Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan - Carnatic Violin [HTC 8112] a cassette released in India in 1990

Here is one of seven cassettes I have of South Indian violinist Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan (born in 1935) -- which were released in the 1980s and early 1990s. A few of the cassettes appear to be reshuffling and reissuing of previously released content. Maybe all of them are. HMV/EMI has had and continues to have the practice of endlessly reissuing material in different configurations. At times it almost seems to be an overwhelming task keeping track of it all.

That doesn't affect the enjoyment of this cassette, of course. We have a lot of fast tempos and energetic performing on this cassette release. There are moments that recall Appalachian fiddling, of all things. See this short video to see what I mean. There is also a quite interesting percussion solo section starting side B. All of the credits and list of pieces, ragas, composers, etc are on the images below.

I see the price sticker on the label spine and wonder if anybody actually paid 37 rupees in India in 1990 for this cassette. At the average exchange rate for the dollar in 1990 and factoring in (US) inflation, that would be the equivalent of around $2.50 in 2018 (probably about what I paid for it a few years ago when I ordered it from Shrimati's).

Equipment used in this transfer:
Cassette Deck: Teac W890R (azimuth was carefully adjusted for each side)
Preamp: Parasound PHP 850
Recorder: Roland R-05 at 24/96

Software: Audacity and xAct

24bit, 96kHz FLAC file (901MB)

16bit, 44.1kHz FLAC file (269 MB)

320 kbps mp3 file (93 MB)

Repost and remaster -- Ram Narayan: Plays Sarangi [Tower ST-5156] an LP recorded in India and released in the US in 1968

My second-ever post on this blog has been unavailable for quite awhile, thanks to the files hosting service I used at the time. 

Here is an updated, remastered, and improved version of this LP. Thanks for your patience!

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Ram Narayan was born near Udaipur on the 25th of December 1927. He popularized the sarangi as a solo concert instrument and became the first internationally successful sarangi player.

He moved to Delhi following the partition of India in 1947 and then moved to Mumbai in 1949 to work in Indian cinema. He became a concert solo artist in 1956, and later gave up accompaniment. He was awarded India's second highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2005.

This is a delightful out of print LP on loan from my friend N.O.

Tabla by Manik Rao Popatkar.

Equipment used in transfer: 
Turntable: Audio-technica AT-LP-1240
Cartridge: Shure M97x
Pre-amplification: Vintage refurbished Pioneer SX-780.

Recorder: Edirol R-09HR at 24/96 resolution

Software: Audacity to normalize and convert to 16/44.1 as well as xAct to convert to flac and mp3

24bit, 96kHz FLAC file

16bit, 44.1kHz FLAC file

320 kbps mp3 file

Asad Ali Khan: Maestro's Choice [Music Today A91012] a cassette released in India in 1991

While on the subject of veenas, we move toward the North and the Dhrupad tradition. 

The Rudra Veena is an enormous veena with two very large resonating bowls. There is a fretted board between them and the performer sits between both resonators. By moving his body he can bend the note slightly.

Asad Ali Khan has several delightful recordings including one on Nimbus Records. There are 5 or 6 videos of full concerts posted to YouTube by one of his former students currently living in Calcutta, Carsten Wicke. When the Ustad died in 2011 it was an especially sad moment because he seemed to be genuinely interested in teaching.

Equipment used in this transfer:
Cassette Deck: Teac W890R (azimuth was carefully adjusted for each side)
Preamp: Parasound PHP 850
Recorder: Roland R-05 at 24/48

Software: Audacity and xAct

24 bit, 48kHz FLAC (702 MB)

16bit, 44.1kHz FLAC (350 MB)

320 kbps mp3 (138 MB)

Nageswara Rao: Reflets de l'Inde [Barclay 920 320] an LP recorded and released in France in 1972

While we are on the subject of South Indian veena performers releasing LPs on French labels, here is another enjoyable example.

Of particular note is that in this recording, Nageswara Rao is performing completely solo -- no percussion, no veena "support," and no drone. I remember there was a very interesting example of an old 78rpm disk on the Excavated Shellac blog a few years ago which had the same configuration and at that time I found it rather remarkable.

