Audience is changing and so is music.
Indian music industry has seen a golden time in the years 1994-1999 as far as original songs are concerned. I do not support the concept of remixes as they take away the beauty of the original song. You can recreate a louder version of the song, but you cannot retain the melody.
With this kind of scenario around me, I think of the beautiful time which I still remember, the golden era for Indi-Pop music the mid 90s.
I have picked up a few of the songs in this review which I can call as the best Indi-Pop songs. I have ruled out Ali Haidar’s songs as they were not released in India originally. I am including Indian stars solely.
The List
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1. Dil Dhadke
Singer - Baba Sehgal
Music - Baba Sehgal / Charles Vaz
Year of Release - 1991
Album - Thanda Thanda Pani
This song is first in my list as it was the first Indian song to make it to MTV Asia Top 20. The song was a new concept at that time. Rap was unheard before and Baba Sehgal was selling like hot cake. This song is different from the other songs of the album in the sense, it had international beats and rhythms. The lyrics are not great but the song remains as one of my favourites.
2. Made In India
Singer - Alisha Chinoy
Music - Biddu
Year of Release - 1995
Album - Made in India
The all time best selling indi pop album. The album featured some typical Biddu style of music(which was not much heard except for in films like Kurbani), and too good vocals by Alisha. The song topped the charts as soon as it was released replacing Suchitra’s Dole Dole. This song’s speciality is its rhythm. A blend of indian and western instruments forms the rhythm for this song. With the base rhythm being provided by the drums, tabla accompanies them perfectly. Keyboards have been used to the maximum extent in this song.
3. O Sanam
Singer - Lucky Ali
Music - Lucky Ali
Year of Release - 1997
Album - Sunoh
The best use of electronic guitar in the indi-pop industry till date(as per me). This song came as a whiff of fresh air in the gradually saturating pop market. The song had a new kind of voice. The crude voice of Lucky Ali. Many think that he made his debut by this album, but that is not the reality. He sang a song for Anu Malik in his father Shri Mehmood sahab’s Dushman Duniya Ka. The song was called Nasha Nasha, Nashe mein hum, Dhuaan Dhuaan, ye zindagi. Leave aside the trivia part, lets talk about O Sanam. This song is based on Congos, base guitars and a beautiful rhythm of electric guitar. The song has immense melody dissolved in the non-breaking rhythm. The voice of Lucky Ali was deep and the composition rock solid. The song had every ingridient to be declared as a winner
4. Paree hoon Main
Singer - Suneta Rao
Music - Leslie Lezz Louis
Year of Release - 1991
Album - Parwana Deewana
A slow moving song with very less use of guitars and keybards and very unique kind of https://lyrics. If this song was not in my list, the list would have been incomplete. There are music companies in the market, which still include this song in their compilations. This song has one of the things which made it different from other songs - its timeless composition. The instruments used are so common, that they continue to be used with same magnitude, they were used in the early 90s. Flute plays the leading role in this song. Though Suneeta Rao is not singing anymore, this song has made her impact on our minds. Her singing in this song is beautiful. The voice is soft and she has sung the higher notes(Especially around *koi to aisa ho aake jo *)
exceptionally well. A winner.
5. Ab Ke Saawan
Singer - Shubha Mudgal
Music - Shantanu Moitra
Year of Release - 1998
Album - Ab Ke Saawan
A breakthrough for many, this song proved to be one of the greatest compositions in the Indian Pop history. Shantanu Moitra composed the music for this song. Today he has movies like Pareenita, Yahaan * to his name. Prasoon Joshi wrote the lyrics for this song. He has given the lyrics for the much awaited *Rang De Basanti.
The song is a complete fusion between Rock’N’Roll and Hindustani Classical. It has a very small touch of Rabindra Sangeet also. The metal guitar has never been used with such a style in India. Keyboards accompany the guitar well and the worth mentioning thing is the fresh and energetic singing by Shubha Mudgal. She is at her best. She shouts, she whispers, she sings high notes, low notes, middle notes all in the same song and all with perfection. Definitely my favourite in the list.
Due to the limitations, I am not in a position to include more than 5 songs in my list. So unlike others, I will restrict myself to the above mentioned list.
Thre are songs like Tanha Dil - Shaan, Aankhon Mein - Aryans, Ho Gayi Hai Mohabat - Aslam Shibani, Breathless - Shankar Mahadevan, Deewana - Sonu Nigam, Bulla - Rabbi which deserved to be in the list. Unfortunately I could not include them in the list. They are good songs, but when I minutely scrutenized the songs, I came up with the list which I have put up with you.
I have also mentioned the reasons why I have rated them as superiors. It would be quite clear from my reasons, that I did not rate only on the basis of melody and vocals, but the other aspects also.
If your views differ from mine, you are welcome to put up your points. I do not expect any to agree with my list, but anyways I have put it up and now it is upto you.
Good or Bad - Comments Welcome.