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A rare listening experience

Vinyls calling
Last Updated 18 September 2012, 12:55 IST

There was a time when the magic of vinyls was an everyday occurrence in the lives of people. Vinyls were a way to record music that was popular during most of the 20th century.

With the coming of digitalisation, they took a backseat and nearly vanished one fine day. Today, most people would not know the difference in quality between music played digitally versus the LP (Long Play) record sound.

To bring back the love for vinyls, an event called ‘Puma Loves Vinyl’ was recently held at the brand’s new sustainable store, in association with NH7, the largest platform for independent music in India.

The evening began with a specially curated vinyl listening session by Ganesh Krishnaswamy, the frontman of Bangalore-based metal band, Bevar Sea. He gave a short lecture on the sound of vinyls and the charm of the listening experience, while also playing a few vinyls from his personal collection for the audience to understand what he was explaining.

This was followed by an hour-long gig by Mumbai’s reggae-rock blending band, ‘Tough on Tobacco’. The band played a bunch of popular numbers like ‘Happy’, ‘Wonder’, ‘Love Love Love’ and Yahweh to name a few. It was a happy sound that saw the audience moving and grooving to the easy-flowing music.

But it was their improv songs that really did the trick. Prasanna, a member of the audience, put up his hand when the band asked if anyone wanted a song to be made on him or her. He described himself in a few lines and had himself a fun, catchy song called ‘Crazy Bearded Biker Guy’ made on him on the spot.

“It was the first time that I heard the band and what a brilliant introduction it was! Having the song made on me was just amazing and a fine climax to a fun evening for me,” says Prasanna, who thoroughly enjoyed the listening session as well.

The other improv songs of the band comprised a reggae metal song and a funny take on the blues. “Bangalore has an appreciative audience. It was great doing our reggae masti and improv songs for the crowd,” says Sidd Coutto, frontman of the band.

Seven leading bands of the country including ‘The Supersonics’, ‘Tough on Tobacco’ and ‘Ankur and the Ghalat Family’ have created a social-themed limited edition vinyl LP, which was also launched at the event.

“To experience the true physicality of music, one has to go back to the LP and only a true music lover knows a record’s worth. These musicians are the best in the business and we aim to own the vinyl space with this campaign,” says Rajiv Mehta, managing director, PUMA India.

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(Published 18 September 2012, 12:55 IST)

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