Also of great interest is a Carnatic piece played in a tala other than Adi (see below). My personal estimate is about 95% of South Indian classical music is in Adi tala.

Side one:

Kriti (song): "Ramabhakti" (by Tyagaraja) 

Raga: Sudhabangala

Tala: Adi

Kriti (song): "Raghuvamsa" (by Patnam - Subramanyan - Iyer)

Raga: Kadanakutuhalam

Tala: Adi

Kriti: "Parakunikelara" (by Tyagaraja)

Raga: Kiranavali

Tala: Adi

Side two:

Kriti (song): "Niducharanamule" (by Tyagaraja)

Raga: Simhendramadyamam

Tala: Misra Chapu

24bit, 96kHz FLAC file (580 MB)

16bit, 44.1kHz FLAC file (158 MB)

320 kbps mp3 file (83 MB)

Emani Sankara Shastry: INDE DU SUD - Concert de Vina [Ocora 558503] an LP recorded in France in 1975 and released there in 1980 (reissued 1984)

Here we have a recording by the great Carnatic veena performer, ES Shastry, recorded for the legendary Ocora label in France in 1975.

Ocora is one of those labels where almost every LP or CD released is a gem. They sometimes have a tendency to combine releases when reissued, but trying to fill up the minutes of a CD is a sin I can readily forgive when the production values are as high as Ocora's.

This LP was exceptionally difficult to scan, because of the cover's high-gloss deep black surfaces. I finally gave up and took a photo with my iPhone and then tarted it up a bit in Photoshop (mostly evening out the blacks near the edges). Don't bother doing a Google Images search for this LP -- there are some painful attempts out there.

My copy looks like it has never been played. There was almost no surface noise, something I have come to expect from French vinyl pressings.

Side one:

Raga Shree in Adi taal (22:48)

Side two:

Raga Vachaspati in Adi taal (21:25)

Emani Sankara Shastry: Veena (they choose to spell it 'vina')

Madras A Kannan: mridangam

unidentified: tanpura

Equipment used in transfer: 

Preparation: Ultrasonic cleaning for 20 minutes in pure clean water

Turntable:  Audio-technica AT-LP-1240

Cartridge: Audio-technica AT440MLb
Pre-amplification: Vintage refurbished Pioneer SX-780.

Recorder: Sony PCM-M10 at 24bit/96kHz resolution
Software: Audacity, ClickRepair, and xAct. 

24 bit, 96kHz FLAC file (862 MB)

(the highest resolution I am capable of recording)

16bit, 44.1kHz FLAC file (203 MB

(after converting to wav, will provide "CD quality" audio resolution)

320 kbps mp3 file (103 MB)

(the highest resolution file that the mp3 format supports)

(REPOST) M Balamurali Krishna [ECLP 2324] Classical Songs of MBK - an LP recorded and released in India in 1966 (remastered version)

This particular transfer fell off the zippyshare file service (due to a 30-day period of time where no-one downloaded it) and there were several anonymous people requesting a re-upload.

I remastered the original digital transfer, using very gentle setting on "Click Repair." The result should be worth re-downloading and eliminating your old files.

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M Balamuralikrishna was born in 1930 and by the age of 8 was singing publicly. He is one of the great Carnatic vocalists of the 20th century and we are lucky to have so many recordings by him. He was not just interested in performing classical and devotional works -- he sang in Indian films regularly between 1957 and 1997. He is still alive and occasionally performs.

This LP is a delightful sample of his work released in 1966. The songs (all in Adi Taal) are as follows:

side 1:
1) Saraguna (raga = Thodi)
2) Mahadeva Sutham (raga = Arabi)
3) Manu Kanna Thalli (raga = Sindu Kannada)
4) Sadhathava Pada (raga = Shanmugapriya)

side 2:
1) Nanupalimpa (raga = Mohanam)
2) Pibare Ramarasam (raga = Ahir Bairavi)
3) Thillana (raga = Brindavani)

Violin: MS Gopalakrishnan
Mridangam: TV Gopalakrishna

One charming thing about this copy is the odd inscription in ink on the back: "Borchers from Subu."

