01 September,2018 09:05 AM IST | Mumbai | Gitanjali Chandrasekharan and Anju Maskeri
Dharmesh Dutta. Pic/Atul Kamble
6:00 AM
Unstoppable By Sia
Dharmesh Datta, VP Marketing at PVR
I put my armor on, show you how strong how I am/I put my armor on, I'll show you that I am/I'm unstoppable/I'm a Porsche with no brakes/I'm invincible
Like most runners, Datta, the vice-president of marketing at PVR cinemas, has a playlist that is curated especially for those arduous hours when you have to motivate yourself to not just get out of bed, but also work out hard. Those songs are meant to push you to keep going on. He compares these songs to "goo gels" (energy boosters runners pop mid-marathon). Some of his favourites include Never Give Up by Sia, Beautiful Pain by Eminem and Work Bi''h by Britney Spears. Well, if "You wanna live fancy? Live in a big mansion?" You better work hard Bi''h.
07.00 AM
Somebody's Prayin' By Ricky Skaggs
Dr Rohan Sequeira, physician
Perhaps, pumping beats are not for everyone. A cardio-metabolic physician at Jaslok Hospital, Dr Sequeira turns to country music when he wakes up, around 7 am, for their positive notes. While the trained concert pianist does move to rock music in the evenings, the mornings are reserved for Alabama, The Belamy Brothers, Alan Jackson and Florida Freight Train. It's easy listening and makes you feel good. "It's not about heartbreak," he laughs. Somebody's Prayin' - Mighty hands are guiding me/To protect what I can't see/Lord I believe, Lord I believe - makes you feel like someone's praying for you and sets the mood for the day.
08.00 AM
Booeye Eidi By Benyamin Bahadori
Hossain Najafi, media professional
Sia needn't be everyone's favourite running music. Wadala resident Hossain Najafi hits the neighbourhood park with his headphones plugged in at this hour. Needless to say, his music needs to match his pace and his mood. Hailing from an Iranian family, Najafi's go-to music is usually Persian pop. "Iranian music is full of varied styles, ranging from ethereal orchestral sounds to foot-tapping electronic numbers. There's a song for every mood. But in the morning, I need something energetic, so I listen to artists like Benyamin Bahadori, Arash and Satar. They are upbeat and just what you need to get started," he says.
09.00 AM
Mainu Yaar Manuano Fursat Nai By Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Ankit Khandelwal, finance professional
This director of a financial firm at Fort has a daily commute of two hours, one way. With 30 km to cover, it's often a crawling situation in Mumbai's traffic, which is perhaps why melody and lyrics top his morning choices. "It's very calming to listen to ghazals at this hour, when your pulse is high and you're getting irritated with people not caring about traffic rules." Jagjit Singh is a go-to artiste, but he also recommends Kaisa Sukoon Paoon Tujhe Dekhne Ke Baad by Talat Aziz, Tumne Mujhe Dekha Hokar Meherban by Mohammad Rafi. Unabridged versions of qawwalis also give a rhythm to forget traffic woes.
10.00 AM
Monophobia By Deadmau5
Ferzad Variyava, creative director
Like Khandelwal, Variyava, the group creative director at FCB interface communications, also finds himself driving to work in the morning hours. And, like many Mumbaikars, this is when he listens to music as well. Having started off learning classical music in school (think Beethoven), Variyava discovered Guns N' Roses, Then Jerico, an off-beat band which played melodic rock in the 80s. "They had only one album and I loved it." Right now, EDM has his heart. With Deadmau5, he wants to understand how he makes music. You'll also find alpha9 and Armin van Buuren on his playlist. He especially likes Eric Johnson's guitar work. A go-to song for the hour? Monophobia: "And all I want is to find out what you're going through".
