Arijit Singh has always been the idol of many music lovers. His voice is soothing and also somewhat brings a kind of refreshment to our ears. His song Chhod Diya from the movie Bazaar starring Saif Ali Khan, released in 2018, has now got the voice of JalRaj. The two independent songwriters and musicians Jalaj and Rajat, popularly called JalRaj, use their divine voices to sing Chhod Diya winning many hearts. With millions of subscribers, JalRaj has never failed to impress the audience This time his voice gracefully radiates the emotions of the song that is to let go of the love.

Sufi songs are heart-touching and help us find peace and dissolve us in bliss. Qawwali is a kind of Sufi devotional music. Referred to as Shehenshah-e-Qawwali (the Kings of Kings of Qawwali) Ustad Nusrat Ali Khan is one of the greatest Qawwali singers. Kehna Galat Galat and Ye Jo Halka Halka Suroor Hai are epic Sufi songs by this legend. This has been recovered by Madhur Sharma and his team with Acoustic Guitar played by Britto KC, Harmonium by Chirag Soni, Tabla by Adil Khan, Dholak by Pulkeet Kakkad, and Bass by Swapnil Tare. The background gives a historical and devotional experience. There is always a curing nature in Sufi music. Madhur Sharma efficiently transfers the peace in it to the viewers. The mesmerizing voice of Madhur and the chorus by the team plunges every viewer into deep emotions filled with serenity and harmony.

Neha Barua has come up with yet another cover song Kahaani, from the movie Laal Singh Chaddha -a movie to be released on 11^th August 2022 BY Amir Khan Productions. Sung by Mohan Kannan the song and considered the heart and soul of the movie, has become popular already. The female version is been tried by Neha. The cover song arrived within just 4 days. Her beautiful expressions also let us feel the emotions behind the song. It asks about life and its interpretations by Man. For anyone who wants to feel the ‘freedom without any strings attached, the lyrics are going to be one for that.

Music is the calm to the chaos in our lives. The indie artists in India are delivering a smooth sway away from Bollywood, competing that long-lived industry tremendously. For Hindi music fans, the Indie artists provide soulful, mesmerizing, and transcendental music from a wide variety of genres. Some of these artists also release musical Hindi covers, sprinkling their unique musical touches to these covers. The improvised versions, with distinct elements, are a treat for the ears, the mind and the soul. So here we’ve some of these selected covers, mashups, and more, for you to add into your playlist, and have a peaceful session for yourself! 

Mujhe Tum Nazar Se (Reprise) – JalRaj 

Mehdi Hassan’s iconic and legendary ghazal of all times, ‘Mujhe Tum Nazar Se’, has never left our playlists for sure! JalRaj, the musical brother duo, presents a magical reprise version of the ghazal. The music production and mix match of this version is also done by the brothers. JalRaj have always delivered the best of their musical elements, and all their covers and originals are a must listen to! This is just one piece of their lovely collection. 

Old Bollywood Covers – A.C. Bharadwaj

The Bollywood songs of the pre 2000s are pure bliss and serenity. A.C. Bharadwaj covers not one, but 5 platinum Bollywood songs from the 70s-80s. This list contains the songs, Silsile, Kaanchi, Dil Ka Bhanwar, Dil Ki Kahani, Suhaana Safar. A.C. Bharadwaj has a beautiful voice, and the way he sings and sometimes stresses on specific syllables which strings a chord in your heart. Visit the older eras of Bollywood music with A.C. Bharadwaj and have a serene time for yourself. 

Brown Munde x Titliyan – Nupur Pant

Hindi Mashups, especially if they are of two different genres and vibes, hit quite differently. The mixing and matching of the songs is a musical genius rendition, and to master it is quite the talent! Nupur Pant delivers us an exciting mashup of the famous Brown Munde by AP Dhillon, and the ever lovely song Titliyan by Hardy Sandhu. Nupur Pant’s voice perfectly complements this mashup, and one will definitely enjoy listening to this one. 

Woh Chali Woh Chali – Aloboli Kinimi ft. Tokhuli Yepthomi 

Aloboli Kinimi has the most calming and tranquillising voice ever! The musical duo Aloboli Kinimi and Tokhuli Yepthomi present a beautiful and improvised version of the much loved song, ‘Woh Chali Woh Chali’. The duo has incorporated English lyrics, and it fits in the song as if it really was a missing piece we all didn’t know about. The synchronising voices of Aloboli Kinimi and Tokhuli Yepthomi add the wonders to the song cover.

