All You Need to Know About Indian Popular Music

Posted by Pagal World on February 23rd, 2018

Indian Popular Music

Indian popular music, also known as Indie-pop, is largely based on an amalgamation of Indian classical and folk music, sometimes combined with foreign musical traditions. Pop music is a relatively recent phenomenon in South Asia. It was only after the independence of the region from British colonial rule, in the nineteen sixties and seventies in particular, that Indie-pop really took off as a mainstream genre of music.

The earliest proponents of Indian pop music, who played an instrumental role in popularizing the genre, included some eminent figures that are highly revered for their contribution to the industry even today.  Much of Indian pop music today originates from the prolific film industry of the country. While some singers have sold many independent albums of pop music, Bollywood continues to be one of the major sources of the most popular songs in this genre.

The Music of Bollywood

The music of Bollywood mainly constitutes songs composed for the purpose of being incorporated into individual Bollywood films. Such songs have gained immense popularity, not only in India but also in numerous countries around the world. Bollywood music has been at the forefront of the dissemination of modern Indian culture around the globe. Indian film songs have gained a sizeable following in Britain, the US, Australia and every other part of the world with a substantial Indian expatriate population. Bollywood music has now become a firmly embedded part of the nation’s popular culture, with everything from weddings to festivals incorporating these songs in one form or another.

Characteristics of Bollywood Songs

•  Bollywood music is used in films for a litany of artistic purposes, which might include accentuating a mood, providing commentary on a theme or event, heightening the dramatic quotient of a situation, serving as an internal monologue of a character, etc.

•  Bollywood songs can be quite diverse and often mix different musical traditions in interesting new ways. These songs also use a complex amalgamation of different languages, both Indian and foreign. Bollywood songs often borrow elements from the regional music of different states of India. These songs are also greatly influenced by international musical traditions, such as Western and West Asian music.

•  Earlier, Bollywood’s top songs used to be largely about love, romance or some other similar topic. However, in recent years, songs about a wide variety of subjects that have nothing to do with romance have gained great popularity. The themes of modern Bollywood songs might range from parent-child relationships and friendships to devotional music and festival soundtracks.

•  Both Indian and Western instruments are often used in the making of Bollywood songs. Fifty piece orchestras are not uncommon in some of the more popular musical numbers recorded by major production houses. The most prominent instruments frequently used in Indian film music include ‘tablas’, ‘sitars’, violins, harmonicas and synthesizers.

Therefore, if you want to listen to some of the latest music from the Hindi film industry or the top songs of Bollywood, then you should browse the websites of the most popular online music portals of India. Browsing through their extensive collection, you will be sure to find many songs that meet your tastes and preferences.