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indian pop

Indian Pop

Happy Dancing Romantic Sentimental Chill

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Description

Indian pop (often called Indi-pop) is a non-film popular music tradition from India that blends Western pop songcraft with Indian melodic sensibilities, rhythms, and languages.

It emphasizes catchy hooks, verse–pre-chorus–chorus structures, and polished studio production while drawing on Hindustani/Carnatic ornamentation, folk percussion (like dhol and dholak), and Hinglish or regional-language lyrics.

While its roots stretch back to earlier non-film releases, the genre truly blossomed in the 1990s with music videos on satellite TV, creating stars outside the Bollywood playback system and ushering in a nationwide pop culture wave.

History

How to make a track in this genre

Top albums

The Devil Is Loose

Roots and Wings

Nermin Niazi & Feisal Mosleh

Main artists

Influenced by

Pop is a broad, hook-driven style of popular music designed for wide appeal. It emphasizes memorable melodies, concise song structures, polished vocals, and production intended for radio, charts, and mass media. While pop continually absorbs elements from other styles, its core remains singable choruses, accessible harmonies, and rhythmic clarity. Typical forms include verse–pre-chorus–chorus, frequent use of bridges and middle-eights, and ear-catching intros and outros. Pop is not defined by a single instrumentation. It flexibly incorporates acoustic and electric instruments, drum machines, synthesizers, and increasingly digital production techniques, always in service of the song and the hook.

Dance-pop is a mainstream-oriented pop style built for both radio and the dancefloor. It blends hook-driven songwriting with club-ready rhythms, typically using a steady four-on-the-floor kick, bright synthesizers, and punchy, polished production. Tempos usually sit in the 110–128 BPM range, and arrangements emphasize memorable choruses, clear verses and pre-choruses, and concise structures suitable for radio edits. Compared with club genres like house or techno, dance-pop prioritizes song form, vocal presence, and accessible harmonies, while still retaining an energetic groove. The sound palette often includes layered synths, sampled or electronic drums, tight bass lines, ear-catching toplines, and modern production techniques such as sidechain compression and stacked vocal harmonies.

Synth-pop is a pop-oriented style that foregrounds the synthesizer as its primary instrument, often paired with drum machines and sequencers. It favors clean, melodic hooks, concise song structures, and a sleek, modernist sound that ranges from cool and minimal to lush and romantic. Emerging at the turn of the 1980s from the UK new wave and post-punk scenes, synth-pop leveraged affordable analog and then digital keyboards to bring electronic textures into the mainstream. Its sonic palette includes arpeggiated basslines, shimmering pads, bright leads, gated or machine-driven drums, and polished vocals that convey both futuristic detachment and emotional immediacy.

Disco is a dance-focused style of popular music that emerged in early-1970s urban nightlife, especially in New York City and Philadelphia. It is defined by a steady four-on-the-floor kick drum, syncopated hi-hats and handclaps, octave-jumping basslines, lush string and horn arrangements, and a glamorous, celebratory sensibility. Built for DJs and clubs, disco favored extended 12-inch mixes with breakdowns and build-ups that kept dancefloors moving. The sound drew from soul, funk, and Latin music, embraced orchestral textures, and became a cultural movement associated with Black, Latino, and LGBTQ+ communities before crossing over to mainstream pop by the late 1970s.

House is a dance music genre that emerged in Chicago in the early 1980s, defined by a steady four-on-the-floor kick drum, off-beat hi-hats, soulful or hypnotic vocals, and groove-centric basslines. Typical tempos range from 118–130 BPM, and tracks are structured in DJ-friendly 16–32 bar phrases designed for seamless mixing. Drawing on disco’s celebratory spirit, electro-funk’s drum-machine rigor, and Italo/Hi-NRG’s synth-led sheen, house prioritizes repetition, tension-and-release, and communal energy on the dancefloor. Its sound palette often includes 808/909 drums, sampled or replayed disco/funk elements, filtered loops, piano/organ stabs, and warm, jazzy chords. Over time, house diversified into many substyles—deep house, acid house, French house, tech house, progressive house, and more—yet it remains a global foundation of club culture, known for emphasizing groove, inclusivity, and euphoria.

