Look Out

In balconies all over the world, musicians try to rival the view. In Paris, verdure vs vinyl; it’s riffs against rugged in Mexico City; and in New York, notes attempt to soar higher than the skyscrapers behind them.

This is Balcony TV, an online viral show – they call it ‘music with a view’ - that records performances on balconies by up and coming artists, many of whom have gone on to become big mainstream bands like Mumford And Sons and The Temper Trap. Since its Dublin beginning in 2006, Balcony TV has started up in many cities – Stockholm, Johannesburg, Melbourne, Istanbul – and as of last weekend, launched in Delhi. Dus Capital?

Dilli Gene

The India/Delhi channel currently has two episodes, one of which is a typically tasty visual introduction to the Capital, wonderfully scored with Indian Ocean’s Bhor. After this bit unfortunately, the video runs into an almost 25 minute lengthy and tedious interview with Indian Ocean dishing on the music scene in Delhi, a lot of which you’ll find yourself skipping. The actual balcony act featuring Vasundhara Vidalur and Adil Manuel (their work spans different genres including jazz, funk, RnB, blues and gospel) is much more fun. The duo’s lustrous track however, deserved a prettier balcony or at the very least a sexier view. Maybe a deep blue night where city lights try and steal the moon’s sheen? We get that it’s not the kind of show where a big budget is assigned to production, but the setting could have still been better thought out.

Despite these few faults, Balcony TV is an incredibly fun idea and we look forward to the weekly al fresco Delhi acts. As for us folks in Bombay, where the balcony was killed many years ago, we’ll pay twice as much for the view.

Getting there: Log on to http://www.balconytv.com/delhi, view the Facebook group here, if you have a balcony to offer email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , free.