Tony Andrews is a renowned soundsystem designer and the owner and Founder of Funktion-One. The company has influenced global electronic music in countless ways with its groundbreaking technology, superb sound quality, and enormous bass, but undoubtedly clubbers and DJs will know Funktion-One best from its giant stacks in the world’s top clubs, including Space Ibiza,  Berghain, Output, and Trouw and of course for their purple speaker bins.

Electronics Mart India Limited (EMIL), through its premium AV and immersive solutions division Audio & Beyond, officially launched globally acclaimed British professional audio brand Funktion-One in India with an exclusive audio showcase in Mumbai. The launch took place at Sahara Star Hotel on 27th May 2026, with Founder & R&D Director Tony Andrews at the event.

The association marks the formal introduction of the brand into the Indian market while reinforcing EMIL’s growing presence in the professional audio industry and immersive AV segment. 

EMIL and Audio & Beyond have been associated with Funktion-One since July 2025 through a distribution partnership with Funktion-One’s GCC distributor, Em-Tec. Through this collaboration, Audio & Beyond manages the brand’s local presence, system delivery, deployment, and technical support across India. The partnership has already produced installations at premium venues including Four Seasons Mumbai, The Nines Mumbai, Big Bull Hyderabad, and Epitome Pune, while laying the foundation for expanding showcase venues and immersive installations across the country.

Verus Ferreira spoke with Funktion-One Founder & R&D Director Tony Andrews and Rishabh Jain, Managing Director & Partner at Audio & Beyond (EMIL), about their partnership and its vision for the Indian professional audio market. Excerpts from the interview:

Can you tell us about the collaboration, how did Function and ONE collaborate with Audio and Beyond? 

We've been trying to connect with the right people in India, since maybe 20 years. This time it feels correct, this time it feels like this is the right people. I mean, we all just instantly understand each other and we're together it's great.

What does Function ONE USP compare to other brands in the market? 

Well, the main thing is that we found a way to do mid-range with cone drivers that's so much cleaner and purer than using compression drivers to those lower frequencies, which makes them distort, make terrible noise. We've been doing it for 50 years, nobody else seems to really be able to do it. We just did an upgrade, the last time was in the 90s. I spent six years on it, trying to understand what I'm hearing and get it better. Because whatever you did, you can use that to compare with what you might do. When it's better, you know, you make progress.

Do you see Function One playing a bigger role in India's rapidly growing live music scene?

Well, we should do. Because the thing is, in the West, audio has become totally political. And it's, I mean, look, it's the human condition we're dealing with. You know, why did so many people vote for Donald Trump when they know he's a criminal? What can you do with people? They're just what they are. But I'm really hoping that India doesn't go the same way. People here seem to love what we do. And it's real. We've been doing it longer than any of the other guys. We never wanted to go for world domination until we knew we had it correct. And I think this is the last stage of my life.

Not at all, it's just getting started.

(Laughs) Well, it's reached that point now where if we sell tonnes of it, it's a good thing.

So are there also home systems that you cater to?

So typically a hi-fi is around about high 80s, low 90s. And we can do like maybe 8, 9, 10 dB louder than that, which is a lot of free energy. But it's more than that because when it's being that efficient, it's so much more alive. You know, it's here. It's not over there. It comes to you. I mean, in this, it'll be challenging here because we're in a glorified bathroom, you know, in terms of acoustic environment. But, you know, what I've also learned is it doesn't take much to make it nice. Do the ceilings. The ceiling is where most of the trouble comes from. And it's easy to put like horizontal curtains, you know, like Arabian style. Or just bunch it up. Because the thing that matters is the clatter, you know, and that's a frequency that's quite easy to absorb.

So have you been to India before? 

A few times now. I don't remember exactly the date, but we were with Leonia in Hyderabad. It's a long time ago now. But they bought a lot of equipment. We came out to support them. But I don't know really what happened there. It didn't make it. I can't even remember now whether we've been here once or maybe twice before. I mean, we've been looking for the right people here a long time.

So have you heard of any Indian music? 

Well, I mean, when I was 19, I had a Ravi Shankar album, because I was a hippie.

So who are your favourite artists? 

Jimi Hendrix. He's still the most creative, amazing guitarist ever.I mean, I like a lot of things. It's not so much the artist. I like all kinds of music. But it's a certain level of communication.

In music, what do you think makes an artist?

When they understand the universal truth of life, and not just themselves.

What brought you to collaborate with Audio and Beyond?

Well, when I was 9 years old, I heard Elvis Presley for the first time. You ain't nothing but a Hound Dog. And I felt, it must have been Kundalini, but I felt this electricity going up my spine. First time I heard Rock and Roll, I thought, whatever this is, I want more of it. And then we had the psychedelic explosion. And music became so important. So, you know, then I did a few psychedelics and understood a bit more about the way the universe really works, I think, because you're never sure. You know, the wise man realises he knows nothing. (Laughs)

Tony, most of your speakers have a purple colour.

Well, that's Jimi Hendrix and Purple Haze. And it's the highest frequency colour. Everybody says it has to be black, but I don't really go with the black. I go with purple.

Purple Rain. You have Prince with Purple Rain also.

Oh, there's that as well. Yes. Prince has Purple Rain. Yes, true. And it's a good album actually. We went to Paisley Park a long time ago, because we were working with Surround Sound. And he (Prince) wanted to do that. But I mean, you know when people are important and get famous, they have a lot of people around them that insulate them from reality. And that's a bit of a shame. Because I remember, I wanted to meet him. I met all his engineers and various people. But I couldn't because I wasn't sufficiently well-dressed (laughs)

How did the name come up as Function One?

Well, we started in the 70s with Turbosound. Funk it's my favourite genre and favorite music, yeah. Because it's got space in it.  It's also funk, starting with James Brown and Sly Stone. And it's on the one. So funk is on the one.

       Rishabh Jain

Rishabh, what is your take on the collaboration? 

I'm very glad that Tony himself is here to, you know, open the Indian market. As you know, Function One highly believes in quality. They're one of the most efficient speakers globally. So I'm really glad that he believes in Indian market. And he's here to support the growth of entertainment industry in India.

How long did this collaboration take to connect? 

It takes time for any two people to develop trust. And with course of time, I think we both have, trusted each other. And I think we are at a point where we are here together. So it takes time, but it happened at the right time, I would say.

Do you see this as an opportunity to bring Function One's sound systems to more concerts?

Of course, it's already, it's already spread by the best of global artists in the world. And once, you know, now the touring is happening more frequently in India. All the global artists, the Indian artists are doing bigger crowd, bigger festivals. So it's already, you know, it's in demand. And now since it's here, we'll be able to cater to most of the festivals now.

Do you plan to collaborate with any of these festivals? 

There is already a line of festivals that we are already in sync with. And in a few months down the lane, I think you will see major festivals being covered by Function One.

Interviewed by Verus Ferreira