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Event Review: VF-UK 2013 University Final

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Question: What’s the best way to kick off a weekend full of a cappella workshops, socialising and all around musical mayhem? Answer: Get the best collegiate groups from around the country together to battle it out for the title of Voice Festival UK Champion.

That’s exactly what happened on Friday 15th March 2013 at the City of London School for Girls, as the winners of the five Regional Rounds, plus one wildcard entry, took to the stage to show off the best of their a cappella skills. And my, what a final it was…

The line-up for the evening was as follows:

CHORAL STIMULATION
University of Glasgow
Winners of St Andrews Regional Round
4th VF-UK
1st Final

VIVE
Guildhall School for Music and Drama
Winners of ‘Ward Swingle Award for Originality’, London Regional Round
1st VF-UK
1st Final

SONS OF PITCHES
University of Birmingham
Winners of Birmingham Regional Round
3rd VF-UK
2nd Final

SEMI-TONED
University of Exeter
Winners of Exeter Regional Round
2nd VF-UK
1st Final

THE OXFORD ALTERNOTIVES
University of Oxford
Winners of Oxford Regional Round
5th VF-UK
2nd Final

ALL THE KING’S MEN (Reigning Champions)
King’s College, London
Winners of London Regional Round
3rd VF-UK
3rd Final

Master of Ceremonies: Overboard

Despite the late start, the tension was palpable within the audience as professional US group Overboard took us through the ins and outs of the evening, before our first act, Scotland’s own Choral Stimulation took to the stage, aptly clad in tartan here, there and everywhere. Having seen this group at the St Andrews Regional, I knew they had a solid set with some standout moments – I just hoped their nerves, which were quite apparent from the start, didn’t stop them from showing off their talent. They kicked off with their hilarious ‘Ode to Glasgow’ mash-up, which incorporated songs such as the Glasgow Theme Tune from the film Love Actually, Love Is All Around Me and Why Does It Always Rain On Me? among several others, which were blended together masterfully throughout and really gave the audience a sample of their hometown. As you would have expected from a mash-up, there was a great deal of variety to the number, allowing the group to demonstrate their versatility. Highlights included one of the Scottish members of the group lolling around on stage pretending to be a drunkard, to huge uproar from the audience; some lovely bell-tones as the start; and a drumroll from the impressive vocal percussionist towards the end of a song which was a great start to the evening. My only worry was that, as has happened in the past, songs that have a distinct regional feel to them often don’t go down as well as they do in the Regional Rounds as audiences and judges fail to ‘get’ them – indeed, the applause in St Andrews was far more gratuitous than in London.

Their second number was a gorgeous and tender rendition of Michael Jackson’s Will You Be There?. The lead, while not having a typically pure, trained vocal, instead had a husky, gravelly tone to his voice which was juxtaposed gloriously against a backing that was so tender at the start it could barely be heard. The song built nicely into the smooth key change, and the beatboxer again demonstrated some skilful and apt percussion. Although the less in-your-face of their three numbers, this one stuck out to me in particular, more so than it did in St Andrews – perhaps there was a magic touch about this version that was missing from their set three weeks previously. Regardless, this was a beautiful middle song that did Michael Jackson justice.

Their final number was another mash-up, stylised as ‘Feeling Bad’, kicking off with Feelin’ Good and incorporating samples of Gangnam Style, Michael Jackson’s Bad and Show Me Love. Having seen the group perform this in St Andrews, I have to say I think the nerves got the better of them on this one, because it just wasn’t as tight, comedic or indeed musical as it seemed to be in the previous round. Nevertheless, the group allowed the arrangement to speak for itself in certain cases, with thematic rhythms penetrating the entire number and the four girls showing us all why they’re only a foursome with some powerful vocals, as well as some great instrument imitation. Again, some great beatboxing (worthy of an award perhaps, although maybe it wasn’t showcased enough for that) and all-in-all a great set from the group, although in the end I think their lack of Final experience showed them up, as they were unable to shake their nerves throughout the set. A valiant effort from the group to a rapturous applause, but I couldn’t help feeling there were going to be better groups to follow.

The second group to perform were Ward Swingle Award Winners Vive, and we were about to experience something completely different. From the off, it became clear that Vive were not in the same mould as any group we had seen throughout the entirety of the competition. Dressed with a running red theme, the jazz-spiritual group kicked off with an original song, called Your Motivation, with Lithuanian Martynas Vilpisauskas coming in after a wonderful jazzy introduction with a lovely, controlled solo. It is clear that the group are exceptional musically, with some interesting and original consonant sounds a welcome release from the familiar ‘Do’s and ‘Dum’s that make up most other groups’ backing. Martynas exhibited some gorgeous falsetto towards the end of the track, before the group began clapping – which for a group of their high standards I’m not sure was entirely necessary – but such was the blend that I had no idea who was singing which part, despite my strategic seating on the second row from the front. A strong, bouncy opening number.

I was shocked when the group’s founder, James Rose, went into a short speech (!) before the second song as an interlude. Again, demonstrating the unusual nature of the group. Would that still allow their set to fit into the time limit? Rose introduced their second song, another original entitled Troubles We Find, and again the group demonstrated blend, control, dynamism and a keen ear for music as their bass (although more like a bass-baritenor) Lewis Daniel took them through this one. It became apparent that the group had no choreography to speak of, again setting them apart from all other groups, and as such, despite their impeccable musicality, the group provided less of the crucial entertainment factor than most other groups: no amusing on-stage interaction, no great or not-so-great dance moves – and I began to wonder whether this would hamper their chances of winning. However, it goes without saying that their phenomenal musicality and tuning went a long way to making up for the lack of ‘performance’ – and while I personally enjoy the combination of music and performance, there were a lot of audience members who were blown away by their stunning musical proficiency.

Another spoken interlude prefaced the final song, which was the only non-original number of the set, a spiritual piece called Ezekiel Saw De Wheel. Again, a very jazzy feel to the piece, with a fantastic tenor solo from Sam Robson – with his afro also quite something to behold. Some phenomenal runs too from Robson. But I found myself writing down all the same things about this song as about all the others – great musicality, lovely blend, exceptional tuning. Coming from a music school, you expect the group to be exceptionally musically talented, but there was no “Wow!” moment here, no one climactic moment that blew me away: I feel the group sat well within their comfort zone, without venturing exciting new territory, and as such their set felt a little one-dimensional.

Vive were followed by another group with a lower-than-average number of members, Birmingham’s The Sons Of Pitches. They wore their token orange boiler suits and effortlessly eased into the eerie beginning to Eminem’s Lose Yourself, which was a highly manipulated and original version of the song which the boys had really made their own: clearly some fantastic arranging skills within the small group. Some nice echoed ‘Ah’s and the three-part lone lead on the chorus was breathtaking, before dropping back into the rap was also great. The shift into JT’s Cry Me A River swelled into a tempo shift and made for a commanding mash-up, with some playful melodies and harmonies and some impressive and frantic beatboxing from Jack Blume. Normally I’m not a fan of a fade-outs, but in this instance it worked, because they faded straight into the next song without the need for a pitch-pipe, an altogether impressive feat.

Not as impressive, however, as the original song that followed. Group member Joseph Novelli’s original song, You Are The One, really played to all the strengths of the group. With such a small group, it was imperative that each group member held his own, and while this was apparent throughout the set, it was this song which best accentuated that fact, with the bass in particular remaining strong and rooting the song in its entirety, and combined with the again proficient beatboxing to provide a strong driving beat throughout he number. In contrast to Vive’s original pieces, this one showed more variety, with a three-way beatbox breakdown, some hilarious yet also actually quite good choreography and some well-controlled volume changes. The complexity of the song was such that upon first listen, I had no idea it was an original number, such was the professionalism and aplomb with which it was performed.

The boys’ final number was the cheeky Wonderwall. It is testament to the entertainment value of these boys that the biggest laughs in this number were received before the song had even started, with the boys feigning nervousness and the musical director even using the blowing of the pitch pipe to comedic effect, casting furtive glances here and there as if they wanted to be singing in private. This transitioned into the lovely jazzy start to the number, which was again a highly original arrangement, and itself was utterly hilarious, with the group toying and playing with the audience as if it were a comedy sketch show, exemplifying and accentuating their entertainment value over and over again. Again, the bass held his own throughout. It goes without saying that the solo was strong – these boys have magnificent voices, and allowed the solos to shine through in just the right places. My notes concluded with three words twice underlined on the bottom of my notepad page: They were TIGHT.

