I recently had the privilege of attending my first Sofar Sounds show. As explained on their website, “[a] Sofar gig is an intimate show held in an unique venue, like someone’s living room or an antique shop… Every lineup is specially curated to give our audiences a diverse show.” Admittedly, this description leaves a lot to the imagination, and I wasn’t sure what to expect from my first Sofar. Based on the research that I’d done prior to the session, it seemed to be quite small, a private show for true music connoisseurs. Although I’m unfamiliar with the Tel Aviv music scene, I was excited for the unknown assortment of artists that I would soon be introduced to. So when that warm July night finally rolled around, I made my way to the venue, released to ticket holders only a few days before the actual show. The session, which marked the anniversary of Sofar Tel Aviv’s first show, was tucked away right out of sight of one of the city’s busiest spots. The atmosphere of the intimate garden was ethereal, fairy lights twinkling above as attendees settled down for a night of honest music. The crowd was a welcoming mix of locals and tourists, Sofar aficionados and newbies. Still anticipating the announcement about who the artists were, we waited for the night to begin, music lovers stacked upon one another, sprinkled with sweat for the cause.
The first performer of the evening was Israel-based alternative artist Fafa Galoure. Her set was very raw, the actual music stripped down to only her, her guitarist, and the occasional tambourine accent. Her sultry voice bathed the audience in organic soul. While her most recently released records are recorded live, the performance revealed an experimental maturity that proved to be a refreshing juxtaposition to the night’s other two performers. Fafa’s music transcended the venue, her words turning to steam, enveloping the space in her sound as her music rose to the branches above, and seeping between any cracks that had previously existed in silence.
The next artist of the night was Tel Aviv/Berlin based singer Lara Snow. Splashes of colored lights transformed the intimate garden into a private disco, the perfect setting for Snow’s indie pop dance beats. Although she seems akin to a delicate fairy, Snow is more like a playful pixie, manipulating preconceptions of her light and airy appearance by combining these traits with high-energy music. A breath of fresh air, she danced through her entire set, her body possessed by the music, clearly in the universe she inhabited whilst creating her songs. Despite there not being an abundance of room to create a proper dance floor, Snow’s energy was absolutely infectious–I found myself humming her latest track, “Swim Away”, for the rest of the night following the show.
The session’s finale was American artist TRISHES. Hailing all the way from Los Angeles, California, TRISHES lit up the stage with a literally electrifying performance. Marked like a warrior, TRISHES possessed a powerful persona that was extremely self-aware both in terms of the internal and the external realms. She commanded the stage, combining her effortlessly smooth voice with hard-hitting beats and rhythmic loops, creating samples in real-time, right before our very eyes and ears. Unafraid to delve into her raw side, and marry it with the more refined, TRISHES incorporated a Freudian twist to produce her captivating performance. She pushed the limits of being her primary instrument, harmonizing with herself/selves to compose a mesmerizing auditory hall of mirrors. So sweet it almost verged on being sickly, TRISHES vocals seduced a fast-paced society to slow down and listen. TRISHES also worked in original spoken-word poems. Authentic in her calls for justice, it felt as if she was creating a performance straight out of her diary. For the duration of her performance, it was TRISHES interpretation of the world, and we were invited to explore it by her side.
This anniversary was a show of ranging musical talents, all joined together by their fervor for music and the experience of sharing it with others. The ability to so directly connect with the artists fueled an energy that has me excited for my next Sofar. That night, a genuine passion project ruled the makeshift stage thanks to a shared zeal for music, joining the personal and the public in a way that still maintained the integrity of the medium.
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