Ear to the ground

The Shillong Chamber Choir will perform in Mumbai, and it is ready to take song requests via social media.

There was a time when when you had to call in to radio stations or scream your lungs out at a concert to request a favourite song by a favoured band. In 2011 it takes much less effort — you can do this on social networking sites.

Take for instance the 16-member Shillong Chamber Choir, which has been spending an increasing amount of time on Facebook and Twitter. It’s not that they are addicted to social networking. The reason is that, for their maiden show in Mumbai, the choir has decided to use social media sites to help them select items from their repertoire.

The Meghalaya-based choir, which won TV talent hunt show India’s Got Talent 2 and have performed at Rashtrapati Bhavan and for US President Barack Obama on his recent India visit (the latter performance featured “Yeh dosti...” from Sholay), has already got requests lined up. Neil Nongkynrih, the choir’s founder and director, is thrilled to see Mumbai’s response online. “When our organisers told us about the idea,” he says enthusiastically, “the first thought that went through my mind was: why didn’t we think of this before?” To make your own selection, visit www.facebook.com/liveindigo.

Nongkynrih says that while the choir has in the past organised innovative and eye-catching, but still traditional promotions, social media as means of pulling in a good crowd is looking very promising. This way, he says, the audience does not go home disappointed with the songs the choir has chosen to sing. “After every show,” he says, “a huge number of fans requests songs that they would like to hear us play. Most of the time we sing a few requests, but with Facebook and Twitter acting as our request lists, we can sing exactly what the Mumbai audience wants us to sing.” The choir will pick about four songs from the ones requested by fans online, and perform them during the concert.

Among other past requests, occasionally for Khasi songs from Meghalaya, is one for something more ambitious: a “slightly modified” version of the national anthem that makes a mention of the north-east. The group has done a rendition of the anthem but, says a member, “we haven’t touched on the lyrics”.

Well-known for their jazz, classic rock, popular English, Bollywood and Western classical renditions, the Shillong Chamber Choir has won three gold medals in international choir competitions. The group’s Facebook page is full of fans requesting them to come to their cities. “Guys, any time for Gujarat? Ahmedabad by any chance??” asks one, adding, “fingers crossed...”.

Nongkynrih says, “We get a fair amount of our research accomplished online. What the audiences want us to sing, where they want us next and what they didn’t like in last performance — it’s all there.”

Shom Jagtiani, chief operating officer of Indigo Live, which is promoting the event in Mumbai, says, “All the best bands have begun using social media to promote their music these days. Clever marketing has always been just as important as having great music.” Jagtiani says Indigo Live is not an event management company; instead, it works with the artistes to create what the COO calls a proprietary event.

Jagtiani, who has had a career in investment banking and is a music aficionado himself, is keen to use social media for future concerts. “For the upcoming jazz and blues concert in Mumbai in October,” he says, “I intend to use social media both to promote the event and to encourage interactive sessions with the artists and audience.”

Nongykrih and Jagtiani say they will focus more on social media awareness after the cricket World Cup. “Right now,” says Jagtiani, the day before the final, “Twitter is simply all about discussions on cricket, and so we are going a little easy on promotions. But starting next week, we will introduce social media promos like free tickets, a chance to meet the choir members or interact with them live on social media chats, et cetera.”

In the few days between the World Cup finals and the concert, the organisers expect audience recommendations to flood in. The day after the concert it’s back to cricket again, with the 2011 Indian Premier League season opening on April 8 — so the choir and the event organisers are aiming to make the most of this fortuitous gap.

“The Shillong Date”, at Shanmukhananda Hall, April 7, 7.30 pm. Tickets, Rs 300-2,000, available at Rhythm House and Cafe Coffee Day outlets at Shivaji Park, Sion and Matunga