Desi Tunes - Blaze Radio

12/16/2021

5 years ago Desi Tunes was approved to be a specialty show on KASC- Blaze Radio and I will never stop being grateful for the doors this opened for me.

10/11/2021

Ahhh I have truly missed being in the studio 🥺 There is no feeling quite like it. Truly, if alumni weekends were a regular thing, I'd love to do this every weekend. Somebody make it happen, please!

10/11/2021

Blaze Radio is celebrating 40 years, so they invited alumni back to do guest DJ shifts for a weekend! So of course I signed up, and this is the special episode of Desi Tunes.

Songs played:
Hello 2021 - 2021 - Thaikkudam Bridge - Hindi
Sanam Mennu - 2018 - Sanam band - Punjabi
Aaj Na Jaana - 2019 - Sanam band - Punjabi
Kaantha Reprised - 2020 - single by Masala Coffee - Malayalam
Aigiri Nandini (rock version) - 2016 - By Nakshatra Productions - Sanskrit
India Waale - 2014 - Happy New Year - Hindi

Blaze Radio is celebrating 40 years, so they invited alumni back to do guest DJ shifts for a weekend! So of course I signed up, and this is the special episode of Desi Tunes. Songs played: Hello 2021 - 2021 - Thaikkudam Bridge - Hindi Sanam Mennu - 2018 - Sanam band - Punjabi Aaj Na Jaana - 2019 - S...

10/08/2021

KASC- Blaze Radio is celebrating 40 years! And to help celebrate, I'm heading back to the beloved studio for a special episode of Desi Tunes.

Sunday, October 10 at 2pm MST

Rithwik Kalale will be joining me to help me recap my life since April and just chill in the studio.

I WILL BE GOING LIVE ON INSTAGRAM! And I'll be taking song reqs if you want to send them in 👀

05/03/2021

How do I even begin to say goodbye to this station where I have cherished my time the most during the past 5 years? How do I say goodbye to the station that gave me the opportunity to create Desi Tunes, the single most important thing to me and the highlight of my college career? How do I say goodbye to the place where I grew the most?

I joined KASC- Blaze Radio in October 2016, during my first semester here at ASU. I started this show in January 2017. Desi Tunes has run for 9 consecutive seasons on Blaze Radio, and been a 3-time IBS Award nominee. I found myself through Desi Tunes. Everyone who knew me knew how passionate I was about my show. It meant everything to me.

And I'm so glad I was able to commemorate Desi Tunes and my time at Blaze Radio with this giant beautiful poster hung up in the studio for many years to come. I never expected the poster to be this big, but it makes me so happy seeing it in the studio! I hope it inspires future students to really make the most of their time here, to take the opportunities presented and just run with it. And I hope it inspires other students to bring foreign language music to this college radio station.

I want to give a shoutout to some people. I did this at the end of the series finale, but these people deserve to be tagged in this post as well.
First of all, Sowmya Parthasarathi, my best friend, has always been so supportive and quick to send in song requests.
Niharika Abbaraju, you are officially Desi Tunes’s NUMBER ONE FAN. Alexandra Dent, you always hyped me up every week and I so appreciated it.
Saashwath Kaundinya, you sent in a Valentine’s Day song dedication and message for your girlfriend EVERY SINGLE YEAR, and now I’m so happy you two are getting married.
Also a big shoutout to Rithwik Kalale and Autriya Maneshni for carrying on the torch and continuing to bring foreign music to Blaze Radio.
Shoutout to Vaughan Jones for being the best music director ever and really supporting me as I dealt with issues and grew with the show.

As I explained in the series finale, from here on out there may only be sporadic episodes of Desi Tunes I will release only on MixCloud, but that will depend entirely on whether I have ideas for episodes, people to interview, and time.

I can’t believe this is the end, and can’t believe I’m finally getting my Master’s degree and leaving ASU. Thank you all so much for all the love and support you have shown for me and Desi Tunes. Follow along on my journey and where I’ll be headed next on my instagram page Ranjani Venkatakrishnan. And continue to follow Desi Tunes in case I release future episodes!

04/24/2021

This is the series finale of Desi Tunes. I've had the most amazing past 5 years at KASC- Blaze Radio, and the 9 semesters doing this show will always be the most memorable parts of my college days. Thank you for all your love and support, both for me and for Desi Tunes!

Songs played:
Mitwa - 2006 - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - Hindi
Sirikkadhey - 2016 - Remo - Tamil
Juda Kar Diya - 2020 - single by Stebin Ben - Hindi (requested by Sowmya Parthasarathi)
Rang De - 2016 - A Aa - Telugu
Sanam Mennu - 2018 - Sanam band - Punjabi
Mangalyam - 2014 - Bangalore Days - Malayalam
Apna Time Aayega - 2019 - Gully Boy - Hindi
Kadhalikkiren - 2020 - single by Dhinesh Nagarajan - Tamil
Kaantha Reprised - 2020 - single by Masala Coffee - Malayalam

Things talked about:
The journey of this show, and what's next

~DJ Ishara

This is the series finale of Desi Tunes. I've had the most amazing past 5 years at KASC Blaze Radio, and the 9 semesters doing this show will always be the most memorable parts of my college days. Thank you for all your love and support, both for me and for Desi Tunes! Songs played: Mitwa - 2006 - K...

