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 selections feature the latest single from indie rock sensations Anand Bhaskar Collective, a new Sachet-Parampara Bollywood track and a highly anticipated follow-up to “Kalyani” from ARJN, KDS & FIFTY4. Here’s the list.
- “Rihaa” by Anand Bhaskar Collective
Now in their 12th year, Anand Bhaskar Collective continue to do what they do best: melodic, guitar-led alternative rock with plenty of room for a song to build. “Rihaa” is driven by a measured drum arrangement and a strong guitar line, while Anand Bhaskar’s assured vocals give the track the feel of a soft liberation anthem. It is a familiar strain of Indian indie rock, but one the Collective continue to make distinctly their own.
- “Afterthought” by Shriya Rao
Shriya Rao takes a striking detour from the otherwise R&B-heavy sound of The Other Girl on “Afterthought”. This is a piano-led ballad that gives her vocals almost complete command of the song. Rao feels strikingly earnest singing about ache and turmoi with a powerful, bluesy delivery, turning the track into an intimate exercise in vocal expression.
- “Milta Nahi Hai” by Janisht Joshi, Bharg
Janisht Joshi and Bharg tap into the restless energy of early-2000s pop-punk on “Milta Nahi Hai.” A retro-sounding organ opens the track, setting up an excellent guitar line, punchy Blink-182-esque drums and Joshi’s youthful, melodic vocals. The song channels the familiar teenage existential angst, but its loose, garage-band energy makes it a particularly fun example of a strain of punk-leaning alt-rock mostly absent in Indian music today.
- “Tu Mera Raiyyo – From “Prem Keetanu” by Sachet-Parampara, Kunaal Vermaa
Sachet-Parampara lean into the cinematic side of romance on “Tu Mera Raiyyo,” a warm, layered composition that feels firmly at home in a film soundtrack. Rhythmic claps form the backbone of its percussion, while the duo builds out the arrangement with layered instrumentation and an expansive melodic treatment. The result is a polished romantic number that embraces the grand, cinematic language of contemporary Hindi film music.
- “Bandh Rehne Do” by Maanaav Podaar, Anushka Banerjee
“Bandh Rehne Do” gives Indian Idol 12 finalist Anushka Banerjee plenty of space to put her vocals front and center. Maanaav Podaar keeps the arrangement deliberately restrained, built around simple guitar and piano, allowing Banerjee’s voice to ride freely over the instrumentation. It’s an uncomplicated showcase of her vocal range and control, with the sparse production keeping the focus firmly on the singer.
- “NOKKANDA” by ARJN, KDS, FIFTY4, Karan Kanchan
Following the runaway success of “Kalyani,” ARJN, KDS and FIFTY4 now unite with Karan Kanchan for another infectious Malayalam hip-hop cut. The production is driven by a slick beat and a high-pitched Minimoog-style synth line, recalling the whistle-like lead that became synonymous with early G-funk and tracks like The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Big Poppa.” “NOKKANDA” carries the same earworm quality that made “Kalyani” such a phenomenon, while Kanchan’s production gives the collaboration a fresh edge.
