The Best Indian Indie Songs of 2025

2025 was a year of big albums in Indian independent music, and we cover those on our best Indian indie albums of 2025 page. This page does something different. It picks the songs: the singles and album tracks from 2025 that we kept coming back to, from Kerala hip-hop going global to a Tulu rock band, a Manipuri indie band and a Kashmiri folk-rock record that closed the year.

Every song below was released in 2025, and every date comes from Apple Music India, checked on 28 October 2026. Where a song first came out as a single and then appeared on an album, we give the earliest date Apple lists. We don't use stream counts, chart claims or "viral" labels we can't check. The songs are in release order, not ranked, so you can read the page as a timeline of the year.

For this year's songs, see the best Indian indie songs of 2026.

How we picked

• Released in 2025, and out now. No teasers, no announced singles, no songs from 2024 deluxe editions.
• Independent or artist-led. Film songs are left out, even when indie artists made them. Where an indie artist made a song for a series, we say so.
• One song per artist. Some artists, like Taba Chake and Meewakching, released a whole album's worth of strong tracks. We picked one and point you to the rest.
• Across languages. Hindi, English, Tulu, Meitei, Kashmiri and Malayalam-accented English rap are all on this list, because that is what the year sounded like.

The songs, in release order

January–March

• Meewakching – "Crabwalking In Imphal" (single, 31 January 2025). The Manipuri indie band released this as a single months before their album Bildungsroman (Apple date 25 May 2025). It is the most local song on the record, named for their home city, and the band even try a bit of rap on it. If it lands, play the album through, starting with "Supermarket (Everytime)" and "Anarcho Love Song". More: Northeast India bands and artists.
• Anuv Jain & AP Dhillon – "Afsos" (single, 31 January 2025). Two of the biggest independent names in the country, one known for soft Hindi guitar ballads and one for Punjabi pop, on one song. It brought Jain's guitar-ballad audience and Dhillon's Punjabi-pop audience to the same song, early in the year. Jain later released his Coke Studio Bharat song "Arz Kiya Hai" (20 August 2025) and "Inaam" (12 December 2025).
• Ditty – "So Real" (single, 7 February 2025). The first taste of Kali, the Berlin-based, New Delhi-raised singer-songwriter's second album. Apple lists Kali from 7 March 2025. "So Real" is the song to start with before you go on to the title track and "Dunya (For Our Children)".
• Alva Kuuto – "Ashana" (21 February 2025). The lead song from the self-titled Tulu-language rock album by Praveen Alva's band, produced by Varun Murali of Swarathma. Apple lists the full album ALVA KUUTO from 11 April 2025. "Ashana" is the playful way in; "Pageyta Pugey" is the hard-hitting one.
• Hanumankind – "Run It Up" (single, 5 March 2025). The Kerala-born, Bengaluru-based rapper's follow-up to "Big Dawgs" kept the chenda drums and Kerala percussion right at the front of the mix. Hanumankind later released the project Monsoon Season (Apple date 25 July 2025). If you want more Indian rap from the year, see our best Indian hip-hop albums.

April–June

• Alif & Ankur Tewari – "Sheen Song" (from Chupan Chupaai, 23 May 2025). The Kashmiri band Alif and Mumbai singer-songwriter Ankur Tewari made a six-song EP together. "Sheen" is the Kashmiri word for snow. The EP pairs Alif's Kashmiri songwriting with Tewari's easy Hindustani style. More from Tewari: Ankur Tewari songs.
• Sijya – "Do I Know" (single, 29 May 2025). The New Delhi producer, composer and vocalist released this ahead of her Leather & Brass EP on One Little Independent Records (Apple date 12 September 2025). It is the most rhythm-driven song on the EP and the easiest way in. Our Leather & Brass review has more.

