Category Archives: Interviews

Interviews with groups and individuals

Exclusive Interview: The Voice Festival UK 2013 Kicks Off

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Guess what? The time has almost come for the biggest collegiate event of the year. Forget University Challenge, forget the publication of the league tables, this is all about pure, unadulterated awesome in the form of university a cappella.

As always, we here at University A Cappella UK will be following every group, every round and every song as the events unfold, including previews and reviews of each round and the prediction polls, which we hope will evoke much discussion like last year. Before all of that though, we spoke to Cherith Graham, member of the Voice Festival team, about the structure of this year’s competition, the upcoming ‘Big Weekend’ and personal favourites from the past season.

UACUK: Hi Cherith, thanks for taking the time to speak to us. Before we start, let’s clarify your role in the team. What exactly is your area?

CG: Hi Mark! Each of the team has specific responsibilities. I’m Brand and Marketing Manager for the Voice Festival (VF-UK) as well as being one of the team’s Event Managers.

My focus for the last year has been on revamping the Voice Festival’s look and feel so that we can better communicate who we are and what we do. The Voice Festival has come a long way in five years – our offering has flexed and multiplied and we now have three fully fledged programmes (youth, universities, and communities) for supporting and developing singers of different ages and experiences. So in response to this growth, and taking on board feedback from our singers, volunteers, audiences and patrons we’ve made some significant changes.

As part of this rebrand journey, I’ve been responsible for designing our new website. It’s a privilege to work with so many vibrant and inventive singers and we wanted our website to be a stage for showcasing this talent, and energising new communities of a cappella singers and enthusiasts. The site makes it easier for existing singers and a cappella fanatics to share opportunities and knowledge, stay up to date with VF-UK opportunities and events, and keep talking to us and telling us what is needed from our programmes.

With my Event Manager hat on, I work on various events in the Voice Festival calendar. Like the rest of the team, this means anything and everything from sourcing venues for hosting workshops and events, setting up the box office, advertising the events, liaising with the performers, and making sure our workshops go to plan.

UACUK: And now the applications have closed, how has the response been in general compared to last year?

CG: The response has been great – we’ve had a lot of interest, and have ended up with more groups from more universities competing than ever before. We’ve had new groups coming forward, or at least expressing interest and making enquiries, and we’re really excited for the year ahead.

UACUK: Are you still running the three competitions (i.e. Community, Youth and University) side-by-side this year?

CG: That’s the plan. Applications have now closed for University and Community groups, and Youth applications will close shortly. Obviously a big part of what we at the Voice Festival aim to do is to encourage and enable a cappella singers of all ages and life experiences to meet and interact with each other, and this is once again a vital ingredient of the 2013 season.

UACUK: Have you ever thought about combining the three competitions?

CG: We have considered it in the past, especially when considering whether or not the competition would remain in its current format, but we felt that in order to keep the competition fair and healthy, it makes sense to grow them individually.

UACUK: Members of groups involved may know, although outsiders may not, that you were considering changing the competition from Regionals to one large ‘Big Weekend’ style competition in March in London. You then asked for feedback on these suggestions and have since reverted to the previous format. What exactly has changed since last year, and was this partly due to the feedback given by previously competing groups?

CG: Yes, having taken on board feedback from previous competing groups, and the feedback from our Big Weekend consultation, we’ve decided to maintain our UK wide competition format, as well as introduce the Big Weekend to this year’s programme.

This structure was prompted by feedback, yes, because we received some very strong opinions from several groups who said they would prefer the University competition format to stay as it was. But we also felt in order to further the goals of the Voice Festival, we wanted to keep our plans for the ‘Big Weekend’. as we felt it would be a great opportunity for groups to come and meet each other, learn from each other and from professionals, and to perform with each other in a less tense and competitive atmosphere. It will take place 15-17 March 2013 in London, and all groups from the regional rounds are invited to attend, with the idea being that transport will be paid for by the profits from each Regional Round.

This will be made possible by one of the other differences this year. Instead of the Voice Festival team organising each Regional Round, volunteers from the groups competing will be forming what we’re calling ‘Event Co-Ordinator Teams’, which will work in partnership with a Voice Festival representative as the ‘Event Manager’. This gives each region more of a say in the format of their round and will hopefully lead to more regional character. It also encourages local groups to work together and become a central hub for growing a cappella in their region. Obviously, the adjudication side of the events will still be taken care of by us to ensure fair competition.

UACUK: Are you happy with the progress that the Voice Festival has made, both in the past four years and with the introduction of the Big Weekend? Are you happy that the majority of the groups appear to be on board with the developments?

CG: Absolutely. It’s a new, exciting journey for us as a team and for UK a cappella. In the feedback, people always tell us that one of the most rewarding aspects of VF-UK is the opportunity to sing to new audiences and in new environments, and so promoting those opportunities is central to what we are doing – adding to opportunities that groups make for themselves throughout the year. But also, we feel a bit of competition is healthy, because it leads to groups pushing themselves and pushing the boundaries of what they are capable of as a vocal group. So I think it’s definitely lining up to be a fantastic season.

UACUK: You’ve confirmed the date of the Big Weekend as 15-17 March. With regard to the Regional competitions, will you be suggesting dates to the team organising each event, or will it be up to them when they take place?

CG: A balance of both. We’d like it to be a collaboration between the Event Co-Ordinator Team and Event Manager so that a stretch of weekends are found that work best for everyone. Obviously they have the guidance of when the events have occurred in previous years to help them, and are encouraged to hold them at times that would be good, depending on term times and exams etc., but at the same time we’d like them to be roughly at similar times as in previous years, simply because those dates have worked well in the past. I think we’ll probably end up with Regionals sitting in the same time period as before.

