Indians say viva to vinyl

Records create a personal, tangible connection to the music’ enthusiast.

Melting plastic pellets into chunky discs then squashing them flat, a worker presses records in what claims to be the first vinyl plant to open in India in decades.

Music with a nostalgic crackle fills the room – a Bollywood tune from a popular Hindi movie.

“I’m like a kid in a candy shop,” grins Saji Pillai, a music publishing veteran in India’s entertainment capital Mumbai, who began pressing in August.

The revival of retro records among Indian music fans mirrors a global trend that has seen vinyl sales explode from the United States to Britain and Brazil.

Pillai, 58, entered the music industry as "vinyl was just going out". He spent the last few years importing records from Europe for his music label clients.

But he took the decision to open his own plant – cutting import taxes and shipping times – to focus on Indian artists and market tastes from Bollywood to indie pop due to "growing interest".

Retailers including Walmart have embraced the retro format, and megastars including Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Harry Styles have sent pressing plants around the world into overdrive.