{"id":2239,"date":"2023-03-17T00:00:34","date_gmt":"2023-03-17T00:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/?p=2239"},"modified":"2023-03-14T16:39:44","modified_gmt":"2023-03-14T16:39:44","slug":"sofars-dynamic-curators-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/articles\/sofars-dynamic-curators-in-india","title":{"rendered":"Meet Some of Sofar’s Dynamic Curators in India"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/countries\/india\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">India<\/a>, where there are few opportunities for singer\/songwriters and bands to perform live outside the six-month-long festival season, Sofar curators play an important role in giving the country\u2019s independent music talent a stage. Consequently, they\u2019ve helped convert thousands of listeners into fans. Responsible for every aspect of what attendees experience, they\u2019re the unsung heroes behind the shows. Here, we turn the spotlight on a few of our most dynamic curators in India.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Ankit Dayal, Sofar Bombay<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A vocalist, composer, multi-instrumentalist and backing musician, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/1LYqnlhjJsY9LwtjZ9FG4F?si=g873VELRQ4qPyFFOZGDBew\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ankit<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is among the\u00a0 growing group of curators to have done a number of Sofar shows before they started organising them. Ankit, who\u2019s been co-leading the Bombay chapter since October 2019, had performed as part of bands helmed by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/6wD4PrOL4VPp0SDCtpbtba?si=JZKTb_eNR5CIi-J7Txzxgw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sid Vashi<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/5npIe0yBbHoAwQ5XYVVEwn?si=2QwoTys6SCCTiRvDBZCoQg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dhruv Visvanath<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and with his own group <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/0QLmymAoRaC1kCvIPB029Q?si=t7pIW5PaRRupjr-hgqOkhg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spud In The Box<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in 2017 and 2018.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He\u2019d been a volunteer even before he played a show, and offering to help with the sound set-up for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/14r9dR01KeBLFfylVSKCZQ?si=sR6Z4537Rbaq5lygoBMLVg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Damien Rice\u2019<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">s set enabled him to attend that now-legendary gig in February 2019. \u201cI found one spot to squeeze into and did not budge the entire night,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was absolutely amazing.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the concerts he\u2019s put together, the one at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum, in January 2020, is particularly memorable. \u201cIt felt very iconic,\u201d said Ankit whose last Sofar appearance as an artist was in Goa in August 2022 for the launch tour of his debut solo album <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tropical Snowglobe (Side A)<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2249\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2249\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2249 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-14-at-9.33.41-AM.png?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=png&h=584&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=1024&wpsize=large\" alt=\"Sofar Curators in India\" width=\"1024\" height=\"584\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-14-at-9.33.41-AM.png?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=png&h=171&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=300&wpsize=medium 300w, https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-14-at-9.33.41-AM.png?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=png&h=584&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=1024&wpsize=large 1024w, https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-14-at-9.33.41-AM.png?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=png&h=438&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=768&wpsize=medium_large 768w, https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-14-at-9.33.41-AM.png?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=png&h=876&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=1536&wpsize=1536x1536 1536w, https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-14-at-9.33.41-AM.png?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=png&h=1167&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=2048&wpsize=2048x2048 2048w, https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-14-at-9.33.41-AM.png?crop=faces%2Centropy&fm=png&ixlib=php-3.3.1 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2249\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ankit Dayal, photo by Abhishek Gupta<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h4><b>Gaurav Israni, Sofar Bangalore<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gaurav is one of the handful of Sofar curators in India who isn\u2019t connected with either the entertainment or events industry, but music has always had a big role in the management consultant\u2019s life. He formed a band with friends back in his hometown, Jabalpur, and had been to plenty of concerts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At those gigs, however, \u201cpeople were talking and having fun but not completely into the music,\u201d he said. Going for a Sofar session in Bengaluru was a revelation. \u201cIt was my first experience attending a very intimate show. I really loved the vibe.\u201d Gaurav started volunteering with the local chapter in 2017 and became the co-city lead in 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His favourite part of the role has been the chance to interact with musicians he has long admired. \u201cThe chance to meet them, talk to them, and understand their ideology is the highlight,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2241\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2241\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-2241\" src=\"https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-13-at-10.05.21-AM.png?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=png&h=781&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=1024&wpsize=large\" alt=\"Sofar Curators in India\" width=\"1024\" height=\"781\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-13-at-10.05.21-AM.png?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=png&h=229&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=300&wpsize=medium 300w, https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-13-at-10.05.21-AM.png?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=png&h=781&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=1024&wpsize=large 1024w, https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-13-at-10.05.21-AM.png?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=png&h=586&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=768&wpsize=medium_large 768w, https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-13-at-10.05.21-AM.png?