UACUK: However positive it is that you’ve got a record number of groups competing in this year’s university competition, why do you think groups such as Cadenza, Out of the Blue, The Fitz Sirens and The Oxford Gargoyles have decided to pull out of the competition in the past two years, and is this a concern?

CG: I think it’s partly due to the nature of university groups. Because they change membership year on year, they also change their priorities. It depends on the group make-up. Obviously, we provide a service for the groups, giving them new opportunities and experiences, so it’s completely up to the groups whether or not they want to take that opportunity. While Out Of the Blue have decided they don’t want the competition to be a feature of their year, they are still keen to support the Oxford event and join the activities for the Big Weekend, as well as being involved in future years. And even though The Fitz Sirens didn’t compete last year, they still came and performed at our showcase up in Edinburgh in August. So it’s not a case of ‘if you don’t compete, you don’t get anything’; rather, groups are free to take part in our events as they see fit. It’s not a concern for us – the competition is still growing and we are still achieving our aims, and we are positive the groups not involved will still have thoroughly successful seasons.

UACUK: Are there any kind of plans to extend the competition to involve Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals as the competition element grows in the future?

CG: We can see the rationale for doing it that way, definitely, but what we’d like to focus on more is this idea of the Big Weekend. We don’t want to put up metaphorical ‘fences’ around different regions and only ever have groups meeting and competing with each other from certain regions. We want to encourage, for example, groups from St Andrews to really listen to and take interest in, say, the groups from Exeter, and vice versa. And the Big Weekend is, for this year, our way of doing that. Obviously there will be a post-Festival evaluation, as ever, analysing whether or not it worked. However, at least for 2013, the idea is to hang the Festival around our Big Weekend in London.

UACUK: One final question: as you may or may not have seen, we’ve been running a ‘Best of British’ countdown of our favourite tracks from 2012. Do you have a personal favourite from the past year?

CG: That’s a tricky one- I have too many favourites! There’s just too much great UK talent to choose from….hence.. the Voice Collection 2013! Now there’s another exciting Voice Festival project to look forward to for 2013.

The Voice Festival Regional Round dates are now confirmed as follows:

London: Sat 9th March
St Andrews: Sat 23rd February
Exeter: Sat 2nd March
Oxford: Sun 3rd March
Birmingham: Sat 9th March

The ‘Big Weekend’ and University Final will take place on the weekend of the 15-17 March. Don’t worry! We’ll keep you in the loop as we learn more.

Best of British 2012: 1. Hide and Seek

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The Best of British 2012 is our unofficial countdown of the top ten UK a cappella tracks of the past year. Over the next few weeks leading up to the Christmas period, we will be counting down, from ten to one, what we believe have been the best tracks on show this year, ranging from awesome arrangements, sensational solos, marvellous mash-ups, punny parodies and everything in between.

Eligible Tracks

In order to determine which tracks were to be considered for this accolade, we decided to restrict our selections to songs that fell under ONE or BOTH of the following categories:
a) A song that made its live debut in 2012
b) A song that was featured on a 2012 album
For example, although all of the tracks featured on The Accidentals‘ EP made their debuts at the 2011 Voice Festival, because the album was released in 2012, all of the tracks on the album were considered. Also, several tracks were considered that were not released on albums, for example songs by The Oxford Belles or The Sons of Pitches from their 2012 repertoire.

The Process

We made a list of all the eligible songs from all the eligible groups, and then picked the top three tracks from each group, where possible. We then narrowed this shortlist down to 25, before picking our 10 favourite tracks. Opinions were divided, scores were combined, and in the end there was only one winner. But who will it be?

The countdown concludes here:

10. The Other Guys – St Andrews Girls
9. The Sons of Pitches – Club Medley 2
8. The Oxford Gargoyles – Fields of Gold
7. The Accidentals – Rolling in The Deep
6. The Oxford Gargoyles – Dancing in the Moonlight
5. The Oxford Belles – Jar of Hearts
4. Out of the Blue – Got To Get You Into My Life
3. The Techtonics – Earthquake
2. The Alleycats – Titanium

1. All the King’s Men – Hide and Seek

Sneaking into the number one spot is the only track on our list that failed to win an award of some sort in 2012, partly due to its omission from the group’s Voice Festival set, it’s the magnificent Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap, covered superbly and precisely by our current UK Champions of A Cappella, All the King’s Men. It is testament to the strength in depth the boys had over the past year that they managed to win the Voice Festival despite this track, in our opinion their finest, not featuring on their set. Upon hearing that the group had claimed the number one spot, former MD Henry Southern was delighted. “That’s great news! The song definitely became the one we were most proud of in our repertoire last year.”

The song is, admits Southern, the first number the group have performed that was not arranged by a member of the group. “I’d wanted to do the song as I thought that it would work well with the voices we had for the ’11-’12 group. Our blend, musicality and ensemble singing was quickly coming together, particularly on the slower songs, and I thought it would fit the group perfectly.” However, just as Southern was about to start arranging the song, fellow group member Josh Cooter chimed in with a suggestion. “Josh said that he had done Tom [Recknell]’s arrangement with him at school and that Tom kindly granted us permission to use it.” Southern was delighted with the arrangement, and having heard it himself, Recknell was also pleased with the results. Henry adds that “it was great to have Josh’s guidance when we were rehearsing the arrangement, as he was already so familiar with it.” The group were also honoured to be able to work on the song with their patron, Paul Phoenix from The King’s Singers, who had recorded the track back in 2010. “His input was invaluable,” says Southern.

The debut performance of the song was recorded at Hollywood High School and was a warm up to a larger performance at Claremont later that evening, during the group’s early 2012 West Coast US Tour. “The reception was always very positive and it is probably one of the songs that people remember the most – partly because we almost always had it at the end of the set. “The tight musical control that is evident throughout the song was something that was worked on from the very beginning of the performance process. “Because we were so diligent about the musical points from the very beginning, the performance of it didn’t change that much over the months we performed it. Usually an arrangement gradually develops and improves through time, but we only performed this when we felt we were 100% ready – it took a lot of work!”

