A women's only gig that encourages artistes to try various roles in music will see Smokey and Alisha Batth in action, and a DJ makes her debut
Smokey
While the number of female singer-songwriters and instrumentalists is on the rise, there's still a gap when it comes to women in back-end and supporting systems like mixing, programming and visuals. A collective has been formed to provide a support system to women who are curious about music — artistes, engineers and those working behind the scenes to organise events are all welcome at a meet-and-greet-cum-performance night, called Rise Up.
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"The plan is to provide a non-judgmental platform, free of ego, for girls to come and explore their skills. The idea stemmed from a series of workshops that were conducted by Wild City in collaboration with The British Council to help develop skills among women in music. There were many women interested in exploring this world, but were hesitant and unaware of how to take that first step. Rise Up will give them their first shot, and an opportunity to interact with professionals to help gain clarity," one of the core organisers, Anu Anna George, who's also an artiste manager, tells us.
Alisha Batth
The third edition will see performances by singer-songwriter Alisha Batth, Smokey and Kayan, while Bassmaami will make her debut as a DJ, giving the audience a blend of alternative, hip-hop, funk and dub.
"Anu has been pushing me to play and this is the perfect place for it as there's no pressure and it doesn't make me as anxious," 28-year-old music enthusiast Bassmaami aka Natalia Krishnaprasad says. Her interest in dub grew over the years and she soon expanded to bass-heavy reggae. It's been a few years that she's been making playlists for house parties and get-togethers, but that mostly comprised queuing one song after another. Tonight, as she mixes non-commercial numbers by Egoless, Kaiju and Kahn, she will be armed with a set of skills that enable her to mix two songs without it sounding like a combination of starting and stopping songs.
Bassmaami
While the first edition comprised DJs, with three of them playing for the first time, the second edition included a visual artist. Participants submit applications through an online form and are considered on a first-come-first-serve basis for the shows, George informs.
On June 13, 9.30 pm
At The Den, ground floor, Prabhat Kunj, 24th Road, off Linking Road, Khar West.
Call 26483136
Free
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