New Music: Till Apes, Neela, Arunaja, The Earth Below and More

“Holy Fire” by The Earth Below

In the last two years, Mumbai act The Earth Below have undergone plenty of changes. Founding member Deepak Raghu now handles vocals and bass, while he’s handed over drumming duties to Shreyansh Kejriwal and guitars to Ashish Dharkar (from doom band Dirge and post-hardcore act Pacifist). They’ve been testing out their rejigged sound live across India, but the first studio missive is “Holy Fire,” an all-out stoner, doom and psych rock offering that’s The Earth Below’s heaviest work yet. Twisting and turning to nod at influences ranging from The Melvins to Soundgarden, there’s a hair-raising, headbang-worthy quality to their latest work.

“Yeh Dosti” by Juxtaposed

With three releases out so far, Bengaluru-based bassist-composer Osi Gomango’s new project Juxtaposed take to Hindi funk-pop on “Yeh Dosti.” Joined by vocalists Krishna Kalki and Ramya Kirtana, saxophonist Gautam David, drummer Jaime Dudley, keyboardist Joshua Pereira, guitarist Joshua Ashish and dholak artist Kamal Bob Anto, the band describes the cheery “Yeh Dosti” as a tribute to late singer KK. The band says the song is “a journey through innocence, infatuation, and the enduring power of friendship and love, seen through the lens of everyday life.”

“Sit Back” by Till Apes, Mary Ann Alexander

Released last month, Bengaluru neo hip-hop act Till Apes team up with R&B artist Mary Ann Alexander for a slinky, groovy and bubbling new song called “Sit Back.” While their frontman Hanumankind takes a breather, multi-instrumentalists and producers in the band Soorya Praveen and Doc.Awes aka Amrith Raghunathan step in for sung and rapped vocals, adding more diversity than ever before as they address why they’re walking their own path.

“Forgive” by Neela

Indo-Canadian artist Neela weaves together an empowering tale of forgiveness and finding one’s self-worth on the grand pop song “Forgive,” part of her new EP Exposed. Although originally starting as a tune written on guitar, Neela enlisted producers Kofo and Akeel Henry to give it an epic pop sheen. “Forgive” is accompanied by an animated music video by creative director Purusha Anokhei, one that sees a woman despairing over lost love before she begins to consider the importance of self-love.

“Pukar” by Vishnu Sunil

The bustling streets of Mumbai get a spirited tune to guide them along, courtesy of singer-composer Vishnu Sunil’s new Hindi song “Pukar.” Featuring lyrics by Lakshmi Menon and a music video shot in Mumbai by Ansari Nassar, there’s a soulful flute and percussive flair at the heart of the song, helped by Sunil’s sublime vocals recounting childhood nostalgia and ideas of home.

“Breathe” by Joker’s Whoop

Guwahati indie pop/rock band Joker’s Whoop take the plaintive, existential yet empathetic route on their recent release “Breathe,” which comes with an animated music video that paints a portrait of bleakness and eventual hope. “Breathe” stays downcast for the most part and surges with anthem-like rock energy in the last minute and a half, making for an emotive listen.

“Paralysed” by Hemanth Jois

Bengaluru-based artist Hemanth Jois has previously spun heartfelt Kannada tunes, but his roots lie in heavy music. He scratches that itch on “Paralysed,” the first song off his upcoming English EP Sleeping With Snakes. Through themes of betrayal delivered by an unnamed female vocalist, Jois channels polished riffs and prog drum work on the song that swerves between rock and metal in the vein of bands like Evanescence.

“Birdbrains” by Aniruddh Menon

Producer and filmmaker Aniruddh Menon teams up with dancer Anishaa Tavag from the 206 Dance Collective to create an arresting audio-visual offering called “Birdbrains.” The song showcases Menon’s shapeshifting production penchant, even including a bit of hip-hop while his camera work matches Tavag’s warrior-like dance, including inside a local train (where fellow artist Pardafash—who has produced the video—also makes an appearance).

“Freedom” by Arunaja, Ossi Jauhiainen

Powerhouse vocalist-composer Arunaja seeks out truths on “Freedom,” a grandiose new rock song with Finnish artist Ossi Jauhiainen. Arunaja and Jauhiainen are seen in the green forests of India and the snowed-out locales of Finland respectively, as the singer sings about having power on her side with orchestral rock arrangements and marching band drums to match.

“Tumi” by Nihira Joshi-Deshpande, Ashwin Srinivasan, Santanu Ghatak

Vocalist-composer Nihira Joshi-Deshpande expands her multilingual capabilities with a Bengali song, “Tumi.” The artist brings in veteran flautist and producer Ashwin Srinivasan and lyricist Santanu Ghatak for a musing fusion song that includes electronic, classical and Bengali folk elements. Joshi-Deshpande sings – in a seemingly effortless manner – about the nuances in thought that take place when two lovers share a close bond that’s not defined by societal norms.

“Files” by STEVIE

It’s never easy when your live set gets sabotaged due to computer problems and Chennai artist STEVIE and producer-guitarist Joel Prithvi have clearly been there. If you’ve been to a STEVIE show in recent times, then you know the R&B-informed artist has now steadily leaned on rock and hip-hop elements and that shows on “Files,” a song that feels like it was made on the fly to just flex his (and the producer’s) ability to roll with it and create a killer bop as well.

#1 EP by Noria

Among the newer rock bands to emerge from the North East in recent years, Noria played their first gig in 2021 and now have their debut EP – simply titled #1 – come out in April. Comprising vocalist Vedant Kaushik (from death metallers Third Sovereign), drummer Simanta Choudhury, guitarist Pol Gogoi and bassist Udoy Raj Baruah aka UD, the band primarily channel a bit of Alice In Chains and occasionally, molten metal-informed riffs on songs like “Banished,” “Against Me” and go softer on “Moulded Wax.” “Dead Snake” moves at a languid pace but “A Fool’s Pride” closes the five-track EP with a modern, Machine Headesque intensity.