The story of why the song didn’t make their Voice Festival set, not to mention their ICCA Final set, is a long one with many factors for and against the song. “We already had a strong ‘slow song’ lined up with Hallelujah which we had been singing all year and so we were very comfortable with it.” Despite the perhaps overdone nature of the song, Southern still claims this was a good decision. “We felt that Noah Mosley’s arrangement was very unique, it fitted with the style we were developing, and above all Tom Aldren nailed the baritone solo every time! It ticked all the boxes for a competition piece.” Added to that, Southern didn’t feel Hide and Seek was ready for the Voice Festival. “As mentioned before, we only started learning it in January, and the very nature of the piece meant it had to be perfect otherwise it could have fallen a bit flat.” Timing was also an issue. “If we were to have replaced Hallelujah in our set with Hide and Seek, it would have been too long to fit within the assigned 12 minutes and if we’d taken out another number in its place it would have been detrimental to the overall set – it wouldn’t have been balanced or demonstrated everything the group could do.” The group did toy with the idea of performing the number as a part of their ICCA Final set after speaking with Dominic Peckham post-Voice Festival final, but the group decided to stick with their winning combination, finishing 3rd in the final in New York in the process.

To close, Henry gave us some words of wisdom that can translate to any performance of a song. “I really think that if you enjoy singing something, it comes across to the audience. We knew the effect that this arrangement could have on an audience and we milked it for all its worth! Something which Paul worked on with us is not being afraid to express the meaning of the words. If you want to make the audience cry, you have to feel like you are going to cry. That sounds very pretentious, but it is all too easy to switch off when singing an arrangement you’ve sung countless of times – when we all locked in it was magic!”

Hide and Seek has been specially uploaded onto Soundcloud for your pleasure and enjoyment. We recommend closing your eyes and taking in the breathtaking blend.

Our countdown is now over! We hope you enjoyed reliving 2012 with us. Here’s to an even better 2013!

Best of British 2012: 2. Titanium

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The Best of British 2012 is our unofficial countdown of the top ten UK a cappella tracks of the past year. Over the next few weeks leading up to the Christmas period, we will be counting down, from ten to one, what we believe have been the best tracks on show this year, ranging from awesome arrangements, sensational solos, marvellous mash-ups, punny parodies and everything in between.

Eligible Tracks

In order to determine which tracks were to be considered for this accolade, we decided to restrict our selections to songs that fell under ONE or BOTH of the following categories:
a) A song that made its live debut in 2012
b) A song that was featured on a 2012 album
For example, although all of the tracks featured on The Accidentals‘ EP made their debuts at the 2011 Voice Festival, because the album was released in 2012, all of the tracks on the album were considered. Also, several tracks were considered that were not released on albums, for example songs by The Oxford Belles or The Sons of Pitches from their 2012 repertoire.

The Process

We made a list of all the eligible songs from all the eligible groups, and then picked the top three tracks from each group, where possible. We then narrowed this shortlist down to 25, before picking our 10 favourite tracks. Opinions were divided, scores were combined, and in the end there was only one winner. But who will it be?

The countdown continues here:

10. The Other Guys – St Andrews Girls
9. The Sons of Pitches – Club Medley 2
8. The Oxford Gargoyles – Fields of Gold
7. The Accidentals – Rolling in The Deep
6. The Oxford Gargoyles – Dancing in the Moonlight
5. The Oxford Belles – Jar of Hearts
4. Out of the Blue – Got To Get You Into My Life
3. The Techtonics – Earthquake

2. The Alleycats – Titanium

Awards: ‘Outstanding Vocal Percussion’, Voice Festival UK 2012, St Andrews Regional

Prowling in at number two is a hard-hitting ballad from St Andrews’ mixed group, The Alleycats, from their latest album, We’re Not Kitten. The track, a cover of David Guetta ft. Sia’s Titanium, debuted at the St Andrews Regional Round of the Voice Festival UK but, according to Musical Director Brendan Macdonald, the group weren’t quite up to the standard they had hoped for that night. “We were a bit nervous and weren’t as satisfied with that performance of ‘Titanium’ as we have been with others, but nevertheless, we were still told by friends and family that they absolutely loved it.” The song was such a hit that it featured prominently on their Edinburgh Fringe setlist, and was an instant crowd-pleaser during their BBC Choir of the Year Section Final set.

The arrangement itself was a little rushed, but had very original intentions behind it. According to Macdonald, the group were looking for “a track which would not only highlight Cammy [Dobbie]‘s incredible vocal percussion skills, but change the idea of what a slow a cappella ballad sounded like. We only actually decided on Titanium in January.” Having mentioned the premise of their ballad to fellow group member Annie Faichney, Brendan received a response almost immediately. “A few days later she messaged me with the idea of Titanium. It was the perfect track. I started coming up with different parts for the song, and quickly wrote out an arrangement that could work for the group.” As for where Brendan got his inspiration from, a specific Alleycat alumnus is to thank for that: “Lizzy Weintz’s arrangement of Violet Hill for our ’08-’09 litter really influenced how I came at arranging Titanium. Violet Hill is a complete departure from its original, and does what I think any great cover should do: gives the listener a completely new understanding of the song. We wanted to do the same thing with Titanium.”

Since its debut, the song really became one of the favourites of the group as the a cappella season progressed, but Macdonald claims the complexity of the song also helped the group improve as an entity. “The arrangement forced us to adopt better singing habits, and as such, really strengthened us as a group.” Macdonald went on to reveal why the song was so enjoyable for the group to perform. “The dynamics of the song, with the ever-growing crescendo until the very final chorus, are so enjoyable to execute. And of course, any chance to get to hear Heather [Robertson, the soloist on the track]‘s unbelievable alto voice completely commit to that solo is worth taking.”

