The Fringe Brings Experimental Music to The Quarter, Mumbai

One of Mumbai’s newest venues, The Quarter, isn’t just drawing audiences because of being attached to the Royal Opera House, but also because it’s giving the city a calendar full of gigs.

Although modeled on a jazz club — something that shows in its programming preferences too — The Quarter is now opening up to more experimental music, with help from artist and event agency Mixtape. The Fringe, which takes place every two months, hosts its inaugural edition on May 10th. Kicking things off are Bengaluru duo Nikhil Narendra and Shreyas Dipali and Mumbai producer Sparkle & Fade aka Palash Kothari.

Producer and keyboardist Nikhil Narendra says performances have been scant since drummer Shreyas Dipali has been out of action on account of a wrist injury early this year, so they’re looking forward to get back on stage. Narendra says, “Right after he recovered, we hit the jam room and it feels great to be playing again. We try and jam as much as possible. At other times we just converse, share ideas and think about music.” They’re presenting a set not too different from before, with a few improvised additions to compositions that draw from trip-hop, electronica and glitch. Performing in Mumbai for the second time — their city debut came at gig series Generation Why in April last year — Narendra says plans are on to further customize sets through the year based on setting. “We would love to score films, do completely improvised sets and also perform at art galleries,” he says.

Sparkle & Fade. Photo: Courtesy of Jwala

As far as experiments go for young producer Sparkle & Fade, Kothari says it’s the final time he’ll perform his current iteration of his ambient, lightheaded tracks. Kothari, who released his most recent EP Ascend in August last year, says he’s taking a break from playing live to write new material. He says, “Playing in a very intimate venue seems like a good way to close that out.”

He’s got a couple of new tracks, but says he prefers to go with the flow on mixing up current material. He says, “I’m going to try and get my lyre, xylophone and another synth into the mix this time and see where it goes.”

The Fringe ft Nikhil Narendra and Shreyas Dipali, Sparkle & Fade takes place at the Quarter, Mumbai on May 10th. Entry: Rs. 499. Buy tickets here.