A small step for a group of Calcutta-based music lovers, a giant step for the country. Digital Theater System (DTS) is the crystal-clear sound we hear in new movie theatres. But audio albums in DTS format are few in the world.
A Calcutta-based company is releasing 10 albums on DTS at one go, with eight instrumentals and two on ghazals and Sufi music. But it?s the technological first that really matters.
?There are only 133 DTS albums in the world,? claims Subhashish Chatterjee, one of the founders of Basss Music, the company on the DTS job. It?s Calcutta?s turn to contribute to the list now.
?Almost everything, from recording to encoding for these albums, was done in Calcutta, except for the mastering, which was done in Singapore,? says Chatterjee. ?The project took us only three months to complete.?
DTS music discs ? cutting-edge technology in the West but in its nascent stages here ? use ordinary CD-ROMs as the media for recording, but offer superior audio quality. The only hitch ? you need a decoder to hear the music.
?We conducted a survey and found that even the most inexpensive players available in the market have DTS decoders in them,? offers Chatterjee. Compared to the US price of $20-40, the CDs will be priced around Rs 350 here.
?It is a huge stride for the Calcutta music industry,? feels singer Santanu Roychowdhury, whose Sufiana Mijaz is one of the 10 albums.
The project was a challenge for Chatterjee, an IT professional, after music labels in Boston told him that India produces good music but the technology is dated. The result was Basss Music, formed with the help of like-minded music lovers and professionals. Investment of nearly Rs 18 lakh was through loans.
Chatterjee and his team aim to bring lesser-known artistes to the forefront, targeting the Asian community around the world, and is looking at this year?s Banga Sammelan in New York and Banga Mela in Chicago to promote the albums.