Tag Archives: The Voice Festival UK

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’.

Event Review: VF-UK 2013 Oxford Regional Round

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by Nick Barstow

The Oxford round of the Voice Festival is always one of the best attended and most hotly contested, thanks to Oxford’s reputation as the spiritual home of the UK a cappella scene. With five out of six Oxford groups regularly performing at the Edinburgh Fringe and embarking on tours across the globe, the groups here are among the most experienced nationwide. The lack of two regular attendees – Out Of The Blue and the Oxford Gargoyles – did nothing to dampen the competition’s energies and if anything heightened the competitive spirit as the field appeared much more open, having between them seen off every competing Oxford group since the Alternotives and Belles last final appearance back in 2009.

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

The Competitors:
THE KING’S CHICKS from King’s College, London
IN THE PINK from the University of Oxford
THE OXFORD BELLES from the University of Oxford
THE ULTRASOUNDS from the University of Oxford
THE OXFORD ALTERNOTIVES from the University of Oxford

In order to fill the running order and ease the pressure on the fast growing London stage of the competition, the first act of the evening were the London based all female group The King’s Chicks – their first performance in Oxford and a real baptism of fire considering both the Oxford Belles and In The Pink’s wealth of experience. The Chicks, however, were unphased and gave a slick and impressive show. This year the group have benefitted from an experienced musical director – Alexandra Platt hails from California and has sung with a group on the west coast, and her American roots proved to be a real positive influence on the group. The girls, under the direction of Ella Ross, have obviously mastered the more intricate ‘serious’ style of choreography favoured in the US but often shunned in the UK in favour of slightly more raucous, humorous style and it really helped to set them apart from their competitors on the night. Perhaps more unexpectedly, the other real strength of the group was its second song – often in an all girl group the slow songs are marred by a tendency to ‘make the most’ of the sopranos by sending them soaring into the stratosphere away from the rest of the block, and the soloists can often be too predictable, either set at saccharine sweet or overpoweringly belted with little in between. The chicks version of The Temper Trap’s Sweet Disposition however managed to avoid all of those setbacks whilst still providing real contrast to the outer two, upbeat pieces. The arrangement (by Platt) was closely written, the range kept small, and the inner parts kept active which gave the piece a really attractive shimmering quality. The soloist Khyati Modgil too was captivating, with a unique and soulful tone that was clearly audible above the block but never overpowering. The group also kept moving through the song, looking engaged and at ease throughout the performance.
If anything, the girls were hindered a little by a lack of inventiveness in the arrangement of the faster songs. Whilst their finale End of Time had some great strong homophonic sections, good choreography and a strong VP, the strong bass line of the original which provides much of the actual harmonic interest was simply left out – although such things can be a challenge for female groups, I didn’t feel that they’d actively tried to work out how to get that harmonic drive into their arrangement. It was strongly delivered, but a little too simple to remain interesting. The inclusion of the bollywood mash was an unexpected and pleasant surprise, and it showcased a real stylistic diversity or voices within the group, but it didn’t give the number the punch I felt it really needed.

The second group of the evening was In The Pink, and with a plethora of previous MDs and Presidents in the audience the group were well supported with whoops and whistles as they sashayed onto stage looking quietly confident. It’s amazing what a new wardrobe can do for a group’s onstage presence and overall attitude, (a best dressed award for next year, VF-UK?) and I think group president Carla Peters idea of matching black playsuits and a pink belt was an excellent one. The playsuit vibe matched the group’s performance impeccably – cheeky but not cheesy, sassy but not raunchy, energetic but not out of control. To move on to the set itself, the song choices on paper were perhaps a little predictable but they were brilliantly executed. The group’s overall arranging style was streamlined last year into a more modern, simple style with more emphasis on the percussion and solo, with tracks like Rumour Has It and Perfect being their best mainstays in ’11-12. That was carried on this year in the group’s more upbeat numbers, but each had some added complexity that really helped lift the group to another level. The group has also obviously had a really strong intake this year, and retained a lot of strong voices from last year also, with excellent solo work and VP across the board. Their highlight is unquestionably the ‘Hero/Survivor’ mash which was their third song, written by ’11-’12 MD Becca Nicholls towards the end of her tenure, and it’s a real winner for the girls. The opening of Survivor divides the famous arpeggiated line between a minimal number of singers which is all it needs, the rest of the block are given on beat chords to an ‘ah’ vowel. It doesn’t sound much, but having so many singers focussed on the one beat means the girls could give it real character as well as sound. Each ‘ah’ had a great breathy, studio-quality punch and the VP was really strong. Of all the groups on the night, In The Pink had the best overall ensemble quality with each member looking and sounding strong and engaged – the choreo wasn’t perhaps as tight as the Chicks’, but it was delivered with a little more energy and abandon which made it that little bit more exciting to watch. The group’s slow number was the weakest of their three, perhaps because a song as iconic and expansive as Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now is difficult to capture with a vocal group – especially if you’re familiar with the orchestrated version of the more recent studio recording. The arrangement was pleasant, and the soloist commendable for not copycatting Mitchell’s original but lending her own rich tone to the piece, but it just lacked the depth and scope of the original, and therefore the emotional power.

