The 10 Best Indian EPs of 2024

This year saw a lot of broad stories and sounds packed into the compact EP format, across genres. Here are the best Indian EPs of 2024, in no particular order.

Zygnema – Iconic

Mumbai metallers Zygnema took a while to follow up their 2015 album What Makes Us Human Is Obsolete, and what we had before that was the angst-driven single “I Am Nothing” in 2020. In the time since, vocalist Jimmy Bhore might have become a burger chain czar, but it hasn’t stopped his rage. Across five songs on Iconic, there’s a burst of grooves that swerve between Meshuggah and Pantera, now with added Marathi folk elements like on “Grind.” There’s a crushing sense of chaos that only Zygnema wear as their signature sound, bringing the hammer down emphatically on songs like “Choco Slam” and “Iconic.”

Yungsta, Hadi. – Ulte Seedhe Gaane

After making a powerful artistic statement with his album Meen in 2023, New Delhi hip-hop artist Yungsta enlisted London-based, Abu Dhabi-origin producer Hadi for a further push of his boundaries. Clearly, Yungsta still had a lot to get off his chest even after Meen and that comes to the front on songs like “Generational Act” and the pop-influenced “Crosshair” with Mumbai rapper Yashraj. There’s plenty of unconventional production choices for desi hip-hop, best heard on “It’s Crazy” as well as “USG.” Yungsta’s already had another EP Three Two One to close off the year, but desi hip-hop won’t forget Ulte Seedhe Gaane any time soon.

Praveen Alva – Neerh

After performing all around Bengaluru and South India to a certain extent with his band, Alva Kuuto, it’s fair to say the strength of Tulu singer-songwriter Praveen Alva’s performances is in his storytelling. Whether it’s about a relative who cowers on a stormy night (“Barsada Rathrey”) or his love for the coastal life of his native home Mangaluru (“Kadal Poiye”) or a new bride (“Possa Ponnu”), what elevates Neerh is that often, the instrumentation and production choices do a lot of talking so that nothing really gets lost in translation.

Frizzell D’Souza – In My Symmetry

Like Alva, Frizzell D’Souza is also from Mangaluru, also a singer-songwriter and also an architect! They do have different stories to tell, however. On her own, D’Souza has been the calming voice of perspective and intimacy alike with her debut EP The Hills Know Of You from 2022. That was after she’d already written heartwarming love songs like “Foolish Once Again.” Now, with In My Symmetry, there are vibrant electronic influences (courtesy of producer Aadarsh Subramaniam and intricate guitar work from singer-songwriter Anirudh Ravi, and still that sense of warmth, best heard on songs like “Symmetries.” In a world full of concrete shapes (in a reference to architecture and of course, life), she yearns for more freedom, drawing from friendships (“Long To Be”) and family (“Mum’s Lullaby”).

Tejas – Museum

While there’s a part two/album version of Museum expected in 2025, singer-songwriter Tejas gives us something poignant as he expands his sonic palette with the four-track EP. It starts with a vocal sample of his late father, elevated by sarangi. All of it proves that this is Tejas like never before, but of course, it’s rooted in his soul-searching pop. With a steady groove and exuberant choruses on songs like the title track, Tejas buys a ticket to past memories, hoping to learn from history that’s personal and larger. The sarangi (by Vanraj Shastri) is key on songs like the breathy, melancholic “The Clock” and Tejas signs off with a teaser of sorts on “Read Your Mind,” an emphatic reminder of the lesson that exploring – inner and outer space – can be beautiful.

Seedhe Maut – Shakti

To say it’s been an eventful year for New Delhi duo Seedhe Maut would be an understatement. Calm and Encore ABJ just don’t seem to have downtime, always on the grind. In the middle of diss tracks, star collaborations, international gigs and hanging with Anderson. Paak, the duo released a two-part collection of songs called Shakti/Kshama. Since Shakti has marinated more in public consciousness, there’s been more to take apart, from the insomniac notes of “Soyi Nahi” and the hard-riding “Raat Ki Raani” to a disco, horn-aided cinematic turn on “Naksha” and the melodic Ritviz-esque “Khush Nahi,” Seedhe Maut proved there’s no question they’re forging ahead but haven’t forgotten the kind of moods they’re capable of traversing.

Long Distances – How The Mighty Will Fall

Released at the start of the year after a slew of singles, Mumbai act Long Distances’ debut EP How The Mighty Will Fall scratched that wistful, post-punk/shoegaze itch that was sorely missing from Indian indie. In true punk fashion, maybe they don’t relate to any particular scene, but they don’t need to – songs like “Empire” and “Lovesong for an Apocalypse” stand on their own as powerful, memorable songs that perhaps have no precedent in the country. Elsewhere, sonorous, lush songs like “Skin to Sea” and The Cure-nodding cuts like “Delicate Surrender” are familiar but not homages. The EP’s not all about being dialed up to 11, as they prove on the tender closing song “Bridge,” in which the dystopic tales get capped off with vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Aarifah Rebello wondering out loud, “Will we ever feel the sun now on our skin?”

The Yellow Diary – Mann

After releasing two solid EPs in 2018 – Marz and Izafa – Mumbai pop rock band The Yellow Diary had cemented their place as one of the in-demand artists in the country. But then they pretty much took the singles route, until they released the three-track Mann. Of course, singles continued, but these three songs on Mann proved they could still write to an overarching theme and sound. Yes, they’re all mostly to do with matters of the heart, from the giddy, groovy “Mann” to the electronic synth-line-driven maturity and continued excitement in love on “Sada.” But then it closes with “Kaun Mera,” in which Rajan Batra’s featherweight Punjabi vocals lock in so well with the instrumentation – from the quieter verses to the explosive choruses. It furthers their arena-ready sound palette but with the lyrical nuance that shows The Yellow Diary aren’t ones to settle into the cozy, enviable place they’ve earned over the years.

Yashraj – Meri Jaan Pehle Naach

What do hip-hop, disco and the Mumbai underworld have in common? Yashraj’s shimmering EP Meri Jaan Pehle Naach has the answer. Inspired by the party-hard nights at discotheques that he never knew his parents had at first, Yashraj ventures into a space where no desi hip-hop artist has gone before and the disco ball drops spectacularly. Navigating his internal trappings on the dancefloor with songs like “Gabbar,” “Daae/Baae” and “Kaayda/Faayda,” there’s the comedown on the ballad-like Gorillaz-esque closer “F.G.H.M” – showing a whole new, vulnerable side to the firebrand rapper.  

Aanchal Bordoloi – Letters To Bombay

Chennai-based singer-songwriter Aanchal Bordoloi has always been a breath of fresh air with her coming-of-age lyrics filtered through distinctively quivering, high-pitched vocals and simple guitar lines. She’s everything that still proves English singer-songwriters have refreshing stories to tell in a sea of multi-lingual, lovesick artists. Her EP Letters To Bombay starts with the easygoing “Energy” in which Bordoloi proudly declares, “I’ve got a lifetime of songs I could dedicate to you.” The conversational tone is never awkward, but more so openhearted that it just commands your attention, like on the second-guessing “Ruse.” But soon enough, she’s done overthinking and has made up her mind. On “Ruins” she says, “You piece of dirt, you’ll be getting what you deserve.” She wrote “him emails in this bloody age,” which sounds pretty funny and endearing at the same time.