SIMRIT Album Listening Party:Live from Los Angeles

On April 25, 2020, SIMRIT hosted a global live listening party for their newly released album, a live recording from the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles captured just months earlier. With thousands of viewers across multiple platforms, the band discussed the album's creation, the unique approach to each performance, and the collaboration between world-class musicians including vocalist Simrit, Shannon Hayden on cello and guitar, Salif Bamakora on kora, Jared May on bass and Moog synthesizer, and Devon Ashley on drums.

What Does It Mean to Record a Live Concert as an Album?

The album at the center of this listening party represents a specific artistic choice: capturing the energy and spontaneity of a live performance and releasing it as the official recorded album. The event began with Simrit explaining the urgency around the release. The team had been "working around the clock" with very little sleep to get the album live on Spotify and other digital platforms on April 25, 2020. They coordinated intensely with Spotify and TuneCore, their digital distributor, working "through the middle of the night" to expedite the release timeline. Normally, albums take several days to go live after submission, but the band wanted this specific album available on that particular day—a deliberate choice reflecting the immediacy and timeliness of live music.

The album was recorded at the historic Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles during the band's recent tour. This was not a studio recording with post-production overdubs and editing. As one band member noted during the listening party, "it's not edited at all"—what listeners hear is the raw capture of the live performance, with all its dynamics and organic flow intact. This approach means the listener experiences the actual concert as it happened that night, preserved in its original form.

How Do SIMRIT Create Unique Performances for Each Concert?

Shannon Hayden, the cello and guitar player, articulated a core philosophy during the listening party. She described the band's commitment to making "every concert very unique to the setting to the city to the audience." This is not a group that plays the same setlist or arrangement the same way each night. Instead, they actively "ride the ebb and flows of the dynamics within the group with the audience the sounds the sound of the room that night." In other words, each performance is responsive—shaped by the specific room, the energy of that particular audience, and the moment.

This approach is rare, according to Hayden. Many groups play standardized versions of their songs, but SIMRIT emphasizes variation and context-sensitivity. The band members have "conversations with them each evening" and "ride that wave" together. This requires musicians who are deeply listening to one another and to the audience, adjusting in real time rather than executing a predetermined plan. For a live album, this means what was recorded in Los Angeles that night captures not just songs, but the specific alchemy of that performance—the interaction between these particular musicians and that particular audience in that room.

What Is It Like to Play in a Group Where Everyone Brings Their Best?

Shannon Hayden expressed what drew her to SIMRIT when asked about the experience of performing with the band: "I would love to be a part of a group that enables all of us to bring what we do best to the table and and I definitely feel that within SIMRIT and it's a rare thing." She described this as enabling each musician to contribute their unique voice rather than conforming to a predetermined mold. She emphasized that she values working with "fantastic musicians" and the ability to have "conversations with them each evening," treating performance as a collaborative dialogue rather than a scripted execution.

The listening party itself demonstrated this collaborative spirit. As the album played, band members joined the broadcast—Shannon Hayden, Salif Bamakora on kora, Jared May on bass and Moog synthesizer, and producer Mahankali. They answered questions, offered context, and acknowledged the contributions of other collaborators: Matt Hagan, who did the live recording; Akhi Lavoie, who managed the live stream and graphics; Juniper Lindquist on graphics; and Cole Hatcher on cover photography. Mahankali handled mix and master, a crucial role in preserving the recorded performance's integrity while making it suitable for digital release.

How Does Technology Enable a Global Listening Experience?

The listening party itself was a technological achievement. SIMRIT broadcast the event across three platforms simultaneously—Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Simrit noted that "we have over 6,000 people tuning in today," with viewers joining from "all over the world"—Spain, New York, Portland, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Amsterdam, Switzerland, Mexico, France, Africa, South America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand were all mentioned during the broadcast.

This global reach was intentional. The band welcomed remote participants warmly, reading comments as they came in real time, acknowledging viewers by location. For listeners unable to attend concerts in person or living outside major touring cities, this listening party made the music and the band's presence accessible. It also meant that the listening experience was not passive—viewers could ask questions, and the band would answer them as the album played, creating a hybrid between a concert and a conversation.

What Does the Album Include?

The listening party began with the first track, described as "a gun Joel"—a piece the band walked on stage and started playing at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre show. The full album was played during the listening party, with band members providing commentary on specific tracks and transitions between songs. The album would soon be available on Spotify, Apple Music, and other digital streaming platforms, and plans were mentioned for vinyl and CD releases as well.

The physical recordings and release logistics represented another layer of collaboration. TuneCore served as the digital distributor, managing the complex process of getting the album live across multiple platforms. The band's urgency to release it on April 25, 2020—a specific date they emphasized repeatedly—suggests personal or symbolic significance, though the listening party did not explicitly elaborate on why this date mattered beyond the general desire to share the music with audiences as soon as possible.

What Made the Recording Technically Significant?

Producer Mahankali's role in mix and master was acknowledged as crucial. Mixing a live recording requires preserving the raw energy while ensuring clarity across the instrumentation—vocals, harmonium (played by Simrit), kora, cello, guitar, bass, Moog synthesizer, and drums all had to be balanced. Unlike a studio recording, where each instrument is typically recorded in isolation and layered in post-production, a live recording captures the instruments in real time, and the mixer must work with that reality.

The live recording engineer, Matt Hagan, captured "the magic" of the performance during the concert itself. The challenge of live recording is that there is no second take. Everything—the performance, the recording, the acoustics of the room—happens once. Mahankali then had to work with what was captured to create a master suitable for digital distribution while maintaining the authenticity of the live moment.

What Role Does the Physical Space Play in the Music?

The Wilshire Ebell Theatre is a historic venue with its own acoustic character. During the listening party, band members noted that "the screen is a big part of the sound" and discussed how the specific room shapes the music. This reflects the band's philosophy: the location and its acoustic properties are not just backdrops but active participants in the sound. A live album from a specific venue, therefore, carries within it the signature of that space.

For listeners wearing headphones or listening through good speakers (as SIMRIT recommended at the start of the listening party), the album offers not just songs but a captured moment in a particular place. The Wilshire Ebell Theatre's sound, that night's audience, that specific configuration of musicians and moment in time—all of it is embedded in the recording.

Where to Go From Here

Listeners interested in experiencing this album can find it on Spotify, Apple Music, and other digital streaming platforms. SIMRIT expressed hope of returning to tour as soon as it became possible again (the listening party took place in April 2020, early in the COVID-19 pandemic). For those seeking to understand how SIMRIT creates music that responds to place and moment, or who want to experience a live concert captured in its original form without studio editing, this album serves as a direct window into their approach. The listening party recording itself, archived on YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram, documents not just the music but the band's collaborative process and their relationship with their global audience.