Top of my bucket list after landing in London was to check out the city's live music. My hunt to plug into the London's creative scene, started as most hunts do...a call out on Facebook. Among the many replies I received, one caught my eye. The message read:
"Saw your Facebook post about music! I can't believe I haven't recommended it to you yet, but you should most definitely go to a Sofar Sounds show! It's living room concerts and this amazing live music movement that actually started in London, but is all over the world."
Living room concerts! I was intrigued, and what initially began as an exploration into London's live music scene, led to the following reflections on the importance of cultural and creative spaces to the success of London's creative scene...
Sofar Sounds was born in 2009, in London - the result of two friends disheartened with attending gigs where people talked over the music. They decided to invite some musician friends over for a low-key intimate show. This kicked off a movement, and now Sofar Sounds is in 350 cities worldwide.
Sofar Sounds started out in London in 2009, and is now a global, grassroots network of artists, hosts, and guests, all with the goal of helping to bring the magic back to live music.
For me, the allure of attending a Sofar gig is that it represents an opportunity to enter an artist's 'safe space'. This is a space where the artist has the freedom to experiment and test out new ideas without judgement, and we as an audience get to experience and be part of this creative process.
Creating such an environment however doesn't just happen by chance. It needs to be consciously nurtured and protected. I observed this in every element of the Sofar Sounds experience - from booking my tickets to the setup of the gig.
The way Sofar Sounds works is you apply for tickets to a gig on a certain night, and your name is put into a draw. If you are chosen to attend, you are notified via email, and can purchase up to three tickets. The exact location of the gig is secret - you only know the rough area - and is only revealed once you purchase tickets - via text message! The line-up itself remains a secret until you arrive on the night.
As luck would have it, my name was drawn to attend last Saturday's gig, held in the loungeroom of a terrace home in Brixton. It was so much fun! There was probably about 20 people crammed into this one room, and we there to support three wonderfully diverse acts.
The whole experience made me appreciate the magic of such an intimate setting, and in many ways, as a 'non-creative' helped me engage with the artists as real people. I loved how post-testypop on a high note, Sonny stopped to say 'did you hear that?', repeat himself and have the crowd laugh and cheer in support. I watched in awe as Martin Peihlmeier played a guitar like nothing I had never seen before (seriously watch this). And I fell in love with Playing House's music and the interactions between the band members. No where else have I had the chance to hear artists share the stories that inspired the songs played (from orgasms, to bad post-breakup haircuts, to odes to mothers), bond with the audience over our mutual hungover state from London Pride (it was such a big weekend...), and be so close as to see the lead singer cheekily wink at fellow bandmember Killian post- his mid-song sip of his gin and tonic. Highlight of the night? Being part of a surprise birthday celebration and singing happy birthday along with a room full of strangers as a colourful cake is brought out mid-set.
Sofar Sounds represents the sort of experiences within a city that make it creative and a place where people love to live. A liveable, creative city is not just about the big, planned events - we need to also remember to support the organic, smaller scale events, as this is where innovation happens.
The creation and protection of safe spaces to experiment is not a new concept, however it is often not given the recognition it deserves. Replace 'audience' with 'customer' and any good entrepreneur in the Start-Up world will tell you the importance of nurturing such as space to produce real innovation and change.
From everything I have read, London appears to know this well. The messaging put out by the Greater London Authority is that the current Mayor is keen to protect cultural and creative spaces within London through his pledge to develop the world's first Cultural Infrastructure Plan - an overview of all the city’s cultural requirements to inform spatial and transport planning up to 2030. The city has also announced a new competition for the 32 London boroughs to apply for funding to lead a game changing cultural program, and be a 'London Borough of Culture'. This is alongside emerging initiatives to protect LGBT+ venues, reduce pub closures, reinvigorate culture of London's high streets, and audit the affordable studio provision for artists in London.
Final food for thought. While at the gig, I spoke with Helen, a Londoner on the difference between London and Dubai, where she lived some months. She described Dubai as a city of beautiful engineered buildings, but one that was also bereft of creativity. A city 'without a soul'. In many ways I know what she means. I have asked many of the 30-something year old expat professionals that I have met in London why they moved here, and the answer is rarely purely about money or career. Rather it is about being able to go to a Blues bar after work on a Monday night, a movie festival in the park Tuesday night, a Sofar Sounds concert on a Saturday night, and being able to hop on a train to check out the latest art exhibition at the Tate Modern post-Sunday brunch.
Creativity and culture is what makes our cities feel alive. It is what engages people with the places they live. So in addition to investing in our built infrastructure, maybe cities should take equally as much care to invest in securing their city's cultural and creative safe spaces?
Katrie.