The pressure was on The Oxford Belles therefore as the third all female group in a row to make sure they stood out from the crowd. The Belles always put in a good showing at the Voice Festival, and often bring something a bit different to the table. Two years ago they gave us a slow song with no soloist, last year a medley of TV themes, and this year they ran together a set with no breaks, completely continuous. It’s a tactic which the Voice Festival has been keenly encouraging acts to attempt for years, but I’m not convinced what it added to the girl’s set. Effectively three songs (I’m a Woman, This Woman’s Work and Independent Women) stuck together with interludes, the set doubtless required a lot of practice to hold together but I think that the audience were a little bemused at the lack of space in which to applaud – and conversely without the boost of the audience’s adoration after each song I think the Belles lost momentum a little. Having taken part in the Voice Festival in the past, in my experience for the first song the group runs largely on nervous energy and adrenaline and it takes the applause from that to reassure that everything is going to plan, and so you calm down and tackle the rest of the set with a clearer head. The Belles denied themselves that opportunity, and I feel like it showed. That’s not to say however that their set wasn’t impressive. Their first full song is taken from the musical ‘Smokey Joe’s Café’, and the group used the songs theatrical roots to their advantage – the four soloists strutted across the stage with great presence, and when they came together at the end for an extended bit of belting and riffing it was really quite exciting. They didn’t overpower one another but worked together, the chords were firm and strong, the tuning on the song’s awkward minor-to-major modal changes was spot on. The second song kept this strong ensemble feel going – despite being led at first by soloist Celia McLuskie, the build-up towards the end allowed the block to take on bits of the main tune and words too. So often in slow songs the ensemble feel can be lacking, the main soloist too heavily relied on to carry the emotion, but the Belles avoided that. Their final song allowed MD Alicia Gayle to take centre stage and lead from the front, and her impeccable poise, finely tuned attitude and powerful vocal in my mind made her one of the best soloists all night – it was at this point however that I felt the lack of applause (especially after an emotionally draining second song) began to show in the girl’s overall performance, and the block seemed a little under-energised. The diction felt a little sloppy (although to be fair to the girls having listened to the original version I still have no idea what the words are in the chorus) and it just seemed that the group were unable to keep up the level of polish that the rest of their set demonstrated.

And then, for something completely different. The Ultrasounds made their Voice Festival debut with quite a bang last year, with some booming VP, club-night song choices and even the odd bit of break dancing. Barrelling onto stage in their overalls, their onstage presence could hardly have been more polarised from the three female groups, and sadly the difference extended to the quality of arrangements and overall performance. With such a small pool of potential talent (the group accepts only medics) the group is bound to be susceptible to qualitative peaks and troughs, and so the group’s attitude is evidently focussed on the enjoyment of its members and a sense of energy and fun. The group had strong support from a huge number of medics in the crowd, but they just didn’t pull off their set as well as they did in last year’s VF-UK debut. The first song, John Legend’s Ordinary People either had serious arranging issues or serious tuning issues – aside from the main line itself, it wasn’t especially recognisable as the original. It was a shame, as in theory the taking of a slow song and turning it into an upbeat, cheeky chappy style number (which was obviously the intention, with the boys striding merrily across the stage with an almost ‘hi-ho’-esque brand of choreography) is really quite good, but it just didn’t work. Their slow song, a mash-up of Without You and With Or Without You suffered from similar arranging issues, with the backing not lending enough support to the lead vocalists who coped well with the really demanding material. With their final number they returned more to the club-style which they showcased last year, and were all the better for it. The block was stronger, the group seemed more energised and more relaxed. Overall, however, it was a weaker showing for the group than last year by some margin.

