This Indie group is pouring all heart and soul into bringing back the most natural and organic sound back to India-the vinyl.
Set in an unassuming corner in a mildly remarkable street in Gurgaon, the tiny workshop, Amarrass Records, founded in 2009,ย is the passion driven business venture of two friends.ย Ashutosh Sharma and Ankur Malhotra are the founders of the Indie label, Amarrass Records, that has set itself upon a mission to bring back the vinyl culture to India.
Credits: facebook.com/amarrass
Production of vinyl records in-house hasn’t been doneย in India since the 80’s. Some might say, it is a lost piece of culture in India. On being asked about what generated the unique ideology of the two friends, Ankur had this to say-โCall us the exception or just being a little old, we have always wanted to have the ability to release albums on vinyl. So when we went searching for the material or the machinery, there was simply nothing in India. So we decided weโd get the machine, and start cutting records ourselves.โย
To begin their venture, the duo had to learn the art of making vinyl records and had to find the right source for the materials required in the process. To do this, Ashutosh and Ankur set off to Germany, where they trained hard at mastering the craft and soon were ready with their imports in place too. Vinyl record making is a tedious process which involves as much human effort as it requires the skill to handle the equipment. The skill did not come easy to the two friends either. They do have a bunch of records that bore the brunt of their in-expertise in the beginning. But now that that phase is done and dusted, the duo are on their way to being the game changers in bringing back a significant piece of music culture to the country.
Credits: hindustantimes.com
Credits: facebook.com/amarrass
What makes vinyl records so unique?
โFirstly, the analog sound is much better than the digital. Digitally engineered MP3s are an approximation. Analog is just natural, more organic.”
Vinyl does a lot to maintain the raw, raspy, organic feel of music. The duo aims to bring back that emotion that music carried in the good old days, when vinyls were cranked on the shiny brass record players that uplifted the environment in any room it was placed.
Due to the organic sound of a vinyl, the recording works best for folk music. โThat is, in fact, our biggest motivation. Folk has to remain organic. It loses its nature if you lock it inside a studio. Everyone makes money, and a name, except the artist,โ Ashutosh quotes on the recording of folk music.
Folk singer Lakha Khan, is one among the music stalwarts that have been signed by the label. His folk album ‘At Home’ will be the first vinyl record to be released along with two other artists’ albums later this year.ย Rajasthani group Barmer Boys and the Palestinian-American band Painted Caves are the two other groups, whose albums will be among the first release in India by the Indie label, Amarrass Records.
The duo say that vinyl records will be the means for artists to make a name for themselves and build a recognition in the industry. Especially for folk music, the common imagery is of a man clad in a turban, kurta, and his chappals to sing with some acoustic and percussion as accompaniment. Few ever remember the artist that he is. By bringing back vinyl records, founders Ashutosh and Ankur aim to put a face to all kinds of music and to bring to the people the most organic sound of music.
Vinyl still remains a popular way to release albums in the US and Europe. However, the reach has been limited to ardent collectors,ย and the third generation families. The artwork for the recordย jackets are painted either by a student of NIFT or their in-house painter. Amarrass Records aims to bud the interest towards vinyl music in India and also be a way to bridge the culture gap that our generation seems to have unfortunately lost. Check out their Facebook page here.