Having been asked about how they would tackle the song now the soloist, Heather Robertson, has left the group, Macdonald made a poignant point. “There are, in my eyes, two soloists in Titanium – Heather (obviously), and Cammy as well, because the beat-boxing is relentless, and drives the entire emotional arc that we intended to create.” Having said that, “Heather’s haunting rendition of Sia’s part is so powerful.” With regards the future of the song, Brendan suggested the emotional ties to the original soloists would not be released so readily. “To me, I still think of the song as Heather’s and Cammy’s, and so at the moment we’ve decided to put it on the shelf for a while.”

So, Titanium charts at Number 2 on our list, a track which can be found on their album, We’re Not Kitten. But who will chart at Number 1? Stay tuned…

Best of British 2012: 3. Earthquake

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The Best of British 2012 is our unofficial countdown of the top ten UK a cappella tracks of the past year. Over the next few weeks leading up to the Christmas period, we will be counting down, from ten to one, what we believe have been the best tracks on show this year, ranging from awesome arrangements, sensational solos, marvellous mash-ups, punny parodies and everything in between.

Eligible Tracks

In order to determine which tracks were to be considered for this accolade, we decided to restrict our selections to songs that fell under ONE or BOTH of the following categories:
a) A song that made its live debut in 2012
b) A song that was featured on a 2012 album
For example, although all of the tracks featured on The Accidentals‘ EP made their debuts at the 2011 Voice Festival, because the album was released in 2012, all of the tracks on the album were considered. Also, several tracks were considered that were not released on albums, for example songs by The Oxford Belles or The Sons of Pitches from their 2012 repertoire.

The Process

We made a list of all the eligible songs from all the eligible groups, and then picked the top three tracks from each group, where possible. We then narrowed this shortlist down to 25, before picking our 10 favourite tracks. Opinions were divided, scores were combined, and in the end there was only one winner. But who will it be?

The countdown continues here:

10. The Other Guys – St Andrews Girls
9. The Sons of Pitches – Club Medley 2
8. The Oxford Gargoyles – Fields of Gold
7. The Accidentals – Rolling in The Deep
6. The Oxford Gargoyles – Dancing in the Moonlight
5. The Oxford Belles – Jar of Hearts
4. Out of the Blue – Got To Get You Into My Life

3. The Techtonics – Earthquake

Awards:
‘Outstanding Performance’, Voice Festival UK 2012, London Regional
Featured on Sing 9 compilation album.

Shaking the foundations of our list at number three is the frankly phenomenal final track from the debut album by Imperial College’s The Techtonics, their cover of Labrinth’s Earthquake. The song, which made its debut at the London Regional, has since become only the second track from a British collegiate group to feature on CASA’a Sing compilation, featuring on the ninth edition, Supernovem. But the track started out in less esteemed surroundings. James Hayward, arranger of the track and last year’s MD, came up with the idea in the lead up to Christmas 2011. “I remember hearing the original tens if not hundreds of times in the lead up to Christmas that year, as it had just been released. After a while I began to realise I wasn’t getting sick of it. Obviously, at that time we were in need of tracks for our Voice Festival set, and the more I thought about it, the more the track seemed to fit so perfectly into the repertoire of the group: we had been experimenting with dubstep and more commercial sounds; such was the talent of the group at the time that we were able to use an obscene range; and the symmetry of a group called ‘The Techtonics’ covering a song called ‘Earthquake’ was too good to miss.”

The arrangement itself was one which in the first case was one which the group wanted to make as original as possible, but was partially based on a Radio 1 Live Lounge version of the song. “Actually, that version of the song involved the Swingle Singers doing the Ah-vocal at the start, which brings it nicely full circle to a cappella music!”

It was a quick turnover from idea to arrangement and from rehearsal to performance, though, but Hayward claims it was worth it. “Despite only learning it a month before VF-UK rolled into town, upon talking to the judges after the show, the song definitely made the right sort of impression.” He remains, however, reserved about that premiere performance. “Being a massive critic, I hate looking back at the video of it, because it improved so much from that point in time.” Despite its many forms and transformations, the song remained a favourite of the group throughout the rest of the year for that very reason. “With regards to the live performance, it has come a long way since the slightly rushed (both in preparation and tempo!) version we threw together at VF-UK. Adding microphones adds an extra element to it, while there is a lot of scope for improvisation within the track,” said Hayward, adding: “We’ll put that down as a deliberate creative tool rather than a lazy arrangement!” When asked about the album version of the track, Hayward continued: “It took many forms during recording too, before we eventually settled on the track that can be found on the album.”

When asked about the track’s selection for Sing 9, ‘surprised’ and ‘delighted’ were two words that were abundant as James spoke. “Even from when we sent the initial bare bones track to the States for mixing, the idea was to win things. But to be selected for something as prestigious as the ‘Sing’ compilation was a real honour and a privilege.” Hayward proceeded to thank several of his team, both singers and producers, for the hard work they put in: “To say all the hard work was worth it is a massive understatement.” Thanks go to Matt Chinery, Alex Koutzoukis, James Cannon and Dave Sperandio.

As for why the song has become such a hit outside of just the group, the young man came up with several suggestions. “It’s a real crowd favourite,” poses Hayward, while adding: “The energy of it builds perfectly. Thanks to Labrinth himself for that! It’s also perfect for closing sets, or indeed an album, as it’s kind of become our token song.” Hayward goes on: “The edits on the album track were nothing short of remarkable. As one of the only people who heard it from start to finish, I an honestly say I never imagined such a drastic change. And when I heard they were jamming along to it at SoJam, I was blown away – I think it’s partly down to the commercial nature of the song: the big hits, big bass and synth FX on the high vocals make it something a little more accessible to those outside of the a cappella community.”