The final group to take to the stage were The Oxford Alternotives, and like In The Pink they have made some quite drastic stylistic changes to their style in the past few years. In previous years harnessing a sort of nerdy humour, last year they were one of the Oxford round highlights, managing somehow to be both charmingly quirky and disarmingly suave, with an old school pop set studded with intricate harmonies, blink-and-you-miss-it mash ups, jokes and references (a five-second jazz a cappella parody in Spandau Ballet’s ‘Gold’ still stands out as one of the best moments of the night). Tonight, as one of only two Oxford groups present to have made the final in the past five years, they must surely have been feeling the pressure to come good and repeat the feat. Opening with Knights of Cydonia was a bold choice and another stylistic departure for the group – but from the minute they opened their mouths it was evidently the right choice. That a cappella trope, the ‘wall of sound’, made its first appearance of the night, and I couldn’t help but feel as if the show had only really just started. The group’s sound was incredibly strong but not shrill or forced, it was wholesome and rich. Combined with some excellent vocal percussion work from Dom Burrell and Max Woodman, it was an exceptional opening number. The one thing it did perhaps lack was personality – it was sonically exciting but almost a little too serious. Perhaps in the context of the group’s own show this would have been less of an issue, but when thrown into contrast with the charm and energy of In The Pink as an opener it felt a little impersonal and unrelatable. However, any issues they might have had with getting the audience on their side were completely forgotten after their second song, Regina Spektor’s Samson. Having heard the song on the group’s latest studio album, I was looking forward to hearing it live in the town hall’s wonderful acoustic – and it really was quite a special experience. The block singing was stunning, the balance perfection. So often in a cappella discussion the word ‘blend’ is bandied about, and usually I tend to think that it’s only one letter different from ‘bland’ for a reason. Sometimes the ‘blend’ that groups strive for can strip them of personality, leaving the sound pleasing enough but lifeless and unengaging. The Alts, however, achieved a blended sound that was warm and expressive – and the shading of tone colour between the men and women was a real delight. With the tenors often sliding into falsetto and occasionally moving above and around the lower alto lines, it was the aural equivalent of dip dye – two separate colours flowing together, retaining their individual sense but creating something new in the middle. Particular credit for block work has to go to Olivia Willis, whose versatility is simply awesome. Although billed on the group’s website as an Alto, she took the high soprano line (which involves sitting on a top F# for approximately half the song) on her own, and throughout the piece it sounded free and effortless – and in the penultimate exposed passage (mimicking the piano in the original) it was nothing short of angelic. An incredible block needs an incredible solo, and Jessie Reeves’s take on the song was beautifully understated, and totally compelling. I feel that slow song soloists can often buckle under pressure and be too aware of the pitfalls of poor tuning or cracking, and the consequence is a tight and inanimate delivery. Jessie suffered none of these problems – her tone was so smooth and effortless, unhindered by the mechanics of vocal production. If there’s one performance you should look up on YouTube from this round, it’s this song. The sound the Alts produced is indescribable. I think it fair to say that their final song was never going to live up to their second in terms of musicality and sheer vocal beauty, and so it was a good decision by the group to finally show their more comic, playful side, and allow soloist Ed Crawford to flirt outrageously with the judges, the crowd, his fellow Alts and life in general whilst suavely singing Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You. The choreo was a little cluttered, and the sound a little sparse at times but having demonstrated the group’s vocal strengths it seemed appropriate to allow those things to slide a little in favour of an energetic, amusing finisher.

