MESMERIZING: A LIST OF SOME OF THE TOP TAMIL SONGS RELEASED LAST MONTH - TAKE A LOOK!

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Theera Nadhi

This is probably the best song of the lot and Dhibu Ninan Thomas can do no wrong. At the moment. Here he scores music for the movie “Nadhi” and he gets two dependable performers in Kapil Kapilan and Srinisha Jayaseelan as lead vocalists. The brilliant flute intervention between the lines “Jal jal kolusoli” is Dhibu showcasing his talent and it is played by Nikhil Ram in a teasing fashion. Dhibu composes, programs and arranges as always but this time is with the words of Thamarai. Listen to the savvy Shehnai by Pt. S Ballesh and you will least expect it amidst all the synths and keyboard programming. Keba Jeremiah plays the guitars and plucked strings as well. This segment feels a lot like listening to “Kabeera” by Pritam. The momentum suddenly drops as Srinisha sings and it is only Keba accompanying on guitars and then we are back to a hearing some more catchy lines including one of the best lines of the song in “Theerathathe nam vazhvu thane”. Avinash Sathish and Hariharan are the recording engineers as with Balu Thankachan mixing we have Shadab Rayeen on mastering duties.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuZ_q7l1giY

Check in pana Check out panave matta

It has been a long gap , and I am guessing more than 6 months since I heard a single by Pranav Giridharan. I remember this vaguely because for a couple of months he was chalking out beautiful melodies one after the other and all were getting reviewed and featured. Rishipriya Pattabiraman sings this tune which sounds a lot like Reethigowla raagam. Pa Aravindhan is the lyricist. The violin solo is beautifully followed by the flute in the interlude and we get a very hummable stanza and delivered with exquisite taste by Rishipriya.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvNyQYHcVPE

Varayaatha Oviyam

Tony Britto is the composer but he gets many stalwarts on board like Pradeep Kumar on the vocals and Santhosh Narayanan on additional mixing and mastering duties. Tony composes, programs, arranges and mixes the track which basically has Pradeep as its hero. The guitars and the innovative whistles combinequite well with Telfie on acoustic guitars, bass and Melodica. The rhythm changes as the tempo picks up and I am in love with the basslines along with the Melodica. The song thanks to the tone and Melodica sounds a bit like that awesome portion of “Ay hairathe”. Suraj and G shankar are on the flute and whistle. The Piano and the scat singing by Pradeep create some magic together in the interlude and the melody progresses further into the stanza. Divine, Pranav and Tony Britto are the recording engineers. The second interlude is like a folkish humming by Pradeep, but he still sounds convincing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4e_WYQ4PLw

Bodhai Neeye

He probably is the next big thing, and I have been vocal about it since the last few months and he is making it evident with 3 amazing songs sung in Feb 2022. Praveen Powers is the composer for this soft melody and the guitar strokes of Sam Solomon is the driving force for most of the song, both acoustic and bass varieties. After all that passive melody , Akkarsh Kasyap breaks free with a solo on violin, and Sanjay Panikkar handles the strings arrangements that can be heard in the deepers layers.  Tamilmani is the lyricist for this track and Abin Pushpakaran does the mixing and mastering while Lisesh Kumar does the recording. Govardhan is the mix assistant and Swetha Raju is the hair stylist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W3hDp_jjl0