Let’s call the meetup of Madhav Khanna and Sahaj Chawla destiny, because it must be destiny’s work to bring such a duo together. Madhav and Sahaj, friends, and artists, have collaborated and are bringing yet another musical artistry, ‘Udaan’, after their hit single ‘Milon’, a song which celebrated undying love. Madhav and Sahaj went to the same college: NMIMS, Mumbai. There, they first met in a jam session hosted by the college’s music society. In 2020, they released their first collaboration: Tooti Hoon Main, which was Madhav Khanna’s first single, and Sahaj produced and arranged it. Later, they released Milon together, a song they co-produced and co-performed. 

The Processes Behind the Latest Single Udaan

The release of ‘Milon’ was just the beginning. Music never stops flowing. Right after the release of Milon, the duo was already on the boat to a new song. Just a few weeks later, Sahaj already had a basic framework for the song ready, which is the guitar riff and vocal melody you can hear in Udaan! 

Udaan is a beautiful and hopeful song about taking that leap of faith into the unknown to beat that mental block. Madhav Khanna and Sahaj were also going through such an experience during the time of the making of Udaan. They were contemplating if they should take that dive, the full dive into the music industry. So, in a way, Udaan is also a personal song, stemming from personal and real thoughts of contemplation and doubts. The song is also a step away from the conventional verse-chorus, verse-chorus format. 

Madhav Khanna and Sahaj Chawla have a great synchronisation with each other. They’ve worked together on songs previously, which has created a very comfortable bond between them. They clicked instantly in deciding the sound for the song. After building the base of the song, that is, guitar and vocals, Madhav and Sahaj explored the spatial and ethereal sounds they wanted to incorporate into the music. 

A Collaboration with Other Indie Artists

The artwork and the mix and match of the song have been done by other independent artists. For the artwork, Madhav and Sahaj reached out to Aninya. The artwork is a vivid description of Udaan’s lyrics. A man looks out towards the sky, and amidst the sky, one sees a ship sailing. Such a view is unreal, but don’t all our hearts’ desire something which seems unachievable and impossible to us? Until, of course, we take that leap of faith and jump into the unknown. 

The mix and master of this track has been done by Prasad Maha. They had collaborated with him during Madhav Khanna’s ‘Tooti Hu Main’. They’ve even had the pleasure of meeting him in December 2020 at Osho Jain’s gig in Delhi, for which he was the sound engineer. 

The Journey Ahead

As independent artists in the field of music, which is considered unconventional by the society, Madhav and Sahaj have had their moments of doubts. They still have doubts if they want to pursue music full time. Such situations raised anxiety for them, and the inability to see through these decisions transparently manifested as the deep lyrics of Udaan. 

As Indie artists, Madhav and Sahaj have noticed that the past two years have been a great ride for the indie industry. More and more artists are releasing music, and many labels are signing them. Outside major industries, like the Bollywood industry, the indie artists are surely increasing their scale, proving to be a tough competition for them. Indie industry has also been headlining major music festivals like Musicathon, NH7, etc. Madhav and Sahaj, therefore see a positive sprinkle for the musical artists like them.

Musical covers are always a delight to listen to, because sometimes singers add in their own signature, taste and techniques to it, to make it even more hypnotizing. Covering songs can also be a tedious and anxious job, since one needs to do justice to the song, which has already been sung in the best possible way by the singer. Catching the rhythms, the tunes, and synchronisations, these musicians have delivered the platter with more sincerity and passion. 

Here are these some music covers, each with their own unique element added by the respective artists:

Simran Ferwani – Pasoori 

Most of us are Coke Studio fans! Coke Studio is easily one of the most watched musical shows. Simran Ferwani, in this musical cover, brings Ali Sethi and Shae Gill’s song Pasoori in her exquisite voice. Pasoori is an absolutely divine song with magical lyrics. Simran Ferwani, with her guitar, presents the musical cover in all honesty. An on loop cover for sure! 

Nupur Pant – Brown Munde x Titliyan 

Hardy Sandhu and AP Dhillon are one of the most listened and celebrated musicians in India. Their songs have time and again made it to the trending list in India. Nupur Pant’s prodigal music mind infused the two genius songs, Brown Munde and Titliyan, together, and produced a whole new music. The fusion of different songs is a work of wit and passion, and Nupur Pant excels at it! Her strong, melodious voice is a cherry on the top. 

