Playlists tell you what to press play on. This page tells you what each song is, who made it and when it came out. Below are 20 songs from Indian independent artists released between January and October 2026. Each one is matched to its Apple Music India release, checked on 28 October 2026. We list them in release order, not ranked, and we only include songs that are already out.

If you want the all-time view, our Indian indie songs pillar covers the classics. Many of these artists also have full guides on the site, linked below.

How we picked

  • Released in 2026. Apple Music India release date between 1 January and 28 October 2026. That rule keeps out some songs people think of as "2026" songs. Navjot Ahuja's "Khat", for example, came out on 3 December 2025, and Noor & Khan's "Aarzu" on 31 December 2025.
  • Singles and album tracks both count. When the song is an album track, we give the album's date.
  • Independent or artist-led. No film songs, even ones sung by indie artists, and no lofi, mashup or "vocals only" versions.
  • One song per artist, with one exception: Ankur Tewari, who released a single and a full album this year.

The 20 songs at a glance

  1. Dullah Bhatti — Hari & Sukhmani · 13 Jan · Single
  2. La La Land — Taba Chake · 20 Jan · Single
  3. Bairan — Banjaare · 23 Jan · Single
  4. Chal — The Lost Symbols · 6 Feb · Single
  5. Iss Tarah — Chaar Diwaari & Sonu Nigam · 9 Feb · Single → Parvana EP
  6. Chand Takiye — Ankur Tewari · 26 Feb · Single
  7. Mahadev — Aatma & GNDHI · 13 Mar · Single → Ehsaas
  8. Sach — Prabh Deep & Dhruv Visvanath · 13 Mar · Single
  9. Aage Peeche — Raghav Meattle, Kamakshi Khanna & Bulli Bainbridge · 26 Mar · Single
  10. Leela — Tribemama Marykali · 10 Apr · Scorpio Moon EP
  11. Phantom Baby — JBABE · 18 Apr · Single → A Little Larger…
  12. Night Turns — Karsh Kale feat. John Shannon, Ankur Tewari, Ajay Prasanna & Benny Dayal · 22 Apr · Single
  13. Daira — Sanjeeta Bhattacharya & Ankur Tewari · 24 Apr · Single
  14. TEYI — Ritviz · 19 Jun · Single
  15. Blush — Prateek Kuhad · 10 Jul · Full Moon Chamber
  16. Pieces — Anjali Manoharan feat. Shankar Thyagrajan & Sanjai Shine · 15 Jul · Single
  17. Dilli Jale Roz — Seedhe Maut · 30 Jul · Single
  18. Mellow — Easy Wanderlings & Mali · 13 Aug · Single
  19. Mt. Whateverest — The F16s · 22 Sep · Single
  20. Ribcage — Tejas · 2 Oct · Single (2 tracks)

The songs

1. Hari & Sukhmani – "Dullah Bhatti" (13 January)

The Punjabi folk-electronic duo started the year with a song whose title points to Dulla Bhatti, the folk hero of Punjabi Lohri songs. It came out on 13 January. In May they followed it with "Kala Shah Kala" featuring Damandeep Sidhu. Hari & Sukhmani's whole catalogue sits where traditional Punjabi song meets electronic production, and this single is a good way in.

2. Taba Chake – "La La Land" (20 January)

Taba Chake is the Arunachal singer-songwriter we covered in our Taba Chake songs guide. "La La Land" was his first solo single of 2026. In August he also appeared on Raghav & Arjun's "Ho Jayenge Ghum".

3. Banjaare – "Bairan" (23 January)

The Haryanvi act's breakout single; our Banjaare feature tells the story behind it. A duet version with Simiran Kaur Dhadli followed on 25 March. Apple also lists it on a two-track Barsaat single. Start with the original.

4. The Lost Symbols – "Chal" (6 February)

The act covered in our L-batch Lost Symbols feature released "Chal" in February and "Kailasa Ka Rahasya" in April. Both are on Apple.

5. Chaar Diwaari & Sonu Nigam – "Iss Tarah" (9 February)

The single came out on 9 February, about two weeks before it reappeared as track two of the Parvana EP (26 February). Platform named Sonu Nigam among Parvana's guests, and this is where you hear him.

