Gems from the guitarists

Over the past few years, many Indian independent musicians have been focusing on releasing singles, and attracting listeners through YouTube or the audio streaming platforms.

Some of them club these songs as an EP or a full-fledged album. This is unlike in the West, where albums still rule.

This year, however, one has been hearing some good albums in different indie genres, from desi hip-hop and Hindi pop to folkfusion and electronica. There are quite a few releases, and it would be difficult to accommodate all in this column. Hence, we shall stick to five albums released by Indian guitarists, who also compose original songs.

Two feature individual acts, and three involve collaborations. They are in no particular order, and with each album, three songs have been chosen as essential listening.

Let's begin with Ahmedabad-based songwriter, composer and guitarist Chirag Todi's album Bangers Only. What's impressive is the versatility of this selection, consisting of seven English, two Hindi and one Tamil song in genres ranging from rock, pop, jazz and Indo-fusion. Four of the 10 tracks are new, while the others were released as singles earlier.