Round-Up:
At the interval, then, I felt pretty strongly that it should be a win for the Alts, although I could also see the judges being swayed by In The Pink. By far the strongest female a cappella performance I have seen, their set was really impressive and depending on whether the judges favoured musicality and vocal prowess or overall entertainment value and stage presence their decision could go either way. I was hoping for a fairly award heavy evening though, as there was a lot to commend onstage. The vocal percussion was strong all through the night, but Maria Constantine of In The Pink and the Burrell/Woodman pairing of the Alts stood out for me. The solos likewise were also very good, although I felt that Khyati Modgil’s interpretation of a very characterful male original (Sweet Disposition, from the King’s Chicks) deserved something, as did Jessie Reeve’s take on Samson. Outstanding Overall Performance, frequently a mark of entertainment value and stage presence, I was fairly sure would make an appearance for In The Pink. Whilst the Belles did a lot very well, I wasn’t sure if they had done anything significantly better than the other groups – they were strong and professional, but they weren’t thrilling.

Awards:
Outstanding Musicality: The Oxford Belles
Outstanding Soloist: Georgia Comrie of In The Pink for ‘Both Sides Now’
Outstanding Performance: In The Pink

WINNER:

THE OXFORD ALTERNOTIVES

In general, I was in agreement with the judges. I was pleased they’d recognised In The Pink’s performance, but I did feel the Alts were the worthier winners. The solo result I found a little surprising – in many was Comrie was an obvious choice, and quite possibly the best technical singer of the soloists, but I feel like outstanding solo shouldn’t necessarily mean best singer. Jessie Reeve’s solo felt much less technically produced, the tone was beautiful, unique and full of character. Likewise Khyati Modgil brought something unique and was the only slow song soloist to really physically engage with the song, and I feel that she should have been mentioned. I felt a little sorry for the Chicks that the judges didn’t give them an award to take away, as their showing was much stronger than the previous year and they got so much right which the more experienced groups have struggled with. Best Choreography could easily have been theirs for the taking.

Seeing as pre-coverage of the Oxford round largely dealt with the ‘notable absences’, it was great to see the groups on show taking the bull by the horns and making their mark. The real strength of Out Of The Blue and The Gargoyles is their niche is clearly established and it makes them much easier to talk about. OOTB are the best known university group in the UK, and their critical successes at the Fringe and beyond, well-publicised tours and top quality albums mean they can’t be ignored – likewise the Gargoyles are the only true jazz a cappella group on the scene and their victory in the BBC Choir of the Year Open Category (not to mention almost every Musicality award ever in Oxford) makes them an equally formidable force. The lack of recognition the other Oxford groups can occasionally suffer from is solely due to a narrow field of view of the public and a cappella commentators – the standard of groups on show tonight proved that in performance quality and musicality they are all capable of matching up to their more talked-about counterparts and have just as much individual personality. Had the circumstances been different and the Gargs and OOTB not been away during the competition period, I find it hard to imagine that the Alts wouldn’t still have been victorious.

Sons of Pitches Pip Vive to ICCA Final

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Yesterday evening, the announcement was made as to which international group would be representing the Rest of the World at the upcoming ICCA Finals at the Lincoln Center in New York City. With several of our UK groups having submitted video setlists to the ICCAs, it was in the end a close run thing between this year’s VF-UK champions, Vive, and the arguable runners-up, The Sons of Pitches, whose disappointment will surely be annulled by this particular result.

It means for the first time, the winners of this year’s university competition will not be invited to perform as the representatives of the UK, with the ICCAs using a different system this year with which to allocate the International Wild Card, that being through video applications.

Previous UK entrants to the ICCAs have fared well – Out of the Blue has come second twice, in 2006 and 2009, while last year’s champions All the King’s Men came in third behind third-time champions the SoCal VoCals.

We’ll be previewing the Final as soon as all the entrants are through, but for now let us wish The Sons of Pitches good luck in their endeavours in New York. The UK is behind you!

Results Round-Up
1st: The Sons of Pitches (363 Points)
2nd: Vive (350 Points)
3rd: The Oxford Belles (295 Points)

Album Review: Vive Album

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Vive's debut album is a 6-track record and features several numbers that were used in their Voice Festival UK award- and title-winning set.

Vive’s debut album is a 6-track record and features several numbers that were used in their Voice Festival UK award- and title-winning set.

After their winning performance at this year’s Voice Festival UK, I thought it was about time I got round to reviewing Vive’s short debut album, which was released in January this year and was a taster of what we were witness to at the City of London School for Girls last week. The six-strong group, consisting of five guys and a solitary female, might on first sight be compared to Pentatonix, but their sound couldn’t be more different.

