Interview with : Ranjan, Throatlatch Records
Hi Ranjan and Parikshit – greetings from METALINDIA. I think Throatlatch Recs and Studios have completed more than a year of existence as the 1st and only metal label in India. We would like to ask you questions about the road you’ve trudged so far.
I initially heard of the concept a metal label tentatively titled Throatlatch in 2k. How long did it take for this idea to fully materialize?
Throatlatch Records was founded in January 2000, by four people with diverse interests and backgrounds but had two things in common – a passion for music and a desire to explore and expand new musical forms in India. The germ of the idea to form a record label came during a conversation between the founders, Rajesh Ranjan Singh, Jose Xavier, Parikshit Sharma, and Arjun Ghosh-Dastidar, while Ranjan and Jose were taking a break from jamming in preparation for a headlining show for their band, Cranium, in Calcutta. The next step was to create a network within the musician community, so that India’s best could get access to the best of what the world of recording had to offer. The final step was to start the process of spotting new talent and releasing them to the mainstream audience. The label was fully functional by mid 2001.
Who all is part of the TL family – has it increased or changed in any way since its inception?
The founders are Rajesh Ranjan Singh, Jose Xavier, Parikshit Sharma, and Arjun Ghosh-Dastidar. A lot of people have got involved in the movement since and the family has grown.
What are TL’s broad objectives as a label as well as a recording studio? And how far would you say that you have achieved them?
Throatlatch realized that the oft repeated refrain of there being no new original music in India from A&R agents in larger record labels was in danger of becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. The crux of the problem lay in the fact that while Indian bands had genuine talent, lack of support of any kind meant that they were forced into cloning mainstream western music to find acceptance from the music buying audience who in the end never got the chance to listen to and love the new forms of musical expression these bands had created.
In order to break this vicious circle, Throatlatch Records came into being with one purpose – to make the new musical forms that were taking shape in all corners of India available to a larger audience.
The first step to this was to set up infrastructure to enable Indian musicians to have access to the same recording and mastering technologies that big name artists in the western world had – enter Throatlatch Studios, India’s first acoustic recording studio that was built to exacting fidelity standards.
The events after that has gone down in the Indian rock history with the release of Deep Throat – a compilation of 11 rock/metal bands of India.
What are the bands currently on the TL roster and which future releases can we expect in the Indian market?
Throatlatch Records has signed up over a dozen bands and is now releasing the album titled HEADLINES by METAKIX. A lot of exciting new music is due to be out, some of which are from PIN DROP VIOLENCE, KRYPTOS, CRYPTIC, CRANIUM and a host of others.
How has the experience of setting up a label in India with such an oppressive conditions towards heavy music? What are the main obstacles that you guys have stumbled upon?
The main obstacle that we faced in the initial stages was to set up the distribution network. The disadvantage of being a start up is that we cannot avail to all the concessions/discounts that an established label gets, as we cannot become a member in the organizations like IMI so soon.
Your maiden release Deepthroat compilation CD had some sort of controversy with the bands claiming that they had to buy their own CDs too? What was all that about?
It doesn’t take much to create a controversy, does it? With the compilation we had a scheme for the bands for buying the CDs in bulk at the wholesale price for self-promotion. That was a yardstick for us to measure the depth of the bands’ fan following. The ones that managed to sell the least were the ones making all the noise. That showed the commitment they had and the numbers of “serious” fans they had. We did this to find out the really serious players in the scene and went ahead and signed them up and they are the bands that we will stick with and release the solo albums.
Have you managed some international exposure like reviews or radio station airplay? Also how do people outside India buy your releases – have you secured distro outside to achieve these goals man?
There have been a lot of reviews/ interviews done with foreign mags/ sites etc. As of now the people outside India are buying the CDs via the Internet sites like www.cdbaby.com. We are in discussion with some international labels regarding various deals.
How do you feel the response to Deepthroat has been in India?
Deep Throat. Has done/is doing well in the market. and has generated a lot of interest in the Indian rock fans. The album is all set to become a classic & collectors item as we are limiting the number of CDs/tapes replicated.
Is TL recs looking at distro of international acts as there always has been a dearth original international metal albums here? Any bands that we should expect in stores soon under TL?
We get enquiries/demos from a lot of underground acts from all over the world. We will let you know if we decide to release any of them.
Metakix is currently on your label and are releasing a CD soon, but the newspapers reports it as being released by Sony Music. What is all that about – I’m really confused?
Sony Music is the distributor for Throatlatch releases in India.
I must commend you on good packaging and design of the Deepthroat CD. Are the future releases going to be in the same vein?
Deep Throat is just the beginning of the movement. Expect the best to follow.
Are more compilations planned for the future cos I feel most Indian bands don’t have enough original material to put on an album; some might just about manage an EP. What do u think?
All the bands that we have signed up have more than one album’s worth material worked out. They are as good as anyone you can think of. Compilations are an option and some themes are thought of for it.
Any concerts or events that u guys have in mind for the future?
Event management is not our area of operation. The events that we conduct are mostly related to album releases etc.
Is TL studios rented out only to metal acts or do have other artistes performing/ recording as well?
There are a lot of people doing work here in our studio. The material that we work upon is as varied as the music that our country is making. Almost all of the quality metal recordings take place here. That’s a fact.
What does TL make of the metal scene now? Is it better or was it better a few years back?
If it were not better than before, then we wouldn’t be releasing Metakix now.
Any message or last words that you might have to give to the metalheads reading this?
WATCH OUT FOR THE THROATLATCH RELEASES. THEY’LL ROCK THE HELL OUT OF YOU.
Thanx a ton for this lovely interview man!! Take care and thnx man!
Interview By : Riju Ray (psychoray@hotmail.com)