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Easy On The Ears @ BYOH

PictureA while ago, I joined the rising ambient pop group, Easy Wanderlings, as a flautist after I was discovered by a fellow member while performing at the local community jam. I wriggled in as the 7th member of the group with my silver flute among other musicians of fantastic musicality and capabilities. We are a band of amazing guitarists, singers with mellifluous voices, an excellent violinist, and a skilled drummer. Being the youngest member, I can't help but admire the talent within a seven-member group. This was also my first time venturing out of the western classical music scene and exploring more easy-going, lyrical music, which made the experience all more exciting!

 After the global launch of our first EP album, "As Written In The Stars," we landed our very first performance at the BYOH at Gray Spark Audio. BYOH spells "Bring Your Own Headphones." It is truly an interesting concept, where the audience brings their own headphones or earbuds which directly connect to the sound system to hear raw, unedited music. For several reasons, the experience was so beautiful, I just had to pen it.

 The moment I entered the studio, a rush of air-conditioned air greeted me with a chill. My initial thought - "it's cold" - was instantly replaced with a feeling of warmth and comfort. It was the ambience of the studio with dimmed, soft yellow lighting, which made me get into the relaxed mood of a performer. The familiar view of open guitar cases, AUX cables, microphones, and my family glinted in the light, which gave me a boost of confidence. My anxious thoughts faded away and I was comfortable in this space.
BYOH is such, that only 20-30 members in the audience were allowed. The feeling of stale air accumulating for the duration of the performance is stifling, and I was glad this setting was unlike it. In fact, the limited audience helped build a connection between them and us. 

 The composer and lyricist of Easy Wanderlings introduced us - The Wanderlings. He presented our album and our first song as the audience listened into their headphones with rapt attention. 
It was time to start.
I lifted my cold flute with cold fingers and a warm smile. As I played the first notes of "Ode To A Bristlecone," I saw heads turn towards out of the corner of my eye with expressions reading "what instrument is that?" Soon, those expressions were replaced by genial smiles towards all the band members as we played our respective parts. Our hopes for a good performance were fulfilled as we saw some swaying to the music, tapping their feet, snapping their fingers, bobbing their head, or simply humming along. The direct sound of our music flowed effortlessly through the audience with no interference-just the music. Melodies, harmonies, the strums of the guitar, and our voices illustrated feelings of joy, celebration, love, longing, loneliness, and enjoyment. As our one-hour performance drew to a close, the Wanderlings bowed and said our "thank you's" and "farewells."

 Well, I guess our Wanderling music was definitely Easy on the ears!
      

   
Check out an article by Homegrown magazine on a listener's experience of our BYOH gig!
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