04/17/2021

This is the LAST interview episode of Desi Tunes before next week's SERIES finale. On this episode, I really enjoyed talking to Bhavya about animal testing and her experiences through her research. She created a ceramic model depicting the debate on animal testing for her Barrett, The Honors College at ASU honors thesis project!

Guest: Bhavya Sharma

Songs played:
Radha - 2021 - single by Dhvani Bhanushali - Hindi
Kuthu Fire - 2017 - by Vidya Vox - English/Tamil
Kaantha Reprised - 2020 - single by Masala Coffee - Malayalam
Hello 2021 - 2021 - single by Thaikkudam Bridge - Hindi
Kanaa - 2021 - single by Nuclea - English/Tamil

Things talked about:
How Bhavya chose her Barrett project
Pros and cons of
How she created her ceramic model

~DJ Ishara

Guest: Bhavya Sharma Songs played: Radha - 2021 - single by Dhvani Bhanushali - Hindi Kuthu Fire - 2017 - by Vidya Vox - English/Tamil Kaantha Reprised - 2020 - single by Masala Coffee - Malayalam Hello 2021 - 2021 - single by Thaikkudam Bridge - Hindi Kanaa - 2021 - single by Nuclea - English/Tamil...

04/03/2021

This week's episode of Desi Tunes is a more serious topic, and probably even a little bit taboo depending on who you ask, but it's extremely important to talk about. I'm so glad I was able to speak with Sonya from Narika about domestic violence among South Asians and what this organization is doing to help victims and survivors. In this episode, we also discuss what the warning signs of domestic abuse and domestic violence are and what you can do, whether you are the victim or you are the friend of a victim you want to help.

Guest: Sonya Mital from Narika

Songs played:
Be Free - 2017 - by Vidya Vox - English/Malayalam fusion
Rupaiyya - 2012 - sung by Sona Mohapatra on Satyamev Jayate - Hindi
Singappenney - 2019 - Bigil - Tamil
Thalaivi - 2020 - by Vidya Vox - English/Tamil fusion
Badal Pe Paon Hai - 2007 - Chak De India - Hindi
Aigiri Nandini (rock version) - 2016 - By Nakshatra Productions (lyrics are by Adi Shankaracharya) - Sanskrit

Things talked about:
How big of an issue is among women in the US
Why was started and how they help people
The rise in domestic violence during the course of this pandemic
for domestic violence and what to do

~DJ Ishara

Guest: Sonya Mital from Narika Bay Area Songs played: Be Free - 2017 - by Vidya Vox - English/Malayalam fusion Rupaiyya - 2012 - sung by Sona Mohapatra on Satyamev Jayate - Hindi Singappenney - 2019 - Bigil - Tamil Thalaivi - 2020 - by Vidya Vox - English/Tamil fusion Badal Pe Paon Hai - 2007 - Chak...

03/27/2021

I'm so glad I got to speak with Abi Udayakumar from NewFace Music for this episode of Desi Tunes! AND it was my very first mostly Tamil interview on this show. Usually all my interviews on this show are in English to make the episodes more accessible to more people, but I've always wanted to do an interview in my mother tongue, Tamil. Thank you, Abi, for giving me that opportunity!

Guest: Abi Udayakumar from the band NewFace

Songs played:
Love Virus - 2020 - Layers album by NewFace - Tamil
Kiss Me (sad version) - 2020 - Layers album by NewFace - Tamil
Dream Girl - 2020 - single by NewFace - Tamil
Tikkirikki - 2020 - Layers album by NewFace - Tamil
Virisal - 2020 - Layers album by NewFace - Tamil

Things talked about:
All about Abi Udayakumar and NewFace band
How NewFace was started and their journey so far
Layers album
Abi's future goals and aspirations

~DJ Ishara

Guest: Abi Udayakumar from the band NewFace Songs played: Love Virus - 2020 - Layers album by NewFace - Tamil Kiss Me (sad version) - 2020 - Layers album by NewFace - Tamil Dream Girl - 2020 - single by NewFace - Tamil Tikkirikki - 2020 - Layers album by NewFace - Tamil Virisal - 2020 - Layers album...

03/20/2021

Catch Rithwik and I spilling some TEA on in this week's episode of Desi Tunes! We cover quite a lot of topics, so get ready to either go "PREACH!" or take some notes.

Guest: Rithwik Kalale

Songs played:
Subhanallah - 2013 - Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani - Hindi
Khaabon Ke Parinday - 2011 - Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara - Hindi
Ghungroo - 2019 - War - Hindi
Ik Mulaqaat Unplugged - 2019 - Dream Girl - 2019
Kalank - 2019 - Kalank - Hindi

Things talked about:
Usage of the word
Yoga and meditation in ancient Indian culture vs its usage today
Bindis being worn just for exoticness (Gwen Stefani, Selena Gomez, )
Rihanna topless photo with Ganesha pendant
Indians being generally unbothered about cultural appropriation and calling it " "
Bad rep through shows like and
Representation in Disney movies

~DJ Ishara

Guest: Rithwik Kalale Songs played: Subhanallah - 2013 - Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani - Hindi Khaabon Ke Parinday - 2011 - Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara - Hindi Ghungroo - 2019 - War - Hindi Ik Mulaqaat Unplugged - 2019 - Dream Girl - 2019 Kalank - 2019 - Kalank - Hindi Things talked about: Usage of the word....