Originals, Not Covers: 7 Indie Songs (Oct 2026)

Originals, Not Covers episode 1: seven self-written songs from Spotify's Indie India playlist, from The Local Train's Choo Lo to Saahel's Halki Halki.

Key facts

All seven songs were on Spotify's 75-track Indie India playlist in a snapshot taken at about 9:35 AM IST on 24 October 2026.
Choo Lo was first shared on MySpace in 2009 and reached the album Aalas Ka Pedh in September 2015 (Wikipedia).
Baarishein was Anuv Jain's first recorded song and his first to pass 100 million and 200 million Spotify streams (Wikipedia).
Saahel's Halki Halki came out on 28 August 2026 and was written, composed and produced by Saahel (Tellychakkar).
Five of the seven releases carry the artist's own name on the Apple Music ℗ line.

Originals, Not Covers is a new daily Discography series that celebrates songs written and released by Indian independent artists themselves. Episode 1 picks seven originals from Spotify's Indie India playlist as it stood on the morning of 24 October 2026: Choo Lo by The Local Train, Baarishein by Anuv Jain, Kasoor by Prateek Kuhad, Samjho Na by Aditya Rikhari, Sukoon by gini, Dekha Hi Nahi by Osho Jain and Halki Halki by Saahel. Each entry lists who made the song, when it came out, who holds the release, and what makes it the artist's own. Every release year and label line below was checked against the streaming credits and the press coverage listed under Sources.

More facts

All seven songs were on Spotify's 75-track Indie India playlist in a snapshot taken at about 9:35 AM IST on 24 October 2026.
The oldest pick, Choo Lo, was first shared on MySpace in 2009 and reached the album Aalas Ka Pedh in September 2015 (Wikipedia).
Baarishein was Anuv Jain's first recorded song and his first to pass 100 million and 200 million Spotify streams (Wikipedia).
The newest pick, Saahel's Halki Halki, came out on 28 August 2026 and was written, composed and produced by Saahel (Tellychakkar).
Five of the seven releases carry the artist's own name on the Apple Music ℗ line.

What this series is

The Indian independent scene runs on songs that start in a bedroom, a rehearsal room or a notebook. This series exists to point listeners at those songs and the people who wrote them. Each episode picks a handful of original tracks, meaning songs written by the credited artist, released under their own name and not built on an older composition. Remakes, recreations and reworked film songs are left out, however good they are, because the aim is to send listeners to the first version of a song and to the person who first imagined it.

For this first episode every pick comes from Spotify's Indie India playlist, an editorial list that Spotify describes as the "Best of the Indian Indie scene." On 24 October 2026 it held 75 tracks. Seven songs made the cut here because their writing credits, release dates and label lines could all be confirmed from sources we fetched. If you want to understand how songs get onto lists like this, our guide to pitching to Spotify playlists in India explains the process.

How we checked each song

Each song was checked in three ways. First, its place on the Indie India playlist and its release date came from Spotify's own playlist data. Second, the ℗ line, which names the owner of the sound recording, was read from Apple Music's catalogue. Third, the story behind the song came from press coverage or Wikipedia. Where the label line names the artist, the song is marked Independent. Where it names a company, that company is listed as the label.

1. Choo Lo by The Local Train (2015)

Made by: The Local Train, a Hindi rock band formed in Chandigarh in 2008
Released: Aalas Ka Pedh, September 2015 (first shared as a single in 2009)
Label: Independent (℗ 2015 The Local Train on Apple Music)
Indie India position on 24 October 2026: 17

Choo Lo is the song that started The Local Train's story. Wikipedia says the band functioned independently in its early years, handling its own management and logistics while writing songs and releasing them online. Choo Lo went up on MySpace in 2009 and kept being refined until its music video came out in 2011. The band later won Sennheiser's first Top50 band talent hunt in India in 2015, finished its debut album and released Aalas Ka Pedh with Flying Carpet Productions that September, with Choo Lo among its tracks.

What makes it an original is how long the band lived with it. A song shared online in 2009 and still being shaped two years later is a band's own sound being found in public. The Local Train is known for Hindi and Urdu lyrics, and Choo Lo is one of the reasons. Read the full band story in our profile of The Local Train.

2. Baarishein by Anuv Jain (2018)

Made by: Anuv Jain, singer-songwriter from Ludhiana
Released: Spotify lists the track's release date as 12 January 2018, and Wikipedia also dates Baarishein to 2018
Label: Independent (℗ Anuv Jain on Apple Music)
Indie India position on 24 October 2026: 40

Anuv Jain started writing songs at 16 as a way to express his feelings. Wikipedia says Baarishein was his first recorded song, which he wrote at 17, and it became a sleeper hit on his YouTube channel. It went on to become his first song to cross 100 million and then 200 million streams on Spotify.

The originality is in the sound. Wikipedia describes his music as simple chorded songs built mostly on an acoustic guitar or ukulele, without percussion or other instruments. Baarishein is the clearest example, a song that leaves space around the voice. In April 2024 the song was also part of the United Nations-backed Sounds Right initiative, which used the sound of Indian rains for Baarishein. More on his songs is in our Anuv Jain profile.