Chinna Raasa

The two are creating a rave working as a duo, Dhibu Ninan Thomas the composer and Kapil Kapilan the singer. We already had one song featured last month from the same movie “Kombu vatcha singamda”, and the composer is on a roll. This is a lullaby of sorts with Kapil’s phenomenal vocals. It is extremely impressive when Kapil can throw his voice around and sing “Adiye” and then to sing with such calmness and soothing nature sing this lullaby too. GKB has written the lyrics, while Dhibu has composed, arranged and programmed the track. The harmonies are simply outstanding , both in execution and arrangements. The group consists of Abinaya Shenbagaraj , Sowmya Mahadevan , Deepthi Suresh , Nincy Vincent , Shenbagaraj G , Santosh Hariharan , Sarath Santhosh and Aravind Srinivas. The mild interlude bit has the flute solo by the one and only Vishnu Vijay and constantly aided by Naveen Napier on bass guitars. The strings section plays in the background and its effective output is thanks to the skills of the Macedonian Symphonic Orchestra whose score is by Collins Rajendran and Oleg Kondratenko conducts it. The song transforms a lullaby to an anthem with multiple layers of instruments, a pacy and energetic percussion section handled by Krishna Kishore, Ganapathi, Venkat, Sruthiraj and Kiran. Kapil is equal to the task of providing adrenaline-pumping vocals when needed. Lt. Thirumoorthy plays the Nadaswaram, Vijay Joseph is on acoustic guitar and Kishore plays the Sitar. The pause for a brief second and the high-octane “china raasa” is extremely creative and catchy. The recording engineers are Vishnu M, Mani Ratnam , Lijesh Kumar  and Giorgi Hristovski. Mixing is done by Kiran Lal and Balu Thankachan, while mastering is done by Manoj Kumar and Shadab Rayeen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIxwqxcV-As

Odathey Oliyathey

MS Krsna is one of my favorite indie musicians not just in Tamil but overall in India right now. I like it even more that he sings and composes songs in his native tongue and last year he had two amazing numbers called “Piravi” and “ Maranthathey” and I urge you all to go listen to these tracks as well. Here Krsna writes, composes, arranges and produces the track and don’t forget that he also plays those stunning guitars. The song has a very strong bassline right-through and that is thanks to Napier Naveen. The lyrics are fantastic as he writes” odum kalathai nadakka sollathey, nadakkum kalathai thavazha sollathey”. The interlude on guitars and break-neck speed is amazing and we have Rahul Muralidhar on the drums. The singing is quite casual and something can be catchy and appealing to the younger lot and we have Gooth on the backing vocals. Protyay Chakraborty has mixed and mastered the track, with Navneeth Balachanderan recording the drums and guitar, and Mani Ratnam recording the bass guitars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAEgGb0Z0mk

Annana Thaalaattum

I have always been a huge fan of Anurag Kulkarni and he is probably the busiest and best in the Telugu music industry, and so wondered why he has not made in-roads into other languages especially in this day and age when musicians cross borders and linguistic lines easily. Finally GV Prakash lands him an opportunity and Anurag smashes this one. Nikhil Ram on the flute and Sandeep Mohan on acoustic guitars begin the track in melodic and sober style. Anurag is soft and tender when he has to be and really explodes into the higher scales when the song demands. The violin solo in the interlude is outstanding and the whole song reminds me of “Adi nee enge” from Taj Mahal by AR Rahman. Aswin Sathya is the programmer and Vivek writes the lyrics. Jehovahson Alghar has recorded, mixed and mastered the track. I might be wrong but I do sense some Desh Raaga in the track, either way this is a pleasant number to just rock you and put you to sleep like a lullaby.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dviM9cRh8R0

Parandhu Pogiren

This movie had some phenomenal reviews among the movie-review expert community, and it is called “Kuthiraivaal”. Pradeep Kumar is a serious talent when it comes to composition and I get the feeling he is uncompromising with his style and commitment to delivering good quality music irrespective of its acceptance. This one is a perfect example of the kind of music he creates,, with very simple instrumental help, but excellent and unpredictable notes. The track reminds me of two particular songs viz. “Mayanadhi” by Santhosh Narayanan especially during the lines “Vannangal illatha or vanavil naane” with the background chords. The other song exactly at this juncture that I am reminded of is the opening charanam lines of “Uyirin Uyire” by Harris Jayaraj. Listen to the brilliant double bass by Shallu Varun in the background and Pradeep is scintillating on the guitars and Piano. The Violin solo on the interlude feels a lot like Madhuvanti Raagam and it is played by Manoj Kumar with flawless ease. Kalyani Nair, an artist I rate very highly, gets to make some vocal exhibitions here in the charanam. Prasath Kumar is the lyricist and we have many excellent musicians like M S Yeshwanth, M S Krsna, Amrit Kishan, Sandeep Sajeeva & Maarten Visser on the background score.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3_bOJqsCEs