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=png&h=1171&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=1536&wpsize=1536x1536 1536w, https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-13-at-10.05.21-AM.png?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=png&h=1562&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=2048&wpsize=2048x2048 2048w, https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-13-at-10.05.21-AM.png?crop=faces%2Centropy&fm=png&ixlib=php-3.3.1 1154w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2241\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gaurav Israni, photo by Prarthana Sen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h4><b>Manaf, Sofar Kochi<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Five years ago, Kochi resident Manaf, who was working in the information technology sector at the time, started holding concerts in the evenings and on the weekends. \u201cI wanted to listen to artists I liked,\u201d he said. \u201cIt kind of took over my life so I started [doing] it full-time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Kochi\u2019s somewhat small but growing music scene, Manaf\u2019s reputation as one of its most prominent gig organisers made him an ideal candidate to revive the Sofar chapter there in 2022. For him, joining the team has a larger purpose. \u201cHaving a music ecosystem like Sofar in the city could actually make a huge difference because of the quality of the artists [who perform],\u201d Manaf said. \u201cIf some good videos manage to come out of Kochi and on to the global Sofar platform, that could put [us] on the map.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2242\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2242\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-2242\" src=\"https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-13-at-10.08.31-AM.png?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=png&h=820&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=1024&wpsize=large\" alt=\"Sofar Curators in India\" width=\"1024\" height=\"820\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-13-at-10.08.31-AM.png?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=png&h=240&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=300&wpsize=medium 300w, https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-13-at-10.08.31-AM.png?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=png&h=615&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=768&wpsize=medium_large 768w, https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-13-at-10.08.31-AM.png?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=png&h=820&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=1024&wpsize=large 1024w, https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-13-at-10.08.31-AM.png?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=png&h=1230&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=1536&wpsize=1536x1536 1536w, https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-13-at-10.08.31-AM.png?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=png&h=1640&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=2048&wpsize=2048x2048 2048w, https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-13-at-10.08.31-AM.png?crop=faces%2Centropy&fm=png&ixlib=php-3.3.1 994w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2242\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Manaf, photo courtesy of Manaf<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h4><b>Nupura Hautamaki, Sofar Goa<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a regular Sofar attendee in cities where she\u2019d lived such as London, Dubai, and Helsinki, Nupura was surprised to find that there wasn\u2019t a chapter in Goa when she moved there six years ago. A marketing and events professional, she decided to take up the mantle. \u201cI hadn\u2019t [yet] set up my business, so had spare time and would be occupied in a positive way,\u201d said Nupura, who\u2019s been curating the gigs for Goa since Sofar launched there in 2017.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This makes her one of the longest-serving leads in India. Her favourite part of being one of Sofar’s curators in India is the feedback from acts who are unaware of the format until they\u2019re invited to perform. \u201cWhen they do a show, they\u2019re actually getting an audience that\u2019s sitting and listening and engaging with them,\u201d Nupura said. \u201cThat\u2019s what still drives me, that the focus is on the artist.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2243\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2243\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-2243\" src=\"https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/310435321_538419134952591_1868554969718648099_n.jpg?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=pjpg&h=683&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=1024&wpsize=large\" alt=\"Sofar Curators in India\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/310435321_538419134952591_1868554969718648099_n.jpg?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=pjpg&h=200&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=300&wpsize=medium 300w, https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/310435321_538419134952591_1868554969718648099_n.jpg?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=pjpg&h=683&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=1024&wpsize=large 1024w, https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/310435321_538419134952591_1868554969718648099_n.jpg?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=pjpg&h=512&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=768&wpsize=medium_large 768w, https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/310435321_538419134952591_1868554969718648099_n.jpg?crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=scale&fm=pjpg&h=1024&ixlib=php-3.3.1&w=1536&wpsize=1536x1536 1536w, https:\/\/sofar-sounds-blog.imgix.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/310435321_538419134952591_1868554969718648099_n.jpg?crop=faces%2Centropy&fm=pjpg&ixlib=php-3.3.1 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2243\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nupura Hautamaki, photo by Waman Pednekar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p>Ready to meet dynamic curators in India, or near you, or around the world? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Explore shows.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Words by <span class=\"qu\" tabindex=\"-1\" role=\"gridcell\" translate=\"no\"><span class=\"gD\" data-hovercard-id=\"amitgurbaxani@gmail.com\" data-hovercard-owner-id=\"99\">Amit Gurbaxani<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In India, where there are few opportunities for singer\/songwriters and bands to perform live outside the six-month-long festival season, Sofar curators play an important role in giving the country\u2019s independent music talent a stage. Consequently, they\u2019ve helped convert thousands of listeners into fans. Responsible for every aspect of what attendees experience, they\u2019re the unsung heroes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":2243,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[242],"class_list":["post-2239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-sofar-india"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}