On a hopeful note

BENGALURU : For the members of Gauley Bhai, a 1BHK space in Jeevan Bhima Nagar has served as their jam room for two years now. The space, which marked the birthplace of many of their songs, has now been revamped to double as a recording studio. Come Saturday, the band will perform their first post-Covid-19 outbreak live concert, from their jam-room-converted-studio. “This is our first live concert in six months so we’re quite kicked about it,” says Joe Panicker. The drummer, with other members Veecheet Dhakal (vocals, violin), Siddhant Mani Chettri (guitar) and Anudwatt Dhakal (bass guitar), forms the quartet behind the band, which sings in Nepali. 

The jam room now comprises microphones, headphones, amplifiers, curtains, carpeted floors, extra panelling and sound absorbing material – all additions that were made in the last few months. “We made do with things we had lying around,” explains Panicker. Back in June, the band used the space to record a set that was then played as a part of a London festival, but their upcoming concert marks their first live concert since their tour in Nepal was cut short in March.

“It’s a complete DIY project,” says Veecheet, adding that the band  has been hard at work to set up this space the last few months. “It’s a trial for us too. We’ve even set up projectors to give the concert an audio-visual effect. And we are going to play around with lighting as well to give a stage-like feel and to add to the whole vibe,” says Veecheet of the livestreamed concert.

For example, the song Thupari Udi, which explores the idea of leaving one’s nest and the freedom to fly, will be accompanied by visuals of hills and travels. Helping the band is Angarika Guha with conceptualisation, Sowmya Swaminathan as creative adviser, Suman Khaidem on visuals, Kiran MS and Yorker Films on camera and Chewang Tamang as the DOP.  

For a band that feeds off of the energy of its audience, this experience will prove to be a new one. “It’s like inviting people into our jam room. Will it be intimate or distant? Who knows, we also have to wait and see,” says Veecheet, who has back back in the studio for the past 2-3 weeks, after recuperating from an accident. While the idea to convert the jam room into a recording studio has been there for a while. “It’s always been an aspiration for us and now it’s worked in our favour,” he adds.

The concert will be livestreamed  on Oct 3, 8pm. Tickets (Rs 300)  available on SkillBox

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