3. Kasoor by Prateek Kuhad (2020)

Made by: Prateek Kuhad, singer-songwriter who writes in Hindi and English
Released: 30 June 2020
Label: Independent (℗ 2020 Prateek Kuhad on Apple Music)
Indie India position on 24 October 2026: 56

Wikipedia says Prateek Kuhad is best known for Kasoor and Co2. The Hindu reported that Kasoor was his first release since his 2018 EP cold/mess. Kuhad told the paper he had been playing the song live for two or three years before it came out. It was recorded in 2019 and held back while his India tour kept growing.

Its video is part of the song's story too. The Hindu says Jugaad Motion Pictures made it from submissions by 400 fans who answered an email, reacting to prompts such as "think about your first love." Kuhad said the video was "meant to be fuelled by fans." A song that was tested on stage for years and then handed back to listeners in its video is about as personal as an original gets.

4. Samjho Na by Aditya Rikhari (2022)

Made by: Aditya Rikhari, singer-songwriter and former bedroom producer
Released: 10 February 2022
Label: CollabX Entertainment (℗ 2021 CollabX Entertainment on Apple Music)
Indie India position on 24 October 2026: 10

Rolling Stone India notes that Aditya Rikhari is known for songs like Faasle and Samjho Na. It reports that he released music independently and through his management company CollabX Entertainment between 2020 and 2022, before signing with larger partners. Samjho Na belongs to that early period.

He described his approach to Indulge Express in 2024. "I work as a one person team so I write, compose and sing all of my songs," he said, adding that his lyrics are "simple, relatable and easy to understand." He also told Rolling Stone India that he follows no formula and that his songs "just have to sound good." Samjho Na sat at number 10 on the Indie India playlist on 24 October 2026, more than four years after release.

5. Sukoon by gini (2024)

Made by: gini, singer-songwriter from Dehradun
Released: 10 July 2024
Label: Molfa Music (℗ 2024 Molfa, first.wav on Apple Music)
Indie India position on 24 October 2026: 45

Rolling Stone India reported that Sukoon followed gini's singles Ansuna and Chaukhat in 2024, and that she was Spotify India's RADAR artist the month it came out. Loudest called it her third Molfa Music release. The song came from a period of solitude. "I'd written it during a period of solitude wherein I was reading and writing more than ever," gini said. She realised she was moving through books too quickly, "so, I wrote a song to remind me to stop and appreciate the moments and the feelings I was experiencing."

Loudest describes the track as a departure from her usual orchestra-heavy arrangements. Its music video was directed by Bhavna Kankaria. In a 2025 cover story, Rolling Stone India reported that gini turned down university offers at 17 and travelled to Mumbai with two songs, Chaukhat and Sukoon, which she asked her label to record. On 24 October 2026 the playlist itself carried the note "Cover - Gini," meaning she was also the face of Indie India that day.

6. Dekha Hi Nahi by Osho Jain (2024)

Made by: Osho Jain
Released: 10 October 2024, track 3 on the five-song EP Uff
Label: Independent (℗ 2024 Osho Jain on Apple Music and JioSaavn)
Indie India position on 24 October 2026: 4

Dekha Hi Nahi was the highest-placed of the seven picks on the Indie India playlist on 24 October 2026, sitting at number 4. JioSaavn credits Osho Jain as both composer and lyricist, and the EP's ℗ line names him as the owner of the recording. The EP Uff runs five songs: Uff, Tu Hi, Dekha Hi Nahi, Hadd Paar and Rab Hai.

What marks it out is that it is a single-author song released on a self-owned EP, and it was still near the top of an editorial list two years later. We have covered the song's long run in more detail in our story on Osho Jain and Dekha Hi Nahi.

7. Halki Halki by Saahel (2026)

Made by: Saahel, singer-songwriter
Released: 28 August 2026
Label: Independent (℗ 2026 Saahel on Apple Music and JioSaavn)
Indie India position on 24 October 2026: 8

Halki Halki is the newest song in this episode. Tellychakkar reported that it was written, composed and produced by Saahel. It describes the song as being about "two people who still love each other, but have somehow grown apart in the middle of everyday life." Saahel said, "Sometimes you don't fall out of love, you just get caught up in life."

The same report notes that his earlier song Tera Pata earned him a spot on Spotify's Times Square billboard through the RADAR India programme. Halki Halki reached the Indie India playlist within two months of release and was at number 8 in our snapshot. Saahel wrote, produced and owns the song, so it fits this series as fully as any track can.

What the seven songs have in common

The picks span 2015 to 2026. Two predate 2020 and five came out in 2020 or later. All seven were written by the artists who perform them. Five carry the artist's own name on the ℗ line. The other two came out through the artist's management company and record label. None of them leans on an older hook. Together they show that original writing keeps a song on an editorial playlist long after its release week.

How to support the originals

Save the song in your streaming app and add it to your own playlists. It is the simplest way to tell the artist you are listening.
Follow the artist's profile so new releases reach you.
Watch the official video on the artist's own channel rather than a re-upload.
Go to a gig when the artist tours your city.

FAQ

What counts as an original song in this series?

A song written by the credited artist and released under their own name or their own label deal. Remakes, recreations of older compositions and reworked film songs are left out.

Is Choo Lo by The Local Train an original song?

Yes. Wikipedia says the band first released it on MySpace in 2009, refined it until its 2011 music video, and included it on the 2015 album Aalas Ka Pedh.