In this era of online streaming and music downloads, a full-length physical album is gradually becoming a thing of the past
(From left) Indian Ocean members Nikhil Rao, Tuheen Chakravorty, Rahul Ram, Himanshu Joshi and Amit Kilam (sitting)
A few days ago, we had previewed an Indian Ocean concert in these pages. In the conversation we had consequently had with Amit Kilam, the band's drummer, he had revealed a crucial plan they have. "We are going to release several singles over the next year, because we are questioning the relevance and importance of cutting an album all at one time. Even though you put a lot of effort into a full-length record, no one's really buying anything and people anyway end up listening to just one or two of the tracks. So, we want to lay more emphasis on every song as it goes by. And in today's day and age, it's easier to release more material over a longer time span than putting everything into one album," he had reasoned.
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Rohan Ganguli
It made for a talking point. Has the digital medium really sounded the death knell for albums? Are full-length records on their way to becoming musical dinosaurs? Or, despite the abundance of streaming services on offer, is it possible for physical records to co-exist alongside? These questions aren't exactly new. They have been cropping up ever since CDs were more or less tossed into the dustbins of digital history around three to four years ago. But then a mini-resurgence of vinyls took place, and the focus shifted back to the old-school joy of listening to an entire record. That spotlight, though, didn't last long, since the spike in vinyl figures wasn't anywhere close to what is needed to sustain market interest in the format. So, we are now back to the same question. What does the future hold for full-length albums?
Ambika Nayak
Single reason
Dhruv Jagasia, whose company manages Indian Ocean, tells us, "Let's look at the avenues through which music is now being consumed. Most discovery of music today happens on YouTube, at least according to the statistics I have at my disposal. But there is no chance of releasing an album through YouTube, right? The other platform where music is being consumed is streaming sites. Now, any song that is longer than six and a half minutes is categorised as an album on iTunes. And every Indian Ocean song is usually seven minutes long. So, when you are going to classify my tracks as an album anyway, what will I do releasing a record?"
Dhruv Jagasia
Jagasia continues, "In such a case, if I am putting in all my financial resources - which, by the way, we still have to conjure up on our own - it makes sense for me to invest that money over a period of time, and record songs one by one. And then the dissemination of the songs can also be over a length of time. So, I will release one song, allow it to sink in, let people talk about it, maybe attach a video, build a PR campaign around it, and three months later, repeat the same routine. It's just more bang for your buck."
The logic he is offering, then, makes for sound financial sense. It also helps save on another precious commodity apart from money - time. But here's the thing. As a musical product, a single is equivalent to fast food, while an album is a slow-cooked meal that can be consumed at leisure. It also gives a complete picture of what is going through an artiste's creative mind, instead of offering just a brief glimpse into his thoughts.
Rohan Ganguli, 37, is a guitarist. He was a member of The Supersonics, a disbanded rock 'n' roll outfit that came out with two massively acclaimed albums. He now has his own jazz outfit, called The Rohan Ganguli Quartet, which finished recording its debut album only three days ago. He tells us, "I am quite traditional, and I come from the headspace where if you want to enjoy what a band is doing, you can't just listen to a little bit and then hope for the best for later on. You have to see the whole picture, which is normally revealed only when you hear the whole album. You then get a clear idea of what the band is thinking. With just one song, you are only getting an idea of a bigger picture. And why should the listener be limited to that?"
Ganguli adds, however, "Ever since smart phones entered the picture, it's been a completely downhill ride for albums. Firstly, time is a lot more precious and concentration spans have become shorter. And since you are totally attached to your phone, which is a complete device, you also end up listening to music on it most of the time. But no one has the inclination to listen to 40 minutes or one hour of an album on a phone. You would rather check Facebook or do whatever else that people do. So, the effort you put into an album is not going to be appreciated, or acknowledged even, since no one has that kind of time anymore."
Modern talking
So, what we have here is even someone who considers himself to be a "traditional" musician accepting that it might be time at some point to sing a dirge for full-length albums. A large part of that possibility, however, depends on how the future generation of musicians approach their craft. Ambika Nayak, a 20-year-old singer who fronts a band called Kimochi Youkai, says, "I have been advised to release singles first and then put them together as an EP, and that's what we are planning to do. Actually, a lot of musicians my age are thinking the same way, because a song definitely gains more traction if you are putting it out as a single."
So, what hope does that ultimately leave for full-length albums? Jagasia sums it up. "Just think about that question for a second. Do you want us to start living in caves all over again? Technology today has reached such a point that if you keep hankering after vinyls only, then don't fly in planes anymore. Don't put your AC on. Just sit at home. See, when you use the word "hope", you are talking about something bad or wrong that you are hoping against. But there is nothing wrong in the way modern consumption patterns are. So what's the point of crying or fighting over it? It's just a sign of the times."
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