Mumbai: Vinyl records, which faded away in the 1980s after the emergence of cassette tapes and then CDs, are enjoying a bit of a resurgence. There have always been collectors of old records around, but now a younger demographic too is picking up vinyls of musicians old and new and with the easy availability of turntables, sales are picking up.
Hardcore collectors and newbies alike scour Mumbai’s Chor Bazaar and Kolkata’s Free School Street, looking for rare old vinyls which often sell at prices far more than the original tag. Among the ones in great demand are very rare LPs and singles of ‘beat groups’, or garage bands which emerged in India in the 1960s and ’70s, playing western pop and rock music. A few of them cut a few discs of their original compositions and cover songs of well known international songs.
The trend began in the early 1960s, soon after the sounds of the Beatles, and then other bands, heard on the distant airwaves of Voice of America and the closer home, from Radio Ceylon, prompted young men to come together and set up similar beat groups.. The Trojans from Bangalore, the Jets from Bombay and the Flintstones from Calcutta were among the earliest to be formed. Their equipment was rudimentary – some used homemade guitars and loud PA amplifiers — and a handicap of not freely getting records to learn the chords and words, but their enthusiasm was high.
In 1964, The Savages were formed in Bombay by drummer Bashir Sheikh, along with Russel Pereira, Hemant Rao, Prabhakar Mundkur and Ralph Pais. They started playing the live music circuit, notably at night clubs and discos like Trinca’s in Calcutta, and at colleges and dances in clubs.
The pop music scene was picking up, and a new generation began grooving at these sounds, which were so different from what their parents had heard. JS (Junior Statesman) magazine was a must read and wearing batik shirts and bell-bottoms they thronged to music competition such as the Simla Beat Contest, sponsored by a cigarette company, which the Savages one.
Most bands played cover songs, with the occasional original number. What set the Savages apart is that they played many of their original compositions. They also made two LPs and many singles. One 7” single featured two original songs by Hemant Rao, one of which was ‘Pain’ featuring budding jazz singer Asha Puthli.
Unusually, because recording companies were reluctant to invest in Indian bands, they also made two LPs (Long Playing) with Polydor Records India – ‘Live’, with 11 classic tracks, and ‘Black Scorpio’. They sold modestly at the time but have become collectors’ items now, retailing online for up to 500 euros.
Now, Free School Records, formed by two record collectors from Kolkata — Aveek Chatterjee and Rajeev Pandey — have reissued the LP ‘Live’ at a limited edition of 250 on vinyl. Their day jobs are in the corporate sector but their spare time goes in republishing records by Indian and other musicians, old and new, of which they have already issued five LPs on vinyl and one on CD, since 2021. “The first, 200 copies of Train to Calcutta by folk singer Susmit Bose, were sold out within a week,” they say.
Aveek Chatterjee and Rajeev Pandey. Photo: Special arrangement
Each new project involves getting permission from not just the bands but also from the recording company, the audio mastering, and working with the pressing plant in Europe. “By now, we have it down to a science,” they say. Sen does the due diligence, tracking down rights owners, the bands and getting their go ahead, while Pandey manages the technical side and even does the art work. The whole process takes up to six months and both invest their own funds into the project.
After this latest LP, the duo plans to publish more records, starting with one by the Indian band Parikrama. They think they are not just filling a gap in the market, because the bigger music companies completely ignore this segment, but also bringing out good music for a new demographic and for those who remember those bands from when they were growing up.
