Sofar Sounds Shillong — A decade of connecting the artist with audience and beyond

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By Kaushik Jai Baruah | April 1, 2019

Since a decade of its inception in 2009, Sofar Sounds has managed to create a name for itself as a global community of music enthusiasts promoting the confluence of independent musicians and an open and willing audience that wouldn't mid showing up to a gig even though they don't know who is going to perform there.  In these ten years, Sofar has spread like wildfire all across the globe, including India with as many as 14 cities hosting a dedicated Sofar chapter, a number that is sure to increase manifold in years to come considering the popularity of the concept.

Among these 14 cities, the Shillong chapter of Sofar perhaps stands out in its unique approach to the concept along with its unyielding attempt to promote independent music and bring together a community of music enthusiasts who are willing to experiment and look beyond their longstanding musical preferences and delve into the territory of the unknown for their love of music. In a conversation with the TNT- Northeast Today, Rupjyoti Roy, who, along with Partha Day, founded Sofar Sounds Shillong talks about the beginnings of Sofar and the idea behind it. "If we dig into the history, it actually started in London and from there it spread out like wildfire. The main concept is, it's more like a collaborative process so it's a platform for the artists where the audience can actually gather around and have a more intimate experience in a way. If you've seen pub and club gigs, half of the audience is indulged in something else and only half of them are there to listen to the music, but in Sofar there is a much more personal experience between the artist and the audience."

When asked about the motivation of the people behind Sofar Sounds, a not for profit organization, to volunteer, Rupjyoti says, "None of the people who belong to a Sofar team are actually getting paid, we are just volunteering ourselves to the cause so that we can provide a better environment to enjoy music and to actually know the artist and know the audience better." He also speaks about the motivation for the independent musicians who play at Sofar without any promise of remuneration, "In the Shillong circuit, it's an entirely different approach. The scene is much more subtle and calm and way too little but double the intimate experience between every individual present in the gig. As a token for appreciation for whatever we do, people donate to our cause with whatever amount of money they can. At Sofar Shillong we are doing something off the charts, we make sure we get gigs in the local venues for any touring artists who are performing at our place. Initially when we started we tried to mix with the local scene first, we started meeting the venue people and started knowing them. Then later when we got something major as well. Besides that what Sofar does is, there are brands and NGOs including the likes of Amnesty International and Simba which collaborate with Sofar to pull of something where the artists can also get paid."

Although working with a very small team and being based in a small town like Shillong, Sofar Sounds has already created a dedicated community of musicians and music lovers, some of whom travel from as far as Guwahati every month in order to attend the secret gig. The team running the Shilong chapter of Sofar is optimistic of grater things to come in the near future.

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The writer can be reached at kaushik@thenortheasttoday.com. He can be followed @kaushikjaibarua on all social media