Around me are roughly a hundred people, all of them full of energy, dancing, jumping, and shouting “JIMMY” at the top of their lungs. I’m at a concert by Sofa so Good, an Amsterdam-based band that mixes funk and jazz with rock and metal, and I’m having the time of my life.
The band modestly describes themselves as “one of the bands ever”. But what stands out most to me as I look around at this concert venue is how much fun the band is having, and how that translates to the audience.
The Spark
Sofa so Good is the passion project of high school friends Robin and Stijn who used to play jazz together after class. Various other members joined the band over the years. “Music is a big part of our personality”, says Andy, the band’s lead singer. Starting in 2018, the band began performing covers at venues all across Amsterdam, beginning with The Waterhole.
Their first original single was Havermout, a rock anthem with an energetic electric guitar solo and vocals you just want to sing along with. “As soon as we started writing our own music, we really improved, that really brought the spark”, says Robin, the band’s guitarist. Since then, the band has been busy, releasing two EPs and a slew of additional songs.
The Creative Process
Writing their own songs requires “surprisingly little cocaine”, the band says. Sometimes, they simply mess around in the studio until something clicks and various members riff off each other. Other times, some band members will come to rehearsal with a specific idea in mind and everyone will sit together to see what they can do with it.
The band draws on a wide range of inspirations, from African music to metal, and from Red Hot Chili Peppers to Lady Gaga. “Jeanine is really a pop queen”, Andy tells me, while talking about the band’s guitarist. Robin, on the other hand, is a big metal head and recently really wanted to write something inspired by Rammstein.
When you want to write a Rammstein song, “you write something that’s metal and German”, Robin tells me. That song is Hunde an der Leine, one of Sofa so Good’s latest releases.
Language plays a key part in the band’s creative process. The language they sing in influences how personal a song feels to them, the band members tell me. At the same time, their language selection “reflects Amsterdam at the moment: a bit Dutch, a bit English, a bit German, a bit Jazz”, the band’s drummer,Vincent, muses.
Sofa so Good Performance (Credit: Sofa so Good)
The Audience
Sofa so Good has performed all over Europe, from the Netherlands, where the band is based, to Switzerland, and even Denmark and Norway. But growing an audience is not easy.
Finding venues willing to host smaller artists can be a real headache. Spots like Amsterdam’s Volta offer plug and play nights where up and coming artists can perform for free. Some neighborhoods organise public events and, on occasion, even subsidise them, reducing the financial burden for artists. But ultimately, the band members tell me, the industry often comes down to who you know and who can help you land that lucky gig.
As an up and coming band, Sofa so Good struggles to reach a wider audience. Bigger artists get approached by venues, while smaller ones generally have to chase their next performance.
Streaming services like Spotify are a double-edged sword too. While they provide artists with more reach, they also do not pay artists until they reach a certain monthly streaming threshold.
Conclusion: Good Music is Good Fun
As the concert draws to a close, with the band playing a few more mellow songs and the audience calming down, I look at the smiling faces of my friends who seem to have really enjoyed themselves too.
It is strange to me how communal music can be. Although music taste is ultimately deeply personal, the enjoyment of it can be amplified immensely through an energized crowd. Audience members sing and dance along, losing themselves in the crowd and becoming a part of it, like droplets of water merging into an ocean.
As I close this piece, I want to plead with you directly to support your local artists. You can experience Sofa so Good for yourself at their next concert on the 17th of July at Klokrock, but I also encourage you to support any local artist you can. A whole scene of show-stopping performances and loving local communities awaits you.
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