Imagine this: An artiste announcing his/her album, fans eagerly awaiting its release, finally buying the record and playing it on a vinyl player. Now, contrast this with today’s music that’s out on every music app in seconds across the world. What’s the fun, say music enthusiasts, who collect and play music on their vinyl players to date. CE speaks to Hyderabadis who continue to collect records as they share about their love for ‘unfiltered’ music, how they maintain their records and players, and more.
Collecting records for close to five decades now is Vararaj Ravula, a retired BSNL employee who shares how his love for collecting these started in the early 1970s. “I was listening to this particular song on Radio Kuwait and wanted to listen to it on repeat. I finally found the record in a small store in Nampally, I bought a record player that cost me Rs 100 back then, and haven’t stopped collecting ever since,” says Vararaj, who is a collector of several things vintage.
He, who once owned close to a 1,000 records, gave them away as gifts to many of his friends. He cherishes the 300-odd records he has left, which he now plays occasionally when he’s in the mood to reminisce the good old days. Some of his priceless collection includes Marty Robbins, Hank Locklin, Johnny Cash, Mary Hopkin and Alabama, among others. “I play them once in 15 days, also because maintaining them is pretty cumbersome,” he says.
But Tarun Oblum, shoemaker and founder of Oblum that manufactures handcrafted luxury footwear, enjoys going the extra mile to listen to what he calls ‘real music’. “I’ve always been a big fan of music, and enjoy collecting things that are old school and give me that nostalgic feeling. I love the idea of having something physical, something that I can touch. So, when my wife gifted me a vinyl player a year ago, I was fascinated by how different and real it sounds. I also enjoy the artwork on these records,” says Tarun, whose other hobbies include collecting watches, vintage artifacts and more.
Traun’s day starts and ends with listening to music on the vinyl player. He talks about why he enjoys it so much: “Nobody listens to a whole album anymore and fast-paced consumer life is to be blamed. Analogue music made me appreciate not just the artiste, but the entire process that goes into making it. Artistes make music to make you want to listen to their whole album in one go, so I enjoy the satisfaction that comes from listening to it that way. Nothing beats the high you get from ordering a record, having it delivered and playing it for your friends over some good whisky.”
Tarun’s collection, he says, is still not big enough because it’s a costly affair now, but his favourites include Pink Floyd and the Beatles. Well, nobody can go wrong with them!
Sanjay Khanna, an advocate, started collecting records at a time when it was the only way to listen to music. “I’ve also inherited some of my collection from my father. His collection was more of Western and Indian classical music. My collection dates back to records from the 1960s and 70s,” he says.
We ask him how he maintains these records and he shares, “I clean them regularly. Since most of them are very old, they give out static, so I use my electrostatic gun to deal with pops and crackling. I also make my own solution to wash them -- it’s made of some alcohol and a light detergent. I clean them using a good brush. Sadly, some of them don’t play anymore, but I still keep them.”