The Best Indian Indie Songs of 2023

The best Indian indie songs of 2023 are a map of a scene that had stopped asking permission. Indian Ocean put out a new single more than thirty years into their career. Sid Sriram, a film-song star, released an English-language R&B single. Anuv Jain closed the year with a love song people are still playing. And from Arunachal Pradesh to Manipur, artists who sing in their own languages put out some of the year's most interesting music. Here are 20 songs released in 2023, each checked on Apple Music India.

How we chose. First released in 2023 according to Apple Music India (checked 28 October 2026). If a song came out as a single before its album, we use the single date. One song per artist. Independent artists or independent-minded releases only. We don't print lyrics. Listed in release order, not ranked. For later years see the best Indian indie songs of 2025 and 2026; for longer listening, see the best Indian indie albums of the 2010s and the best Indian indie EPs of the 2020s.

The 20 songs

1. Girish and the Chronicles – "Loaded" (27 January 2023). From Back on Earth, the Bengaluru band's album for Italy's Frontiers Records. Hard rock with no irony. Girish and the Chronicles.

2. Osho Jain – "Hum Jab Door Ho Jaenge" (3 February 2023). A stand-alone single. A gentle song about distance from one of Hindi indie's most conversational voices. Osho Jain.

3. When Chai Met Toast – "So beautiful, with you" (13 April 2023). Released as a single and on the LYTS EP the same day. Warm, bright, easy to love. When Chai Met Toast; When Chai Met Toast songs.

4. Indian Ocean – "Jaadu Maaya" (14 April 2023). The first single from Tu Hai, which followed in May. Indian Ocean; Indian Ocean albums.

5. Naezy – "Apocalypse" (22 April 2023). Title track of the four-track Apocalypse EP. Naezy.

6. Raja Kumari – "NO NAZAR" (28 April 2023). From THE BRIDGE. Raja Kumari.

7. Sid Sriram – "Dear Sahana" (2 June 2023). The single that announced Sidharth, his English-language R&B album released in August through Def Jam.

8. Seedhe Maut – "Tofa" (18 July 2023). A stand-alone single from the Delhi duo. Seedhe Maut; Seedhe Maut songs.

9. Taba Chake – "Halfway" (20 July 2023). A single from the Arunachal singer-songwriter. Soft, finger-picked, unhurried. Taba Chake songs.

10. Aatma – "Winds of Assam" (11 August 2023). From Indian Roadtrip. Melodic house that feels like a long drive. Aatma.

11. Karan Aujla & Ikky – "Softly" (17 August 2023). From Making Memories; a Tiësto remix followed in December. Karan Aujla.

12. Meewakching – "Absolute Minority" (25 August 2023). From the Manipuri songwriter's The Land EP. Meewakching; see also Northeast India bands and artists.

13. Faheem Abdullah – "Gallan" (27 August 2023). A single a year before Lost;Found; a "Gallan 2.0" followed in November. Faheem Abdullah.

14. Mitraz – "Saajna" (15 September 2023). A stand-alone single. Mitraz.

15. Prateek Kuhad – "Mulaqat" (3 October 2023). Released as a single before the Mulaqat EP arrived on 28 November. Prateek Kuhad; Prateek Kuhad songs.

16. Anoushka Shankar – "Daydreaming" (feat. Nils Frahm) (6 October 2023). Opens Chapter I: Forever, For Now. Sitar and piano, very slow, very beautiful. Anoushka Shankar.

17. Nucleya & Goldie Sohel – "Jogi" (2 November 2023). The first taste of the Chamkillah era, later the opening track of the Chamkillah EP. Nucleya; Nucleya songs.

18. Sandunes – "Earthquake" (17 November 2023). From The Ground Beneath Her Feet on Tru Thoughts. Sandunes albums.

19. Anuv Jain – "Husn" (1 December 2023). The love song of the year: a voice, a guitar, and a melody that spread far beyond the indie audience. Anuv Jain.

20. Dualist Inquiry – "All There Is" (1 December 2023). An early single from When We Get There (2024). Dualist Inquiry albums.

What the 2023 songs tell us

Three patterns. Many of the year's best songs were singles released well before their album, a habit that the streaming era has made normal: "Jaadu Maaya", "Mulaqat", "Dear Sahana" and "Jogi" all arrived weeks or months early. Second, geography: artists from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Kashmir, Punjab, Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru sit on this list side by side, singing in Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and English. Third, the quiet songs won. "Husn" did not need a drop or a hook to become the song of the winter.

Common questions

What was the most popular Indian indie song of 2023? "Husn" by Anuv Jain is the one most people remember. We don't cite stream counts we have not checked.

Why are some songs listed with an earlier date than their album? Because they were released as singles first. We use the first release date shown by Apple Music India.

Where can I find more? Our guides to Indian indie songs, Hindi indie songs and Indian indie love songs.