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Independent music, long overshadowed by Bollywood, is witnessing a resurgence with many non-film albums making a mark on the music scene today thanks largely to music channels, says composer Salim Merchant. "I think independent music is coming back in a big way in India and it's only because of the influx of music channels.

Punjabi rapper Bohemia, known for songs like "Chandni Chowk to China", has been signed up by music label Sony Music. He hopes to continue enthralling listeners with new-age music, catchy beats and thought-provoking lyrics. As part of the association, Sony Music will take care of Bohemia's music albums, launches and shows under their artist management program.

Film: "Vicky Donor"; Music Director: Abhishek-Akshay, Donn-Bann, Rochak Kohli and Ayushmann; Lyricist: Kusum Verma, Vijay Maurya, Ayushmann Khurrana, Juhi Chaturvedi and Swanand Kirkire; Singers: Akshay Verma, Aditi Singh Sharma, Clinton Cerejo, Ayushmann Khurrana, Vishal Dadlani, Sunidhi Chauhan, Bann, Mika Singh and Sukanya Purkayastha; Rating: *** "Vicky Donor" is a first for many - it not only marks John Abraham's foray into production, it is popular VJ Ayushmann Khurana's first movie too and Abhishek-Akshay also start their journey as music director with the movie.

Film: "From Sydney with Love"; Music Director: Sohail Sen, Thor Patridge and Nabin Laskar; Singers: Sohail Sen, Roshni Baptist,Mohit Chauhan, Monali Thakur Mika Singh, Palak, Neeraj Sridhar, Brooklyn Shanti; Rating: *** 1/2 "From Sydney with Love" marks the debut of many a people, including the stars and the director, and interestingly the soundtrack offers fresh and tempting music to the listeners.

Film: "Jism 2"; Music Directors: Arko Pravo Mukherjee, Mithoon, Rushk, Abdul Baasith Saeed.; Lyricist: Arko Pravo Mukherjee, Munish Makhija, Rushk, Mithoon, Unoosha, Abdul Baasith Saeed; Singers: KK, Ali Azmat,Sonu Kakkar, Rushk, Shreya Ghoshal, Unoosha; Rating **** Sunny Leone and her sensuality might be bagging headlines for "Jism 2", but expectations are always high from the music department for any movie from the Bhatt campt, known for churning out hit soundtracks.

Film: "Ferrari Ki Sawaari"; Music Director: Pritam; Lyricist: Swanand Kirkire, Amitabh Bhattacharya, Guru Thakur, Satyanshu Singh, Devanshu Singh; Singers: Sonu Nigam, Rana Majumdar, Aishwarya Nigam and Ashish, Urmila Dhangar, Shaan, Boman Irani, Aayush Phukan, Priyani Vani Pandit, K Mohan; Rating: ***1/2 The soundtrack of "Ferrari Ki Sawaari" does not take you on a rollercoaster ride, but with five lyricists at his helm, Pritam has managed to dole out a decent album.

Film: "Bol Bachchan"; Music Director: Himesh Reshammiya, Ajay-Atul; Lyricist: Farhad-Sajid, Shabbir Ahmed, Swanand Kirkire, Sameer Anjaan; Singers: Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Himesh Reshammiya, Mamta Sharma, Vineet Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Shreya Ghoshal, Mohit Chauhan; Rating- **1/2 Four songs and their remixes -- that pretty much describes the soundtrack of "Bol Bachchan".

Composer-singer Shankar Mahadevan says lack of quality has been responsible for the decline of non-film music, but he feels that any music would sell if the quality is good and it is marketed well. "In today's day, it's only about film music and people assume that that's all that sells.

What's more perfect than good music in good weather? Away from the capital's heat, Manali is serving as the perfect getaway for music lovers with Manali Summer Sundowners, a month-long music festival, hosting some of the best folk, rock and fusion artists.

He might me an actor, but Neil Nitin Mukesh finds pleasure in creating music. Not surprising as his grandfather was legendary singer Mukesh and his father, Nitin, is also a singer. "Playing or creating music is the most relaxing and magical thing on earth. It's so weird.

Film: "Tezz"; Music Director: Sajid-Wajid; Lyricist: Shabbir Ahmed and Jalees Sherwani; Singers: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Mohit Chauhan, Shreya Ghoshal, Shaan; Rating: *** Making a music album for an action-packed Bollywood thriller is a tough task but composers Sajid-Wajid have managed to hold it together even with very few songs in the soundtrack of "Tezz".

Film: 'Dangerous Ishhq'; Music Director: Himesh Reshammiya; Lyricist: Sameer Anjaan and Shabbir Ahmed; Singers: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Tulsi Kumar, Himesh Reshammiya, Anweshaa, Amrita Kak, Shreya Ghoshal, Shahab Sabri; Rating: *** Himesh Reshammiya sets the mood right with the music of "Dangerous Ishhq", which marks the return of Karisma Kapoor to the silver screen.

Film: "Rowdy Rathore"; Music Director: Sajid-Wajid; Lyricist: Sameer Anjaan; Singers: Wajid, Shreya Goshal, Mika Singh, Mamta Sharma, Sarosh Sami, Kumar Sanu, Javed Ali, Akshay Kumar; Rating: *** From the storehouse of upbeat music, Sajid-Wajid, comes another album in the form of "Rowdy Rathore".

He is the voice behind popular Hindi song "Dil sambhalja zara" from "Murder 2" that rocked the music charts last year, but Kashmiri singer Saim Bhat says his journey was rocky as he had to be a rebel to follow his musical dreams. "In Kashmir there is no entertainment.

Music composer Shankar Mahadevan, set for a four-city tour with partners Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa, says the best reward for musicians is watching audiences grooving and clapping to their tunes. "It's nice to be a music director, a musician and a performer. It becomes multi-tasking things. It's amazing to see people's love.

Singer Nikhil D'Souza, who is the voice behind popular songs "Mere Bina", and "Gubbare", says the time is ripe for independent music composers as people are appreciating their work and there is a demand for it. "These are very exciting times in the field of music.

Arjun Rampal, who got international pop icon Lady Gaga to perform in India last year, is collaborating with Percept Ltd to create a music festival in major cities, sources say. The ambitious venture is called Lost. "Arjun and Shailendra Singh of Percept have brainstormed over months, working out the details of the music festival property.

Film: "Shanghai"; Music Director: Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravijani; Lyricist: Dibakar Banerjee, Vishal Dadlani, Anvita Dutt Guptan, Neelesh Misra, Kumaar; Singers: Shekhar Ravijani, Vishal Dadlani, Arun Ingle, Mandar Apte, Dibakar, Bhupesh, R.N. Iyer, Raja Hassan, Kirti Sagathia, Richa Sharma, Nandini Srikar; Rating: *** 1/2 The music of a Dibakar Banerjee film is not something you watch out for because he is known for making gritty and compelling movies.

Director Milan Luthria says his much-anticipated sequel "Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai 2" will not follow any "gangster movie trend" as in his film the focus will be on flamboyance, drama and music. "As far as gangster trends are concerned, I think we stand apart as our take on gangsters is very different. It's more of a flamboyance, drama, music and dialogues.

Wajid, of the composer duo Sajid-Wajid, confesses that a part of the music in their "Rowdy Rathore" score is borrowed from the original Telugu film "Vikramarkudu". Directed by Prabhu Deva, "Rowdy Rathore", that has Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha in the lead roles, is set for a June 1 release.