Local Chords

Catching the pulse of the times,clubs and lounges in the city are increasingly looking to promote city-based musicians and DJs,providing them a platform to take their music out to the throngs and also to get noticed.

So,at Swig,they have dedicated alternate Wednesdays to Pune-based acts and Tuesdays for city-based DJs — many of whom are fresh college graduates from college. At High Spirits,“Local Scene on Thursdays” is exclusively for a collective of city DJs to take to the turntables. Also the opening act of “High Cookout” is dedicated to up-and-coming bands in the city. “Their music doesn’t necessarily have to agree with my own preferences as long as they are good at what they do across any genre,” says Khodu Irani,who runs High Spirits,about how he screens performers.

Talking about his own late teens spent in the city,Irani says Pune was known as the Mecca of the rock scene till about a decade ago. “Then that wave sort of died down. Yet,so many people in Pune are into music — both creating and appreciating. Clearly,it is essential to have a platform where the music that is being created can be brought out. This is why we encourage bands and individuals who are producing anything that is not run-of-the-mill,” he says.

Irani explains another aspect of its importance. “It helps to play at a club or a bar because that is a platform recognised across the country. The reality is that when a musician or DJ approaches any big name in the industry,they will be asked where they have performed. If it is an obscure venue,they will most likely be looked over,” he says.

Acknowledging that they have made a “conscious choice to promote local talent”,Gore says it also charges the mood of a place in a certain way. “Musicians from the city speak of the city and their music very often speaks of the city,too. For us to keep a gig going,it’s very nice to have the city’s participation in that sense,” he says.

Pitching a recent Saturday-night gig as a comeback of “Poona Nightlife”,1 Lounge saw DJ Agnel sending the crowd into a dizzy with his music. The organisers,Destiny of Sounds and Crème Ventures,say it was a part of their attempt to bring back locals on to Pune’s music scene. “There has been a surge in the number of international musicians and DJs performing for the city. It’s great but we think,local artistes are missing out on their fair share of the limelight. So we decided to host Indian performers across the city at various venues,” says Vinay Pawar of Destiny of Sounds.