Suitable for any occasion, especially parties an on loud speakers with a sub-woofer (trust me, I would know), Earthquake can be bought on the Imperial College Website as part of the Groundbreaker.

Best of British 2012: 4. Got To Get You Into My Life

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The Best of British 2012 is our unofficial countdown of the top ten UK a cappella tracks of the past year. Over the next few weeks leading up to the Christmas period, we will be counting down, from ten to one, what we believe have been the best tracks on show this year, ranging from awesome arrangements, sensational solos, marvellous mash-ups, punny parodies and everything in between.

Eligible Tracks

In order to determine which tracks were to be considered for this accolade, we decided to restrict our selections to songs that fell under ONE or BOTH of the following categories:
a) A song that made its live debut in 2012
b) A song that was featured on a 2012 album
For example, although all of the tracks featured on The Accidentals‘ EP made their debuts at the 2011 Voice Festival, because the album was released in 2012, all of the tracks on the album were considered. Also, several tracks were considered that were not released on albums, for example songs by The Oxford Belles or The Sons of Pitches from their 2012 repertoire.

The Process

We made a list of all the eligible songs from all the eligible groups, and then picked the top three tracks from each group, where possible. We then narrowed this shortlist down to 25, before picking our 10 favourite tracks. Opinions were divided, scores were combined, and in the end there was only one winner. But who will it be?

The countdown continues here:

10. The Other Guys – St Andrews Girls
9. The Sons of Pitches – Club Medley 2
8. The Oxford Gargoyles – Fields of Gold
7. The Accidentals – Rolling in The Deep
6. The Oxford Gargoyles – Dancing in the Moonlight
5. The Oxford Belles – Jar of Hearts

4. Out of the Blue – Got To Get You Into My Life

Awards:
‘Highly Recommended Soloist’, Voice Festival UK 2012, Oxford Regional
‘Outstanding Performance’, Voice Festival UK 2012, Final

Smashing in at number 4 is the lively cover of the Beatles’ Got To Get You Into My Life, as performed by Oxford’s finest, Out of the Blue. The track was one of the first track the 2011/2012 generation of the group learnt, with its debut coming at the groups’ annual debut performance at G&Ds Cafe, about 3 weeks after the new group formed, along with other album tracks, With or Without You and Stop. The song made its way into the groups’ Voice Festival set that year, being used as a powerful opener before Lippy Kids and Domino.

The song’s origins came about very much by chance, according to the group’s MD, Nick Barstow: “The arrangement came when Laurie [Cottam, the soloist on the song] and I were in the car on our way to the airport one day – Laurie only has Beatles albums and Brahms string quartets in his car, and we’d gone for Beatles. Got To Get You Into My Life came on, and I didn’t know it well, but Laurie really liked it. I did too but I thought it was missing something.” That ‘something missing’ was resolved when Laurie revealed the Earth, Wind and Fire cover of the same song. “At 7 minutes long, it was a little self-indulgent, but the arrangement is insane. I cut it down, mixed the best of the original and the cover together, and we had the basis for the arrangement.” Barstow’s addition of Isn’t She Lovely? was prompted by the desire for a strong baritone solo. “The solid baritone solo matched the epic tenor solo really well, partly because of the similar pentatonic motif.”

From the perspective of the group, the song has had its highs and lows throughout the year. “It’s definitely one of my favourites,” said Barstow, before continuing: “But we fell out of favour with it a bit halfway through the year; sometimes you go off a song when you sing it too much.” The group decided to use it more sparingly at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which gave it a much needed rest, before breathing new life into it during their tour of Japan. “We sang at a special Beatles and Jazz circuit in Tokyo in September which was incredible and kicked it back into life. At that point, we all began to remember why it was so great in the first place.”

Barstow believes the song has become such a hit due to the variation contained within the arrangement. “There are some really chromatic passages and you’re constantly changing the vocal sound between scat vocal, instrumental style a cappella and real voice singing. Also, there’s nowhere to breathe.” Despite some snags the song hit during the year, because it was such an early part of their set, Barstow claims it maintained some of that initial, start of year hype. As or the album track, Barstow gives credit to Bill Hare, who is “fantastic in general but also a big fan of the Beatles so really got into it.”

Nick’s favourite song of the year remains their cover of Elbow’s Lippy Kids, because of the sentimental value it held for him. “Without being overly sentimental, it summed up my year with the group, and it is pure and poetic.” He is unsure whether Got To Get You will make a return to the group’s set in the near future. “There are some songs that you associate so much with one particular year and group of people that it wouldn’t be right without them.” However, he does concede that it might “come back in a year or two.”

You can buy Out of the Blue’s album, Music Up!, which contains the track, on iTunes.

Best of British 2012: 5. Jar of Hearts

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The Best of British 2012 is our unofficial countdown of the top ten UK a cappella tracks of the past year. Over the next few weeks leading up to the Christmas period, we will be counting down, from ten to one, what we believe have been the best tracks on show this year, ranging from awesome arrangements, sensational solos, marvellous mash-ups, punny parodies and everything in between.

Eligible Tracks

In order to determine which tracks were to be considered for this accolade, we decided to restrict our selections to songs that fell under ONE or BOTH of the following categories:
a) A song that made its live debut in 2012
b) A song that was featured on a 2012 album
For example, although all of the tracks featured on The Accidentals‘ EP made their debuts at the 2011 Voice Festival, because the album was released in 2012, all of the tracks on the album were considered. Also, several tracks were considered that were not released on albums, for example songs by The Oxford Belles or The Sons of Pitches from their 2012 repertoire.

The Process

We made a list of all the eligible songs from all the eligible groups, and then picked the top three tracks from each group, where possible. We then narrowed this shortlist down to 25, before picking our 10 favourite tracks. Opinions were divided, scores were combined, and in the end there was only one winner. But who will it be?