11.00 AM
Sunrise by Simply Red
Tarana Raja, RJ
The much-loved RJ says she's pretty much listening to music throughout the day. An English music listener, it's mostly pop and rock for her. In Hindi, it's the 90s bands like Junoon and Euphoria that she will play. At this hour of the day, you'll probably find her at the gym sweating it out. One of her playlists includes music from Kings of Leon. The cardio playlist will have Shankar Ehsaan Loy. But Sunrise is something she definitely wants us to listen to. That, and Girls Like You by Maroon 5.
12.00 AM
Sinnerman by Nina Simone
Susan Dias, CA
This is an average time for many Mumbaikars to get down to work. For Susan Dias, founder of Native Brews, who also runs the Harkat Studio co-working space, music helps her disconnect. Once she puts on on her earphones, it's a sign that she's doing her own thing. "I work with lyrics, not instrumental music," she says. The music is mellow - Amy Winehouse, Norah Jones or Nina Simone. "I am a CA, so a lot of my work is repetitive. I like having something in the background to keep my mind occupied." Sinnerman, a 10-minute-long song, keeps her engaged for a while and the tempo changes a lot. "I have spent many years working to it," says Dias.
01.00 PM
Sun By Gallago
Sunny Amlani, digital marketer
Listening to this track by the Bristol-based artiste, one can understand why it's the digital marketer's work music. With a work day that could stretch from 10 am to 10 pm, Amlani says 1 pm would ideally be the time he'd be downing his lunch. However, when that's not the case, uplifting music minus the lyrics is what he plugs in. "I listen to a lot of electronic music. Gallago is an artiste that I recently discovered. I listen to progressive house. These tracks go at a certain tempo and let you be in the zone."
03.00 PM
What A Wonderful World By Louis Armstrong
AD Singh, restaurateur
Post lunch, says Singh, the man who gave Mumbai Olive Bar and Kitchen, is the best time to listen to your favourite song. "You have eaten, you've already put in four hours and it's the biggest slump of the day." His favourite pick is Armstrong crooning about green trees, blue skies and friendly people. "A lot of my taste was formed when I had Just Desserts and that's when I fell in love with jazz. Since then I have travelled to some concerts. My co-jazz lovers are Farrokh Chothia. We travel together for the concerts. I also attend concerts at Quarter at the Royal Opera House with Avinash Kothari and Zubin Balaporia," he adds. Billy Holliday, with her haunting voice and lyrics, is another favourite of Singh's.
03.00 PM
Warn Priority By Project Pablo
Sumit Vaswani, culture consultant
The culture consultant who has worked with Social and is currently doing marketing for The Little Easy says everyone around him is listening to electronic music, techno or melodic music produced digitally. He gets into work mode post lunch and apps like Spotify and Sound Cloud - on which he prefers listening to electronic music - help set the mood. "Project Pablo, who plays really groovy house music is my current favourite. It motivates me to get to work and the pumping music makes one feel good."
04.00 PM
Nain Parindey By Shilpa Rao
Fatema Habib, social media strategist
Habib, a social media strategist for a news agency in Lower Parel, finds herself sifting through heaps of data by the time it is 4 pm. But it's also the hour she can afford to put on her headphones and hit the play button. "I don't do that in the day because of meetings and writing content, but by evening, I have to submit analytical reports, which to a large extent, are mechanical. Yet, it requires focus. So, I play Sufi or unplugged versions of slow songs. From the steady beats to the lyrics, it just sets the mood right when your productivity levels are slowly dipping," she says. Drawn towards Urdu lyrics, her current favorite in this genre is Shilpa Rao's Nain Parindey.
05.00 PM
Details in the Fabric By Jason Mraz
Mriidu Khosla, filmmaker
For Khosla, founder of Versova's Cat Cafe Studio, music is that "invisible hand in your long or bad day". "When the day is nearing its end and many tasks for the day are still in hand, I try not to panic, and listen to music. It not only isolates me into concentration but also defines within me the fact that it is okay, and everything will be fine," she says. A fan of acoustics, she doesn't like music that tends to overpower the lyrics. Her go-to artiste for the hour is Jason Mraz, also her all-time favourite. "At times, when I am on one of my rescue runs, I unknowingly start humming Details in the Fabric, hoping the animal will listen and wait for me to be there in time and not give up," she says.