6. Ankur Tewari – "Chand Takiye" (26 February)

A standalone single, released two weeks after the Bandwaale series soundtrack Tewari worked on, and six months before his album MR. FAARIGH (20 August). If you only know him from that album, this is the bridge.

7. Aatma & GNDHI – "Mahadev" (13 March)

The last of the nine weekly singles before Aatma's album Ehsaas (20 March). Rolling Stone India's review singled out "Mahadev" with "Bengaluru-based counterpart GNDHI" for its "hypnotic pull". It's the clearest case on this list for Indian house music.

8. Prabh Deep & Dhruv Visvanath – "Sach" (13 March)

A rapper and a fingerstyle guitarist. Apple lists it as a one-track single credited to both. Dhruv Visvanath is the guitarist behind Orion (2015) and The Lost Cause (2018) on Apple.

9. Raghav Meattle, Kamakshi Khanna & Bulli Bainbridge – "Aage Peeche" (26 March)

Raghav Meattle and Kamakshi Khanna on one song, with Bulli Bainbridge. Kamakshi Khanna's 2026 also included "alvida" with Raghav & Arjun and Anubha Kaul, and "Rooh" with Dirty Jays.

10. Tribemama Marykali – "Leela" (10 April)

The opening track of the Scorpio Moon EP. Platform described the EP as "a moving exploration of healing and rebirth", and "Leela" is where that starts.

11. JBABE – "Phantom Baby" (18 April)

The first of three singles before Josh Fernandez's album A Little Larger Than The Entire Universe (10 June), where it's track two. Self-released, ℗ JBABE.

12. Karsh Kale – "Night Turns" (22 April)

Karsh Kale has been releasing on Apple since Realize (2001). This single features John Shannon, Ankur Tewari, Ajay Prasanna and Benny Dayal, one of the more crowded credit lines of the year.

13. Sanjeeta Bhattacharya & Ankur Tewari – "Daira" (24 April)

A two-track single (Apple counts the song plus a second version). Sanjeeta's 2026 also included "Saza" with Sagar Verma and "Phir Se" with Raag Sethi. Our Sanjeeta Bhattacharya songs guide has more.

14. Ritviz – "TEYI" (19 June)

Ritviz's 2026 single, and so far his only solo release of the year on Apple. See our Ritviz songs guide.

15. Prateek Kuhad – "Blush" (10 July)

The first proper song on Full Moon Chamber, after the opener "a poetic concept". The album's 2024 singles ("No Complaints", "Just Like A Movie", "I'm Someone New") are older releases, which is why we picked a song that is new in 2026. More in our Prateek Kuhad albums guide.

16. Anjali Manoharan – "Pieces" (15 July)

Platform named Anjali Manoharan in its 2026 so-far list. "Pieces", featuring Shankar Thyagrajan and Sanjai Shine, is the 2026 release we can confirm on Apple Music India.

17. Seedhe Maut – "Dilli Jale Roz" (30 July)

The Delhi duo's solo single of 2026. That year they also featured on Bandzo3rd's "So Exotic" and a Coke Studio Bharat Holi EP, and on 23 October released "BUZZ" with KR$NA. Their albums are in our Seedhe Maut albums guide.

18. Easy Wanderlings & Mali – "Mellow" (13 August)

Easy Wanderlings and Mali on one single.

19. The F16s – "Mt. Whateverest" (22 September)

The F16s' September single. "Little Mama's boy" followed on 15 October.

20. Tejas – "Ribcage" (2 October)

The newest song here: a two-track single from the Mumbai singer-songwriter. See our Tejas Menon songs guide.

Near misses

  • Navjot Ahuja – "Khat" and Noor & Khan – "Aarzu" came out in December 2025, so they're 2025 songs.
  • DIVINE & Hanumankind – "Tequila Dance" (6 October) also appears on DIVINE's album Walking on Water, which Apple dates to 18 December 2025.
  • Film songs by indie artists (Aditya Rikhari, Raghav Meattle's "Do Guna Zindagi", Hanumankind's film work) are outside what this page covers.

Sources

  • Apple Music India catalogue (itunes.apple.com search/lookup, country=IN), checked 28 Oct 2026
  • Platform, "Standout Indian Indie Music from 2026, So Far" (3 July 2026)
  • Rolling Stone India, #ReviewRundown (AATMA Ehsaas), 2026

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