The countdown continues here:

10. The Other Guys – St Andrews Girls
9. The Sons of Pitches – Club Medley 2
8. The Oxford Gargoyles – Fields of Gold
7. The Accidentals – Rolling in The Deep
6. The Oxford Gargoyles – Dancing in the Moonlight

5. The Oxford Belles – Jar of Hearts

Awards: ‘Outstanding Soloist’ – Voice Festival 2012, Oxford Regional Round

In at number five is our highest placed track that hasn’t been released on a recording this year, the powerful rendition of Christina Perri’s Jar of Hearts by The Oxford Belles. We certainly hope the song might be forthcoming on an album soon, but as it is, this was one of our favourite live performances of the year.

Surprisingly, the girls themselves were expecting a slightly different reaction when the song debuted at the Oxford Regional of the Voice Festival back in February. “We were actually expecting our standout song to be our TV Medley,” said Alicia Gayle, current MD of the group. “I thought Jar of Hearts was a good arrangement, but other than that I wasn’t expecting a prize for it,” added the ever modest Sophie Giles, who took the lead vocals on the number. The arrangement itself wasn’t actually one done by a member of the group, but by someone else in the a cappella world. “The song was arranged by Lauren Barreiro, who is a part of fellow all-female group Musae,” mentioned Gayle.

Regardless of who arranged the song, the girls really took it by the scruff of the neck and continued to perform the song for the remainder of the academic year, including at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August, where it was also highly praised, being described as “the best a cappella solo [...] all year,” alongside mentions of being a “standout solo performance” by audience members and reviewers alike. The girls feel it’s not suitable for every occasion though: “I do like the song, but there are other songs I really enjoy performing,” said Giles, before adding: “I think that it is a great song for certain occasions, but for some gigs it’s just not appropriate.”

As far as I’m concerned, though, I want to hear it whenever and wherever they sing. As the girls suggest, everyone in the group really commits to song when it’s being performed and are able to convey the necessary emotion in both their voices and their expressions as they sing the number. “It’s quite a powerful song in itself,” concluded Gayle, and we are inclined to more than agree. We definitely hope to hear this one again.

You can watch the award-winning rendition of Jar of Hearts right here.

Best of British 2012: 6. Dancing in the Moonlight

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The Best of British 2012 is our unofficial countdown of the top ten UK a cappella tracks of the past year. Over the next few weeks leading up to the Christmas period, we will be counting down, from ten to one, what we believe have been the best tracks on show this year, ranging from awesome arrangements, sensational solos, marvellous mash-ups, punny parodies and everything in between.

Eligible Tracks

In order to determine which tracks were to be considered for this accolade, we decided to restrict our selections to songs that fell under ONE or BOTH of the following categories:
a) A song that made its live debut in 2012
b) A song that was featured on a 2012 album
For example, although all of the tracks featured on The Accidentals‘ EP made their debuts at the 2011 Voice Festival, because the album was released in 2012, all of the tracks on the album were considered. Also, several tracks were considered that were not released on albums, for example songs by The Oxford Belles or The Sons of Pitches from their 2012 repertoire.

The Process

We made a list of all the eligible songs from all the eligible groups, and then picked the top three tracks from each group, where possible. We then narrowed this shortlist down to 25, before picking our 10 favourite tracks. Opinions were divided, scores were combined, and in the end there was only one winner. But who will it be?

The countdown continues here:

10. The Other Guys – St Andrews Girls
9. The Sons of Pitches – Club Medley 2
8. The Oxford Gargoyles – Fields of Gold
7. The Accidentals – Rolling in The Deep

6. The Oxford Gargoyles – Dancing in the Moonlight

Dancing smoothly into the half -way spot is the second track from The Oxford Gargoyles, their mash-up of Toploader’s Dancing in the Moonlight. A real cracker of a blend, it incorporates Ain’t No Mountain, I Believe In A Thing Called Love, Fight For This Love and Tears Dry On Their Own, and seamlessly jumbles them all together with a typical Gargoyles’ jazzy twist to form a track that is perhaps one of the best arrangements on our countdown.

Arranging maestro Euan Campbell found the mash-up came about rather spontaneously though: “It developed quite naturally over time – I definitely didn’t intend to mash five songs together at first! The addition of each track came upon the realisation that the chord sequences were the same. Thing Called Love was originally intended to be a stand alone track, but once I sat down to work out the chords, I figured out they were the same. I was reluctant to add Cheryl Cole into the mix because it’s not really our style, but I gave in eventually. Tears was a very late addition.” The hardest part was the very end, claims Campbell. “When you attempt to sing all five songs together, it’s a completely different kettle of fish. The chord sequences aren’t EXACTLY the same, as you can tell when you listen to the bass line at the back end of the track, but after a lot of playing about, I eventually found a suitable combination!”

The song made its debut at the Voice Festival UK Oxford Regional in 2012, and although Campbell claims it was far from their best performance of the song, it still received a semi-standing ovation. “It arrived quite late into our repertoire, because the arrangement was only completely finished by January of this year. As such, it does seem like we’re saying goodbye to it a little too soon!” The rehearsal process of the song was apparently quite a comical one: “No-one knew quite what to expect from it after I had been raving about it for so long, and it really was a joy to learn because it had so many twists and turns.” The last performance of the song was at the BBC Choir of the Year final, and Campbell says there couldn’t have been a better send off for the number. “Singing the song on national television was unbelievable, and perhaps a fitting way to say goodbye to it.”

The song has been subject to much acclaim since its introduction into the Goyles’ repertoire, and Campbell claims it’s the varied nature of the song that is the cause of this. “So much is packed in that it’s impossible to get bored!” The Goyles’ energetic nature and utter commitment when performing this song, coupled with their tone, diction and choreography, have made this number one of the stand out tracks of the year.