Equipment used in transfer: 

Preparation: Ultrasonic cleaning for 20 minutes in water, followed by a  quick vacuum drying with a VPI 16.5 cleaning machine

Turntable:  Audio-technica AT-LP-1240

Cartridge: Shure M97x
Pre-amplification: Vintage refurbished Pioneer SX-780.

Recorder: Edirol R-09HR at 24bit/44.1kHz resolution

Software: Audacity to normalize and carefully remove multiple clicks per side. Conversion to 16/44.1 took place in Audacity. xAct was used to convert to FLAC and mp3. 

24 bit, 44.1kHz FLAC file (392 MB)

(high resolution file)

16 bit, 44.1kHz FLAC file (214 MB)

(after decoding into wav, can be burned to a CD)

320 kbps mp3 file (105 MB)

(highest quality compressed audio file)

Hafiz Ali Khan: Raga Chandrabhankar [EALP 1398] an LP recorded in 1948 and released in 1973 in India

Here we have a rare recording of Hafiz Ali Khan, who has been described as, "the mountain of the sarod." He was born in 1888 and died in 1972, so he was present and performing for a very large chunk of the 20th century. His son Amjad Ali Khan is somewhat well known for his sarod playing as well. 

This recording is a little rough. By international standards, India's recording industry technology was at least a decade behind the rest of the world throughout the time period 1950-2000. My understanding is that this situation was the result of import rules. Also, All India Radio, from which this recording originates, was known for somewhat dubious recording practices including (at times heavily) editing performances to meet strict air time slots. 

However, this is a very historically important document and anyone who wishes to study the performances of the current generation of musicians as well the immediately previous generation, is going to have to approach the recordings of musicians such as Allauddin "Baba" Khan, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, and others of their generation. The sound quality is barely adequate, but the musical information is present, loud and clear.

Equipment used in transfer: 

Preparation: Ultrasonic cleaning for 20 minutes in pure clean water

Turntable:  Audio-technica AT-LP-1240

Cartridge: Audio-technica AT440 mlb
Pre-amplification: Vintage refurbished Pioneer SX-780.

Recorder: Sony PCM-M10 at 24bit/96kHz resolution
Software: Audacity, ClickRepair, and xAct. 

24 bit, 96kHz Mono FLAC file (279 MB)

(the highest resolution I am capable of recording)

16 bit, 44.1kHz Mono FLAC file (73 MB)

(after decoding into wav, can be burned to a CD)

320 kbps two channel Mono mp3 file (69 MB)

(highest quality compressed audio file)

Zakir Hussain and Rahul Sharma, live performance in Madison, Wisconsin, USA on 2017-04-27

This concert was billed with Zakir Hussain first. I think he is the only tabla performer who can get top billing in a concert tour of the United States. Whether or not this fame in the United States (specifically) is based on classical performances or from those collaborations he has done with the likes of the Grateful Dead, Planet Drum, Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, and so forth, I will leave to your judgement. Either way, we are lucky to have Zakir ji living in the San Francisco Bay area and being able to tour several times a year in the US.

A few days before this concert, Zakir ji and Rahul ji performed at an East Coast music conference. A friend of mine, a professional tabla performer who also was performing at that conference, was profoundly moved by Zakir ji's performance. He asked me to transfer his personal audience recording of that concert (not this one) to a CD so that he could study it at length and in detail. High praise indeed from that discerning and professional listener.

Rahul Sharma is the son of legendary santoor maestro Shiv Kumar Sharma. I would say that my impression so far of his playing is that he plays beautifully. I am sure that as he progresses he will continue the legacy of his father. 

The first set is really the one of interest here -- a quite long performance of Raga Janasommohini with gats in matta taal and teentaal.  I believe that Janasommohini was originally a carnatic raga, but it seems to have been performed by quite a few Hindustani performers including Amir Khan, Ravi Shankar and santoor maestro Tarun Bhattacharya among others.

