You heard it here first

It's 2023 and we're saying yeah yeah yeah to collabs, viral hooks, new music platforms. See how four artists view the new sound of India

- Karishma Kuenzang

Good music reaches your ears. Great music goes right for your heart. But for either to happen these days, it has to take some pretty twisted routes to find you.

New sounds are reaching more listeners as soundtracks on Instagram Reels, or even the soundtrack of a TV show instead. Gigs are being held in the Metaverse. More artists, often separated by several international borders, are collaborating online. If a song's catchy hook goes viral, you're likely to hum it all day but never hear the rest of it. Songs rarely last longer than three minutes. Lyricist Kausar Munir observes that songs usually had three verses and a chorus. "Now, it's one chorus or verse or bridge and you're done," she says. Everyone's moved on to the next track.

Munir is hoping the soundscape widens even more, with Coke Studio Bharat, a new platform for music, for which she has created a line-up of 50 musicians, along with musician and songwriter Ankur Tewari.

See how Indian musicians from diverse genres are navigating new sounds, new platforms, new collaborations, and eager new ears.

How folk music is staying timeless and trendy

Rashmeet Kaur

Rashmeet Kaur, 28, moved to Mumbai from Punjab seven years ago to pursue playback singing. She has sung for films and web series, she'll be on Coke Studio Bharat too. She still calls herself a Punjabi folk singer. "Folk songs are timeless," she says. "Whenever a modern interpretation of a folk song gets popular, people start rediscover the genre. The younger generation gets acquainted with a style that was thought to be a fading." 

Her song Nadiyon Paar, which featured in the 2021 film, Roohi, retained its folk elements and found similar success. But it's the way people find and consume music today that's given folk music a boost, she says. "10 years ago, I would not have had as many paths to popularity," she says.