Electronic is a broad umbrella genre defined by the primary use of electronically generated or electronically processed sound. It encompasses music made with synthesizers, drum machines, samplers, computers, and studio/tape techniques, as well as electroacoustic manipulation of recorded or synthetic sources. The genre ranges from academic and experimental traditions to popular and dance-oriented forms. While its sonic palette is rooted in electricity and circuitry, its aesthetics span minimal and textural explorations, structured song forms, and beat-driven club permutations. Electronic emphasizes sound design, timbre, and studio-as-instrument practices as much as melody and harmony.

Bhangra is a high-energy popular music style that modernized the traditional Punjabi harvest dance rhythms and instruments with Western pop, rock, reggae, and electronic production. Emerging from the British South Asian diaspora, especially in England, it features pounding dhol patterns, catchy tumbi riffs, vibrant call-and-response vocals, and celebratory Punjabi lyrics. Since the 1990s, bhangra has crossed over into Bollywood, global pop, and club culture, spawning chart hits and fusions with hip hop and EDM while remaining rooted in Punjabi cultural identity.

Bollywood is the popular film-music tradition associated with Hindi-language cinema from Mumbai, India. It blends raga-based melodies and Hindustani vocalism with Western orchestration, jazz/big-band legacies, pop hooks, disco/funk grooves, rock energy, and contemporary electronic production. Songs are typically designed for on-screen performance and storytelling, featuring lush arrangements, memorable refrains, and emotive playback singing. A common formal scheme is the mukhda (catchy refrain) and antara (stanza/verse) structure, often with instrumental preludes, interludes, and dance breaks. Because it serves narrative and spectacle, Bollywood music ranges widely in mood—from romantic ballads and devotional pieces to high-energy dance numbers—and has continuously absorbed global influences while remaining rooted in Indian melodic and rhythmic aesthetics.

Hindustani Classical

Hindustani classical is the North Indian branch of the Indian classical tradition, centered on the concepts of raga (melodic framework) and tala (cyclical rhythm). It emphasizes improvisation within strict aesthetic and grammatical boundaries, unfolding a raga through a gradual, architected performance arc from free-rhythm exploration to metrically grounded elaboration. Performances typically proceed through an alap (slow, non-metrical exposition), jor and jhala (rhythmic intensification on plucked instruments), and a composed piece—bandish or gat—set to a tala cycle, followed by improvisations (vistar, tans, bol-bant) that resolve emphatically on the sam (first beat). Signature ornaments such as meend (glides), gamak (oscillation), and andolan (slow vibrato) articulate microtonal nuance (shruti). The style encompasses vocal genres like dhrupad and khyal, and instrumental idioms on sitar, sarod, sarangi, bansuri, and shehnai, supported by a sustaining drone (tanpura) and tabla or pakhawaj accompaniment. Beyond the concert hall, Hindustani classical has deeply informed sub-classical and popular forms across South Asia and, through mid-20th-century cultural exchange, popular and art music worldwide.

Carnatic Classical

Carnatic classical is the art music tradition of South India, centered on the raga–tala system and a rich body of devotional compositions. It is primarily a vocal-centric idiom, with instruments often emulating the nuances of the human voice. Its melodic language is organized around ragas (modes) and their characteristic gamakas (ornamentations), while rhythm is governed by talas (cyclical time frameworks) with intricate, mathematically elegant patterns. The 72-melakarta parent-scale system provides a theoretical scaffold from which thousands of janya (derived) ragas are formed. Canonical composition forms include varnam (didactic and concert-opening pieces) and kriti/kirtana (devotional songs with sections such as pallavi, anupallavi, and charanam). Improvisation is highly codified, featuring alapana (non-metric raga exploration), neraval (melodic-rhythmic expansion of a line), and kalpana swaras (solfège improvisation), culminating in the advanced suite of Ragam–Tanam–Pallavi. Typical concert ensembles feature a lead vocalist or instrumentalist accompanied by violin, mridangam (double-headed drum), and supporting percussion such as ghatam (clay pot), kanjira (frame drum), and morsing (jaw harp), along with a sruti (drone) from tambura.

