Just when the gramophone record seemed to have lost its battle against time and innovations like the audiocassette and compact discs it has made a welcome comeback. There is a romance in the gramophone, something you still cannot associate with the new gadgets.
Satyam Audios has marked the return of the gramophone record in Malayalam with a Long Play (LP) record titled ‘Timeless Melodies Yesudas' that incorporates eight recent film songs by the singer.
History
The first ever `native' recording in India, done professionally by the engineers of the Gramophone Company, England, one of the two major companies in this field during the acoustic era, was in 1902. Two little ‘dancing girls', Soshi Mukhi and Fani Bala, who were associated with the Classic Theatre, were the first Indians to have their voices recorded. Gauhar Jan, an artiste of repute, called the Gramophone Girl and in some of the later records described as the Dancing Girl of Calcutta is considered the first singer to be recorded.
According to available records the first Malayali voice to be recorded on a gramophone record was that of T. C. Narayaniamma (1912). A few other Malayali singers like Gul Mohammed, Sara Gul Mohammed, Parukutty, Miss Rose, Sebastian Kunju Kunju Bhagavathar and others also had their songs recorded on 78 rpm records.
The first 78 rpm records of film songs were from the Hindi film ‘Madhuri' (1932). The songs were by the famous Hindustani singer Vinayakrao Patwardhan. The first gramophone record of a Malayalam film was that of ‘Jnanambika' (1940). In the early days of Malayalam cinema all the songs from a film did not find place on the records.
Maintenance and preservation of the 78 rpm records was very difficult. They made way for vinyl records. With a diameter of 12 inches these vinyl records enabled recording duration of 45-60 minutes. These Long Play (LP) records came to stay. In The first LP record released in India was a recording of Pandit Ravi Shankar (1958) and the first film songs on LP were of the Hindi films ‘Nagin' and ‘Anarkali'. The first LP of Malayalam film songs was The Best Songs of K J Yesudas' (1968).
Production of records came to a standstill in India sometime in the late 80s with the 78 rpm ones becoming extinct even long before this. LP records were produced only on special occasions. The last LP record of Malayalam film songs was released in 1987. It was a compilation from ‘Chithram', ‘Dinarathrangal', ‘Manu Uncle', and ‘Oru Muthassi Katha.'
There were occasional release of LP records that of the Hindi film ‘Sajan' in 1991, ‘Dil To Pagal Hai' (1998), and ‘Veer Zaara' (2004). But a revival came about only late last year with a LP record of ‘Jhoota Hi Sahi' that had music by A. R. Rahman. This was followed by other films like ‘Taare Zameen Par', ‘Tees Maar Khan', ‘3 Idiots', ‘Patiala House' etc. Rahman's album ‘Vande Maataram' also found place in the LP format and classics like ‘Mughal E Azam', ‘Paakeezah', ‘Silsila', ‘Kabhie Kabhie' have also been brought out in this format.
“Piracy has reduced the audio industry to shambles. The release of gramophone records may help stall this to some extent. Music released exclusively on records will prevent piracy. Perhaps this going back will help the industry move ahead,” feels Premachandran, of Satyam Audios.
There is something poetic and magical about listening to music on the gramophone. It is natural, nostalgic and so much more musical.
