Questions, answered

Kirtan Fi is a free record label, service and home for recorded Gurbani Kirtan in all genres and Katha — a trading brand of Sikh Music Records Ltd (SMR). Every release here streams in studio-quality lossless: the recordings exactly as they were made, preserved and presented with care.

“Fi” is short for fidelity — as in Hi-Fi, “high fidelity.” Kirtan Fi means Kirtan Fidelity: an experience of Gurbani Kirtan at the pinnacle of audio quality.

Yes. Create a listener account with just your email and stream the whole catalog — no card, no subscription, no trial clock. You can support Kirtan Fi by sharing your favourite albums with friends and family.

Not yet. Kirtanfi.com works on any modern browser, phone included. A fully supported and professional native app for iOS and Android is planned for the future.

Innovation & future sightedness. Join us for the journey of what is possible.

Classical and contemporary Keertanis — including heritage catalogs digitised and released with the blessing of the Parivaars who hold them. Browse by Keertani in the catalog.

Please write in via the contact form — corrections to titles, attributions or Shabad details are genuinely welcome and acted on. Preserving this music accurately is the whole point.

Audio captured beyond CD quality (24-bit, at sample rates of 96kHz and above) and delivered losslessly — compressed in a way that restores every bit on playback. More detail captured, nothing deleted in delivery.

Nothing replaces being in Sangat physically — but Hi-Res is the closest a recording can bring you to it. If the world’s music industry uses this technology for its songs, why would we not use it for Guru Sahib Ji’s Shabads? Listen time and again and you’ll find new details every single time. This is also about preservation: capturing our Kirtan for future generations in the absolute pinnacle quality available.

Lossless describes the packaging (no data deleted); Hi-Res describes the capture (beyond CD’s 16-bit/44.1kHz). A CD is lossless but not Hi-Res; a 24-bit/96kHz file is both. All Hi-Res audio is lossless, but not all lossless audio is Hi-Res.

MP3 = compressed, original sound data lost. FLAC = original sound data intact. I.e. FLAC very good, MP3 not so good.

MP3 was brilliant for its time — it made music portable when storage and bandwidth were tiny. But it works by permanently deleting audio detail. Today’s connections easily carry lossless, so there’s no longer a reason to accept the loss.

No. Re-saving a lossy MP3 as FLAC can’t restore what compression already discarded — you can’t create data out of nothing.

From lossy streaming to lossless: most people do, especially in acoustic music like Gurbani Kirtan. From CD-quality to Hi-Res: it’s subtler and depends on your ears and equipment — blind tests show trained listeners can tell, but modestly. Try it with a wired connection and a quiet room.

You can listen, but Bluetooth re-compresses audio through a lossy codec, so you won’t get the full lossless benefit. Wired headphones deliver full Lossless; add a DAC to unlock the top Hi-Res tier.

A DAC (digital-to-analog converter) turns the digital file into an analog signal your headphones or speakers can play. Every device has one built in; a dedicated DAC handles Hi-Res rates properly. An amp adds the power demanding headphones need — many small DACs include one.

Less than you’d think. Wired earphones and a budget DAC get you started; you don’t need audiophile money to hear a clear step up from Bluetooth MP3 listening. Kirtan Fi is here to guide you on that journey.

No two Darbars are the same — room, speakers, position of the Keertani and Sangat all shape a live recording. Every album is mixed and mastered to bring out the best of what was captured, but a live Smagam will always breathe differently to a studio session. That’s part of its beauty.

Kirtan Fi records, masters and streams Sikh Music — Gurbani Kirtan, Akhand Kirtan, Gurmat Sangeet, Dhadi, Kavishri and Katha — in Hi-Res Lossless from start to finish. Sign in and press play; we stream the untouched file.

Each release page carries its Listen on links — Spotify, Apple Music and the other platforms that release is live on — or search “Kirtan Fi” anywhere. Kirtan Fi is the one place with the full studio-quality stream.

Streaming is free, and a (free) account is what keeps it that way: it protects the security and integrity of the service and lets us serve the large lossless files responsibly. It also gives you your Library — favourite tracks and saved albums, waiting when you return.

Enter your email and a one-time code arrives — type it in and you’re listening. There is no password to remember and none to leak. Your inbox is your key, so keep it secure.

Your email is used for sign-in codes and nothing else unless you ask. Full details on the privacy page.

Your personal shelf. Tap the heart on any track or Save on any album and it lands in your Library — saving an album keeps every one of its tracks together.

Not currently — Kirtan Fi is streaming-only, which is how full-quality listening stays free while honouring the rights behind each recording. Every release page lists where else it lives, and several of those platforms offer offline listening. Downloads here are one for the future.

That’s exactly what Kirtan Fi is here for. Use the contact form and choose Recording (record with SMR, in the studio or on location) or Distribution (your existing recordings onto the world’s platforms) — share a little about the work and a proper reply will come.

Yes — old cassettes, DATs and reels carefully preserved in digital form, and existing recordings cleaned, balanced and restored. Choose Digitisation or Remastering on the contact form.

Yes. Streaming royalties are shared with artists on the split agreed in their agreement and flow through on the regular royalty cycle. Streaming Kirtan on the major platforms directly supports the Keertanis.

Personal use is free, always. For YouTube or re-publication, request consent first and cite kirtanfi.com as the source with metadata and branding intact. Uncredited re-uploads get a copyright report — please be fair to the sevadars and artists who made it free. Only those who put in the meticulous work can truly appreciate the sheer amount of effort which goes into every single album. Please be respectful.

Public use — videos, broadcasts, events — needs a licence, and the conversation is usually a warm one. Write in with what you have in mind before you use anything.

No — not without explicit written permission from Sikh Music Records Ltd, and never behind a paywall or for profit. Where redistribution is approved, all Kirtan Fi metadata, artwork and branding must stay intact so Sangat can trace the source.