'Nam Iruvar'

It is a very tough proposition to shine when your parents or elder siblings are stalwarts or legends in the same profession you also pick up. Can you imagine how difficult it would be for Amrit Ramnath to get the limelight being the song of Bombay Jeyashree. Yet he manages to do it when he sings and composes like this. I have been featuring his work of late and this one is a testament to his abilities. The track is collectively composed and performed by Amira Gill and Amrit and there are versions in Tamil and Hindi. Amira has been someone whose songs I have been following and here she really impresses with her score and even more on her vocal diction in Tamil, which needs to be complimented. Abhinandan David evokes the feelings of love and longing straight away on his guitars and the emotions are stirred further as we hear Amira. The lyrics are effective creating that feeling of camaraderie and partnership and everything just elevates into a higher orbit thanks to the strings by Rithu Vysakh. The idea of creating a layer of vocals below the lead vocals works brilliantly especially the line “Urave thithikkum”. Amrit manages to provide such tantalising vibrato when you least expect it and what we end up getting is oen number you want to listen and share with your loved one. Amrit has produced and arranged while Saurabh Joshi has mixed and mastered the track. Susha does the video related direction and animation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQRXNgU-Bsg

Ice Katti Kuruvi

A couple of months ago I reviewed a song called “Kaatrile Mudhal Isai” and it was a fabulous composition, and now he follows that up with this sweet, suave melody that just hunts you down with nectar and sugar laden arrows. Ron Ethan Yohann has composed, arranged and produced the track sung by Pradeep Kumar with Ron also joining in on the vocals.  The way the song starts off I sort of sense some influence of Hindolam Raagam and Pradeep nails the vocals as expected. You can hear a lot of synths and that along with the Piano and orchestral arrangements are handled by Ron. The line “Rasagulla parvau tharuthe bodhai” sounds grand like a symphony thanks to the live instrumental arrangements in the background. Srisha Vijayasekar does the female humming in the interlude and we have a lot of excellent rhythms, programming done by Jared Sandhy. Joshua Satya plays the guitars and R Rajesh does the additional musical production. The track is recorded, mixed by Pon Abhishek Dharshan and mastered by Randy Merrill. Gnanakaravel writes the interesting lyrics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy2JgMFuSFA

Naan Thozhum Deivame

Sam CS has been consistent and delivers when he is provided with the right opportunity, so after a very good song in the same album a month or so ago, here we have D Sathyaprakash singing this pathos-filled number. It is nothing like I have heard him sing, and he does bring about all facets of the gravitas in the song. Joseph Vijay’s acoustic guitars are solid and constantly strumming with he also on the bass guitars and electric guitars, and Nadhan’s flute intervening at the right junctures. Sathyaprakash really reaches for the skies with his vocal extremes singing “appa” and that pays off well. I keep hearing the Sarangi but couldn’t find the credits for that. Nadhan plays the Clarinet and Obeo and the song clearly to me has traces of Keeravani Raagam. Abey Terrance Antony has played the Keys and the track is mixed and mastered by B.Thiru with Bhuvana Ananth as the music supervisor. Arun Bharathi is the lyricist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt5-GJdp35c

Vennilavum Ponninadhiyum

Sivaangi is a talented singer with a broad vocal range who can really take the scales up a notch and I am glad she is being offered many songs in the indie space. Lallit Talluri is an exponent in the flute and he shows precisely why with his superlative solo. I love the line “ nee illai naan illaye” which comes in the anupallavi as well as the bridge between Charanam and Pallavi. ADK KRIZ is the composer who has been featured here a few months ago and this is another feather to his cap. Lakshminkanth and Nalini Vittobane are the backing vocalists and the former also does the programming for the track. The guitars are an essential element of any song especially the bass variety and here Godfray Immanuel does a fine job. Jey has mixed and mastered the track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEUVo4gmaBw