The second set? I think many in the audience enjoyed it. A close non-musician associate of mine, upon hearing this recording, remarked that it sounded like something one would hear in an elevator on the way to the dentist's office. Nothing was announced from the stage except that Rahul said they would be performing an "experiment" -- I think these are mostly likely light semi-classical pieces and folk songs. It is not objectionable and the 25 minutes pass by quickly.

The sound quality is truly excellent, in my opinion only barely distinguishable from an official release of live material. If you have been holding off in downloading any of the live material I have been posting, take a chance on this and see what you hear. Thanks!

Set 1:

Raga Janasommohini 

alap/jor/jhalla 

compositions in matta taal (70:08)

Set 2:

Pieces not announced but seem to be lighter pieces (25:36)

This recording was obtained on "Dimeadozen," a torrent site devoted to live music recordings.  It was shared there in 16bit 44.1kHz format. I have shared the unchanged FLAC files and also produced an mp3 version using xAct. The original information attached to the recording is as follows:

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ZAKIR HUSSAIN and RAHUL SHARMA

2017-04-27

Overture Center 

Madison, WI

Tracklist:

01 Set one: Raga Janasammohini

alap, jor, jhala (santoor alone)

gat in matta taal (tabla starts here)

gat in ada taal

gat in teental

02 Set two: Various “light classical” pieces

Santoor: Rahul Sharma

Tabla: Zakir Hussain

microphone: Church CA-11 cardioid

preamp: Church 9100

recorder: Sony PCM-M10 at 24/96

software: Audacity for trimming introductions, gentle compression, minimal EQ, and conversion to 16/44. xAct for creating FLAC, fingerprint and checksum files.

Recorded, edited, and mastered by Relefunt and originally seeded to Dimeadozen in November 2017

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Enjoy!

16 bit, 44.1kHz FLAC file

(after decoding to wav, will be "CD standard" audio)

320 kbps mp3 file

(highest quality available for this compressed audio format)

S Balachander: Magic Music of India [World Pacific WP 1426] an LP recorded and released in the US in 1963

Here is a charming album which is one of several Indian LPs that the label World Pacific released in the very early 1960s to the mid-1970s. Richard Bock did a terrific job in finding excellent musicians to record and presenting them with taste. For the US recording industry, it would take Nonesuch Records in the early 1970s to match his brilliant output.

This LP features veena phenomenon Sundaram Balachander as well as guest N Ramani (a disciple of TR "Mali" Mahalingam) on flute.

This particular copy is in what I call "glorious mono" -- no soloist in one ear and percussion in the other. There is a balance and quiet honesty to the sound that makes perfect sense to me, unlike so many early stereo recordings. There is a good reason that so many mono LPs from the 1960s are highly sought-after by collectors (two examples: the Atlantic Records LPs by John Coltrane released in the years 1960-63 should only be listened to in the mono mix; the Beatles' albums up until the "White Album" were mixed by the band and George Martin in mono and left to a recording engineer to make the stereo mix, with predictable results).

Back in July of last year I posted a cassette by Balachander which is just as "magical" as this LP.

Side 1: 

Raga Simhendramadhyam in adi taal

Side 2: 

Raga Hindol in adi taal

Rhythm Duet in adi taal

S Balachander: veena 

N Ramani: venu (flute)

VG Ramabhadran: mridangam and ghatam

UK Sivaraman: mridangam

Natesan: Tampura

Equipment used in transfer: 

Preparation: Ultrasonic cleaning for 20 minutes in pure clean water

Turntable:  Audio-technica AT-LP-1240

Cartridge: Audio-technica AT440 mlb
Pre-amplification: Vintage refurbished Pioneer SX-780.

Recorder: Sony PCM-M10 at 24bit/96kHz resolution
Software: Audacity, ClickRepair, and xAct. 

24 bit, 96kHz Mono FLAC file (430 MB)

(the highest resolution I am capable of recording)

16bit, 44.1kHz Mono FLAC file (121 MB)

(after decoding into wav, can be burned to a CD)

320kbps Mono mp3 file (104 MB)

(highest quality compressed audio file)