Attend this Goan fusion of Konkani and Portuguese music styles in Bandra

(From left) Souvik Bhattacharya, Jarryd Rodrigues, Sampriti Dastidar, Vaibhav Jaiswal, Kaprila Keishing and Gomes at a previous performance

Think of Goa and the image that strikes one's mind is that of smiling people, great food and milling beaches. But every Mumbaikar's favourite holiday destination also hosts a vast cultural treasure trove of music, literature and poetry. Jose Neil Gomes-led Roz Angon brings a vein of that vibrant musical culture to the city with their performance on February 22 at a Bandra venue.

The title of the group came from the traditional courtyards in old Goan homes. "Houses in the Konkan would have an open courtyard in the centre, with an orchard or rose garden," he tells us. His own family home in Benaulim, a 350-year-old structure, is proof of this legacy. The term, Roz Angon, is a blend of the Portuguese and Konkani words for rose and courtyard respectively.

"The idea behind the music was to capture the culture and music - a fusion of Konkani and Portuguese languages and styles," Gomes says. The resultant music, he remarks, was rosy and an example of the Goan philosophy of life. "It has warmth and captures the feel of an afternoon siesta; enjoying the sun in your courtyard."

Jose Neil Gomes

It was during the pandemic that Gomes truly started on the idea of this project. "When I moved back to Goa from Mumbai, I started listening to these songs on the radio. I perceived the music, made in the 1960s and '70s, through the lens of my generation," he reveals. In that, it took up the space between familiarity and newness for the musician.

It sparked the idea of restructuring and contemporising the tracks. The initial idea, he adds, was to explore the state's folk roots. "I also wanted to go into the forests, record the tribal and folk songs that very few people outside Goa have heard to include them in our compositions," he says.

Tomorrow's gig will see the team - Gomes, vocalists Kaprila Keishing and Sampriti Dastidar, drummer Vaibhav Jaiswal, saxophonist Jarryd Rodrigues, with Joe Ferrao taking over the bass - revitalise the Goan and Konkani pop culture from the '60s and '70s decades. "The music already tilts a lot towards rock and roll and pop. My idea was to use this language to infuse Brazilian music, R&B to the tracks and contemporise them," Gomes notes. The songs include compositions by the iconic multi-instrumentalist and composer Frank Fernandes, who livened up Bollywood's style in the early 1960s, working with music directors like Shankar-Jaikishen and Kalyanji-Anandji.

The gig is only the beginning. The band is already working towards an album by sampling their live music. "It is a big album with a lush orchestral sound that will have horns, strings and a jazz influence," the musician shares, adding that they are in no rush. "It is taking a while because I never rush things. Time does not matter to me," he says, echoing the unmistakable Goan spirit of susegad.

That might just be the perfect vibe to bring to a new Mumbai audience at their mid-week concert.

On: February 22; 9 pm
At: Bonobo, Kenilworth Plaza, Bandra West
Call: 9619930030
Log on to: @bonobobandra