Review: Sofar Sounds Tour - Oxford, 15th November 2013

On the fourth night of its tour, in which 3 up-and-coming bands travelled around the country, the Sofar Sounds team stopped off in Merton College's MCR - a beautiful old room with oak beams which provided a a quirky setting for the evening. With a small audience and banter amongst the bands, the atmosphere had a sense of the informality and intimacy for which Sofar nights are known.

Wolf Alice opened with an acoustic version of 'Fluffy', a beautifully haunting song, freshly interpreted from the studio version. The vocal harmonies carried well in the small room, and the mix of female and male voices created a rich sound despite the lack of amplification. Taken from their new EP, 'Blush' had an elegant simplicity, perfectly suiting relaxed nature of the evening.

Sivu, (the Finish translation for his surname, 'Page') followed with a single acoustic guitar and no accompaniment. He won over the audience not only with his melodious voice, but with his declaration that Oxford is nicer than Cambridge, despite coming from the latter.

Dancing Years are old hands on the Sofar circuit, having played at numerous evenings around the country already. Their set was beautifully gentle, almost like a lullaby, whilst still managing to engage with the audience. Honest and simple, their music provided the perfect send-off into the cold Autumn air outside.

Held in cities all over the world, Sofar nights have become renowned for their unique venues and performances. If you haven't yet attended one, it's worth checking out their website - it's a truly wonderful way of experiencing music without any commercialisation. Not only is it a chance to see bands play in smaller settings than they perhaps are used to, complete strangers are united by a love of music that ensures it's an evening you certainly won't forget.

Review: Sofar Sounds - Oxford, 16th February 2013

   
The concept behind Sofar Sounds is a simple and yet surprisingly rare one. Hosted in living rooms around the world, audience members are asked not to talk throughout the set, and to remain until the end. It's always hard for support bands to play when half the audience are preoccupied at the bar, and so the idea of appreciating all the bands in a line-up is a much needed one. For my first Sofar Sounds, the dreaming spires of Oxford seemed like the perfect setting, with its rich music scene currently producing so many successes from rockers Foals, to folk-poppers, Stornoway.

The evening got off to a swinging start with self-proclaimed Freakadelics, Bambino dell'Oro. After 30 seconds of what seemed like complete improvisation with no apparent link between piano and drums, I was pleasantly surprised when the beat began to pick up, and a melody appeared. With no vocalist, it was a chilled start to the evening with a soprano saxophone melting into the piano and drums - refined and elegant  jazz which set the mood perfectly.

Where Bambino dell'Oro soothed, King of Cats, on the other hand, displayed an intensity which occasionally verged on the unnerving. His quiet, unassuming demeanour was in sharp contrast to the uncompromising tone of his songs and disturbing lyrics. However, the musical expertise behind the songs was impressive with catchy melodies, and accomplished guitar playing.

After such a forceful set, the dulcet tones of The Melodic relieved the tension, and despite their soft voices and gentle melodies, they never lost the attention of the audience. Melodicas appeared for the second time in the evening (having already been used by Bambino dell'Oro), prompting an anecdote about how they once forgot to take said instrument to a gig - ironic considering they were called Melodica, Melody and Me at the time. With their debut album in the works, their charmingly folky set ensured that this is a band to watch.

An intimate atmosphere was guaranteed with such a small audience and it was wonderful to feel so close to the artists, not only physically, but emotionally - the rawness of the unplugged music seemed a lot more personal and natural than in larger venues. The evening as a whole showed exactly what a gig should be like with a respectful and attentive audience, and for that, Sofar Sounds, I salute you.

For more information on how you can apply for tickets to Sofar Sounds, visit: www.sofarsounds.com