NEWS
EVENTS
Living Room Session with Chaplin
Monday 29th April 2013 | Amanda
Recently, a friend of mine started writing for Rooms magazine, a magazine focusing on art and culture. She had the privilege to interview Pippo and Dali, members of the alternative duo Chaplin. When she told me about this band, I fell in love with their style within 30 seconds.
They might not be a famous name on the London music scene yet, but Chaplin clearly does have a professional and established sound. Somewhere between Grizzly Bear and Four Tet, Chaplin is about melancholic strings aside soft synth lines perfectly embracing Dali’s sincere vocals.
It turns out that I was lucky enough to watch them performing in their very own living room in South London last weekend.
They have played two brilliant Living Rooms Sessions (that you can watch on vimeo) already and chose to take the experience to another level last weekend: they invited an audience of 18 people to their flat for a live Living Room Session.
I was expecting something quite formal but I wasn’t even inside the flat when I could hear the echos of a party. That was actually more like it: a bunch of creative people - magazine editors, writers, music producers, cultural festivals executives - getting together, having a drink (or two, or ten) and sharing a moment of music in their mates’ living room.
The gig itself, that Pippo and Dali - our hosts and Chaplin’s members - had been preparing for two months, was an amazing experience. Every single person had their pair of headphones, it felt like we were all sharing something really exclusive and intimate since nobody else was able to hear the music. The headphones would also get us to be completely focused on the music: no extra noise, no comments from the people around you, nothing but rough live music.
Thus, we found ourselves, 18 persons, gathered around a table cracking under the weight of synths, laptops and mixing tables where Chaplin were playing their ethereal notes with all their souls.
A religious silence during the songs, followed by clapping and praising from the tiny crowd, that all ended with “let’s all head to the pub now?”.
This whole thing felt really unique and I wish for any music lover to live something similar someday.
Check out Chaplin via their website and soundcloud, and if you dig it, keep an eye on them for another Living Room Session and catch them at the Strongroom Bar in London on May 8th.
Amanda Maisonnave