06.00 PM
Stargazing by Travis Scott
Vineet Nair, rapper
The hip hop artiste, also known as Poetik Justise, is a part of the band Slumgods, listens to music 80 per cent of the time. To him, it feels like a lot of the albums are modes of expressions used by the artiste. It's usually in the evening, around 6 pm and 7 pm when he listens to music. There are no favourite artistes, but his current favourite is the Travis Scott track. "I like the way it has been produced and the song writing. The track is melodic, and yet represents a lot of gritty, raw rap." The other track for the hour is A$AP Rocky's Praise the Lord.
07.00 PM
Master of Puppets By Metallica
Noyonika Bose Sengupta, student
The surprise element here is this six-year-old, who much to her mum's chagrin, likes heavy metal music. Noyonika's father Somdeb says when she was three years old, they figured that she likes music. Initially, they exposed her to Rabindra Sangeet, but then wanted to expand her horizon. Soon, Billy Joel, Michael Learns To Rock came into the picture and that's when the father figured that she likes music with a heavy usage of guitar. The list expanded to Pink Floyd, Bryan Adams, Metallica and Iron Maiden. "I like the fast tempo and very loud drums. Also, the lyrics are very nice. Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin is another favourite," she adds.
08.00 PM
Part-time Lover By Stevie Wonder
Marlon Almeida, dance instructor
Once an IT professional, Almeida took to dancing professionally and teaching jive, a social dance, in 2014. He says his parents always loved the dance form. Almeida took up jiving in 2008, when his father died. Modern music no longer encourages jive and so, the go-to music for him is rock n' roll from the '60s to '80s era. His favourite is the Stevie Wonder hit. "I remember my parents dancing to this in the 1980s, when we used to go for holidays. I really enjoyed watching them dance to this."
09.00 PM
Hamsadhavni Raag by Veena Sahasrabuddhe
Arnab Bhattacharya, scientist
The science communicator at TIFR, Bhattacharya is also the man behind the much popular Chai and Why sessions in the city. The two times of the day he listens to music are in the morning, while running, and in the evening. At this hour, his choice is mostly Indian classical - Carnatic and Hindustani. He plays old Hindi film songs too at times. He likes how creatively Sahasrabuddhe handles the Hamsadhavni Raag. A newer singer he recommends is Kaushiki Chakravorty. "I even like her fusion stuff where she works with more modern instrumentation, much like Coke Studio."
10.00 PM
Flowerz by Armand Van Helden
Mortimer Chatterjee, gallerist
One half of the couple that runs an art gallery in Colaba, Chatterjee says what he listens to depends on the time and place. "I grew up in the 90s in the UK and that was the time drum and bass was first being made. There were nightclubs in the UK that were playing a lot of music from a record label called Metalheads. So, I listen to a lot of that." When at parties, he likes listening to house music. There's a record label called Defected that he's particularly fond of. About the music, he says, "Although the structure is uniform, there's a huge amount of variety that can be put in that basic structure. It functions when you are going out and having good time, but also acts as a stress reliever."
11.00 PM
Mann Bharya By B Praak
Heema Desai, media professional
Desai, a writer for a digital communications brand, has no rules when it comes music consumption. In the day it's high energy music, but by night, the songs aren't ones that play to the gallery. She admits to have recently taken a liking to Punjabi numbers with a folksy touch. "My workday involves attending meetings, in person or online, being on calls with our global team, and making sure we stick to timelines. It's only once I reach home and freshen up do I get time to loosen up. So, I listen to love songs that always bring out the mushy side in me," she says. She recommends Mann Bharya by artist B Praak for lovelorn souls. "If you've ever felt neglected or unloved by the person u love the most, you'll definitely relate to this song. I wouldn't call it sad though."
