Music from the living room

If the recent cold spell has dampened your appetite for venturing outside to enjoy some live music, a trio of local musicians have come up with a way to bring the experience of a live concert to the comfort of your own home. 

Three 'one-man bands' will be streaming a live concert on the internet next month, in what is the first initiative of its kind for Malta.

YEWS, Bark Bark Disco and Megafaun will perform in one of their living rooms on 12 March, and will stream the concert online through the internet service Stickam, who are "really excited about the event and will do their own promotion," according to Ian Schranz of Bark Bark Disco, whose idea it was to stream the upcoming concert.

The three musicians - Schranz, Yasmin Kuymizakis (aka YEWS) and Daniel Abdilla (Megafaun) - will perform from one of their living rooms: "whichever seems the cosiest," according to Schranz.

The idea came about as a result of another upcoming - though 'intimate' concert - at Angelica in Valletta on 8 March, by the same trio.

"We could only fit about 25 people, so we thought we'd expand that further online," Schranz, who is also the drummer and synth player for local rock band Beangrowers, added.

In light of recent problems local musicians have been facing when it comes to securing performance venues - chief of which is the imposition of a €50,000 police guarantee for venues that aren't registered as entertainment outlets - perhaps the live streaming concert could go some way to addressing such issues.

But does this innovation run the risk of 'ruining' traditional live concerts? The trio don't seem to think so.

"There's a big difference in simply watching a band play music and actually being at a concert, and it will have a very different vibe, so I don't expect that anybody would see this as a way to replace traditional concerts," Abdilla - who is also the frontman of local rock band Clandestines - said, while Schranz and Kuymizakis pointed out another advantage to the format: the ability to go beyond Malta's shores.

"By streaming I see us as being innovative, and able to reach a wider audience, not with the intention of replacing traditional concerts, which we do perform as well," Kuymizakis, who as YEWS served as the opening act for Brikkuni's album launch at The City Theatre, Valletta, last Saturday.

"There are many Maltese expats who will love the idea and also, foreign fans of the bands who might otherwise not get a chance to see the bands. The approach is very low-pressure and casual on the bands," Schranz added.

One of the key elements of performing to a live audience is being faced with an expectant crowd of people who'll be judging you while standing just a few metres away. However, the musicians don't necessarily consider being removed from this as a plus.

"Since we'll be playing to physically nobody, we won't have any idea what the reaction from the people watching will be," Abdilla said.

Watch out for the concert on Stickam.com. The stream will start at 9:30pm on 12 March.