Nishant Mittal, aka Digging In India, is a music archivist, selector, DJ and record store owner from New Delhi, who also holds a residency on NTS Radio.
He’s one of the artists set to appear at Dialled In on 30 May – a celebration of South Asian music and culture taking place across multiple venues in East London, including Café OTO, The Divine, Rio Cinema and more. Artists set to appear include Ahadadream, Anish Kumar, Nadine Noor, Raf Reza, Tash LC, Lifafa, Sarathy Korwar, Gayathri Krishnan, Mya Mehmi and others.
For this week’s #MyRecordBag, Digging In India presents his top 10 compilation records.
“I love compilation records, especially the ones that are carefully curated,” he tells 909originals. “They almost have a mixtape vibe to them – it’s someone’s knowledge, expertise and selections combined into an album. Here’s 10 compilation records that are very special to me.”
Onda De Amor (Synthesized Brazilian Hits That Never Were 1984-94)
“Released on Soundway Records, a label that I respect and love very dearly, and compiled by Millos Kaiser. Eclectic sounds from Brazil, spanning synth-pop, samba, boogie and beyond.”
அக்னி நட்சத்திரம் “Fire Star” – Synth-Pop & Electro-Funk From Tamil Films 1984-1989
“The wonderful world of Ilaiyaraaja’s south-Indian movie soundtracks. A 10/10 compilation. Compiled by Julien Dechery, who is probably the world’s biggest Ilaiyaraaja devotee.”
Khruangbin – LateNightTales
“I love Khruangbin, and have always loved their playlists and mixes for NTS, so naturally when they released their version of the LateNightTales series I was very excited for that, and obviously it didn’t disappoint. A nice groovy journey around the world through the language of pop music.”
Pakistan (Folk And Pop Instrumentals 1966-1976)
“Garage, psych and beat-rock from Pakistan 66-76. Eye-and-ear opening stuff, loads of ‘folk meets psych’ vibe on this one. A very regular rotation at my house. Compiled by Stuart Ellis and released on Sublime Frequencies.”
Sharayet El Disco (Egyptian Disco & Boogie Cassettes 1982-1992)
“You probably sense a theme to my selections now! Anything funky, unusual, well curated and compiled is my jam! Interesting release from Wewantsounds, compiled by Disco Arabesquo, who is a great archivist of Arabic music.”
Awaaz Series 1: Original Soundtrack Recordings From The Archives Of CBS Gramophone & Tapes India 1982-1986
“Amazing compilation of tracks from CBS India soundtracks from the early 80’s. Songs taken from low budget, art-house and non-mainstream movies. Released by the great folks at Naya Beat Records. I was honoured to write the liner notes for this album, it was a cool feeling to see my words and name on a record for the first time!”
Harafin So: Bollywood Inspired Film Music From Hausa Nigeria
“An interesting release by Sahel Sounds, music from Nigerian movies that were inspired by the onscreen action and the soundtracks of Bollywood movies. Loads of autotune on this record. Killer stuff!”
Music Of Satyajit Ray
“Beautiful 2 LP set featuring instrumental tunes from 18 of Satyajit Ray’s movies. So glad this was released on vinyl, as almost all of the music on this record was never released on wax prior to this.”
Psych Funk Sa-Re-Ga! (Seminar: Aesthetic Expressions Of Psychedelic Funk Music In India 1970-1983)
“Smashing 2LP compilation re-issue of funked out tracks from the Bollywood industry and the psych-rock band scene from the 70s. I never get tired of this one!”
Habibi Funk – An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World, Part 2
“HABIBI FUNK FOR LIFE!”
Thanks to Digging In India for his selections. More information on Dialled In can be found here.