You can buy Dancing in The Moonlight, as well as the rest of the Gargoyles’ album, Up The Scale right here.

Best of British 2012: 7. Rolling in the Deep

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The Best of British 2012 is our unofficial countdown of the top ten UK a cappella tracks of the past year. Over the next few weeks leading up to the Christmas period, we will be counting down, from ten to one, what we believe have been the best tracks on show this year, ranging from awesome arrangements, sensational solos, marvellous mash-ups, punny parodies and everything in between.

Eligible Tracks

In order to determine which tracks were to be considered for this accolade, we decided to restrict our selections to songs that fell under ONE or BOTH of the following categories:
a) A song that made its live debut in 2012
b) A song that was featured on a 2012 album
For example, although all of the tracks featured on The Accidentals‘ EP made their debuts at the 2011 Voice Festival, because the album was released in 2012, all of the tracks on the album were considered. Also, several tracks were considered that were not released on albums, for example songs by The Oxford Belles or The Sons of Pitches from their 2012 repertoire.

The Process

We made a list of all the eligible songs from all the eligible groups, and then picked the top three tracks from each group, where possible. We then narrowed this shortlist down to 25, before picking our 10 favourite tracks. Opinions were divided, scores were combined, and in the end there was only one winner. But who will it be?

The countdown continues here:

10. The Other Guys – St Andrews Girls
9. The Sons of Pitches – Club Medley 2
8. The Oxford Gargoyles – Fields of Gold

7. The Accidentals – Rolling In The Deep

Awards: ‘Outstanding Soloist’ – Voice Festival UK 2011, St Andrews Regional

Rolling in at number seven (see what I did there?) is a feisty cover of Adele’s classic from the girls up at the University of St Andrews, Rolling In The Deep by The Accidentals. Having made its debut at the St Andrews Regional of the Voice Festival back in 2011, it made its way back into our hearts as part of a 4-track EP that the girls released shortly before their Edinburgh Fringe debut, as a way of raising money for said Fringe run. The song has become an Accidentals classic, and with award-winning lead vocals from the powerful Anna McDonald, it’s easy to see why.

McDonald claims the success of the song, and indeed their Voice Festival successes that year, wasn’t all down to her terrific solo: “The arrangement itself is just so cool! I was pretty proud of our whole set that year, I thought it balanced and suited us really well.” Anna sees the group as somewhat trendsetters too: “The stamp-clap breakdown hadn’t really been done before, at least in St Andrews, as far as I am aware, and since then we’ve seen it start to creep in a bit with different groups, both from St Andrews and the wider a cappella community. It’s nice to think we started that trend!”

Having said that, we certainly believe the success of the song is in part down to the magnificent vocals, although some credit must go to Adele herself. “It’s quite a memorable song regardless,” continued McDonald, “I still hear it on the radio a lot.” Ellie Mason, last year’s Musical Director, added, “It’s sad and angry but also full of hope and strength, about overcoming hard times and coming out of a dark place.” We echo these sentiments, and are inclined to suggest that Adele’s fiercely emotional character was a welcome fit for the feistiness of this particular all-girl group.

The song remains a favourite of the group, even a couple of years down the line. It was a staple of their set at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and Anna is even recognised as the singer of it around the small university town. “I loved singing it that first time in Younger Hall and even though I can’t count the number of times I have sung it now, and the number of people I meet that sing it to me, I still love to sing it!” And we still love to hear it.

The hard-hitting solo and the rest of the arrangement can be heard on the group’s EP, available for listen and purchase here.

Best of British 2012: 8. Fields of Gold

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The Best of British 2012 is our unofficial countdown of the top ten UK a cappella tracks of the past year. Over the next few weeks leading up to the Christmas period, we will be counting down, from ten to one, what we believe have been the best tracks on show this year, ranging from awesome arrangements, sensational solos, marvellous mash-ups, punny parodies and everything in between.

Eligible Tracks

In order to determine which tracks were to be considered for this accolade, we decided to restrict our selections to songs that fell under ONE or BOTH of the following categories:
a) A song that made its live debut in 2012
b) A song that was featured on a 2012 album
For example, although all of the tracks featured on The Accidentals‘ EP made their debuts at the 2011 Voice Festival, because the album was released in 2012, all of the tracks on the album were considered. Also, several tracks were considered that were not released on albums, for example songs by The Oxford Belles or The Sons of Pitches from their 2012 repertoire.

The Process

We made a list of all the eligible songs from all the eligible groups, and then picked the top three tracks from each group, where possible. We then narrowed this shortlist down to 25, before picking our 10 favourite tracks. Opinions were divided, scores were combined, and in the end there was only one winner. But who will it be?

The countdown continues here:

10. The Other Guys – St Andrews Girls
9. The Sons of Pitches – Club Medley 2

8. The Oxford Gargoyles – Fields of Gold

Awards: ‘Outstanding Musicality’ – Voice Festival UK 2012, Oxford Regional Round

Breezing in at number eight is the first of two tracks from The Oxford Gargoyles, the only group to have two tracks in this year’s top ten. Their cover of Sting’s Fields of Gold made its debut at the Goyles’ annual kick-off gig at the Turf Tavern in Oxford, meaning it was also the first time some of the members of the grup had performed to an audience as Gargoyles! The song since made its way into their Voice Festival set and was one which stood out in their Fringe Festival setlist too.

So where did the idea for the arrangement come from? Some credit for inspiration is due to Musical Director Euan Campbell’s predecessor, Alex Kaiserman, who had taken a popular song and given it a jazz twist in the past. “Alex had arranged Alicia Keys’ If I Ain’t Got You for the group in 2010, and was part of the VF-UK winning set that year. I decided to use that idea for Fields, arranging it together with an old school friend, Joe Mason, and actually had the song ready for when we auditioned in October. Thankfully, we found two perfect duetists for the number in Sasha Ockenden and Rebecca Sharp.”

