Record stores, once considered a thing of the past, have seen a huge revival with the pandemic reigniting people’s interest in tangible objects, analogue aesthetics and one-of-a-kind experiences. As the city’s record store culture has thrived, many stores and art venues have started hosting vinyl listening sessions. “It started off with record stores hosting them around three years ago but in the last year or so, other venues like restaurants and bars have also joined in,” says Sujit G Ponoth, the founder of JD’s jukebox, a record store within the premises of Bangalore Creative Circus, Yeshwanthpur. Sangeeth Ram, the owner of Ram’s Musique, an old-time record store on MG Road, agrees. “A few months ago, it used to be a monthly or a fortnightly type of event, but now, I see one happening almost every week,” he says. Recalling particularly unique ones they’ve hosted, Ram adds, “We did one where we compared Ilaiyaraaja’s music to Bach’s. We’ve also tried to include digital music in the experience to show the difference between digital and analogue sounds... it’s an experiment every single time and we usually sell out within three to four days of announcing a show.”
A typical vinyl listening session could be curated around an artiste, an album, or a genre of music with a host guiding participants through the tracks. The idea is to listen carefully and deeply engage with the music on an experiential and intellectual level. “We play the tracks, and we unpack the music, interpret the lyrics, the album art, the themes and narratives put forth by the artiste in between the tracks. We want to promote music listening in a conscious and intentional way,” explains Akhil Hemdev, the founder of On The Jungle Floor, a popular online music store which hosts listening sessions in Indiranagar and on Kasturba Road. He adds, “Sitting together and meditatively listening to a piece of music is a cathartic process and I feel like a lot of people come back for how connected it’s made them feel to their favourite artistes.”
Part of the crowd seems to be people who are simply curious about vinyl music, seeking to try it out before taking the leap to an expensive turntable or record purchase. As Ram says, “Many don’t know much about what vinyl sounds like. They try to attend these kinds of shows to learn how everything works, and then, begin to get into it.” The rest are vinyl music enthusiasts who, apart from the learning experience, come to experience a sense of community, one of the only offline places for them to do so. “The very essence of listening sessions is like-minded people coming together. A few of them may have actually witnessed the artistes live and through the sessions, they share those experiences. The human connection is the most important aspect of this – I’ve found people who are shy and introverted coming in and sharing their personal moments or experiences with the artiste,” says Ponoth.
Apart from intimate vinyl listening sessions, a small community of record collectors-cum-DJs have been performing DJ sets using vinyl records instead of the typical digital files. “Most DJs play mp3 files and the quality on a lot of digital platforms is not great. But records are a great source for music because of the sound quality. If you’re listening to rock music on records, you feel the crash of the drums and hear the smallest details (the transition a guitarist makes from one chord to another), loud and clear. In Bengaluru, there’s a whole culture of sound and audiophiles who prefer going to parties playing records,” says DJ Sandeep Raman, who frequently performs in the city.