Next up were the first groups from Exeter to reach the final, the boys of Semi-Toned. They wore black and maroon, the latter of which, in a bizarre twist of fate, matched the curtains on the stage. It was almost like they planned it that way. They kicked off with their mash-up of Cee Lo Green’s Bright Lights Bigger City and Hard-Fi’s Living For The Weekend, with a different soloist tackling each number. The first soloist was far stronger here than he had been back in Exeter, with a much more solid, confident performance, with really lifted the whole number. Eddie Henley took over the second solo and owned the stage – he really has great stage presence and acted and sung as if he was born to be there. In contrast to the two previous groups, Semi-Toned really hit us with the so-called ‘wall of sound’ in this first number, using their larger group to their advantage with some great harmonies, simple yet effective choreography and good volume control. Once again, Jack Telfer St Claire exhibited some great beatboxing and dance moves, and while this number was a slight improvement on their Regional performance, it just didn’t quite have the same originality or indeed entertainment value as the previous group.

Their second number was Smile Please by Stevie Wonder. I rated this as their weakest number in the Regionals, but again the boys stepped it up slightly with a more polished performance than they had provided in Exeter. The bass was gorgeous throughout, and the entire song was very lethargic and laid-back, which on the one hand was advantageous, as the theme of the song was reflected in the performance by the group, in what I’ll assume was a conscious decision, but on the other hand it did lose my attention just slightly towards the end, despite some lovely, if a little uninteresting chords. I couldn’t fault the number musically, as it felt a lot fuller and more fleshed out than the version they had sung in Exeter, but I think the arrangement of this one let them down a little, as they could only bring it to a certain level without having a great deal more going on.

Talking of having a great deal going on, the group closed with Muse’s Knights of Cydonia, their triumphant and anthemic closer. The opening of the number was quite unique – the eerie whistle that is present in the original was mimicked very accurately by one of the group members, before the wall of sound was once again breached with the brash, hard-hitting opening chords. This was followed by some awesome instrument mimicry, including some pretty hilarious electric guitar faces, but unfortunately the rest of the number wasn’t quite as powerful as it had been in the Regionals: a few of the higher harmonies were lost slightly, perhaps due to tired voices, and overall the group appeared to lose a little concentration and the musicality suffered ever so slightly, although this was made up for by the relentless beatboxing throughout the number, and despite the tired voices, the drop into the unison chorus was still the highlight of the piece. Again, I felt myself let down by the final chord, which was something of an anti-climax, given the harmonic variety to the rest of the piece. Overall, I think the boys from Exeter definitely did themselves proud and gave a solid performance in their first final.

Bringing their purple theme to the stage were The Oxford Alternotives, who opened with, as luck would have it, Muse’s Knights of Cydonia. No pressure then. The two arrangements were thankfully very different, with Semi-Toned going for the more brash, in-your-face approach to the number, whereas The Alternotives presented a more restrained yet musically more interesting cover of the song. That did nothing to dampen the wall of sound, but the group chose only to use it sporadically, instead using the musical intricacies of the arrangement to full effect, accentuating them where necessary to highlight this musical flair. Without wishing to compare the two covers too much, this one did seem a little more natural, with the group making the most of their female contingent by having them effortlessly cover the high harmonies, while the arrangement itself was a lot more interesting and rather dramatic, with the group donning their serious faces throughout at the risk of alienating the audience. A tough task to follow one song with the exact same song, but the Alts’ version was different and unique enough that it didn’t hamper their chances significantly.

The group then came along with Regina Spektor’s Samson. I have expressed my views on this number before, having heard it at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last summer and on their latest album – it was on our shortlist for the Best of British 2012, only narrowly missing out on the top 10. This solo from Jessie Reeves was as near perfection as you could possibly get, with the backing swelling and dipping where necessary. I have to mention the insanely good soprano line in this number, which was, as always, unreal, and while it was a highlight, it never got carried away from the gorgeous blend of the piece. Reeves sang with emotion and vigour, and this was easily the best slow song of the night, stunning the audience to silence throughout. I could gush about this song all day, I really could, so I’ll stop while I can. Definitely worth an award, that one.

Their last song, Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You, was carried by the charisma of the soloist. The arrangement was the least musically interesting of the three, but this was put to one side as the cheeky grin of the cheeky male soloist took over, serenading various audience members and dancing with female group members throughout the piece. The nature of the song aided the entertainment factor of this piece, as it has natural rhythmic changes which the group made the most of, while the soloist dominated centre stage with a powerful solo – his suave, flirtatious manner was highly entertaining. This was the real let-your-hair-down number of their set, with the group coming up with some creative and fitting choreography and closing with almost mock-fawning over the soloist, at the expense of the tight musicality demonstrated in the previous two numbers. Overall, the group demonstrated why they were in the Final and had definitely provided one of the stronger sets of the night.

The final group to grace the stage were reigning champions All the King’s Men, notably for the first time competing without any of their founding members in the group, but still in their usual blue shirted attire. From the very off, I felt the group lacked the creative direction that previous MD Henry Southern had provided, and this had impacted on their spark and polish throughout the set. That said, they still delivered one heck of a performance. They began with Steve Winwood and James Vincent McMorrow’s Higher Love, a number I had not heard before but which was fantastically performed. The falsetto solo was a little shaky at the very start, but the delicate opening to the number was gloriously emphasised by the group’s use of silence. They were not afraid of it, and it was hugely effective. You could hear a pin drop, such was the hushed atmosphere in he crowd whenever the group made use of it. I really enjoyed their use of the ‘ng’ combination in the backing too, something generally reserved for warm-ups in rehearsal – another bold choice which paid off. After the opening, the group dropped into the rhythm of the number, and wile the beatboxing left something to be desired, the rest of the number was strong, demonstrating some powerful vocals, a lovely breakdown and build up from the basses, and even step-clapping, which I usually abhor but here actually was quite effective, given the spiritual nature of the song. Definitely a feel good number which got the boys off to a promising start.

The next song was John Mayer’s Slow Dancing In A Burning Room, which was led spectacularly by Cameron Carr’s dulcet bass-baritone, an unusual yet inspired choice of soloist which again really worked within the arrangement. Some lovely bell tones throughout, and a great build-up towards the word ‘bitch’, which really allowed to group ad the soloist to demonstrate their heartfelt emotions while singing the song, something which not many of the other groups had done. I also enjoy how not everyone in the group sings all the time. With a big group such as AtKM, sometimes less is more, especially in the more tender moments. Again, good direction for that. All in all, a solid, emotional performance.

Their final number, and the final number of the evening, was Forever by Chris Brown, with a running Viva La Vida motif and elements of other tracks thrown in, including Rebecca Black’s Friday. This was a fun number, and I loved the way the group teased the audience with the sample of Coldplay’s Viva La Vida without ever bringing it to the forefront of the song. More use of ‘ng’. Simple, effective, humorous choreography. Great harmonies, especially in the unison sections. Classic All the King’s Men, basically, done really well. I think the set just lacked a real sense of originality, which in previous years would have mattered less, but with two other groups providing original songs as well as some highly unique arrangements, I just feel this was a step sideways in terms of this particular group, whereas other groups had taken huge strides forward.

Verdict:

This was undoubtedly one of the most difficult finals to call in Voice Festival history. Each group demonstrated reasons why they ought to have won, each group had a unique style and personality, and each group provided great entertainment. In terms of specifics, my choice for the title was The Sons of Pitches, simply because their set was the most varied, most entertaining, and contained the least weaknesses. Their set and their songs told more of a story than any other group, and they were constantly inventive and interesting, with my concentration not lapsing once throughout their set. I feel All the King’s Men stood a chance, simply because they were about as good as last year, but in an ever growing, evolving and improving genre of music, staying at the same level one year to the next is not good enough competitively. That’s not to say that All the King’s Men did a bad job, on the contrary, I think they still demonstrated that they are one of the best groups in the country. The Oxford Alternotives were also potential winners, especially given the stand-out strength of their middle song, but again I feel they were eclipsed by the boys from Birmingham, who really brought something fresh to the competition. I felt Semi-Toned and Choral Stimulation did excellently in their debut finals, but perhaps nerves and tired voices were their undoing. Then we have the wild-card, Vive. I had no idea how the judges would react to this group. They were undoubtedly head and shoulders above the rest of the groups musically, but their take on the competition was so far removed from what we are used to that I wasn’t sure whether that would play into their hands or not. On a personal level, they were great to listen to, and their blend and musical intricacies were quite astonishing, but I felt they lacked variety. Either way, I was very glad not to be on the judging panel.