00.00 AM
Gaarva By Milind Ingle
Shreyas Desai, HR manager
Thane resident Desai, who works in the human resources department of a background screening company, reserves the midnight to dig into the rich posse of Marathi folk songs. In that, he's more inclined towards classical and semi classical ones. "At this hour, you're laidback and have the time to browse through a collection. I believe regional songs have depth. They are meaningful and each music instrument they play can be heard clearly. I'm especially drawn towards the '80s and '90s tracks like Kevha tari Pahate, Sunya Sunya Mehefelit, Mehnidichya panavar," he says. If he had to recommend a number, it would be artist Milind Ingle's classic Garva, known for its soulful melody.
01.00 AM
Mushkil Hai Apna Mel Priye from Mukkabaaz
Sachin Garg, author
The author of romance novels picks Bollywood for his 1 am songs. "It's the music I relate with the most," he says. "I believe the way these lyrics connect, it's closest to the environment I grew up in and I can relate with songs that are in the same language I think in." He recalls how he was upset about something a few days prior to this conversation and then, he came across songs from When Harry Met Sejal, "I realised that I had blocked the songs from my mind because of how much I hated the movie. But the music is actually great." Dilbaro from Raazi is another current favourite. The Mukkabaaz track, he realised, was an adaptation of a Hindi poem by Dr Sunil Jogi. "The way it was adapted was something which blew my mind," he says.
02.00 AM
Donde Estas Yolanda By Pink Martini
Aditya Matto, voice over artiste
At this hour, Mattoo is either writing or rehearsing his scripts, and, therefore, prefers songs that don't interfere with his creative process. "I need enough concentration to be able to focus, so you'll find instrumental songs playing in the background. But it's never too mellow because I don't want it to lull me to sleep," says the Malad resident, 30, who also works as a radio jockey. His favourite though, is Pink Martini, known for their flamboyant music and a repertoire that includes songs in more than 20 languages. "I love their Spanish tracks, especially Donde Estas Yolanda," he says.
03.00 AM
Sahafi by Daira
Romel Dias, co-founder The Listening Sessions
Dias says that at this hour, he usually listens to music he is already in love with. It's something within his comfort zone - either instrumental or inspirational. His favourite artiste is Talvin Singh who he feels has an amazing Asian underground feel. He also recommends the The Cinematic Orchestra and the Kilimanjaro DarkJazz Ensemble. "The instrumentation is in a very orchestra-based manner. There's a certain amount of scale to it that leaves you feeling inspired and larger than life," says Dias. But, Sahafi, by the indie band Daira is what he's happy to sleep and wake up to, "It's a passionate protest song turn that one can turn to at any time."
04.00 AM
XLR8R Podcast 391 by YokoO
Pranav Vanmali, marketing executive
Vanmali, a marketing executive with Moët Hennessy, is normally up at 4 am, if he's having a good time with his friends, or listening to music and sipping wine. "Or, if I have to catch an early morning flight. But, it's often the former more than the latter," he says. To suit the mood for that hour, he opts for something more mellow and downtempo. "The music needs to be calming, reflective and emotive. It has to something you could listen to while being able to have a conversation with someone," he says. His 4 am favourite artists include German musician Recondite, Mark Pritchard, an English electronic musician, Khruangbin, an American musical trio from Houston, Tale Of Us, and Berlin-based Karm and Matteo.
05.00 AM
Thunderstruck by ACDC
Shivaji Sen, photographer-director
While some part of the city might be waking up at this hour, photographer-director Shivaji Sen often has awry schedules that might see him staying up till late for work. Something that's been stuck in his head is The Takeaway Show by The Do. And the Beatles covers from Across The Universe. When working, he likes listening to something like white noise. "When I want to push myself late at night, I listen to AC/DC. The guitar solo in Thunderstruck puts life back into you; that songs is mainly a guitar solo," he says.
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