The first time Taylor Swift –currently American Music Awards’ artiste of the decade – played her 2019 album Lover, it was to an intimate group of 100 in a room at her London apartment.
Performing stripped-down versions of The Archer, Cornelia Street and the title track, Swift told fans, “I was thinking about how I’d like to play some of these songs for the very first time. And I figured, maybe the best way to do it would be playing the songs acoustic, the way that I wrote them.”
Whether it was to gauge audience reactions or share the minute nuances of her songs, the pop scene’s biggest act chose a unique live format that has rung synonymous with the global indie music circuit to showcase her tunes, over an arena of screaming fans.
Closer home, the scene is quite similar. Prateek Kuhad – one of the country’s biggest independent music exports – who made his way up the charts playing at intimate shows, chose to unveil his latest EP cold/mess over a series of 10 house gigs hosted by fans across the country
As we come to the end of the decade, we dig a little deeper into the intimate gig phenomenon within the indie sphere that has provided a counterpoint to high-budget music festivals and is revolutionising the way we listen to live music.
Blazing trails
All the world might be a stage, but like many other experimental musicians, Astaaq Ahmed couldn’t find one for the release of his project’s (The Earflower Experiments) debut EP, An Anecdote, in 2018. After multiple, not-so-successful attempts to showcase his music, the Delhi-based singer/songwriter decided to tackle the problem by converting his own Gurugram basement into a 100-seater platform for performances.
“In India, most of the venues are restaurants or resto-bars. It’s uninspiring for everyone involved. On one hand, promoters wonder if you’ll be able to pull in a crowd, and so very often turn down new musicians. On the other, you have a mixed audience – some of whom are there to support the band, while others are just looking to unwind and do not really pay attention to the music,” he says. With no sponsors to be cajoled and limited overheads, Ahmed believes basement concerts, like his, offer musicians the freedom to play what they like and even encourage experimental sounds.
Body politic
Some collectives like Romel Dias’ initiative go beyond just discovering new and diverse talent. Launched in Mumbai in April of 2016 under the name The Listening Sessions – as a response to the closure of the popular venue, Blue Frog – the project was rechristened Little Sounds in May 2018 and focused on spotlighting underground acts and championing regional and socially-conscious music.
“The core idea behind most small shows has always been about breaking down barriers. And while most gigs manage to do this by promoting a sense of artiste-audience intimacy, I attempt to further the idea by encouraging music that tells stories and empowers communities,” shares Dias, whose favourite discovery has been Urdu folk-rock and blues singer-songwriter Sameer Rahat.
Assessing accessibility
This inclusive spirit finds resonance in the Jaipur-based collective Kythera and their founder Atray Agarwal. Looking to cultivate a listening culture for indie musicians in non-metros like his hometown of Jaipur, that are strongholds of folk tradition, the 29-year-old hopes to usher in folk artistes into the fray. Hosting musicians from varied genres, weekly sessions by Kythera Jams feature rap, rock and blues musicians and even spoken word artistes.Participation from the audience is another key trait at these shows we learn, “It could be even in the form of clapping which could make up the rhythm section of the jam,” he says, adding that community involvement is crucial in cities that are still exploring non-commercial music.