Indigo Earth's #DreamSofar

Ben Howard. Marcus Foster. Ed Sheeran. Dog Is Dead. We Were Evergreen. You don’t play alongside these kind of acts by being just anybody. Fortunately, alt-folksters Indigo Earth aren’t just ‘anybody’; the five-piece contribute to the music world in more ways than one.

First, take their craft. We’ve previously described them as ‘A stirring, heartfelt band’ and, to this day, not only are we yet to discover reason to believe Indigo Earth are anything but ‘stirring’ and ‘heartfelt, we are also yet to discover two adjectives that describe the band’s warming, welcoming style better. Conveniently, it’s the kind of music that’s just perfect on a Sunday; roast in the oven, fire on in the lounge, Indigo Earth keeping you company. Try it. Your Sundays are about to reach a whole new level of lazy.

Ironic, given that the work ethic of the London-based band is anything but ‘lazy’. What with guitarist and vocalist Ben Nash describing Indigo Earth as ‘a band that loves nothing more than playing live’, there are the gigs. Lots and lots of gigs (details of which you can find at the band’s website). But so much do they love the concept of showcasing musical material, as if what they’re adding to the live scene isn’t enough, they’ve even started hosting and curating monthly unplugged nights called Indigo Wednesdays, comprising of the band’s ‘favourite musicians and creatives’, at a little chapel in Bethnal Green (the next of which takes place on February 20^th and you can, and should, buy your ticket here).

It’s hard work contributing as much to the arts as the band does so, quite understandably, every now and then the previous Sofarians need a bit of downtime. It appears, though, that so passionate are the band about what they do, they have seemingly adopted the philosophy that ‘there ain’t no rest for the wicked’. Nash explains that, so deeply engrained is the band’s love for the live scene, ‘it will be hard going cold turkey, but it’s time for us to focus all our energies on creating lots of new material.’ With ‘lots of intense writing and demo sessions’ in the bag, the band have grown fond of the idea of releasing something in the summer. With Thank Folk For That describing their debut self-titled EP (which you can get at the band’s Bandcamp) as ‘A stunner of an EP, rich with beautiful harmonies and instrumentals’ and Charlie Ashcroft of Amazing Radio as ‘a brilliant EP which I urge you to check out’, it comes as no surprise that we feel that the summer cannot come soon enough. And with the band inevitably being inspired by the likes of those that comprise their dream Sofar (see below), it would appear that our feelings of excitement and anticipation are more than justified.

Indigo Earth’s #DreamSofar would be:

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

 ‘This man's ability to craft a song and tell a story is on another level. The intensity of his dark, honest songs would blow the socks off the audience at an intimate Sofar show - it would no doubt be an unforgettable experience for everyone.’

Arcade Fire

‘Incredible band, incredible songs. Our songwriting is greatly inspired by these guys, without a doubt. The lyrics, the melodies, the variety of sounds, the energy, the dark rocky moments coupled with the softer ones. It's raw, honest, intense music at its best.’

John Grant

‘John Grant writes brilliant 'out of the box', unafraid music. He blends dark humourous lyrics with weird and wonderful sounds to create something really captivating. And his voice is truly something else - enough to melt everyone's hearts. When Ben and Amy saw him play at Glastonbury 2011, there were fully grown bearded men with tears rolling down their cheeks. Needless to say Sofar needs a bit of this action.’

System Of A Down

‘Imagine a full blown mosh pit at a Sofar show! Maybe?! We've all got a soft spot for these guys. System songs have such an energy and a passion to them; the seamless blend of beautiful melodies and harmony over intense thrashy instrumentation is fantastic. They'd certainly be a bit of a Sofar curveball, but it would be incredible to see them in such an intimate setting! Interesting to see how they'd do 'acoustic', too.’

Wild Beasts

‘Wild Beast's combination of organic and electronic sounds is something that is massively influential to us. The ambient and sometimes ethereal textures, coupled with pulsing rhythms would be enough to get any Sofar crowd moving. Make it happen guys?’

