Da Saz, whose album is being released on May 16 by Phat Phish Records.

The independent music scene is coming of age in India, with more and more bands and musicians choosing the road non-Bollywood. Along with it, a number of alternative record labels are coming up to give these artistes a chance to prove their talent. These are small companies with a vision, a young management and are often founded by the artistes themselves.

Small labels primarily help with distribution, as most of the albums are self-produced. However, they do provide production assistance where required — like Phat Phish Records, which not only markets an album, but also makes music videos for the artistes it promotes.

“We wanted to take this kind of music and put it on a popular platform,” says 33-year-old Anand Surapura of Phat Phish Records, a five-year-old record label that has made it big with artistes like Rabbi and Avial on its roster. “Our only criterion is that the music should be original and non-Bollywood or Indi-pop. We also prefer music with an Indian element rather than English rock and the songs should be high on content and not soppy love songs,” he stresses.

Counter Culture Records formed a label to promote original music in English as well as regional languages. “Our label stemmed from our management company where we would organise shows for new independent rock bands and artistes. The germ of the label that was sown in 2004 finally came to fruition as Counter Culture Records in 2006,” said Girish ‘Bobby’ Talwar, director of the label and bassist for the Delhi-based band Zero. “Initially we would produce CDs and sell them at our shows. However, we realised the need for an efficient production and distribution network for these artistes to get their due and so we set up a formal structure and have even tied up with international labels to create a wider channel of distribution,” he added.

The label manages names like the Raghu Dixit Project, Them Clones, Zero, Pentagram and Skinny Alley.

Demonstealer Records, which was started almost as a protest by the guys from the metal band Demonic Resurrection, prides itself on being the only label in the country that promotes metal. Among original music, it is possibly the most niche. “There is nothing for metal bands in India. No studios to record in, fluctuating, unreliable gigs. Thus we decided to expand our label to cover all new and talented metal acts after our first release, which was an album by our own band,” explained Sahil Makhija, lead guitarist and vocalist for DR. Currently they have about six releases, including bands like Scribe, Bhayanak Maut and Demonic Resurrection.

The labels also collaborate to help each other survive. “It is great to have these labels as, at the end of the day, they are putting their necks on the line for you as our kind of music is almost impossible to sell. Almost anyone can produce an album nowadays. To get it heard and noticed is the hard part and that is where these guys come in,” said Jayshree Singh, vocalist for Skinny Alley and Pink Noise. “Skinny Alley’s first album, which was more in the rock-pop genre, was released by a big record label. However the second one was far more experimental and no one would touch it and it was then that Counter Culture came on board and helped distribute it across the country,” she added.

It’s small, but it’s a start.