Gigs Come Home

The idea,explains Reema Kumari Jadeja,the coordinator for Sofar India,is to enjoy music without any distractions and also respect the artistes and the performance.

After attending gig after gig,where people paid more attention to their mobile phones or chatted among themselves,co-founders Rafe Offer and Dave Alexander (Rocky Start is the third co-founder) organised a small performance at Alexander’s London home. Alexander,a musician,played to a handful of people,all of whom sat and listened attentively. The concept was a success,and similar gigs were then organised at other homes around the world. These were secret gigs — the venue and timings would only be disclosed to invitees,who would,in turn,remain unaware of the artiste line-up until the act began. It also gave new musicians a chance to play to a genuinely attentive audience. But most importantly,the audience pays nothing to watch the performance.

The first Sofar gig in India was held in Pune. “What started out as a conversation between a music colleague and myself at British Music House in 2010 became a crystallised reality when I brought Sofar to India in February 2011,” recalls Jadeja,a UK-based journalist and academic. Shaa’ir + Func,flautist and music composer Milind Date,tabla player Charudatta Phadke and Mumbai pop rock band Something Relevant were the performers at this first edition,which was also Asia’s first Sofar session. India’s second gig was held in Delhi where fusion band Mrigya,blues/rock band Half Step Down,Dualist Inquiry and Hindi folk fusion band Maseeha performed. At both these gigs,the number of attendees varied depending on the size of the room and the bands’ set-up was largely acoustic and minimalistic.

Having attended the Pune edition,Mumbai-based dentist and music enthusiast Shibani Kumar then began working on organising a Sofar gig in the city. Plans finally materialised,and on October 7,the gig was held at Gvalani’s home in Powai. “The audience seemed to be mesmerised by the music,” says Kumar. D’Mello — frontman of alternative rock band Split — whose side project Dischordian (a folk/ punk/ blues band),performed there,agrees. “The audience was focussed on the music and we could interact with everyone as opposed to just the front row.” This observation is what has drawn artistes and audiences to the concept. “Sofar takes it back to the basics with music being the epicentre,” says Jadeja.

D’Mello,who was already discussing having a house concert with his band when Sofar came up,says some of their best shows have been the smaller ones. “People were there for the music and listened to what was going on,” he says,adding,“I’d like to see more of these house concerts.” He does point out that for house concerts in general to be sustainable,some money should come out of them,but adds that whether that happens or not,this format is a welcome addition to the music scene.