Meetup & Listening Session with Wine and Snacks

"It was such an extraordinary spiritual experience"

"Even though most of us barely knew each other, we grew closer that evening."

"You cannot imagine how impactful was that listening hour on me."

– Those are some of the feedbacks we received after our first Listening Session.

Hi!

My name is Eltaj, your host and probably a new friend. I specialise in hospitality and music. This Saturday we're hosting the second one in the series of events called Listening Sessions. You can read more about the concept of Listening Sessions below.

1. 19:00 – GTKEO (Get to Know Each Other)
   First we will get to know each other through small introduction and then non-small talks. How will we get to that point? Through non-small-talk cards that I have prepared. You will have questions of different levels of intensity, so get ready for hearty conversations. Everyone gets some cards and you are free to choose who to talk to or converse within a group.
   Wine and snacks are served during the session. We also accommodate tea drinkers. After the event you are very welcome to donate an appropriate sum depending on your satisfaction and fulfilment.

2. 20:00 – Listening Session.
   What is Listening Session all about? Listening Session means attentive listening where we don't get distracted with anything else, but listen to music. Just like when watching films with full attention in a cinema, we can as well listen, with open or closed eyes, immersing ourselves into the full experience of hearing. We will explore how much a full listening experience can enrich us by giving it its proper time. In Japan there are cafes called kissas that specialize in playing and appreciation of jazz records.

What are we going to listen?
This time we will listen to a very special American record that is unknown to many people. I had a chance to hear it first time on YouTube and upon reaching that mesmerizing state that only music can initiate, I embarked on finding this album in a physical state, which was ironically shipped from Japan. The album is called Georgia Sea Island Songs and the songs were recorded on the field by Alan Lomax in the early 60s. It's a collection of African-American spirituals that were born and developed in plantations in the east coast of the US. They represent a very pure form of African-American music, preserved in that period in a very pristine state thanks to the climate that many white colonisers were not accustomed to live in. There is a lot to tell and I will share my knowledge and perspective on it before the session.
Total duration: 45mins (Side A + Side B).

You will be asked to stay silent throughout the whole listening session. That's the only rule.

3. 21:00 – Here we get back to the noise of everyday life and continue our newly made connections with wine and joy.

As the whole event is going to take place in a flat in downtown, the capacity is about 14 people for the most comfort.