JAKARTA: For most teenagers today, listening to music on their mobile phones is a way of life – but 17-year-old Melania Jacqueline Hapsari wants a change.
The Indonesian, who has just purchased a turntable, told CNA about her excitement over getting her first vinyl record.
She said: “Most of the time, I think people buy it in the sense that they do own something physical, and I don’t really see them doing that with digital or streaming.
“I also want another way of listening to music … I couldn’t just keep using my AirPods anymore because it’s really damaging for my ears,” Melania added, referring to the Apple wireless earbuds.
She is among a new generation of vinyl listeners who have emerged in Indonesia, bucking the popularity and convenience of music streaming.
Growing sales in the Southeast Asian nation is in line with global trends, as more begin to appreciate the way vinyl adds richness and depth to music.
NEW VINYL PRODUCTION PLANT
Vinyl – which is made from polyvinyl chloride or PVC, the world’s most versatile plastic records – captures audio in an analogue form, resulting in a warmer and more authentic sound.
Rising demand even led to the setting up of the country’s first vinyl-pressing plant in nearly 50 years.
The facility, PHR Pressing, is located in Cengkareng district in West Jakarta. It began production in August last year and also caters to demand from labels in the region.
Vinyl records are produced by first processing pellets of high-grade raw PVC sourced from Italy at about 120 degrees Celsius.
The melted pellets are then made into a “cake” or a putty-like substance, before being placed between metal stampers and pressed to create the sound-generating grooves on vinyl records.
The semi-automated machine used in this process costs about US$400,000, and has the capacity to manufacture 30,000 vinyl records a month.
But after a year in operation, PHR Pressing is only producing between 1,000 and 2,000 records every month – underscoring the challenges of sustaining such a business in the long run.
“Our challenge is to convince local vendors, local buyers or local bands, local labels that what we have here in the facility is as good as what the plants overseas also offer,” said its co-founder Taufiq Rahman.
For example, he noted that certain vinyl records that the facility pressed were mastered in Europe.
Mastering is the process of creating a separate master record that can be transferred to vinyl and provide the perfect playback with high-quality sound.
“This is our effort to sort of bring world-class quality to Indonesia,” said Taufiq.
Despite these challenges, PHR Pressing intends to press on and remains optimistic about demand, especially in the region. There is only one other vinyl-pressing plant in Southeast Asia, located in Thailand.
More local musicians are also hopping on the bandwagon. Electronic group White Chorus recently re-released their first album on vinyl, producing 200 copies with PHR Pressing.
One of its two members, Emir Agung Mahendra, said there is a risk of shipments being held up by customs if it looks abroad to produce its vinyl records.
“If we make it in Indonesia, it will be better and more certain,” he added.
“I’m sure local musicians would love to have a vinyl release. Vinyl is monumental for musicians.”