Awards:

Outstanding Musicality: Vive
Outstanding Performance: Jessica Reeves of The Oxford Alternotives for ‘Samson’
Outstanding Arrangement: Sam Robson of Vive for ‘Troubles we find’
Outstanding Vocal Percussion: Jack Blume of Sons of Pitches
Outstanding Choreography: Joe Hinds and Joe Belham of Sons of Pitches

WINNER:

Vive

So it was Vive who took the title amidst a mixed reaction from the audience, but their musicality, originality and sheer musical dexterity won them the title. The Sons of Pitches claimed their just rewards with two awards, while Jessie Reeves deservedly picked up the award for ‘Outstanding Soloist’.

Sons of Pitches to Line Up Against America’s Best at ICCA Final in New York

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With the ICCA Final in New York just days away, and Britain’s own Sons of Pitches leading the line from our side of the pond, we felt it prudent to provide our readers with the full line-up for the upcoming finals, to take place at the Town Hall in NYC on April 20th, this Saturday night, and assess the Sons’ chances of winning.

Here is the line-up in full:

ICCA Great Lakes Champions: The G-Men, University of Michigan
ICCA Northeast Champions: The Nor’easters, Northeastern University
ICCA South Champions: Reverb, Florida State University
ICCA West Champions: Scattertones, University of California, Los Angeles
ICCA Midwest Champions: No Comment, University Of Illinois Champaign-Urbana
ICCA Mid-Atlantic Champions: The Chordials, Cornell University
ICCA International Wildcard Champions: The Sons of Pitches, University of Birmingham, UK
ICCA National Wildcard Champions: The Beltones, Belmont University

The G-Men

Semi-Final: 1st place (423pts)
Quarter-Final: 1st place (358pts)

Established in 1995, The G-Men have only really made a splash on the ICCAs in the past couple of years – in 2011, they missed out on qualification for the final by a single point, while they reached the semi-finals last year too. Short for ‘The Gentlemen’, they are an all-male group known for their ‘biceps, obsession with puppies, and rocking audiences with the power of 100 raging buffalo.’ Having stepped up their game significantly in the semi-final, adding nearly 70 points to their quarter-final points tally, they will be hoping to further improve on that in their first ever final.

Watch Out For…
Brendan Asante, their soloist on Kimbra’s Settle Down, which won ‘Outstanding Soloist’ at both the quarters and the semis.

The Nor’easters

Semi-Final: 1st place (431pts)
Quarter-Final: 1st place (422pts)

The first mixed-group of the final, the Nor’easters were established in 1997, and have come even closer to the Final than the G-Men in the past couple of years, having come second in the National Wild Card Round on two consecutive occasions in 2011 and 2012. They will be delighted to reach their first final after two hugely impressive Regional performances, and with some of the highest scores of all the groups competing, they will definitely feel confident of placing in the top three, if not winning the entire competition.

Watch Out For…
Shams Ahmed has won two ‘Outstanding Arrangement’ awards, one at the semi-final for Wrong Side of a Love Song and the other at the quarters for the entire set. Expect to be blown away by their arrangements.

Reverb

Semi-Final: 1st place (403pts)
Quarter-Final: 1st place (426pts)

Two-time unplaced semi-finalists, Reverb are Florida State’s only all-male a cappella group and, like the previous two acts, are having their most successful competitive season yet. A relatively new group, founded in 2006, they have typically won awards for arranging in their two previous successful years, in 2009 and last year. With two 400+ scores in the Regionals, they will also feel like they have a solid foundation to go on – if they can perform to their best, they too could be challenging for the top three.

Watch Out For…
Another group with an exceptional talent for arranging, their entire set won ‘Outstanding Arrangement’ at both the quarters and the semis – credit to duo David Ko and Skipper Stradtman for that. Arrangements seem to be key this year, and this group seems to be best placed to capitalise on that.

Scattertones

Semi-Final: 1st place (437pts)
Quarter-Final: 1st place (412pts)

Competing in their second successive final, the Scattertones are surely considered the favourites to win this year’s competition, having beaten All the King’s Men into second place last year, falling just short of perennial rivals the SoCal VoCals. Founded in 2002, the co-ed group have a rich history in the ICCAs, having made the semi-finals three times before their unexpected triumph over the SoCal VoCals in the West Semi-Final last year that saw them through to the Final. With two exceptionally high scores in the Regionals again this time around, you’d have to say it will take something special to beat this lot.

Watch Out For…
Their cover of Coldplay’s Paradise, which won them not only ‘Outstanding Arrangement’ at the Quarter-Finals, but also ‘Outstanding Soloist’ – definitely a lynchpin of their successful set.

No Comment

Semi-Final: 1st place (No Data Available)
Quarter-Final: 1st place (423pts)

A group with relatively small history in the ICCAs in past years, this co-ed group have found their rhythm this year to reach their first semi-final, let alone first final. Their lack of experience at this level of competition may hinder them, but having been founded in 2004, they are no strangers to collegiate a cappella and racked up an impressive score in the Quarter-Finals, picking up several awards en route to the final. Dark horses, perhaps, but will undoubtedly be in with a shot.

Watch Out For…
Kelsey Stanker, their soloist on Breathe Again, who picked up the ‘Outstanding Soloist’ award at both the quarters and the semis.

The Chordials

Semi-Final: 1st place (366pts)
Quarter-Final: 1st (393pts)

Founded in 1997, Cornell University’s co-ed Chordials do have previous Final experience, having placed third way back in 2004. While none of the members from that successful year remain, the current group will surely have drawn upon the experiences of that incarnation of the group to help them to prepare for this year’s Final. With some of the lowest scores from the Regionals, they will need to step up their game slightly if they are to challenge to other groups, but with appearances of BOCA in 2006 and 2010, they could well be in with a shot.

Watch Out For…
Jay Grollman, who takes the solo on Lies, who won ‘Outstanding Soloist’ at both the Quarter- and Semi-Finals.

The Beltones

Wild Card Round: 1st place (381pts)
Semi-Final: 2nd place (391pts)
Quarter-Final: 1st place (395pts)

Perhaps the most consistent group this year, The Beltones are the national wild card entry, having been beaten by Reverb in the Semi-Final at Vanderbilt University. However, last year, the SoCal VoCals came through the Wild Card Round to win the competition, so the mixed-voice group will take heart from last year’s winners. The youngest group in the final, founded just in 2009, this is their first real stab at the ICCAs and it has been a thoroughly successful debut – whether they can go one step further and win the thing remains to be seen.

Watch Out For…
Their choreography, which picked up the ‘Outstanding Choreography’ award in the Quarter-Finals for the entire set.

So there we have it – the line-up that will be facing The Sons of Pitches in the Final this weekend. How do you rate the boys’ chances of success? Have your say in the comments below.

Last Call for International ICCA Applications – March 22 Deadline

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Calling all UK university groups: the deadline for applications for the International WildCard for the ICCA Finals in New York next month is fast approaching. Don’t miss out on your chance to perform at the ICCA Finals at the Lincoln Center in New York as the international representative of a cappella.

According to the official website, “For international groups who cannot participate in a live ICCA event, we offer one additional competition space for ICCA Finals in New York City each season.”

“Groups can videotape their competition set, just as though they were performing at a live ICCA event–no stops, edits, or cuts. Three Varsity Vocals adjudicators will evaluate the performances.”

“On April 1, the top-scoring group will be declared the winner of the International Round and will be invited to appear at ICCA Finals.”

You can find out more about how to apply to compete at the ICCA Finals right here.

Event Review: VF-UK 2013 London Regional Round

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by Folarin Akinmade

For those of you that weren’t at the London round of the Voice Festival UK on Saturday 9 March, you truly missed a treat. As always, the standard of quality was soaring and a good time was had by all.

