Imagine if you could find cool Hindi cover versions of songs by Michael Jackson or ABBA; embrace the sounds of soulful Baul music; or listen to some Hindi jazz? If you’re intrigued by similar renditions, you might want to visit professional DJ Nishant Mittal’s Instagram account titled ‘Digging In India’.
The 26-year-old vinyl hobbyist—for the past five years, Mittal has been curating works by musical artistes who are obscure and often unheard of—has a collection that has evolved into a repository of around 2,000 vinyl records and 600 cassettes.
“I was initially fascinated by the physical form of these formats and how great a record looks when it is spinning. I also like that it is a great way to discover and appreciate different sounds that might not be available in the digital world and exist only in physical form on these records,” he shares.
An ardent lover of electronic and disco music, Mittal’s musical treasure trove mostly features vintage Indian pop of the 1960s to 90s that goes beyond mainstream Bollywood music. ‘Digging’ is his way of sharing such obscure music with the world. “I noticed that there were many blogs online that were focused on sharing obscure and vintage records, and I had accumulated a good number of records by then, so I just very casually started this blog of my own,” the South Delhi resident shares.
An excavation of riches
Nothing short of a blast from the past, ‘Digging’—it now has over 9,000 followers—archives a number of Mittal’s favourites. These include the experimental Sa-Re-Ga Machan by Anada Shankar, Nermin Niazi’s synth-pop album Disco Se Aagey from 1985, as well as the Beti released in 1982 by Cuckoo Singh. “Shankar Jaikishan and Rais Khan’s ‘Raga Jazz Style’ from 1968 is a great one as well—it is a masterpiece album where ragas are played in a jazz style,” he says.
Analysing the nuances and intricacies of the composition as well as the “technological changes in Indian music” through ‘Digging’, Mittal attempts to familiarise the current generation with a host of unrecognised musical legends who have experimented with both Hindustani classics as well as avant-garde music genres.
Always on the lookout for new material, Mittal is currently in search of a record of Marathi covers of songs by Boney M by singer-songwriter Nandu Bhende. His aim to acquaint people with lesser-known Indian musicians does not cease with ‘Digging’. “I also like to showcase and play Indian disco and pop records as a DJ,” he adds.
Those interested in learning more about the “vintage Indian musical ephemera”, can do so through his posts that include videos of the record being played, along with a brief write-up about its history. The artist, thus, presents a thorough history lesson of Indian music, one vinyl at a time.