Independent artists are constantly reshaping what music can sound like, often working on the fringes of the mainstream, where experimentation feels natural and necessary. This roundup brings together a handful of voices pushing those boundaries, whether through expressive lyrics, layered textures, or instrumentals that say more than words can.
1. Take a chance- Shiyan Longvah
Take a Chance leans into the quiet ache of unspoken love, the kind that lingers beneath the surface and is never quite said aloud. With warm acoustic guitars and soft harmonies, it captures the hesitation and hope that come with waiting for a sign. The track builds gently, layering voices into a rich choral swell before pulling back to a bare, vocal-only finish. It’s a slow-burning indie folk confession best listened to alone, when everything else is quiet.
2. Baby It’s Me- Allan Martyr
Allan Martyr, through Baby It’s Me, offers a tender portrait of enduring love built on quiet loyalty and the comfort of being known. With a minimal arrangement and gentle melodic ease, the song leans into softness rather than spectacle. It’s understated in all the right ways, letting its honesty do the heavy lifting.
3. Khoya/Raahon- Blu Attic
New Delhi-based producer Blu Attic delivers two thoughtfully built Melodic House tracks that balance club-ready energy with emotional depth. Khoya blends Deadmau5-era progressive house with the melodic contours of Raag Yaman, creating something meditative and driving. Raahon takes a groove-led route, layered with trance elements that explores themes of detachment and discovery.
4. Goodbye Dreams- Takar Nabam feat. Donna
Takar Nabam and Donna come together on a smooth, emotive R&B-pop track that captures the ache of unfulfilled dreams and quiet longing. Built around soulful vocals, warm melodies, and a sense of restrained melancholy, the song moves with a gentle disposition. It has a reflective touch, perfect for moments when you’re caught between hope and letting go.
5. Glimpses- Nida, Derric D’Souza
Glimpses is a delicate, Waltz-inspired song that blends acoustic guitar, piano, clarinet, and lush strings into a soft, emotionally layered soundscape. The vocals are intimate and expressive, tracing the ache of friendships lost to time and distance. With its thoughtful arrangement and melodic warmth, the track sits gently between memory and longing, offering a quiet reflection on what it means to remember, let go, and carry pieces of the past with you.
6. Junoon Mohobbat Ka- Loku
Junoon Mohobbat Ka reflects on the intensity of love with a slow, steady pace and simple guitar strums. The song sits with the feeling, letting the emotion come through in quiet, measured tones. It’s straightforward and unembellished, giving space to the mood it wants to hold.
7. Dono hi Dono- Antara Ansuna, Rahul Shah
Antara Ansuna and Rahul Shah craft a song that feels like a story unfolding in real time. Dono Hi Dono captures the quiet heartbreak of two people drifting apart, not out of anger but from a lack of understanding. The vocals are soulful and steady, set against a minimal backdrop that leaves space for each feeling to settle. There’s a sense of movement here, as if you’re being gently walked through the end of something once meaningful.
8. Birha- Pin Drop Music, Prateeksha Srivastava, Shaurya Saxena
Birha brings together Pin Drop Music, Prateeksha Srivastava, and Shaurya Saxena on a striking fusion track that blends folk traditions with modern electronic intensity. Rooted in themes of longing and emotional distance, the song draws from a classic bandish and uses Hindi and Awadhi lyrics to evoke a thumri-like emotional landscape. Anchored by elements of Rajasthani Sindhi folk, Hindustani classical, and sharp UK DnB and Dubstep textures, Birha moves between stillness and surge that feels both timeless and sharply current.
9. Disco Talkies- Foenix, Tshering Bhutia
It’s a Hindi dance track that leans into retro flair and is driven by disco beats, bold synth lines, and vintage Bollywood string sections. It captures the heat and chaos of a packed dance floor. Tshering Bhutia’s vocals glide through the track with just the right mix of drama and control, capturing the pressure-cooker feeling of being lost in a crowded club. The result is cinematic and rhythm-heavy and is as much about feeling trapped in the moment as it is about moving through it.
10. Kuch Pal Yahin- Anand Bhaskar Collective
Kuch Pal Yahin slows things down to reflect on the weight of expectations and the quiet need for stillness. Rooted in themes of mental health and self-worth, the track pushes back against constant motion, choosing instead to sit with the moment. The band leans into simplicity and honesty here offering listeners a gentle reminder to do things purely for the joy of it, not just the outcome.
11. Roohi- Prim4l
Roohi combines Hindi, Arabic, and Punjabi lyrics with a chill-pop arrangement that focuses on mood and texture. The production features ambient guitars and lush synths, creating a relaxed atmosphere. While it touches on cultural influences, the track keeps things light and accessible, offering an easy listen without leaning too heavily into complexity.
12. Yaheen Kaheen- Tang Mizaaji
Yaheen Kaheen is about the pressure of keeping everything inside — the unspoken thoughts, the feelings you don’t know how to express. The track starts off calm and reflective, with soft layers and a gentle beat, but slowly builds in intensity. Towards the end, the sound opens up and gets louder, like the moment when everything finally spills out. It’s a slow release, both emotional and sonic.
13. Get You Back- Dualist Inquiry
Get You Back by Dualist Inquiry is a genre-blending dance track that captures emotional conflict through motion. Bouncy yet bittersweet, the song plays with contrasts between live-band warmth and club energy, between wanting someone back and knowing it’s too late. Built on a groove that shifts shape mid-song, it moves from jam-like looseness to dancefloor polish, echoing the emotional tug-of-war at its heart. It’s a track that keeps you moving even when the feelings get tangled.
14. Carcasses- Kitanu
Carcasses is a collision of Hard Rock and Sarod, chaotic in the best way. It pushes sonic boundaries with a brooding central riff, unpredictable grooves, and melodic lines that teeter between intensity and restraint. The track plays with fragmentation both emotionally and musically, allowing moments of aggression, clarity, and raw texture to coexist. Carcasses feels like young blood: restless, layered, and uncompromising.
15. Life in Monochrome- Sei Hek
Life in Monochrome is an instrumental track that explores emotion beyond the usual binaries of happy or sad. Inspired by the idea of perceiving color in a grayscale world, the track leans into subtle shifts and layered textures to reflect a more nuanced emotional landscape. Built on clean and mildly distorted guitar tones, ambient progressions, and evolving structures, it blends elements of prog rock and math rock into a slow-burning listen.
