A new gig series puts the focus on sub-genres of electronic music that have never found their place under the sun, at least not in Mumbai
Album cover by Talking Heads
It was last month, on June 28, when Mumbai-based DJ Abhimanyu Meer had put up a post on Facebook that read: "Planning a regular EBM/post-punk/industrial party in Bombay. Who's in?" The question had piqued our interest. Who, in God's name, would be up in this city for a gig that showcases underground sub-genres of electronic music from the '70s and '80s, which were as ephemeral as the International cricketing career of Vinod Kambli? Isn't the concept a bit too experimental? That's what we wondered.
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Album cover by Krafwerk
So it came as no small surprise when, five days later, Meer put up another update that announced: "Remember that EBM/post-punk/new-wave/industrial party I was talking about? Well, it's on." What's this, we asked ourselves. Can it be that a large enough number of people have shown an interest in the event for it to justify its tag of a "party"? The answer, as it turns out, is in the affirmative. For, the first edition of Plunging Necklines — the series of gigs that Meer has planned not just in Mumbai, but also across other metros — will be held tomorrow at a Bandra venue.
Album cover by Cabaret Voltaire
But first, let's explain the reason behind our initial scepticism. Like we said, the genres that Meer had been referring to in his posts are as incongruent to prevalent trends in dance music as a Vengaboys album would be to someone brought up on a diet of Hindustani classical. In fact, even back in the day, they were palatable only to a select group of people who were willing to push the envelope of music consumption, unafraid to move beyond the boundaries of straight-jacketed pop, rock and disco.
Album cover by Physic TV
So much so, that a member of Cabaret Voltaire — a post-punk act on the bill for tomorrow's gig — was hospitalised with a chipped backbone after unappreciative audience members started throwing objects at the band sometime in the early '80s.
Abhimanyu Meer
At the same time, it must be said that a lot of sonic templates that originated from tracks in these genres formed the foundation of later trends in dance music, such as house and techno. For example, Daft Punk — possibly the most seminal electronic act of the modern era — owes a significant musical debt to Giorgio Moroder, who pioneered an '80s sub-genre known as Italo-disco. Meer confirms, "Many of the sounds we hear today have their basis in the post-punk industrial era, which has been instrumental in the creation of [present-day] dance music. That being said, this sort of music doesn't get played often, at least not in this city."
An attempt to change this equation is what engendered the idea behind the event. "The main intention was to showcase a lot of different genres that don't necessarily fall under the ambit of dance music in the country today. And it's going to be a sort of informal gathering of people who are either fond of this music, or are curious about it," Meer tells us. But wasn't he, too, somewhat diffident about the response he would get to his initial post? "Honestly, I was expecting very few people to reply. I thought I would be able to count them on my fingers. So, it was surprising to see people [putting their hands up] from not just Bombay, but Bangalore and Delhi as well. And even though the interest has been limited to middling so far, what we are trying to do is foster a community around music that doesn't really have an audience anymore," he says, voicing a hope that this small step in re-introducing a forgotten era might one day be a giant leap in the way dance music is perceived in the country.
ON July 19, 10.30 pm
AT The Little Easy, Link Corner Building, Bandra West
CALL 9892922232
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