For The Record

It wasn’t so long ago that Indian independent bands had a hard time releasing albums. But with the explosion of the indie scene,the opportunities to record music have certainly grown. Girish “Bobby” Talwar,co-founder of music management company,Only Much Louder,points out,“We have acts like Pentagram,Shaa’ir + Func,Swarathma,Scribe and Demonic Resurrection which are now internationally recognised,and at the same time have a growing fan-base at home.”

The success of the NH7 Weekender in December 2010,which saw huge crowds for mostly Indian bands,is just one evidence of indie music’s growing acceptance. Talwar confirms that both the Weekender,as well as the recently concluded Eristoff Invasion Festival,will see repeat editions this year.

The year 2010 also saw a wide variety of album releases get a great market response — from Shaa’ir + Func’s third studio album Mantis,to Albatross’s concept album Dinner is You and Scribe’s highly acclaimed The Mark of Teja. “Most of these bands first build a strong network of fans by playing a lot of gigs across the country and become well-known names. This helps when they finally get down to recording albums,as there’s already a market that they’ll be catering to,” says Talwar.

That was exactly what Faridkot did. “We’ve gigged a lot and have established a reputation,so it wasn’t a complete struggle when we did decide to record an album,” says Sanyal. That said,however,it still wasn’t the easiest job in the world. “Funds are,of course,hard to come by. We were lucky enough to find a great recording studio The Recording Room,which had just started out,so it was easier on our pockets,” he says,

“We did plan to get a team of producers and mixing engineers,but that was a little expensive.” The band ended up producing the album.

However,considering that even internationally,album sales don’t really count for much when it comes to a band’s revenues,why are so many Indian bands going that route? Wouldn’t it be much easier to release the music online for download? Anup Kutty,founder and guitarist of Menwhopause agrees. “We did release the album digitally a few weeks ago,” he says,“But physical albums still hold a great deal of appeal,especially for hardcore fans who like to collect them.”

A successful album can also take a band’s reputation to new heights. Ask Tony John,vocalist of Kochi-based Avial,which will be releasing its sophomore album later this year. “It took us some years to find our sound,and acceptance wasn’t easy to come by either.” But once the single Nada Nada from their self-titled debut album went viral,the band’s popularity soared. “Now there are listeners of Malayalam rock all over the country,” John says.