July–September

• Agam – "Walk of the Bride – Sita Kalyana Vaibhogame" (single, 7 July 2025). The Bengaluru band's take on the Carnatic wedding song "Sita Kalyana Vaibhogame" arrived as a single before their album Arrival of the Ethereal. On the album it appears alongside "Flight To The Summer Sky", with Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. More: Agam band.
• Taba Chake – "Khud Ko Miloon" (single, 15 August 2025). The title song from the Arunachal singer-songwriter's second album (album tracks on Apple from 10 September 2025). It's a simple, hummable song about finding yourself again, and it is the clearest entry point to a record that also includes "Kya Ho Agar", "Jee Le" and "Whispers In English". Taba Chake.
• Sanjeeta Bhattacharya & Ankur Tewari – "Daira" (12 September 2025). The opening song of City Sessions, Vol. 2, a series of duets Tewari released through the year. Bhattacharya's jazz-trained voice and Tewari's understated delivery suit each other. Her own single "Could've Been" (22 August 2025) is worth a listen too.
• Ritviz – "DHA" (single, 19 September 2025). The Pune producer behind "Udd Gaye" and "Liggi" stayed with his formula of Indian vocal samples over festival-sized electronic drops. If you want more Indian electronic music, see our best Indian electronic albums.

October–December

• Komorebi – "No Deal" (single, 1 October 2025). A stand-alone single from the New Delhi producer and singer. Earlier in the year she worked with Ankur Tewari and Gaurav Raina on "Pyaas" for the series Dabba Cartel (5 May 2025). More: Komorebi songs.
• When Chai Met Toast – "Baaton" (single, 8 October 2025). The Kochi band, known for English folk-pop, put out "Baaton" in October and followed it with "I'm Coming Home" on 3 December 2025, after the August collaboration "Dreamland" with Job Kurian.
• Parvaaz – "Kauaʻi ʻōʻō" (single, 5 November 2025). The Bengaluru band's first single from Na Gul Na Gulistan (full album on Apple from 5 December 2025). The title is the name of a Hawaiian bird species, now believed extinct, known for a male's mating call that went unanswered, which tells you how the song feels. More: our Na Gul Na Gulistan review and Parvaaz.
• Raghav Meattle & Utsavi Jha – "O Dil" (single, 5 December 2025). A gentle duet from the Mumbai singer-songwriter. In the same month he also sang the title song for the web series Single Papa. More: Raghav Meattle songs.

What 2025 sounded like

Three things stand out when you put these songs side by side.

• Language kept widening. A Tulu rock song, a Meitei-English indie band and a Kashmiri-Hindi EP all sit next to Hindi pop and English rap here. None of them needed a Hindi or English version to reach listeners.
• Singles came before albums. Nearly every album artist on this list put out one or two singles weeks or months before the full record: Meewakching, Ditty, Sijya, Agam, Taba Chake and Parvaaz all did. Following singles through the year was the best way to see the big albums coming.
• Collaboration was everywhere. Ankur Tewari's City Sessions series, Alif's EP with him and Anuv Jain's song with AP Dhillon show artists swapping audiences instead of competing for them.

A 2025 playlist in five songs

If you only have 20 minutes, play these in order:

• Meewakching – "Crabwalking In Imphal"
• Alva Kuuto – "Ashana"
• Hanumankind – "Run It Up"
• Taba Chake – "Khud Ko Miloon"
• Parvaaz – "Kauaʻi ʻōʻō"

Common questions

What were the best Indian indie songs of 2025? Our picks, in release order, run from Meewakching's "Crabwalking In Imphal" and Anuv Jain and AP Dhillon's "Afsos" in January to Parvaaz's "Kauaʻi ʻōʻō" and Raghav Meattle and Utsavi Jha's "O Dil" at the end of the year. See the full list above.

Is this list ranked? No. The songs are in release order. We don't rank songs by streams because we can't check those numbers for every artist.

Why aren't film songs here? This page covers independent and artist-led releases. Film soundtracks are a different industry with different budgets. We mention indie artists' series work where it matters, but we don't list it.

Where are the best albums of 2025? On our best Indian indie albums of 2025 page. For the full history, see essential Indian independent albums.