Before we get to the review, a quick summary of the show:

The Competitors:
THE SCOPES from Imperial College, London
ALL THE KING’S MEN from King’s College, London
THE HOUGHTONES from London School of Economics
VIVE from Guildhall School for Music and Drama
IMPERIELLES from Imperial College, London
THE TECHTONICS from Imperial College, London

Master of Ceremonies:
Scott Riseborough, Voice Festival UK

The show was opened by newcomers, The Scopes, from Imperial College. Their relative youth seemed to show in a certain timidness at the beginning of their performance, but as their set wore on it became apparent that the group has accomplished a great deal in their short careers, having only formed last year. The second song of their set, Live While We’re Young by One Direction gave them a chance to really settle into the show, and have fun with their performance, and by the time it segued into Starships by Nicki Minaj, their energy and enthusiasm was beginning to rub off on the audience. Though the beginning of their third and final song had a slightly prolonged start, it soon became the best song of their piece with simple, but extremely effective choreography, and a fantastic solo from Will Carr. All in all, it was a good performance and a brilliant debut at the VF-UK.

All The King’s Men, King’s College London’s all-male group were next to the stage, and as the reigning champs they had a lot to live up to, and they didn’t disappoint. They opened with Steve Winwood and James Vincent McMorrow’s Higher Love, and immediately demonstrated the slick, togetherness that carried them to victory last year. It was clear that they’ve been doing this a while. Their second song was Slow Dancing In A Burning Room by John Mayer, a fantastic arrangement that played with the texture and emotion of the original, even adding choral elements whilst still retaining the raw emotion of John Mayer’s classic. The final song of their set was Forever by Chris Brown. This number, fronted by one Eunseog Lee had the men showing off their boy band credentials with dance moves that would throw teenage girls into a frenzy. The judges later awarded them the award for ‘Outstanding Choreography’ with judge Paul Howard Davies noting that it was not just for the elaborate moves, but also for the times when their subtle or non-movements were just as effective in conveying the power and emotion of a song.

The Houghtones of LSE were the third group to take to the stage, and they opened with a fantastically original idea. The theme of radio jingles cleverly ran through their first number. They opened with the BBC Radio 2 jingle, segueing into Queen’s Radio Gaga, Ignition (Remix), and even Beethoven’s fifth symphony combined with When I Get You Alone, Robin Thicke number based on a sample of A Fifth of Beethoven by Walter Murphy, before ending on the ‘This Is Heart’ jingle. In that fantastic introduction – complete with a William and Kate parody – they established themselves as having a fantastic sense of humour, great stage presence, and fantastic, simple, but extremely effective arrangements. They clearly enjoy a good medley and so I was already sold, but then their next number, an arrangement of Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water that borrowed elements of Aretha Franklin’s version of the song, really brought the good stuff, combining a brilliant soloist with an arrangement that was both subtle, pretty, powerful and full on. Their set culminated in a mash-up of We Are Young by fun. and Take A Walk by Passion Pit. This is definitely a group to look out for.

And now, time for something completely different. Vive of Guildhall School of Music took to the stage next, and we simply were not prepared for them. With a distinct lack of choreography, they were not what you might usually expect from an a cappella group competing at VF-UK, but the fact of the matter is, they simply don’t need to conform, the music speaks for itself. I’m struggling to know where to begin, but let it suffice to say that I am in love with Vive. As individuals they all have fantastic voices with Soprano Emily Danworth’s heavenly tone beautifully piercing the blend (though we would be remiss to forget Sam Robson’s beautiful falsetto). They opened with Your Motivation, an original by group founder, James Rose. I had always thought that it would be hard to keep the attention of an audience with an original song in this sort of competition, but Vive were captivating, and the judges recognised this, later awarding them this song the ‘Outstanding Arrangement’ award for its beautiful use of melody. Though Your Motivation was fantastic, for me it was their next song Somewhere from the musical ‘West Side Story’, arranged by alto Sam Robson that really showed what they could do with a beautifully complex arrangement, rich in crunchy, almost-dissonance. Their set ended with a stunning rendition of the spiritual Honour Honour. Vive brought a certain relaxed cool, and an absurdly high level of musicality to their set, and watching them was an absolute pleasure.

The Imperielles of Imperial took to the stage with a very strong opening and a fantastic soloist, though a little steam seemed to be lost towards the end of the song, it was firm start to the set. We then saw their arrangement of the aforementioned fun. song, We Are Young, putting them in direct competition with The Houghtones. The Imperielles take on the song was perhaps more delicate and they held their own beautifully. They ended their set on a high with an arrangement of I Knew You Were Trouble. It was a fantastic arrangement, with brilliant choreography. All the while, their performance was strengthened by the skills of their beat-boxer, a fact noted by judge, Yvette Riby-Williams, whose use of vocal percussion was very imaginative, not simply constraining herself to the standard techniques heard in such a context, but creating interesting and dynamic accompaniment.

The Techtonics‘ set was an absolute delight. It seemed to centre around their desire to subvert and parody every a cappella cliché, other groups and even their own past, and make us wet ourselves with laughter in the process. They started their performance with a rendition of Bangarang by Skrillex, setting the scene for their entirely electronic (mostly dub-step) set that included the likes of Bonkers, Harlem Shake, We Will Rock You, and The Veldt. At this stage it seems pertinent to mention that their deft interpretation of dubstep a cappella was made possible due to the monstrous vocal percussion of Max Hunter who was later presented the ‘Vocal Percussion‘ award. A highlight of their set was Harlem Shake in which they managed to incorporate the dance seen in the viral videos, complete with a man in a horse mask to start it off. As well as not taking themselves to seriously, at one point singing “We really like this song but it’s a little ridiculous”, they also took the time to parody the moving V for which All The King’s Men have gained notoriety for, as well as poking a little fun at VF-UK sets in general – “Now’s the time in a Voice Fest set where everyone knows how it goes”. It was truly rip-roaring stuff, but they took the time to show us that they are fantastic singers with lovely arrangements, particularly at the beginning of the instrumental song, The Veldt, which was a genuinely beautiful moment, and one of their number who asked to be referred to as ‘The Sexy Baritone’ walked away with the ‘Outstanding Soloist’ award.

Awards:
Outstanding Choreography: All the King’s Men
Outstanding Vocal Percussion: Max Hunter of The Techtonics
Outstanding Arrangement: Sam Robson of Vive for Your Motivation
Outstanding Soloist: ‘The Sexy Baritone’ of The Techtonics

Ward Swingle Award for Originality: VIVE

WINNER:

ALL THE KING’S MEN

Ultimately, All The King’s Men won the round, with judge Paul Howard Davies saying it was their complete package that won them the day, and Vive were given the ‘Ward Swingle Award for Originality’, meaning the two groups went through to compete in the final.

Event Review: VF-UK 2013 Exeter Regional Round

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On Saturday 2 March, groups from Exeter and Bath descended upon the University of Exeter’s The Forum for the second Regional Round of this year’s Voice Festival UK. Four groups from the two universities were competing, with a solitary place on offer at the London Final in a couple of weeks’ time.

Before we get to the review, a quick summary of the show:

The Competitors:
SEMI-TONED from the University of Exeter
THE SWEET NOTHINGS from the University of Exeter
AQUAPELLA from the University of Bath
ILLUMINATIONS from the University of Exeter

Interval Act:
THE ROTTEN APPLE ORCHESTRA

Master of Ceremonies:
SCOTT RISEBOROUGH, Voice Festival UK

First up were the sole all-male group in this Regional, Exeter boys Semi-Toned. Wearing black and all sorts of maroon-based accessories, they opened in a compact triangular formation into a mash-up of Bright Lights Bigger City by Cee Lo Green and Living For The Weekend, a Hard-Fi classic. After a lovely blocked chord start to Bright Lights, the beatbox kicked in to open the Hard-Fi track. The soloist, while good, wasn’t outstanding, but mixed in with some frantic backing and some simple pose choreography, this made for an engaging opener. The drop back into Bright Lights was well executed and unexpected, despite the forced rhythmic change, but the two worked well when blended together towards the end, and Eddie Henley looked as if he belonged at the front of the stage during his solo. There was impressive beatboxing from Jack Telfer St Claire throughout, which gained its own exhibition towards the end, along with some silky solo dance moves. A solid start from the boys without ever being outstanding musically, but definitely demonstrating their potential.

Their second number was a cover of Stevie Wonder’s Smile Please. The arrangement allowed them to play with a few humorous actions, despite this being the typical middle ‘slow-song’, which kept the mood light and cheesy, but a couple of the falsetto harmonies weren’t quite on point, particularly at the very start of the piece. I felt there was an abundance of bass and falsetto and not huge amounts in between, which made the chords throughout feel a little empty. The final chord was gorgeous, but all-in-all this lacked a certain completeness and didn’t engage me in quite the same way as I would have liked.

