S Radhakrishnan of Shree Records | Photo Courtesy: Shiva Saravanan S

In his warehouse, operating out of a rented facility in Pudur, Peelamedu, Radhakrishnan goes through piles of pre-owned vinyl records in search of space along with old audio equipment, some of them in working condition, others Awaiting repair. Here, he carefully sorts through records and equipment obtained from across the country and weeds out the bad from the good. The good guys eventually find their way to their store in Pudur, Shree Music, and into the hands of a new generation of listeners eager to try out this tactile medium of music playback.

“With vinyl records, there is no standard definition of ‘good’,” says Radhakrishnan. “Depending on the amount of wear and tear, the level of good may vary. Bad people, on the other hand, are just that – bad.”

A gramophone manufactured in 1960 at Shree Studios. Photo Courtesy: Shiva Saravanan S

Contrary to the new-age hipster fascination with analog technology, Radhakrishnan’s association with the format goes back at least half a century to when he was a boy. “My brother was a radio mechanic in the 1970s. One day, he brought home a record player and a small cache of records ranging from devotionals to film songs. policemanReleased that year. The moment I heard the sounds from those records, I was forever mesmerized,” he recalls.

It wasn’t until four decades later that Radhakrishnan was able to turn his passion into a livelihood. Meanwhile, he supported himself through jobs in mills and lathes, and even a brief stint as a taxi driver. In 2017, sensing a growing interest in vinyl, he took the leap and founded Mr. Music. Radhakrishnan now has around 10,000 records in all languages ​​and genres, and he caters to a customer base across the state, sometimes even beyond.

Copper needles are used for gramophones in Shree Studio. Photo Courtesy: Shiva Saravanan S

Sifting through the hundreds of vinyls inside his warehouse, which is less of a warehouse and more of a musical treasury, there might be an Ilaiyaraaja album, then a Mohammed Rafi compilation, then a reggae record, and so on. And it’s not all vinyl – one might also stumble upon a crate of cassette tapes or a reel-to-reel machine.

Having produced records from the 60s to the 80s when many labels were at the peak of their popularity before the advent of cassette tapes, Radhakrishnan is well aware of the qualities that define each label. Picking up a Decca record from 1969, he says, “Decca records are remarkable for their depth of sound.” He also swears by 45 rpm EPs providing better sound quality than 331/3 rpm LPs. He added, “They sound even better in stereo, but you don’t find a lot of stereo recordings in India, where they are often trimmed down to mono.”

Before vinyl, 78rpm shellac records (or ‘HMV thattu’ as they were colloquially referred to) were the dominant audio format. These discs, which could hold little more than three minutes of audio, gradually died out with the advent of vinyl, which could carry more songs and offer better sound quality. “78rpms were produced in India until the early 70s, when vinyl started becoming popular. Many shellac recordings were then transferred to 45rpms by labels such as Angel Records, and the quality of these records remained intact,” he claimed.

Responding to changing consumer tastes, music labels began releasing select artists’ work on vinyl, as well as re-releasing the work of great artists from the 50s to the 80s on newly remastered vinyl. Is done. However, Radhakrishnan, who is a purist, is skeptical about the re-release. “Most vinyl reissues nowadays are cut from digital masters, unlike the originals, which were cut directly from master tapes. They don’t always capture the same sound,” he commented.