Indian Classical

Indian classical music is a millennia-old art tradition rooted in raga (melodic framework) and tala (rhythmic cycle), emphasizing improvisation within codified rules. It is fundamentally a vocal-centric music that uses a sustained drone (typically from a tanpura) as the tonal center, microtonal inflections (shruti), and elaborate ornamentations (gamakas). The tradition is commonly understood through two major streams: Hindustani (North Indian) and Carnatic (South Indian). Both share ancient foundations yet diverge in repertoire, performance structure, and stylistic aesthetics. Typical instruments include sitar, sarod, sarangi, bansuri, shehnai, tabla, and harmonium in Hindustani; and veena, violin, venu (flute), mridangam, kanjira, and ghatam in Carnatic. Performances explore mood (rasa), time-of-day and seasonal associations of ragas, and the intricate interplay between soloist and percussionist.

Pop ghazal is a light-classical offshoot of the South Asian ghazal tradition that adopts the concise song forms, instrumentation, and production aesthetics of pop music. It retains the poetic architecture of the ghazal—couplet-based verses (sher), end-rhyme (qaafiya), and refrain (radif)—while delivering memorable hooks, streamlined melodies, and radio-friendly arrangements. Typical accompaniments blend harmonium, acoustic guitar, electric piano, strings, and flute or saxophone with tabla/dholak and soft drum machines, often in Keherwa (4/4) or Dadra (6/8) grooves. Lyrically, pop ghazal centers on romance, longing, and introspection in Urdu and Hindi (and sometimes Punjabi), while melodic contours borrow accessible phrases from ragas like Yaman, Khamaj, and Bhairavi, smoothed into pop harmonies. The result is an intimate, emotive ballad aesthetic that is both classically rooted and widely approachable.

Tollywood (in this context) refers to Telugu-language film music from the Indian film industry based primarily in Hyderabad. It blends Carnatic and Hindustani classical traditions with Indian folk idioms and contemporary global pop, rock, hip hop, and electronic production. Hallmarks include raga-inflected melodies, lush string and brass arrangements, high-energy dance rhythms for "mass" numbers, and emotive romantic ballads. Modern Tollywood songs often feature cutting-edge sound design, hook-heavy choruses, and cinematic dynamics tailored for on-screen choreography and narrative.

Dhol tasha is a high-energy Maharashtrian percussion ensemble tradition performed in public processions, especially during Ganesh Chaturthi, Navratri, and victory parades. The core instruments are the double-headed dhol (a large barrel drum) and the high-pitched tasha (a metal kettle/snare-like drum). Ensembles are often augmented by clashing hand-cymbals (jhanj/taal), the tutari (a natural trumpet used for ceremonial calls), and flag-bearers who choreograph formations. Musically, dhol tasha emphasizes unison, antiphonal calls, and tightly drilled rhythmic cadences in steady marching tempi. The sound is deliberately massed, creating a powerful wall of drums that builds intensity through repeating motifs, dynamic swells, call-and-response breaks, and synchronized stick choreography. As a community practice, troupes (pathaks) train for months to perform with discipline, visual unity, and cultural pride.

Garba is a Gujarati folk music-and-dance tradition from western India, performed in circular formations around a diya (lamp) or an image of the Goddess during Navratri and other festive occasions. The music drives communal clapping patterns and twirling steps, emphasizing collective energy, devotion, and celebration. Musically, garba typically uses lively 6-beat (dadra) or 8-beat (keherwa) cycles, repetitive call-and-response refrains, and modal melodies that sit comfortably in Hindustani-influenced scales. Traditional ensembles feature dhol, dholak, nagada, manjira (small cymbals), and harmonium; contemporary arrangements frequently add keyboards, electric bass, and drum kits, or even full pop production. While often grouped with dandiya raas at Navratri events, garba is distinct: it relies primarily on claps (not sticks), rounded motion, and devotional/romantic Gujarati lyrics that build momentum over long, dance-focused performances.

