Dholak and Yogev Gabay on the drumset.

Yaaro

6091 is one more popular musician making his mark, and he is also known as Gopi Krishnan. This talented musician born into a family of Carnatic musicians loved experimenting with sound and he tries and creates spectacular effects in the styles we call Lo-fi and Future bass nowadays. This too is produced by him and he gets in Rakhooo to perform this number who has also composed the track. Vaisagh writes the lyrics and he also happens to be a indie singer. Rakhoo has this wonderful tone and sings with equal poise whether it is the lower or higher scales. Yaaro is more about the tune and its impact on the listener through minimal instrumental intervention.

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