Hot Desks, Cool Tunes: PR Professionals share their Favourite Work Jams

It's summertime and the livin' isn't easy in this burning heat. For some inspo do check out some of PR pros' favourite work jams. Happy Listening! 

Soibam Jayananda Singh from Concept PR Bangalore has a clear work jam saying, “Good Life” by One Republic reminds me that I have a purpose and should live my life to the fullest. While I am writing articles or press releases, I love listening to One Republic and Coldplay tracks. I feel I can focus on the content and finish my work efficiently."

On the weekend, Singh loves listening to "South Indian songs like “Mandaara,” “Chellakuttiye,” and “O Rendu Prema Naghaalila."

Rap, Rock and Hip Hop Away for that extra push at work 

For Shivalika Sharma, a publicist, music gives her the extra oomph to conquer her PR to-do list. Sharma says, "My music changes like the weather – sometimes it's techno to match the fast pace of work, other times it's hip hop for a chill vibe. It's like my own personal soundtrack to life!"

She adds, "⁠I like nearly 1000 songs but I’ll give it to these three when it comes to work:

🎵 Turn My Swag On - Soulja Boy: This one's like my morning cup of coffee, getting me pumped up and ready to take on the world.
🎵 Rumble - Fred Again: When deadlines are looming and I need to hustle, this song kicks in and gets me moving like there's no tomorrow.
🎵 Alright - Kendrick Lamar: Feeling stressed about work? This song comes to the rescue, calming me down and reminding me that everything's indeed gonna be alright.

Apna Bollywood, Coke Studio and Coldplay for inspiration 

Shrey Mehrotra, associate manager, of Value 360 India Communications Private Limited has a few favourites to jam to depending on his mood:

   🎵 Songs from the movie Rockstar - Emotional
   🎵 Coldplay songs - Focused
   🎵 Arijit Singh songs - Joyful 
  🎵 Sufi songs by Coke Studio - Reflective

   And of course Chaand Taare" by Abhijeet - MotivatingChaand Taare" by Abhijeet - Motivating.

Ranita Samanta, senior PR consultant likes the desi Bollywood wedding songs which are apt for feeling better about the world. At work she jams to "Dua Lipa's songs are cult favourites and her song 'Levitating' gives me instant energy and positive vibes no matter what the situation is. Supercut by Lorde gives me the same energy which I keep on finding everywhere in everyone."

Classic Rock, Pink Floyd

Niharika Choudhary, digital marketing consultant, at Prabisha Consulting, UK likes listening to, "Pink Floyd, especially when I am down, I love listening to "Shine on you Crazy Diamond."

Punjabi pop: Diljeet Dosanjh and AP Dhillon 

Farheen Syed, manager - PR, Blue Ocean IMC says, I love a wide variety of music, with my favorites being Punjabi, Bollywood hits, and Hollywood tracks. When I have to concentrate on a project, I would listen to some Hollywood music, or if I want to ponder on some ideas, I switch on some white noise in the background. Bollywood music helps me or anyone in lifting the mood."

Syed's go-to music for motivation: G.O.A.T. by Diljeet Dosanjh and for creativity: True Stories by AP Dhillon.

Running for the ultimate fight: Eye of the Tiger 

The famous anthem from Rocky - Eye of the Tiger helps Deepal Das, senior account manager, Concept PR, Bangalore, to stay focused. Das also likes any rock music from bands/singers like Coldplay, Staind, Scorpions, Bee Gees, Sade (Smooth Operator is the current favourite), Doja Cat, Drake, Khalid, and Labrinth.

Yup, it's the Bridgerton magic playlist

Pankhuri Gupta's, communications professional, go-to music jam is instrumental, "Since PR involves a lot of reading, writing and being on call with journalists/clients I've realized instrumentals work the best for me! So Beethoven, Violin, and Cello covers are my saving grace."

Her current favourite is the whole playlist from Bridgerton - a popular Netflix series, "Non-distracting yet powerful."

Smooth Jazz for audiophiles 

For audiophile and communications professional, Rafi Q Khan, it is "Deep house for concentration and content production and blues and jazz for creative ideation"

Among Khan's favourites is Norah Jones, the daughter of sitar maestro late Ravi Shankar. As are Gregory Potter, Sade, Dave Brubeck, The Real Thing, The Aristrocats, Kamasi Washington, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Takuya Kuroda, Diana Krall, Jamie Cullum, and many more

A bit of drama in you 'POV' YouTube playlist

Prasanna Ratanjankar, marketing and content lead at Ruder Finn India is addicted to these wonderful 'POV' playlists on YouTube, "My absolute favourite is the one titled 'You’re a princess secretly researching about your mother while plotting to overthrow your father'. It's basically a playlist filled with moody classical instrumental pieces with the sound of rain added to it. It's amazing! You have such playlists for every imaginable mood! Another favourite is 'There’s a reason you won’t get tired of it even if you play it all day'. This is much softer, sweeter."

"And then I have some favourite artists I listen to. Topping the list is Cosmo Sheldrake - his songs The Moss, Come Along and Wriggle are top tier", adds Ratanjankar.

For Vishakha Choudhary, global PR associate, with WEMIX, it's a mix of classic rock and new music. This includes old favourites like Unstoppable - Sia, Scotland - The Lumineers, Renaissance - Paolo Buonvino & Skin, Bones - Imagine Dragons and Feels Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana.

Chaitra Devarhubli, senior manager, Cipla is also an Imagine Dragons fan, "My favourite work jam is something that pushes me to never give up- 'Whatever It Takes' by Imagine Dragons is one such song that tops my list."

The rushing, sweeping sounds of Game of Thrones on the cello 

Amrita Sarna, communications lead at Unilever International picks pop such as Easy Lover - Phil Collins, Bones -Imagine Dragon, Hold Me Closer - Britney Spears and Elton John along with western classical such as Vivaldi: The Four Seasons. Not surprisingly Ramin Djawadi - Game of Thrones/ House of the Dragon soundtrack is a hot favourite.

Listen in to my favourite cover of the iconic theme by the Croatian musicians 2Cellos:

Taylor Swift, but of course 

Shruti Gautam, communications professional at LG Electronics picks Let Her Go - Passenger Karma - Taylor Swift, Billionaire - Travie McCoy, Shallow - Lady Gaga & Bradly Cooper and the old rock classic Every Breath You Take - The Police.

Surbhi Gohil, account manager like the Taylor Swift - Eras Tour set-list, Ateez - Work
and the latest on-trend hit Sabrina Carpenter - Espresso. 

I knew we wouldn't be able to do this playlist without Taylor Swift! So 'Who's Afraid of Little Ol Me'?

Janvi Mankani, founder at Mint + Milk Communications says, "I'm a massive music enthusiast, and I have a playlist for every task I tackle. I update my playlists weekly to keep things fresh. Music really gets me into the groove and gives me a unique energy boost. Even something as mundane as paperwork feels different when the right track is playing.

Some of my top favourites are:
Mirlo, Luccas Martins, Interlude, The Blaze Queens, Milky Chance.

That's it folks, enjoy the music.