No Skip is Billboard India’s weekly roundup of the best new Indian music. Every Monday, we sift through last week’s crop of releases to put out the ultimate playlist – handpicked by the Billboard India team. Tracks from Indian artists across any genre (including the diaspora), released on any major streaming platform until Friday night are considered for editorial curation.
This week’s No Skip playlist sees artists like Anirudh Ravichander, Benny Dayal, Curtain Blue and Aamir Aziz step outside their signature sounds, experimenting with new genres and textures. Here’s the selection.
- “Ala Bolelo” by Anirudh Ravichander, Arunraja Kamaraj
Maverick composer Anirudh Ravichander takes another playful detour into unfamiliar linguistic territory on “Ala Bolelo,” the first single from Jailer 2. Much like the Arabic-inflected vocals on Beast’s “Arabic Kuthu”, the track plays with Malayalam sounds and rhythms to build a high-energy kuthu number around a deliberately phonetic hook.
- “Yaaro Neeyo” by Benny Dayal, Prito
Benny Dayal and Prito ease into “Yaaro Neeyo” with lush synths before a bass-heavy groove takes over. Shuffling percussion gives the Tamil track an Afro-inspired pulse, making for a breezy, danceable listen.
- “Dopeher Blues” by Aamir Aziz, Bombay Noor
Aamir Aziz and Bombay Noor paint a snapshot of contemporary life on “Dopeher Blues,” moving through Shaheen Bagh protests, the humanitarian crisis in Palestine, and our collective memories. The track features a deceptively mellow arrangement. Its jazz-leaning piano, understated 808s, and dense, stream-of-consciousness poetry make it sound like the missing Hindi/Urdu track from Kendrick Lamar’s album To Pimp a Butterfly.
- “Yeh Duniya” by Curtain Blue
Curtain Blue takes a page from the Lifafa playbook on his latest single, pairing a traditional harmonium with a techno beat and his soothing vocals. His knack for putting modern melodies against traditional Indian sounds is on full display here.
- “Tohfa” by Adarsh Gourav, Aditya N., Radhika Kolgaonkar, Chakori Dwivedi, Pratik Shrivastava
Adarsh Gourav, Aditya N. and Radhika Kolgaonkar lend their soft, harmonic vocals to “Tohfa,” with Pratik Shrivastava’s sarod adding to the song’s distinctly Indian sound. Gentle strings, layered harmonies and an almost Kashmiri-sounding melodic palette give the track a warm, unhurried quality.
- “Laapata” by Bir, Daaku, Kunwarr
Bir, Daaku and Kunwarr bring a familiar Punjabi pop sensibility to “Laapata,” but its Afro-inspired percussion gives the track a distinctly different groove. The breezy production, melodic vocals and rolling beat make the track feel engineered for an after-hours club playlist.
