New Music: Pensive Piano Pieces, Incendiary Rap-Rock, Affable Electro-Pop and More

“Anchor” by New Delhi Revival

Guitarist, singer and songwriter Samar first gained eyeballs when he created a poignant video in the aftermath of the New Delhi riots, called “Sab Bhula Jayega” and followed the spoken word piece up with an even more powerful song about depression, called “Grief Bacon.” With his artist moniker New Delhi Revival, he’s joined by drummer Arjun Mathur for a different turn — with a bitingly satirical rap-rock song called “Anchor,” one that shines the light on news media’s sycophancy towards the powers that be and how it’s influencing the next generation.     

At Odds, Pt.II by Birraj

Written during the lockdown as a follow up to his May 2020 debut EP, pianist and composer Birraj Singh Taneja strikes a nimble yet intriguing balance of neoclassical and more familiar Western classical hues on At Odds, Pt. II. You might hear influences ranging from Chopin to Nils Frahm and more across three piano tracks, performed solo, perhaps best enjoyed on a tranquil evening.

“Night Show” by Loud Silence ft (ft Siyaahi, MC Headshot, A-Gan, The Rhyming Man & Var!n )

The contestants of an upcoming hip-hop contest made the most of their time being in the same hotel and the result is “Night Show,” produced by Ankith Gupta and Rshn. Led by Bengaluru-based multi-lingual rapper Loud Silence, the smooth five and a half minute track brings forward young new voices such as Tamil rapper A-Gan, Ahmedabad’s Siyaahi, Odisha-bred rapper The Rhyming Man, Bengaluru rapper-producer Var!n and Kolkata’s MC Headshot all taking formidable turns on the mic.

“Baalam” by Ragasuram

Faridabad-bred producer Ragasuram aka Aryaman Pandey takes a page from the book of Asian underground music with his latest song “Baalam,” which brings together pining Indian classical vocals by Pooja Gaitonde over electronic beats and tabla portions. The three-minute track is apt for the times, serving as a dancefloor-friendly tune as well as a tune with playlist potential for a pensive listen.

“Second Chance” by Mithun Kiran

Mangaluru-based producer and singer-songwriter Mithun Kiran channels a little bit of John Mayer’s easygoing guitar-pop as well as futuristic electronic flourishes on his new song “Second Chance.” Currently studying medicine, Kiran released his debut song “Take Me Home” in February last year and he’s clearly sticking to sublime sounds for matters of the heart.

“Sadiyon Mein” by Marshall Tyagi

Drifting through the hills of Uttarakhand, singer-producer Marshall Tyagi pens an affable ode to letting your heart love with “Sadiyon Mein.” In the video for the electro-pop song dedicated to wandering, Tyagi and his friend (essayed by Rohan Rawat) meet a woman (played by Swaty Negi) who unknowingly leaves behind her purse, and the duo are off to find her and retrieve it, with plenty of twists and turns along the way.

“Demon Princess” by Rubin Mathias

Bengaluru-based guitarist Rubin Mathias channels everyone from Mumbai/New Zealand’s Warren Mendonsa aka Blackstratblues to prog whiz Sithu Aye and post-hardcore band Dance Gavin Dance’s guitarist Will Swan for his music. His debut single “Demon Princess” is offered as a tribute to characters from animated movies such as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. Running through surging prog leads and eventually quietening down, “Demon Princess” also features Bengaluru drummer Ujwal KS, known for his work with prog fusion band Pineapple Express and fusion act Kelvikkuri.