SHREYA BOSE
INDIE
REVIEWS
Zaraasa (Pavan Gaikwad):
Debuts are a good thing. It means
someone else decided that they
were going to deafen their inner
monologue of self-doubt, and do
something that they love. When
it comes to musical debuts, I
tend to be especially pleased,
simply because I obsess about
indie music in this country.
Gaikwad’s initiation into solo musicianship is
characterised by an EP that is an easy addition to lazy
days. Four songs, sung in Hindi with a lilt towards
wistful what-ifs and if-onlys. He focuses on the parts
of life that are usually ignored in the midst of honking
buses and deadlines, and tries to draw attention to the
more fleeting things, like actual human feelings.
Musically, Gaikwad keeps the arrangement pared down
into uncomplicated chords. “Berang” and “Tum Aur
Main” stand out for being particularly pleasant. However
charming they might be, the songs do tend to be on the
simplistic side on this. There is nothing to criticise about
any of them, but they fall short of being memorable.
Nonetheless, one can feel optimistic about the quality of
Zaraasa, and quite sure about the fact that his forthcoming
undertaking on tonality will be worthy of anticipation.
18
The
Score Magazine
highonscore.com
Awaaz (Ady Manral):
Ady Manral live in the foothills
of the Himalayas. He creates
songs in a misty world that has
been the site of endless literary
and cinematic magic. Naturally,
when he sings, you can hear the
wistfulness of a place that we
tend to equate with dreams.
Two years ago, Mantal
recorded Awaaz in the middle of monsoons washing
his mountainous hometown. Clearly he seems to
possess a poetic bend, as he took to singing the song
once again on a similar day, his music punctuated
by the sound of a downpour outside his window.
The song is a simple expression of wonderment. It is
immediately relatable, as it talks about nothing in
particular. There’s talk of looking for a certain something
or someone, but the image formed is of an indefinable
sentiment rather than a human figure. Manral has an
unusual voice, but that doesn’t make much of a difference.
Much pleasure is to be taken in these few minutes, and it
calls for very little analysis. It's just there without the need
for too many qualifiers. An odd relief emerges from this.