Kollywood (Tamil film music) is the popular music associated with the Tamil-language film industry centered in Chennai, India. It blends Carnatic classical melody writing with Western orchestration, pop song forms, and contemporary production. Songs are typically crafted for cinematic situations and delivered by playback singers, resulting in a catalog that spans romantic ballads, folk-inspired numbers, devotional themes, and high-energy dance tracks (kuthu/gaana). Characteristic features include raga-based melodies, memorable hooks, lush string arrangements, hybrid percussion (mridangam, thavil, urumi, ghatam alongside drum kits and samples), and a fluid adoption of global styles such as disco, synth-pop, EDM, rock, and R&B. The genre emphasizes melodic richness, dramatic dynamics, and strong lyrical storytelling in Tamil.

Bhavageethe (also spelled Bhavageete/Bhavgeet) is a genre of expressive, poetry-led light music in India, especially in Kannada (Karnataka) and Marathi (Maharashtra). Built on the cadence and imagery of modern literary poetry, it sets verses to tuneful, raga-tinged melodies with simple, intimate accompaniment. The emphasis is on emotive singing, clear diction, and faithful conveyance of a poem’s mood rather than on virtuosic classical display. Stylistically it sits between Indian classical and folk/pop traditions, akin in spirit to ghazal but using regional modern poetry and a lighter, more contemporary presentation.

Trikitixa (also called trikiti) is the Basque tradition of diatonic button accordion music, most often performed as a lively duo of accordion and tambourine. The style centers on driving dance rhythms, bright major-mode melodies, and virtuosic right-hand ornamentation. Typical trikitixa sets pair a stately Basque fandango with a faster arin-arin, moving from triple to duple feel in a single seamless flow. The music is communal and participatory, designed for social dancing and festive gatherings, yet it has also evolved into concert and studio settings through modern arrangers and ensembles.

Tappa is a fast, ornamental light-classical vocal form within the Hindustani tradition, famed for its rapid, bouncing melodic lines and dense clusters of micro-ornamentation. The word “tappa” itself evokes a springy, leaping motion, which is mirrored in the quick, knotty phrases that vault across registers. Originating in late-18th-century North India, tappa adapts Punjabi camel-drivers’ folk tunes into a courtly idiom. Bandish (compositions) are typically short, set to brisk talas, and use Punjabi or Urdu texts about love and longing. Performers emphasize agility—deploying murki, khatka, zamzama, and lightning taans—making tappa one of the most technically demanding light-classical styles.

Tarana is a brisk, syllabic vocal form of Hindustani classical music built on mnemonic, non-lexical syllables (such as "tanana", "dere na", "tadera", "yalali") that trace intricate melodic patterns and rhythmic designs. It is typically performed in a fast (drut) tempo, showcasing taans (rapid melodic runs), sargam (solfège), and bol-taans aligned tightly with the tala cycle. A tarana composition (bandish) is set to a specific raga and tala, usually featuring a sthayi (lower-register section) and antara (upper-register section). While the syllables themselves carry no literal meaning, they function as musical material that mirrors percussion bols and enables virtuosic interplay between voice and tabla. Tarana often appears as a climactic or concluding item in concerts, highlighting agility, clarity of raga grammar, and rhythmic precision.

Biraha (also spelled Birha) is a narrative folk-singing tradition of the Bhojpuri-speaking region of North India that centers on the emotion of viraha—longing and separation. The form blends earthy storytelling with semi-classical melodic sensibilities and a strong call-and-response dynamic. Traditionally performed by a lead singer (gayak) with a small chorus and a folk ensemble—most commonly dholak, harmonium, and hand-cymbals (manjira/jhaal)—Biraha unfolds in long sessions that can last through the night. Performances weave poetic couplets, extempore commentary, devotional motifs, and social satire into an evolving tale, punctuated by refrains that the chorus reinforces. Biraha thrives as both village entertainment and a stage style (akhara performance), retaining a rustic timbre while borrowing melodic turns from Hindustani ragas and semi-classical genres. Its language is primarily Bhojpuri, rich with idiom, metaphor, and rhetorical devices.