This dissatisfaction was immediately remedied by their final number, Muse’s Knights of Cydonia. Three words: Oh. My. Days. I would be surprised if this track doesn’t feature highly on our Best of British 2013. From the very moment the eerie whistling set the overarching tone for this Muse classic, I knew we were in for something special – and I was not wrong. Contrary to the previous song, the falsetto reached the necessary high standard required by this number, and the imitation of instruments was not only hilarious, but also accurate and energetic, which added hugely to the piece. The beatboxing too was difficult and relentless, and executed with aplomb. The first two minutes were taken up by complex instrument imitation, and gave the lead vocal a lot to live up to. Thankfully, the boys decided to go with a duet from the off, which added a further dimension to a piece that was already exceptional. The two boys singing the layered vocal complemented each other delightfully. The real highlight of the piece came when the group came back together to sing “No-one’s gonna take me aliiiiiiive!” etc., with the falsetto shining gloriously through at the top of the chord – the wall of sound produced by the boys was phenomenal. The ONLY disappointment was the final chord which, while good, didn’t quite do justice to the rest of the song, in my opinion.

Second up were all-girl group The Sweet Nothings, clad in black skirts and red ‘Sweet Nothing’ t-shirts. With only nine of them, I feared they might not be able to provide as much of powerful sound as the boys before them, but was ready to be proven wrong. They kicked off with a huge song, Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, which was a very, very brave call. I did enjoy how the girls split the solo to match specific voices – each soloist stepped up the the plate with confidence and delivered their solos powerfully and melodically. The alto parts were massively overpowered by the sopranos though, unfortunately, which made the song a little shrill at times. This was by no means a bad number, but when you cover such an iconic song, it’s hard to live up to the expectations, even with a great arrangement and a talented bunch of singers, such as the Sweet Nothings have. It just didn’t have the fullness and depth of sound that the original had and that this cover desperately needed.

Their second track, Coldplay’s Fix You, was another that suffered from the expectations built up by the original track. Once again, as each soloist stepped up to the plate, they delivered robust vocals that were perhaps not as tender as they could and should have been, and while the harmonies were delightful, I feel they were lost on occasion, perhaps due to the slightly faster tempo of this cover compared to the original. Emily Barrett’s solo in particular stood out above the rest, with her powerful and soulful alto reminiscent of a former Accidental favourite, Gemma O’Brien. Again, a solid number, without ever being outstanding.

Their third number, like with Semi-Toned, was the highlight of their set. Again, the girls split the solos evenly, but with songs from various artists such as David Guetta, Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Phil Collins and more, this was probably necessary. The arrangement was the real triumph, with each song blending seamlessly into the next, and was a real indicator of what the girls could do if they allowed themselves to arrange their own music, rather than borrow from others. Not only this, but you could tell the girls enjoyed this performance more than the other two, simply because it was clearly music they all loved. Musically it was tight, fairly original and very poppy – just how I like it. My favourite of their set, but definitely not reaching the same standards set by the boys previously.

Third up were the sole representatives from the University of Bath, the aptly named Aquapella. With seven girls and eight boys, they almost doubled the number assembled in the Sweet Nothings, and were clad in black with blue accessories. They began with a cover of The XX’s VCR. Some impressive beatboxing and an unusual starting formation were the things that struck me from the word go, but the perfectly tuned ‘Ding’ sounds from the high sopranos, despite being difficult to maintain, were spot on almost every time. This tune felt very summery, and this was emphasised by the cheery nature of the backing, especially from the male section, and the song bobbed along nicely in the ears of the audience, without ever threatening to get out of first gear.

Their second track was title ‘Titanium Bulletproof Grenade’. Have a guess as to the original artists. Some really gorgeous female voices displayed at the very start. I really liked the simple yet effective choreography, and the decision to have some of the males singing the hook for Bulletproof worked really well, although the solo section during Grenade felt a little half-hearted. Another short arrangement, indicating the group were intending to do four songs.

Their third number was Just The Two Of Us, originally by Bill Withers. Again, this was an inoffensive track, with some solid solos, tight musicality, effective vocal percussion, not really much to say against it, to be honest. It just lacked the real Wow! Factor that seems to be so important in VF-UK competitions these days. It was pleasant, but not enthralling or captivating. Also, where was the tenor? I half wanted a massive tenor solo to come and take this song by the scruff of the neck, but it never happened.

Their final song was Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy. I loved the fact the group took this song down a little bit, not only tempo-wise but also dropping the solo down an octave, which also suited the soloist’s voice deliciously. Ben Oddy sang with a gorgeous dulcet baritone, and the slowed tempo allowed him to really show off his soulful tone. A lovely interchange into Beyonce’s version of a song with the same name. This again was the highlight of their set, with some tender backing harmonies and a real appreciation for the songs they were covering. Not enough to set the world on fire, though.

The final group on stage were debutants, Illuminations, wearing black tops and an array of multi-coloured trousers. At first, I thought they had come on stage with their sheet music, which seemed a bizarre decision, and began to sing your typical choir song in a straight line, but then they opened up their ‘scores’ to spell the phrase “This Is Africa”, before one-by-one, each member of the group discarded their music and joined in the mini-party this was kicking off on stage. I half wanted to join them. The group really captured the ethinic feel to the Shakira original, and for the first time in what seemed like an age, I heard some strong male tenor voices piercing through the blend, which was a welcome addition to the evening. The whole song was bursting with energy that I felt lacked in the set from Aquapella, and the group were clearly enjoying themselves. The music wasn’t half bad either.

The group continued their African theme with Paul Simon’s Under African Skies, again portraying the African theme effectively with the ‘dum-dum’ drum sounds, with a gorgeous layered lead vocal with a mezzo-baritone combination that worked really effectively. The group definitely produced a fuller sound than a lot of the groups this evening, but I did feel they were hampered slightly by the similarity between the two songs, meaning they weren’t necessarily able to show off a different aspect to the group’s abilities. Nevertheless, this was another engaging performance, solid musically and led expertly by two lead vocalists.

The group donned masks for their final song, a Lion King mash-up of King of Pride Rock and a personal favourite, Circle of Life. For the first time in their set, the very high harmonies from the girls were a little squeaky, and from the boys a little shouty. I must admit, though, the group did well to keep the engagement levels up during Pride Rock, given that the majority of the sung words are not in English. The transition to Circle of Life was smooth, but I do feel they would have benefitted from taking the key down a tone or two to make things a little more comfortable for those at the very top. Again, the lack of variety in this set may well have hampered their chances of making the final.

A final note – several of the groups couldn’t pitch their notes from a single starting note, with the Musical Director having to sing the chord or even, at times, the entire first bar of music for certain parts. While it is obviously vitally important to make sure you’re all singing the right part, it does look unprofessional to be humming notes before you start singing the actual song – something to bear in mind for future competitions.

Verdict:

Unlike a lot of the Regionals, I felt this one was a fairly easy call. While all four groups demonstrated the capacity to arrange well, perform well and sing well, there was one group that stood out above the rest, and it would have been a surprise had they not made the final. The Sweet Nothings were good, but I feel suffered from their song choices slightly, especially the first two, and I feel if they focused on their own arrangements, as they did with their final number, they might be more successful. Aquapella were one of the best groups in terms of slick, tight musicality, but there were no peaks or crests to their set – they simply drifted along in a sea of easy-listening music which, while pleasant, is not award-winning stuff. Illuminations were perhaps closest to qualifying outside of the boys, as they bursted with energy, flair and a real grasp of where their music had come from. But they suffered from a lack of variety. In the end, that just left the boys from Semi-Toned, who probably won because their setlist was the best thought-out, but the bonus of a cracking final number will have definitely helped them along the way. They still have some way to improve to reach the likes of current champions All the King’s Men in next weekend’s Final, but this was definite progress since last year.

Awards:
Outstanding Musicality: Aquapella for Crazy
Outstanding Vocal Percussion: Jack Telfer St Claire of Semi-Toned for Knights of Cydonia
Outstanding Choreography: Semi-Toned

WINNER:

SEMI-TONED

So, while I wouldn’t have given them the award for Choreography (surely they merited Outstanding Performance over Choroegraphy?), Semi-Toned became the second group to reach this year’s final, and I do hope to see a closer such as Knights of Cydonia on a studio album at some point in the near future. It’s one of those that would never fail to be epic. See you at the final!

