Weekly Earworm (13/12/2020)

Banarasiya (Hindi/Indipop): Sooraj Santosh: Sooraj Santosh is brilliant in blending the Hindustani melody with the techno sound rhythm and Bhanavani Prasad's Mohana Veena gives the gloomy touch to the track. Insanoid's rap portions are the only sore point in this track but Sooraj's stupendous rendition makes this one worthy listen.

Durgamati (Hindi): Malini Awasthi, Naman Adhikari, Abhinav Sharma: Heer: The track benefits largely from Malini Awasthi's punch vocals and the concoction of sounds in the background topped by Zeeshan Abbas's Sarangi. Though the techno sounds dominate in some portions, the track is nicely done overall by the composers. The track ends with a pulsating Sitar solo by Naveen Mishra.

Ghibran Spiritual Series : Ghibran: Kancha Dalaayatakshi: Muthuswami Dikshithar's Kamala Manohari based Kancha Dalaayatakshi is an inherently beautiful tune and Spoorthi Rao excels in renditioning it impeccably with her punchy vocals. One wishes that Ghibran utilizes her vocals in any of his albums. Ghibran kept the arrangements simple dominated by percussion rhythms and string sections towards the end.

Kabadadaari (Tamil): Simon K King: Hayakki Baby: Kabadadaari's Kannada version is composed by Charan Raj and Hayakki baby should be equivalent of Jazzy Khaali Khaali Aniso. Simon King switched to Middle Eastern sound and the tracks work wonderfully especially with Sanah Moidutty's vocals despite the patchy rap portions by Krishan Maheson. Watch out for the pleasant oud solo by Xenai.

Coke Studio 2020: Yaqeen by Wajiha Naqvi: Yaqeen is a beautifully done meditative piece especially the taranas for the initial one minute. The lovely interplay between Wajiha and the chorus along with the rock rhythm comes together magically results in the addictive track from Coe studio.

Seethayana (Kannada): Padmanabh Bharadwaj: Sanje Gagana: Sanje Gagana works mainly because of the phenomenal singing by Swetha Mohan while Bharadwaj's semi-classical tune props up the song effectually. The tune turns much better with the tongue-twisting charanam portions and fabulous violin solos in the interludes.

Maara (Tamil): Ghibran: Oh Azhage: Ghibran's Maara sounds more like a composer returning to his form after a long slumber and the three tracks have a lilting feel with the soundscape. Oh Azhage with its punchy rhythm and the ambient sounds while Benny Dayal easily hits his high musical notes which works to the song's favor. Thamarai is in her stellar form throughout the soundtrack as usual.

Mudhal Nee Mudivum nee (Tamil): Darbuka Siva: Kaatrilae: Darbuka Siva released the second song from his directorial debut and as he mentioned in the composer note, the song sounds more like a 90's pop tribute and also evokes his latest composition Visiri especially the guitar riffs. The brass sounds are employed more beautifully especially when it is played along with the charanam. 

P.S You can listen to the song in Youtube

Music Review (Tamil): Sathya

Music Review (Tamil): Sathya
Music Composer: Simon K King

Kadhal Project's main drawback is the tune treading on the familiar territory as well as quite an uninspiring tune despite being an energetic one and sung sprightly by Benny Dayal. However, composer made the other elements in the song interesting with Keerthana Vaidyanath's classical tinges and splendid drums and solo violin by Vasanth David and Akshay Ganesh respectively. Yavvana is the brilliant stuff from te composer, semi-classical melody builds upon the rock base with brilliant Kalyani Nair showcasing her prowess while surprisingly Yazin Nizar sounds off track in the pallavi portions. Composer's stupendous arrangements with Vasanth David's drums and Vikram's Tabla make this one song of the soundtrack.

Sangu is the generic high octane rock track and the tune hardly turns into an interesting zone while the inclusion of Kuthu in the grungy rock track doesn't help the song much either. Godfrey Immanuel's guitar work being the solo highlight in this track. The song's area version has the same arrangements with Karky's lyrics replaced by Rokesh but that doesn't make the track better one. Yavvana's reprise version gains a lot from the beautiful semi classical melody and the minimal arrangements add charm to its allure. The melancholic version of the same tune works exceptionally mainy for the Keerthana Vaidyanathan's earnest vocals and decent support by Yazin Nizar. Srivatsa's woodwinds set the mood of the song perfectly in the interludes Simon King ends the soundtrack with the brilliant In search of Satya theme and the santoor touches are the absolute highlight apart from the curious mood set by the string sections. Overall fitting theme track for the crime thriller.

Verdict: Simon K  King's third album is the most promising work from the composer with ample support from the lead singers.

My Rating:7.5/10

Pick of the Album: Yavvana, In search for Sathya, Kadhal Project