Ghazal is a South Asian light-classical vocal genre built around the Urdu–Persian poetic form of the same name. It sets couplets (sher) that share a rhyme (qaafiya) and refrain (radif), often opening with a matla and ending with a maqta featuring the poet’s takhallus. Themes revolve around love, longing, separation, metaphysical yearning, and refined wit. Musically, ghazal draws on Hindustani classical grammar but prioritizes text clarity and melodic expressiveness over elaborate improvisation. Performances commonly feature a singer accompanied by harmonium and tabla (with sarangi, sitar, or guitar as color), use raga-informed melodies, and keep lilting tala cycles such as dadra (6 beats) or keherwa (8 beats). The style favors intimate delivery, subtle ornamentation (meend, murki), and immaculate diction, making it ideal for salon (mehfil) settings as well as recorded and film music.

Bhajan is a devotional song tradition from India associated with the Hindu Bhakti movement, in which singers express personal love, praise, and surrender to deities such as Krishna, Rama, Shiva, and the Divine Mother. Musically, bhajans are raga-informed but typically simpler than classical concert pieces, favoring singable melodies, cyclic talas (often Keherva/Keherwa 8-beat and Dadra 6-beat), and steady drone from the tanpura. Common instrumentation includes harmonium, dholak or tabla, manjira/kartal (hand cymbals), and clapping; in folk contexts, ektara and simple percussion are frequent. Texts are usually in accessible vernaculars (e.g., Hindi, Braj Bhasha, Awadhi, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali), drawing on the poetry of saint-poets like Mirabai, Surdas, Tulsidas, and Kabir. Performances occur in temples, homes, satsangs, and community gatherings, often featuring call-and-response, refrains, and congregational participation.

Thumri is a North Indian (Hindustani) light-classical vocal genre known for its expressive, romantic character and flexible approach to raga and text. It typically sets short, evocative lyrics—often in Braj Bhasha, Hindi, or Urdu—on themes of shṛngāra (love), viraha (separation), and Krishna devotion, prioritizing emotional nuance over strict raga orthodoxy. Musically, thumri is associated with slow-to-medium tempi, lilting rhythmic cycles such as Dadra (6), Keherwa (8), Rupak (7), Deepchandi (14), and Addha, and a palette of “mishra” (mixed) ragas like Khamaj, Kafi, Bhairavi, and Pilu. Ornamentation is central: meend (glides), murki (grace turns), andolan (gentle oscillation), bol-banāo (word-based elaboration), and delicate taans color the line. Historically linked to tawaif (courtesan) culture and kathak dance, thumri matured in 19th‑century Lucknow and later flourished in Benares (Varanasi), evolving two principal styles: bandish-ki-thumri (more rhythmic and dance-oriented) and bol-banaav thumri (slow, lyrical, and text-centered).

Lavani is a high-energy folk music-and-dance tradition from Maharashtra, India, known for its brisk dholki-driven rhythms, expressive singing, and sensuous, theatrical performance style. Typically performed in Marathi, it blends light-classical melodic ideas with earthy folk poetics, witty repartee, and crowd-pleasing dance. Lavani songs are commonly featured within Tamasha theatre troupes and are recognized by their fast tempo, call-and-response refrains, and striking stagecraft. Performers usually wear the nine-yard nauvari sari and ankle bells (ghunghroo), with a small ensemble of dholki, harmonium, and hand cymbals (manjeera) providing the musical bed. Two principal strands exist: the shringari (romantic/erotic) lavani that foregrounds flirtation and play, and the nirguni (philosophical/devotional) lavani that draws on Bhakti themes and moral reflection.

Odissi Classical

Odissi classical (often called Odissi music or Udra Paddhati) is a temple-born classical music tradition of the Indian state of Odisha. It is closely allied to the Odissi classical dance and to devotional poetry such as Jayadeva’s Gita Govinda, combining refined raga–tala grammar with a distinct Odia aesthetic of bhava (expressive affect). The style features its own raga families and tala cycles, an ornate approach to microtonal ornamentation (gamakas), and the mardala drum’s intricate rhythmic language. Sung primarily in Sanskrit and Odia, Odissi classical balances lyrical devotion with rigorous melodic and rhythmic architecture, making it both contemplative and sensuously expressive.