Campbell was always aware of the momentous task he faced, though, in rearranging a very popular classic number, and tried to add as much originality as possible without losing the essence of the original: “To settle the listener’s ear, the first two bars have exactly the same chord sequence as the original, but then in the third and fourth bars, I changed the sequence to something a little more crunchy!” Despite this, Campbell was still cautious of the potential the song had to become a little repetitive, and took action against that: “I think arranging the song as a duet kept the arrangement on its toes, while nicely reflecting the lyrics of the song. I also added two key changes, varied rhythms and lyrics for the ensemble parts, and threw in a couple of bell tones for good measure! This helped the arrangement create its own feel, whilst still remaining true to the original.”

The song has remained a favourite of the group, despite its early beginnings way back in October. “It was the second piece we learnt as a new group, but we have never got tired of it! We fondly remember singing it for the first time in rehearsals with our eyes closed. It might sound lame, but it really helped us to connect and to listen to each other. Singing it for the last time at auditions for the new generation a couple of months ago was pretty emotional.” Campbell thinks this emotional connection to the song is noticed by their audience during performance, which is what has made it so highly regarded in the past year. “Over the course of the year, each member of the group has brought their own ideas to the table as to how the arrangement should be sung, resulting in a completely cohesive and united performance. A good arrangement is only half of it – often the way you connect with and perform the song is much more important, and we think the ease in which we can inject emotion into this song is what makes it such a crowd favourite.”

You can purchase Up The Scale, which contains this track and the rest of the Gargoyles’ 2011-2012 repertoire, right here.

Best of British 2012: 9. Club Medley 2

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The Best of British 2012 is our unofficial countdown of the top ten UK a cappella tracks of the past year. Over the next few weeks leading up to the Christmas period, we will be counting down, from ten to one, what we believe have been the best tracks on show this year, ranging from awesome arrangements, sensational solos, marvellous mash-ups, punny parodies and everything in between.

Eligible Tracks

In order to determine which tracks were to be considered for this accolade, we decided to restrict our selections to songs that fell under ONE or BOTH of the following categories:
a) A song that made its live debut in 2012
b) A song that was featured on a 2012 album
For example, although all of the tracks featured on The Accidentals‘ EP made their debuts at the 2011 Voice Festival, because the album was released in 2012, all of the tracks on the album were considered. Also, several tracks were considered that were not released on albums, for example songs by The Oxford Belles or The Sons of Pitches from their 2012 repertoire.

The Process

We made a list of all the eligible songs from all the eligible groups, and then picked the top three tracks from each group, where possible. We then narrowed this shortlist down to 25, before picking our 10 favourite tracks. Opinions were divided, scores were combined, and in the end there was only one winner. But who will it be?

The countdown continues:

10. The Other Guys – St Andrews Girls

9. The Sons of Pitches – Club Medley 2

Awards:
‘Outstanding Stagecraft’ – Voice Festival 2012, Final
‘Outstanding Performance’, ‘Outstanding Choreography’ – Voice Festival 2012, Birmingham Regional

Dropping in at number nine is the second of the seemingly annual medleys of classic club anthems from Birmingham’s finest, The Sons of Pitches, aptly titled, Club Medley 2. With the track mashing up the likes of Taio Cruz’ Dynamite, Dead or Alive’s You Spin My Head Round and Tik Tok from Ke$ha to name but a few, it has become a staple in the Sons’ repertoire in the past year, and has sung and danced its way into the audience’s hearts and memories.

Strange to think, then, that three months before the Voice Festival, the arrangement wasn’t even in existence. “Mark Nathan arranged the number around Christmastime last year,” said recent Sons’ alumnus Tom Mackley. “The Sons at the stage only had a repertoire of about three songs, so we knew over the holiday we had to go away and build our VF-UK set, with Club Medley 2 being one and Settle Down being another.” The song actually debuted before the Voice Festival, at a live music venue hosted by Jools Holland called ‘Jam House’. “It went down really well, and we kept editing and improving throughout the first half of the year – the arrangement at the final was different to the one at the Birmingham Regional. I think that’s the beauty of the song – bits can be added and taken away quite easily, and members of the group can add their own individual parts as they go along. It’s really quite a collaborative effort, and that’s what makes it one of our favourite songs to sing.”

And the fans’ reaction to the song? “It’s certainly our most popular song,” continued Mackley. “Whenever we perform, it’s usually our finale. It’s current, beat box/bass heavy, different and fun, and it has songs that everyone recognises contained in it. OK, so it’s not a gloriously rich, full-bodied ballad, but it allows people to dance along and really lifts the energy in a room whenever it is performed.” The group also feel it’s one of their most important songs, and one that helped to define their style as a group. “Without Club Medley 2 I’m not sure the back end of the last academic year would have been so successful – it really was the catalyst that allowed us to find our identity as a group.”

When questioned about the comparisons to the first Club Medley, Mackley believes the second one trumps the first: “I think the reason Mark decided to create another one was because the first one had won the ‘Outstanding Arrangement’ award at the 2011 Regional. But this one has a slight edge, I think: the beat box battle, the sub woofer effects, the break dancing and the whole bus stop sequence just added an extra touch of originality and a stamp of individuality that the other one didn’t quite possess.” It’s clear the boys enjoy performing the song, too: “We don’t take ourselves too seriously, and we’re around to mess around and pretend we’re the best thing to come out of the University of Birmingham since Lizo Mzimba for three-and-a-bit minutes!”

We look forward to seeing if The Sons of Pitches have anymore award-winning Club Medleys in their back pockets in the coming year. For now, enjoy this one again as we continue our countdown at number nine.

You can watch the Club Medley 2 at the VF-UK Final right here