Kadhal Universe

A romantic song for the current musical tastes is how I would like to describe this song composed by Pravin Mani. However it is very different to begin with as the instrumental support takes me back to the 1990s Pop with the Keyboards reminding me of Madonna’s “Crazy for you”. Haricharan is the undisputed vocal king in Kollywood and Tamil indie space today and no one else can move between genres and sound equally convincing under all styles. Navin B is the lyricist who comes up with some solid poetry and the emotive singing of Haricharan does the trick and keeps you engaged.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDoCYtxqUYw

Missing me

Only Santhosh Narayanan can compose “Soorayattam” and “Missing me” in the same album and make both sound fantastic and original. If one was folk and energy, the other is hip-hop and pathos. It is a lesson for most musicians wanting to pick hip-hop and rap as their preferred genre, as most of them I hear in the indie and movie space even by stalwarts lack the style and energy and rhythm that Santhosh brings about. The best thing about this song is that it is written and Sung by Dhruv Vikram and you will be stunned by his talent. The delivery of the rap lines is astonishingly good and we cannot wait for more stuff like this from him in the future. The use of the Piano is so exciting when used in the background of rap, and it is played by Aditya Ravindran. There is definitely an inspiration from EMINEM that I can sense and the song is composed, arranged and programmed by Santhosh with Tamil lyrics by Vivek. A huge round of appreciation is needed for the English lyrics written by Dhruv. Finally Santhosh shows his class and his affinity towards the “Horns Section” with trumpets playing in the beginning and the end and in many places in between. The track is mixed and mastered by Rupendar Vekatesh with recording by Pranav Muniraj. Meenakshi Santhosh is the music co-ordinator. The other song I definitely love and find very interesting and quite different from the rest of the album is the “Umm Song”, where its’ inventive lyrics or lack of it is just one of the many interesting parts. The Latin Jazz style or maybe Flamenco genre is excellent here with the Trumpets, harmonies and the percussion. Aditya Ravindran’s vocals are pitch perfect in this number.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5ur_C-L7ZU

Mozhiyellam Mounam

This song is from the upcoming movie ‘Yarao’ and the music is composed by Jose Franklin, with lyrics by Adithya Suresh. We also have two renowned singers in Karthik and MM Manasai as male and female leads. Manasi really goes for the fence at the higher scales and she comes out on top. The use of the strings section that runs constantly creates a nice layer. A few more worthy things to mention are the solo on violin and the female humming in the interlude almost giving an AR Rahmanesque tonality to the song. The stanza is quite well composed with the melody gaining in strength and Manasi and Karthik employ some very valiant vibrato to beautify the song. The live instruments and arrangements feel like it is from that great number “Netru illatha maatram”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqjaTSFWFQA

Swipe Right Material

It is so heartening to see a tamil musician being featured on a special song for an international brand. Tinder, which is an online dating app, started the phrase “swipe right”, because that is what you do when you like someone on the touch screen of the phone. The song is a promotion for their app/product in India and it draws in musicians who are a big hit among the younger generation. So like Guru Randhawa and Dee MC, Anirudh Ravichander is featured for the tamil portions. It is a clear sign of his popularity and his vocal strength as well. The lyrics are penned by Dee MC, Garima Obrah and Super Subu in the corresponding languages and the score is composed and produced by Kartik Shah. The song is fast paced and that is how it needs to be to suit modern tastes with a tinge of disco and EDM influences as well. Alamgir Khan and Sridhar SN provide the backing vocals, and the song is mixed by Devang Rachh and mastered by Dave Kutch. Dee MC’s rap bits are a wonderful addition as well, but Anirudh’s singing is going to be a huge hit among the Tamil audience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoOZcfe-qKA