Gigs Come Home

Earlier this month,the home of Bandra burger joint Gostana's owner Arpana Gvalani was transformed into the venue for a live,intimate gig by four Mumbai-based musicians and bands.

Earlier this month,the home of Bandra burger joint Gostana’s owner Arpana Gvalani was transformed into the venue for a live,intimate gig by four Mumbai-based musicians and bands. Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Sidd Coutto,singer-songwriters Nikhil D’Souza and Alisha Pais and Split frontman Garreth D’Mello’s side project,Dischordian,played to approximately 20 people who put aside their mobile phones and listened quietly and intently. They were brought together by Songs From A Room or Sofar Sounds a movement that began in London in 2009 and has now found its way to a number of other places including New York,Paris,Sydney,Melbourne and,last year,India.

After attending gig after gig where people paid more attention to their mobile phones or chatted amongst themselves,co-founders Rafe Offer and Dave Alexander (Rocky Start is a 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 in the homes of a number of other people in various parts of the world. The two rules,so to speak,were that the audience must stay through the duration of the gig and stay silent through the performances. In addition,these were secret gigs,in that the venue and timings would only be disclosed to invitees and even the invitees would not know the line-up (of artistes performing) beforehand. The idea was to give new musicians the chance to play for a genuinely attentive audience. The most important aspect is that these gigs started out and continue to be free – the audience pays nothing to watch the musicians perform and no money changes hands.

In 2010,a UK-based journalist and academic Reema Kumari Jadeja began discussions to bring the concept to India and in February last year,the first such gig was held in Pune. What started out as a conversation between a music colleague and I at British Music House,London,in the summer of 2010 became a crystallised reality when I brought Sofar to India in February 2011, recalls Jadeja,who is the coordinator for Sofar India. I called upon Shaa’ir + Func to perform for the first Sofar session in Pune,which was the first session not only in India but also in Asia. Flautist and music composer Milind Date,tabla player Charudatta Phadke and Mumbai pop rock band Something Relevant were the other performers at this first edition. Then,in June last year,a second Sofar session was held in India in Delhi where the fusion band Mrigya,blues/rock band Half Step Down,Dualist Inquiry and Hindi folk fusion band Maseeha performed.

Having met Jadeja a couple of years ago and then attended the Pune edition,a Mumbai-based dentist by profession and music enthusiast Shibani Kumar began working on organising a Sofar gig in Mumbai. Plans finally materialised and on October 7 the gig was held in Gvalani’s home in Powai. Much like its predecessors,this one,too,was a success. The audience seemed to be in a daze and mesmerised by the music, says Kumar. There wasn’t any need to even tell them not to talk during performances. Garreth D’Mello,frontman of alternative rock band Split,whose side project Dischordian a folk/punk/blues band performed,agrees. It was lovely, he says. The audience was fully focussed on the music and we could interact with everyone as opposed to just the front row,as at a larger gig.

This observation by D’Mello is what has drawn artistes and people alike to the concept the respect that a silent,focussed audience gives an artiste is unparalleled. Sofar takes it back to the basics with music being the epicentre, says Jadeja. It brings music lovers together to listen to interesting and innovative music and utmost respect is given to the artiste by the audience no talking,no mobile phones,just 100% undivided attention.

D’Mello,who had already been 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 just there for the music and listened to what was going on, he says. I would 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.

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