Khyal (often spelled khayal) is the principal improvisatory vocal genre of North Indian (Hindustani) classical music. The word means “imagination,” and the style celebrates inventive melodic expansion within the strict grammar of raga and tala. A typical performance centers on two compositions (bandish): a slow, expansive vilambit or bada khyal followed by a fast drut or chhota khyal. Singers develop the raga through alap-like vistaar (melodic elaboration), bol-alap and bol-bant (text-based improvisation), sargam passages (solfège), and taans (fast, cascading runs) that culminate on the sam (downbeat). Khyal emphasizes microtonal nuance and vocal ornamentation—meend (glides), andolan (slow oscillations), gamak (heavy shakes), and intricate layakari (rhythmic play). It is accompanied by a tanpura drone, tabla in a chosen tala (often teentaal, ektal, or jhoomra), and a melodic support instrument such as sarangi or harmonium. Over the last two centuries, distinct gharanas (schools) have shaped its aesthetics, including Gwalior, Agra, Kirana, Jaipur-Atrauli, Patiala, Mewati, and Rampur-Sahaswan.

Natya Sangeet (also called Sangeet Natak) is the Marathi tradition of raga-based musical theatre songs, created for dramatic performance on stage. It blends the grammar of Hindustani classical music with lighter semi‑classical forms and expressive, character-driven lyrics. Songs are typically set in specific ragas and taals, but are shaped to serve narrative flow and theatrical expression. The style favors clear melodic lines, ornate yet intelligible ornamentation, and a declamatory delivery that projects emotion to the back of the hall. A small pit ensemble—harmonium, tabla (or pakhawaj), violin/sarangi, flute, and tanpura—supports the singer‑actors. Although rooted in classical discipline, Natya Sangeet prioritizes dramatic rasa, so compositions often balance virtuosic taans with memorable refrains and accessible Marathi poetry. The genre strongly influenced early Indian film music and remains central to the Marathi stage repertory.

Filmi is the song tradition of Indian cinema, encompassing Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, and other regional film industries. It is built for on-screen storytelling and "playback" singing, where actors lip-sync to pre-recorded vocals. Stylistically, filmi blends raga-informed melodies from Hindustani and Carnatic classical music with Indian folk forms, devotional currents (ghazal, qawwali, bhajan), and an evolving palette of Western popular idioms—big band, jazz, rock, disco, synth-pop, and EDM. Arrangements often feature lush orchestration, prominent melodic hooks, and dramatic modulations, supporting narratives of romance, devotion, comedy, and spectacle. As one of the most-heard musical practices in South Asia and its diaspora, filmi has defined the sound of commercial Indian culture for nearly a century while continually adapting to technology, audience taste, and cross-cultural exchange.

Gujarati Folk Music

Gujarati folk music is the traditional music of Gujarat, a western Indian state whose coastal trade routes and devotional movements shaped a distinctive sound. It spans lively communal dance songs such as garba and dandiya raas, narrative dayro storytelling, temple and household bhajans, Sufi-influenced pieces in certain communities, and songs embedded in folk theatre like Bhavai. Musically, it favors raga-informed melodies sung in Gujarati (and Kutchi), cyclical rhythmic patterns, and participatory forms such as call-and-response and clapped “taali” patterns. Typical instruments include dhol, dholak, nagada, tabla, manjira/jhanjh (cymbals), shehnai, flute (including the double flute jodia pava), harmonium, and folk strings; in modern urban settings these are often combined with keyboards, guitars, and drum kits. The style thrives at Navratri festivals, village melas, weddings, and devotional gatherings, where music functions as social glue, spiritual expression, and communal celebration.

South Asian Classical Music

South Asian classical music is the art-music tradition of the Indian subcontinent built around raga (melodic frameworks) and tala (cyclical rhythmic structures). It emphasizes microtonal nuance, ornamentation (gamaka), and a continuous drone, producing a highly expressive, meditative, and often devotional soundworld. The tradition cohered from ancient liturgical and courtly practices and later diverged into two major streams: Hindustani (North Indian) and Carnatic (South Indian). Both systems share the raga–tala grammar but differ in repertoire, performance format, instrumentation, and stylistic emphasis. Improvisation is central in both, balancing formal compositions with spontaneous exploration.

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