JalRaj – Mere Rashke Qamar x Ik Mulaqat

Mere Rashke Qamar and Ik Mulaqat are soulful Indian film pop songs, and will be known as evergreen songs in coming years. Imagine a blend of these two songs. JalRaj does this immaculately. The cover is done so eloquently that the shift from Rashke Qamar to Ik mulaqat goes unnoticed. Secondly, covering songs of artists like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in itself is a divine challenge, and JalRaj, make sure to deliver a beautiful rendition of it. 

Vicky Singh – Narazgi 

The original song Narazgi was performed by Punjabi singer Aarsh Benipal in 2016. Vicky Singh presents a Hindi version of Narazgi, as a musical cover, in his melodious voice. Both versions of the song can be placed on an equal plane. The Hindi version still retains the emotions and sentiments of the song. Maybe this is how all singers and musicians, not just gift their vocals, but also their emotions and warmth to the music. 

Rapping simply isn’t just speaking words as fast as possible on a given beat, and we have the Amravati Rapper, 100RBH, (also known as Saurabh Abhyankar) signed under Rapper DIVINE’S Label Gully Gang, here to prove that. As the title must have suggested, 100RBH is a rapper, hailing from the city of Amravati, Maharashtra. Rapping is that innate channel through which the young rapper has expressed his thoughts, ranging from personal to social and political. 

Saurabh Abhyankar is a rap artist, who through his rap, talks about issues relating to his community, which are sometimes also in his local Marathi language. Rap and music often become the best channels and platforms through which one can share stories and inspirations. Through a talk with the Gully Gang’s rapper, we got the opportunity of getting a greater knowledge of his profuse journey. 

Early life 

The city of Amravati and its people believe in the security of government jobs. Saurabh’s parents also tried to push him into the same lane. For them, art is not a viable option to pursue. However, Saurabh did not want to be moulded into this, and instead followed his heart. He’s the first person to follow arts as a career from his city, and this is one of the most courageous step he took. 

Since childhood, as 100RBH says, he was interested in dance and singing. You could often find Saurabh sneaking out to nearby Ganpati Mandal and dancing his heart out. On one of these sneak-outs, Saurabh came across a Marathi rapper. This rapper intrigued him to the point that he wanted to try it out, and he quite succeeded in it! 

He grew up with his hobbies as dance, singing and playing instruments. He completed his 12th grade and is currently pursuing polytechnic. An active performing rapper also pursuing his higher studies at the same time! 

Stepping into the Music Industry 

Saurabh Abhyankar entered the music industry as 100RBH. He presented his rap as a mirror to his thoughts, ideas, and feelings. When asked the question of the current trends of evolving music, Saurabh replied that music as an art form is an expression of oneself, and that is how he works, and will continue to work. It is no surprise that not only does he perform and produce music, but in return, music has also shaped him into ten fold the person who he is today. All of this has come forth through both the barriers he had to cross and also the comfortability he found in the same space. 

Saurabh says that he thoroughly enjoys the whole journey of performing and rapping. He is still on the stage of understanding music better to give out even better results. Placed against a few problems like the inability of the people of Amravati to understand rap as a genre was a difficult reality for him. This meant that performing amongst his own locals stood as impossible. He had to sell tickets on his own, which one could only imagine how tedious and futile a task was. 

Listening to an artist on an app or a streaming platform hides the process which goes behind this. It can make us oblivious to the fact that some people have risen from nothing to where they’re today. Saurabh retells us how even recording his music stood as a strenuous challenge as there were no studios or musical engineers present in his city. However, even under such situations, 100RBH’s released music was uncompromised and always promising, both lyrically and instrumentally. 

A Message by 100RBH for Aspiring Artists 

While talking about failures, Saurabh emphasises on the importance of failing and losing in the journey of achieving. Failure drives us to work harder and smarter, and motivates us to achieve our visions. 100RBH believes that everyone is an artist in their own ways and capabilities. As a message to all the aspiring artists, Saurabh says to focus on your art and, most importantly, enjoy it and trust the process, while giving your all into it to yield the rewards. 

Saurabh saw a dream of himself being a rapper, and he never once questioned his abilities to become one. Today, he is an earning musician, a rapper under Gully Gang, and his parents, who were otherwise hesitant and non-supportive of his decision, proudly tell the world that he is his son.