Pictures: Luke Takes Photos, Odi Caspy, and Amy Read

To Kill A King's #DreamSofar

Described as 'Sky-scraping folk' by The Fly and producers of 'Dark lyrical musings matched by epic musical sensibilities' by Mojo, following last week's triumphant launch of our new #DreamSofar initiative, it is the turn of To Kill A King to tell us who would make up their #DreamSofar, and why. Although they've not been around for long (debut single Fictional State was released only last year), the heights to which TKAK have already soared are huge. The follow-up to the aforementioned Fictional State, Bloody Shirt (off their free-to-download My Crooked Saint EP) was particularly embraced by music critics and fans alike; it was iTunes' Single of the Week and received regular airplay from Radio 1, Radio 2 and XFM. It is not only to the recording studio that To Kill A King's talent is constrained, though - they have quite the affection for live material. After releasing their Word Of Mouth EP, a collection of live recordings from their Fortress Studios and from which the single Howling was spawned, they not only embarked on their 'guerilla gigs' program, performing acoustic sets in unusual and secret locations throughout the nation, they also performed at over sixty living rooms shows (a couple of which were Sofars!). And yet, despite the amount of time and effort that's required to take the band such places, the outfit (in particular frontman Ralph) somehow still finds the time to give back. Not only has Ralph been recording the musical sessions that have taken place on his balcony this past year or so, accompanied by the likes of Bastille, Youth Imperial and We Were Evergreen to name a few, for all you guys to see (at To Kill A King's official YouTube channel), he's also recently made the audio of said recordings available to download. What's more, all profits are to go to Great Ormond Street Hospital. And if that wasn't enough, To Kill A King have an album produced by Jim Abbiss (Adele, Bombay Bicycle Club), Charlie Hugall (Florence And The Machine, The Maccabees) and Andy Green (Keane, Paolo Nutini) set to be released in 2013.

To Kill A King's #DreamSofar would consist of:

Bastille (Ralph, vocals/acoustic guitar):

'Intelligent pop at its finest. I've seen them many times, once at Sofar Sounds - great to hear the songs stripped back.'

Two Gallants (Ralph, vocals/acoustic guitar):

'I'd also recommend Two Gallants. We're currently on tour with them in Germany and they are fantastic. Great lyrics. I'd love to hear them in a more intimate setting.'

We Were Evergreen (Ralph, vocals/acoustic guitar):

'Lovely bunch. Quirky upbeat pop, and French to boot! Did a balcony session with them earlier in the year and it was great fun!'

Teitur (Ian, electric guitar):

'One of my top albums is The Singer by Teitur. He'd be bloody great for a Sofar Sounds. The album is led by him on acoustic guitar and keys but has some incredibly beautiful string and brass arrangements; it's dramatic, exciting and he tells some great stories which the Sofar crowd would lap up like thirsty cats.'

Professor Penguin (Ben, synth & keys):

'They are pals of ours but I forget about that when I watch them, which is a good sign. Johnny has a great voice, the music is uplifting and melancholy, and there's brass and harmonies in there too.'

Sofar, meet Brighton. Brighton, meet Sofar.

Yes, that's right. It's finally happening. You don't need to have been to the city on the coast to know that Brighton has quite the burgeoning music scene. It hasn't spawned such great artists as Bat For Lashes, Blood Red Shoes and The Maccabees and played host to the Brighton Festival and The Great Escape over the years for nothing. And given that we at Sofar are enticed to burgeoning music scenes like flys are to light bulbs, it was a love story waiting to happen. You could even go Sofar as to say it's a modern day Romeo & Juliet. But, of course, we at Sofar like to do things a little differently (who ever thought doing a gig in a living room would be a good idea?), so instead of our Romeo and Juliet coming to a wholly premature poison-fuelled ending, they are to walk hand in hand along the Brighton Pier and live happily ever after (it's what dear old Willy Shakespeare would've wanted). Although with a little help from our friends at The Great Escape festival we've had casual forays into the city before, and in the process brought the luscious tones of such talented musicians as Trophy Wife, We Were Evergreen and even our co-founder David J. Alexander to those who were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, the time has come for Brighton to stake a much overdue claim in Sofar history all of its own. Unsurprisingly we've got a great line-up set up, and the magical moment not so indifferent to spacehopper Neil Armstrong's little venture is set to happen towards the end of this very month.

If you're not as excited as we are about this, 1) check your pulse - Sofar is coming to one of the greatest musical cities this world has to offer after all and 2) read this - our recently appointed Head Local Blogger down in Brighton, Adam Wilson, reconfirms for us why the Sofar movement is so significant. Didn't even have to ask him to write the article, or pay him for that matter. I leave you with one of Shakespeare's most famous lines:

To Sofar or not to Sofar? There is no question about it.

Picture: Steve McCallum

If you think your city has a music scene crying out for some Sofar lovin' and we're yet to get to you, give rafe@sofarsounds.com an e-mail. If you like what you see and want to get involved in the editorial side of Sofar, give me an e-mail at nick.beaver@sofarsounds.com. If you think you have what it takes musically to create some Sofar history all of your own, or think you know of an artist or band that have the potential to do so, send your recommendation to sofarsoundsmusic@gmail.com.