Event Review: VF-UK 2013 St Andrews Regional Round

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by John Lau

Saturday 23 February 2013 was the night when the Road to the Voice Festival UK Final started in Scotland, with the first of five regional competitions throughout the UK taking place at the Younger Hall in St Andrews. Six groups from three different universities competed for the sole place on offer at the Final in London on 15 March.

Before we get to the review, a quick summary of the show:

The Competitors:
THE HUMMINGBIRDS from the University of St Andrews
ABERPELLA from the University of Aberdeen
CHORAL STIMULATION from the University of Glasgow
THE ALLEYCATS from the University of St Andrews
THE OTHER GUYS from the University of St Andrews
THE ACCIDENTALS from the University of St Andrews

Master of Ceremonies:
THE ST ANDREWS REVUE

The first group to grace the stage (literally) were The Hummingbirds, who entered the stage in little black dresses and some fetching pairs of turquoise feather shaped earrings, a sight in itself. Their set kicked off with a mellow & soulful rendition of Poor Wayfaring Stranger, a spiritual-folky kind of song covered by many, most recently the Swingle Singers at LACF. As soulful as this piece was, I felt it was dragged out a little – indeed, the girls remind me of the early Belles from Pitch Perfect: making some gorgeous music but music that bops along in a cutesy kind of fashion without any real oomph to it.

This lack of pizzazz continued into their second song, as four of the girls donned blonde wigs in order to prepare for their rendition of Taylor Swift’s recent offering, Never Getting Back Together. The jump in terms of tempo between their opener and this rendition was admirable, but I always felt that there was an edge missing in this rendition I heard on the night compared to what we have all seen on the music video for this piece. Nevertheless, this was a hilarious number, backed up by some humorous spoken ad-libs, and it was the first piece of the night to really get the audience going.

The last piece in the Hummingbirds bid to qualify for their first national Final was a mash-up between 2 memorable pieces from 2012: Don’t You Worry Child from Swedish House Mafia and Adele’s Skyfall, two tracks with very different tempos, and I was intrigued to hear how they would juxtapose the electronic hook of Don’t You Worry with the soulful solo of Skyfall. In the end though, I was pleased to hear this pretty adequate combination of two quality tracks where the vocal performances in each part were competent. And with this end-piece the Hummingbirds exited the stage in the hope that they had done enough to qualify. I couldn’t help but to feel though that there was a sense of looseness about the set which may prove to be their undoing on the night. Could the group be blamed once again for a lack of competitive edge?

The next group on the stage was the first half of the non-St Andrews contingent, Aberpella from the University of Aberdeen, the mixed group who were, for the most part, wearing black suits and black shoes. Their first piece was a rendition of Alex Clare’s Too Close To Loving You, which sounded somewhat moody at the time, but having since listened to more of Clare’s work, the Aberdonian students’ rendition of this piece has proven highly effective, even if it was the most forgettable of their three pieces.

The next piece was a more brighter and positive effort, a mash-up of feel-good pieces When The Going Gets Tough and Build Me Up Buttercup, which was made memorable in terms of spectacle by some fancy footwork from the soloist, Nathan Chadwick, who implored the audience to get going when the going got tough. The soloists and their hysterical dance moves were indeed the real highlight of this piece – while the backing was solid, it wasn’t hugely original, which will have been picked up on by the judges, but from the perspective of an audience member it was a playful and witty middle song, and so credit to the group for winning over the crowd with this number.

The Aberdonians appeared to leave their best till last, when they came out with their rendition of Read All About It from Emeli Sande, interspersed with the chorus of The Cranberries Zombie. I do not generally have much time for the vocal output of Emeli Sande, so my expectations of this mash-up were relatively low. However, the vocal performance of Victoria Metcalf was one that made me, and everyone else in the audience, sit up and take notice. It was truly exceptional – controlled in all the right places, it rose and fell as necessary an really told the story of the song. It was a masterful solo, and I was therefore convinced that this vocal performance would struggle to be matched or exceeded by anyone else in this competition. A very strong finish to the set from the Aberdeen representatives.

Next on the stage were the 11-strong group Choral Stimulation from the University of Glasgow, this year with an unusual abundance of males in the group – almost double that of the girls, in fact. The group looked like some kind of unofficial ambassadors to the city, because they all had some form of tartan on them. This perception was reinforced when their first piece was an ‘Ode To Glasgow’ medley with no less than 14 tracks which all had a connection to the City of Glasgow, from Squealing Pigs by Admiral Fallow to the TV Theme tune for Taggart and even Why Does It Always Rain On Me? from Travis to name but three. This was an act of immense imagination and was pulled off with great aplomb, and I imagine that their arranging maestro David Ragg will have been up all night for quite some time trying to work out the complex ties between each song, not to mention figuring out which solos to dish out to whom.

The next piece was a somewhat less memorable one, as the group stepped into a rendition of Michael Jackson’s Will You Be There? The backing vocals from the rest of the group provided an apt contrast to the soloist’s voice, which sounded remarkably like Joe Cocker, and his gravelly voice was a refreshing change of pace from the more familiar vocal purity that is found in many of the modern day soloists.

The last piece of the Glaswegian set was another mash-up, officially titled ‘Feeling Bad’ – a mixture of Nina Simone’s Feeling Good, Michael Jackson’s Bad, Show Me Love from Robyn S and even Psy’s Gangnam Style hit from 2012. Although it carried parts of another Michael Jackson hit, I thought it was a good touch for the Arranger to allocate the vocal parts of Bad to the women of the group, who seized this opportunity to show off their phenomenal vocal skills – one could argue that they were a little underused throughout the set, but it was worth it to see them shine through on this number. This was another fantastic mash-up to close, and the amount of work done behind the scenes by arranger David Ragg really shone through in this set. This was, in my opinion, by far the most memorable set of the night, and that could only be a good thing.

Next on the stage were the pioneers of St Andrean a cappella, the six young women and seven men who form The Alleycats, looking their usual best with black suits or dresses and white trainers. Their set started with what I will describe as a ‘Love Medley’ formed of parts of tunes such as What Is Love from Haddaway, Let Me Love You from Ne-Yo and Justin Bieber’s As Long As You Love Me, a young man who we seemingly cannot escape from these days. The piece was sung professionally and, as always, competently choreographed and performed by the energetic group.

Ayanna Coleman then stepped onto the spotlight in the middle piece, a rendition of Robyn’s Dancing On My Own. As I was listening to this, I couldn’t help but to feel that there was an high quality emotional element to this soloist’s performance, which countered the relative mellowness of this piece. Coleman has an angelic voice, and this shone through against the bare-bones backing, which was highly effective in conveying the mood of this piece.

The final piece was very much the highlight of their set, a rendition of Florence and the Machine’s Shake It Out. Not only was this a highly intricate arrangement, but in having a trio of soloists, we were taken through the feisty tones of Jill Wyman, the delicate, soulful tonality to Steph Bown’s gorgeous voice, as well as the powerful tenor of Tommy Rowe. There was a real build to this piece, which culminated in a huge climax of money notes, belted harmonies and an overall gorgeous sound. Credit must go to MD Brendan Macdonald for the arrangement of this one, and knowing how to best utilise the voices at his disposal. Definitely an award-winning track. Despite this magnificent final number, though, I was convinced that as competent a set as this was, there was something missing to equal the success of the previous years’ group

Next on the stage were the twelve Other Guys in suits of all hues and colours all set to entertain us with their set which was heavily reminiscent of their recent visit to the recording studio. The first piece was their very own I Only Bought You Flowers Because I Love You So, a song which had previously been released as a Valentine’s Day single, with moderate success. It sounded a little different than the original, with Ted Haxby and Matthew Pattie splitting the solo and the tempo significantly faster, which meant we lost a few of the words, but I have to say that it is brave and admirable to sing an original song at the Voice Festival – something that has not been done before by any group, and it was a most impressive start from the well-established group.

From something new to something borrowed, their next piece was a King’s Singers arrangement of When She Loved Me from Toy Story 2. While there were a couple of tuning issues, perhaps self-created due to the difficulty of some areas of the arrangement, I’m not sure I have ever seen an audience stunned to silence as they were when Laurie Slavin began singing: his beautiful counter-tenor was definitely the last thing you’d expect to come out of a bearded man who looks more like a bass! This rendition had the audience captivated, and unsurprisingly so.

