Black Letters
December 6, 8 pm onwards
Fandom at Gilly’s Redefined, Koramangala
Entry: ₹300, plus ₹300 cover charge, via instamojo.com
The alternative rock band from Kochi and Bengaluru will launch their full-length album Still As You this week as part of a nation-wide tour that concludes on home turf. Over the last five years, Black Letters have been constantly evolving their sound — from arena-sized rock riff-informed indie on songs such as ‘You Say’ off their 2014 record Shapes on the Wall to stargazing dream pop on their 2015 EP Petrichor and now, electronic-tinged alternative tunes on Still As You . If you like dance floor-friendly ruminations on love, connections and growing up, Black Letters provide the perfectly introspective soundtrack. The band’s launch gig will be supported by indie rock band Iyer’s Filter Coffee.
Trill Route Students’ Concert
December 8, 8 pm onwards
Fandom at Gilly’s Redefined, Koramangala
Entry: ₹300, plus ₹250 cover charge, via insider.in
To celebrate their third anniversary, music school Trill Route Academy’s students will put on a slew of showcase performances in a club setting. Trill Route’s founders are guitarists Varun Raj and Aarabhy Surendran. Varun, who also plays guitar for folk-metal band The Down Troddence, says about the student concert, “It is a show constituting 70 students from the school, which covers contemporary styles, rock, funk, indie music etc. and a combination of artists such as Mutemath, Queen, Raghu Dixit and so on. Age groups ranging from five to 40 will be part of the same. Practice sessions are turning out well. We are excited about it.” The concert is one of many ways Trill Route Academy intends to keep their student circle and alumni as the main source of inspiration. Varun adds, “It has been our privilege to have taught students of all ages and ethnicities.”
Red Earth and Pouring Rain
December 8, 6:30 pm onwards
Courtyard Koota, Kambipura
Entry: ₹ 300, via bookmyshow.com
Harini Iyer and Abhijit Nath have been performing around Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata for more than a year now, presenting an intriguing mélange of jazz, fusion and Latin American music. The vocalist-guitarist duo who lean on improvisation will perform at theater space Courtyard Koota this weekend, including songs such as ‘Summertime’, which plays up American jazz vocal styles. Nath, for his part, is informed by Middle Eastern and Armenian music and West African guitar work heard in bands such as Tinariwen. Iyer counts everyone from Nina Simone to TM Krishna and Aruna Sairam as influences, as well as Middle Eastern music. She says in a statement, “I also listen to and perform a lot of Latin music and for instance, one would hear an unintentional Flamenco touch to some of my improvisation which is also very folksy. Now, how the audience perceives our music is completely up to their imagination. It might mean something to us and something completely different to someone listening to us. That is the beauty of interpretation.”
A guide to the happening gigs in town