It’s taken 15 years for Putumayo to put out an India-themed CD—releasing this September —but Kraus promises that it will cover all aspects of music in the country. He doesn’t promise, however, that one disgruntled critic wagging a finger about why a particular artist hasn’t been included. “People trust our selections. There aren’t too many tracks you can skip on a Putumayo album,” he says.

“Artists like to be on our albums because it drives their sales. We don’t concern ourselves with the tastes of a teenager,” he says, explaining the label’s philosophy. “With the artist, it’s like a date. We deal with the finished product, it’s not like marriage,” he adds. The label also conducts extensive listening sessions with people from different ethnicities. “Just last week, we did one with about 50 people. Every track is selected with the retailer in mind. It’s upbeat, melodic music and needs to sell at the end of the day,” says Kraus.

The music label was established in 1993 to introduce people to the music of the world’s cultures, and grew out of the Putumayo clothing company founded by Storper in 1975. Much like disoriented commuters or shoppers at airport lounges, malls, boutiques and elevators, where the bland instrumentals make you want to stick a knife through the composer’s chest, Storper was taken aback when walked into his store to listen to some kind of a metal album. “He was like, ‘What is going on here?’,” says Kraus.