This mood was destroyed somewhat too early as the boys prepared to close their set with a mash-up of Justin Bieber’s Beauty and a Beat and Taylor Swift’s I Knew You Were Trouble. The most remarkable part of this number was the boys’ decision to strip off into vest and all manner of (very short) shorts, unfortunately at the expense of the vocal performance, which dipped significantly here. The dance routine was typically humorous, and Andrew Pattie’s lead was complemented by Mark Gregory on the Taylor Swift number, with the two songs blending together nicely after a hard-to-hear rap from Ted Haxby. The set epitomised what The Other Guys are all about in terms of taking things seriously (in other words, they don’t), but this is the principal reason as to why they are so popular: choreography like the show on display and the propensity the group has in filming and recording for charity more often than not.

The last group on the stage were The Accidentals who are still, officially speaking, the best all-female collegiate group in the UK following their appearance at the Voice Festival Final in 2011. With the ten girls in their group donning their white Accidental tops, black sheer leggings and black shoes, they kicked off with a piece new to my ears, Bottom Of The River, an original from Delta Rae, an American folk-rock kind of group, which was powerfully delivered in terms of lead vocals by Anna McDonald, who, as always, demonstrated her huge set of lungs with an emphatic vocal performance.

The middle piece reminded us all of their urban style of music and how they can deliver such pieces so well, with a mash-up between Flo Rida’s Good Feeling and Taio Cruz’s Dynamite, among others. As you can imagine from the pieces chosen for this mash-up, the girls wasted no time in dropping successfully back into their hip-hop roots, with some lovely high harmonies that, while impressive, further emphasised the absence of the lower register in the girls’ range – the altos were slightly overpowered throughout much of the set, particularly in this number.

Their third piece was Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac, which against demonstrated the girls’ ability to incorporate some gorgeous, delicate harmonies in numbers where they are less focused on the brash, boisterous RnB that they are so fond of. Grace Hardy in particular showed off her heavenly soprano at the very top of the range, which never fails to be perfectly tuned.

Their last piece brought them back to hip hop with a mash-up of No Diggity from Blackstreet and Niggas in Paris by Jay-Z and Kanye West, stylised as ‘Accidentals in Paris’, complete with lyric changes. The highlight was a particularly memorable rapping performance delivered by Tessa Stokes, which was almost up there with the like of The Boxettes, despite the hurried pace meaning a few of the lyrics were rendered unintelligible. This was a classic demonstration of what the girls do best, and was received rapturously by the ever-captivated audience.

Verdict:

During the interval, as I wandered about the hall, the opinions were divided as to who had been the best group of the evening. I must admit, I was almost in agreement, and definitely didn’t envy the job of the judges at the end of the night. However, there were strengths and weaknesses to all of the performances: The Hummingbirds make gorgeous music, but never seem to bring a ‘Wow!’ moment to proceedings – they were guilty of this again this year. Aberpella were definitely hugely improved from last year, but whether or not this was good enough to see them through to the final was another matter. They clearly have a gem of a soloist in Victoria Metcalf, though. Choral Stimulation were probably the most consistent group of the evening, with some great arrangements fulfilling their potential on stage. The Alleycats were as solid as ever, but lacked a number like last year’s Titanium that really blew everyone away. The Other Guys had the whole package – some great blending and rhythmic nous in the first two songs, coupled with their typical barrel-of-laughs final number, while The Accidentals demonstrated why they are still the best all-female group in the country with their typical feistiness, and delivered a gutsy performance that rivalled that of anyone. From a personal point of view, it was between The Other Guys and The Accidentals. But it was too close for me to call – any of the groups had a good case for being declared the winner.

Awards:
Outstanding Musicality: The Other Guys
Outstanding Soloist: Miss Victoria Metcalf of Aberpella for Read All About It
Outstanding Arrangement: David Ragg of Choral Stimulation

WINNER:

CHORAL STIMULATION

So, Glaswegian group Choral Stimulation were classified as the Winners of this regional heat, and in doing so become the first non-St Andrean group to qualify for the National Final, and it was hard to argue with a result like this, for everything was memorably good, whether it was the tartan on show, the fantastic first piece ‘Ode To Glasgow’, the high standard of vocal percussion which may have been a little underused, or indeed their final piece, used as their encore, ‘Feeling Bad’. The group were delighted, and will compete again in the Final next weekend.

The Oxford Gargoyles Conquer the Mancunian Way

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by John Lau

The BBC Choir of the Year Competition 2012 Final on Sunday 28 October will have some collegiate a cappella presence after The Oxford Gargoyles won the Open Category at the sumptuous Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, seeing off their friends from St Andrews, The Alleycats as well as the Ysgol Glanaethwy Senior Choir from North Wales and The Voice Squad from Bury St Edmunds.

16 groups were spread across 4 categories (Children’s, Youth, Adult and the Open categories) but the spotlight as far as we were concerned was in the Open Category, where two stalwart groups from the UK collegiate a cappella scene, as well as the Senior Choir of Ysgol Glanaethwy in North Wales were going head to head in a real ‘Battle of Britain’ scenario for a solitary guaranteed place in the Grand Final on the last Sunday of October 2012.

The Oxford Gargoyles qualified from the Basingstoke heat and The Alleycats of St Andrews qualified from a regional heat in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, both in February 2012, in order to reacquaint themselves in this stage. While the Alleycats have experienced a BBC appearance in the “Last Choir Standing” programme in the recent past, this was a brand new ball game for the Oxford Gargoyles and with the other two groups from North Wales and Bury St Edmunds having experienced similar televisual coverage in the UK, the Gargoyles had their work cut out to deliver a category-winning performance in front of the assembled public in the Bridgewater Hall.

The judges were introduced to the public prior to the start of the Children’s competition and the panel was formed of Mr Stuart Barr, a conductor and singing coach based in London’s West End, Mrs Shirley Court and Mr Paul Mealor, who has gained notoriety through both his arrangement of Ubi Caritas, first played at the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011, and Wherever You Are, the Christmas Number 1 in 2011, sung by the Military Wives Choir. After the judges were introduced, the audience led by our host Mr Greg Beardsell, were taken through some physical exercises designed to optimise our own singing capabilities.

Led by their MD, Mr Cefin Roberts, the Ysgol Glanaethwy Senior Choir took to the stage first with their three-piece set, with classical items such as Chorus Number 26 from Child of our Time, Biodeuwedd arranged by Mr Roberts himself and Adiemus by Karl Jenkins. Some of the features that stood out were the tribal-warrior-like chant that featured in their rendition of Adiemus, which could have transported me to New Zealand, such was the similarity to the All Blacks’ Haka that they perform. The judges lauded the performance with the keyword fittingly being ‘energy’. Paul Mealor, who is a Professor at Aberdeen University commented that this was an ‘energetic set which drew in the audience present.’ So all in all, this was a positive start to the Open Category.

Second on the stage and with another Scottish Connection was the solitary group from Scotland, The Alleycats of St Andrews, providing us with one last performance from the litter of the 2011-12 Academic Session, whose two-piece set featured their renditions of Ray Lamontagne’s You Are The Best Thing and David Guetta’s Titanium, both rearranged for their dulcet tones by their MD Brendan MacDonald.

Although I am well familiarised with the vocal magic that this group of Alleycats have provided us with over the last 18 months, culminating in their current album We’re Not Kitten being put on repeat play on the iPod of late, I did feel that on this occasion the sound generated by this piece did not quite fill the hall in terms of volume as this rendition has in previous performances such as at Younger Hall or the Casa A Cappella in Edinburgh. Maybe this is because the Bridgewater Hall would have been the largest space in which the Alleycats have performed recently. Apart from this observation, though, this was a typically mesmerising vocal performance from the group and this was picked up on by the one of the judges who commended the soloist Garrett Turner at the end of their set.

Their second piece was my personalfavourite on the album, the rendition of David Guetta’s Titanium featuring Sia. Knowing that this was the last time I would get to see this particular group of Alleycats providing their vocal exploits, it did feel in my own conscience that this was ‘the end of an era’ and this observation may have preyed on the minds of the departing Alleycats, I don’t know, but listening through this rendition of Titanium, the soloist Heather Robertson’s vocal performance did sound positively different from the previous occasions; there was definitely an extra dimension to this particular rendition which was hitherto absent. Heather was deservedly commended by Paul Mealor at the end of the set.

Third on the stage was The Voice Squad from Bury St Edmunds, a mixed group and easily the largest group competing in this category with approximately 60 youngsters, led by their Musical Director Birgitta Kenyon, with a very varied three-piece set list featuring Ov’e lass’, Il bel viso? a classical piece composed by Morten Lauridsen, a rendition of Billy Joel’s Lullaby and the theme tune to the BBC comedy series ‘Blackadder’. For the first time that I had heard them, I could not help but to be impressed by this group on so many levels, to the extent that I thought I was looking at potential finalists. Their first piece, Ov’e Lass’, Il Bel Viso? I thought was very well pronounced in terms of the Latin lyrics. Their second piece stood out in my head for the relatively soft quiet start to the song compared to the original, which enhanced my first impressions of this rendition, and also the soloists were something else to behold, even if they did not quite get individual commendations in the same manner that Heather and Garrett did for The Alleycats set and there was also a chamber choir-like sound eminent in this piece, which made the piece more appealing in my eyes.

They went almost from the sublime to the ridiculous with their closing number, a rendition of the Theme Tune to the Blackadder comedy series from back in the day, a piece which was made memorable for me through the females taking the lead and even the invisible swords that they fabricated as part of the choreography for this piece, all of which added to the comedic value of this piece. The judges made largely positive comments, such as the set indicating the versatility of what this group can do, the range of vocal tones, particularly prominent in the Billy Joel rendition, and the excellent standard of choreography in the first piece in particular.

And so the last choir remaining was The Oxford Gargoyles, and in a change to the published programme, the Musical Director Euan Campbell decided to change the second part of the two-piece set from Dancing in the Moonlight to their cover of Sting’s Fields of Gold. The jazz group dived right in with their rendition of the Duke Ellington standard It Don’t Mean A Thing. On this occasion I was impressed even more so than usual by the way that the group successfully changed tempo at the appropriate parts of this piece.

Then came the late replacement of the second part of the set, which in hindsight could be seen as the masterstroke which propelled the group to the London Final, as it provided us with memorable solo performances from Rebecca Sharp, who graced the audience with a strong and confident performance, and also Sasha Ockenden, whose vocals complemented those of Miss Sharp to the utmost degree. Although this was a mellower piece from their album Up The Scale, they somehow managed to fill the hall with a magnified chamber-choir-like sound, which was a positive factor picked up on by Paul Mealor the judge. In closing the judges remarks, Stuart commented that the Gargoyles exuded a high level of sophistication, which is something they have done for the last 14 years.

It was later confirmed that The Oxford Gargoyles were the winners of the “Open” Category, which made my day. As the Gargoyles President John Linnett commented, “We do not get to retire from the group yet.” The last day for this group of ground-breaking Oxford Gargoyles will be Sunday 28th October at London’s South Bank Centre, which will be a reunion of sorts with a Gargoyle Alumni in the form of Mr Edward Randell, who is now part of the “Swingle Singers” who will also be singing at the Final. The full line-up of the Finalists is listed below:

Children’s Choir of the Year:
Lindley Junior School Choir from Huddersfield
Youth Choir of the Year:
Methodist College Girls’ Choir from Belfast
Adult Choir of the Year:
Surrey Hills Chamber Choir
Open Choir of the Year:
The Oxford Gargoyles
Wildcards:
Les Sirenes from Glasgow
Ysgol Glanaethwy Senior Choir, Bangor

The Final will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 on the afternoon of Sunday 28 October commencing at 15:00 and the first ever UK Television appearance of The Oxford Gargoyles will be on BBC Four on Tuesday 13 November.

All the King’s Men Hit 3rd Anniversary at Greenwood Theatre

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by Folarin Akinmade

To celebrate their 3rd Birthday, All The King’s Men are holding a concert at the Greenwood Theatre in London Bridge, this Friday (October 26th). It will see a few alumni returning, but, more importantly will be the grand unveiling of a whole new generation. We sat down with Jonathan Stewart for a quick word.

UACUK: ATKM are celebrating their 3rd Birthday. How does that feel?!

JS: When you consider what the group has accomplished since its inception – touring the East and West Coasts of the U.S.A., becoming the first UK collegiate group to visit Singapore and Hong Kong, a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe, and of course winning the Voice Festival University competition this year – it’s barely believable that All the King’s Men is only three years old! A very mature child for its age. On a serious note, it’s going to be a wonderful occasion celebrating the group’s existence with almost everyone who’s ever sung with AtKM. Our regular Greenwood Theatre concert on Friday 26th will mark the last ever official performance from the first generation of the group, who have been highly inspirational to us newer Men, and we’re very much looking forward to the ‘birthday dinner’ the next day!

UACUK: As you say ATKM is a very young group, so how has it felt for you, having only joined the group last year, and having accomplished so much? I’d imagine it’s been a bit of a whirlwind.

JS: It certainly has been a lot to take in. I was keen to audition for AtKM when I arrived at King’s because of the strong reputation that it already had, both at King’s and in the wider a cappella community. The seven new Men last year learnt an awful lot just by watching the previous generation of AtKM perform at the Greenwood gig last year! We were blessed with some truly outstanding singers – I can’t think of any other group in the country possessing choral singers of the calibre of James Way and Angus McPhee – and were able to add some of the showmanship and style of the old group to our stage shows. Having accomplished all our goals for last year, the aim now for AtKM is to sustain the level of achievement for years to come.

UACUK: Which leads nicely on to the next question: Next year will see the last of the original group leaving, so how do you feel about continuing the ATKM legacy and what can we expect from you all in the near future?

JS: Whilst I’m looking forward to the challenge of taking the group forward, we owe so much to those leaving the group. Henry Southern, the departing MD and founding father, has been nothing short of inspirational to all of us. He was responsible not only for the arrangements, but also for the administration of the group and for establishing the now-characteristic AtKM performance style with his award-winning choreography. The group would quite literally not exist without Henry’s drive and desire to set up an all-male a cappella group at King’s. Now that the group has had a complete turnover of members, we are looking to establish a formal alumni network; more on that in the near future! In terms of the group’s development, the new group sounds very different to the old, if only because finding like-for-like replacements was nigh on impossible! Based on the ground we have already covered, however, I think we can be equally strong this year. Our recent residential weekend at general manager Cameron Carr’s house was highly successful, aided and abetted both by sumptuous cooking from Cameron’s mother Laura and the on-site hot tub, and the boys have already formed a strong bond. This year we are looking to return to the East Coast and Asia, and another run at the Fringe; there have been proposals mooted over a tour to Germany, courtesy of composer Graham Lack, but nothing concrete has been formed yet.

UACUK: That all sounds very exciting! Thanks so much for talking to us.

Gargoyles Reach BBC Choir of the Year Grand Final

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Last weekend, The BBC’s Choir of the Year Category Finals rolled into Manchester in the stunning Bridgewater Hall, and while there were four categories of competing choirs, there was one in particular we were keeping an eye on – the Open Category, which consisted of both The Oxford Gargoyles and St Andrews’ The Alleycats.

The two choirs, while competing against each other, were also up against The Voice Squad and Ysgol Glanaethwy Senior Choir in their category, and it was The Oxford Gargoyles who won the category and will compete in the Grand Final in the Royal Festival Hall in London against all the choirs in each of the other categories. There were also two Wildcard winners: while we hoped that The Alleycats would take one of these spots, it instead fell to the choir from Ysgol Glanaethwy and a choir from the Adult Category.

A full report of the Open Category will be available later in the week.

Congratulations to The Oxford Gargoyles! More information about the final can be found here.

The Refrains are Recruiting – Male Singers Wanted!

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Although not technically university a cappella, we at the blog like to look after our groups’ alumni because, well, a lot of us are alumni ourselves. And so we were delighted to hear that one of the UK’s newest alumni-based groups, The Refrains, are not only gigging very soon, but are also looking for new meat to join their ranks.

‘Please Refrain from Smokin” is a joint gig between The Refrains and fellow London-based group In The Smoke, two of the most exciting young groups on the thriving London scene, and it is happening this Friday. As in, tomorrow. Don’t miss out on your chance to see these groups by clicking ‘Join’ on the Event Page to find out where to buy your tickets.

More importantly, perhaps, is the auditions. The Refrains are packed full of uni group alums, and so are the perfect group to join if you’ve just graduated from university and haven’t quite filled that a cappella-sized hole that you’ve been left with. They are only looking for boys, though, at least one tenor and one bass, so lads, if you fancy it, click here to find out more and keep up to date with how to audition. Auditions are taking place week beginning October 8th, so keep your eyes peeled for more information.

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy seeing the groups in action tomorrow night!