While I’m not the biggest fan of jazz music, safe to say this album shows off the musical ear that the group were so highly praised for at the Final last weekend, and demonstrates a capacity not only to put a fresh, original take on well-known numbers, but also the inventiveness and musical precision that is presented in the two original tracks on the album, Your Motivation and Voices.

The group show off the insane variety of harmonies that can be used for one note during the start of High (Forever You And Me) by the Lighthouse Family, with some gorgeous falsetto from Sam Robson delicately soaring over the top of the blend. Emily Dankworth takes the solo, which is angelic but the complexity of the harmonies throughout the piece means it is probably the least interesting part of the song. There are some exquisite slides up towards the bridge, and I enjoy how the group drops the beat during the first chorus and sings almost in unison, a unique and brave choice which pays off, with some complex jazz harmonies once again shining through. The most impressive thing about this number is the group’s ability to turn a lovely yet uninteresting original into something in which a new and interesting rhythm, chord or beat is just around the corner.

They segue into the second track, Ezekiel saw de Wheel, a spiritual piece, which incorporates some incredible high harmonies and a gorgeous tenor solo from Sam Robson of which I am insanely jealous. Some of his runs are just insane, especially towards the end when everyone else drops out and he is left to have free reign on the solo, which he fully utilises. I enjoyed the group’s slide towards the end note again at the end of this one. The first original, Your Motivation, written by Sam Robson, is great. The group splits the solo between the boys, each one of them proving they are no less talented than the others, with each one of them showing careful control of their soothing voices. Again, great jazzy, original harmonies throughout.

Just as things stray near the danger-zone of becoming ‘too same-y’, the group bring out two more well-known numbers in Kiss From A Rose and Somewhere from West Side Story, the latter of which is the highlight of the album. Kiss is the straightest cover on the record, and it is refreshing to hear the group stick more closely to the original, despite the fact they have a good play about with the rhythms towards the second half of the track. The vocal percussion is used sparingly here but effectively. Somewhere is phenomenal, simply because for forty seconds, the group sings ‘Ooh-Aah’ to about a hundred different notes, with almost every single combination of notes different to the others and thus capturing the attention of the listener. Dankworth’s solo is beautifully floated over the top, and Robson’s falsetto descends, ascends and resolves with precision and delicacy several times. The final chord is unreal. Just unreal.

The final track, Voices, is kind of Your Motivation 2.0, a solid arrangement with some decent solos and gorgeous jazz chords, and this brings me to my only criticism of the album – there is no denying that Vive are a mega-talented bunch of musicians, and that their jazz/spiritual vibe is very much lounge music and not even close to the realms of sing-a-long pop, but there isn’t a huge amount of variety here. They know what they are good at, and they do it superbly, perhaps a little self-indulgently, but I’d love to see them tackle more numbers like Somewhere on their next album that give them the opportunity to blast out and hold some really meaty chords – a lot of the most impressive and unique chords in a lot of the numbers were so fleeting that you weren’t given enough time to really enjoy them.

That said, the group has way more musical proficiency than I could ever dream of, but from the point of view of a listener, this isn’t an album I’d choose to put on – rather, something I’d add to a lounge playlist to stick on during a particularly long and stressful Russian essay. There is no doubting the group’s musicianship, which is frankly phenomenal for a group this young, but it is their ability to entertain and the replay-factor that doesn’t quite come across here. No doubt the group has a massive future ahead of them, and I can’t wait to see how the group develops and further improves in the coming years.

Vive’s album can be bought on Bandcamp. For more information about the group, check out their Facebook Page.

Liquid 5th – Official Partners of University A Cappella UK

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Fullscreen capture 20032013 124523.bmpWe here at University A Cappella UK are delighted and proud to announce an official partnership between ourselves and an exciting a cappella company in the United States – Liquid 5th. After meeting with Public Relations Officer Josh Chopak at last weekend’s Voice Festival UK Big Weekend, we are thrilled to be partnering with such an exciting and dynamic company.

Who are Liquid 5th?
Liquid 5th was co-founded in 2005 by current co-owner and CEO Carl Taylor. Carl was later joined by current co-owner Chris Juengel. They currently consist of 9 members. Based in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina, three of them live in North Carolina, while the rest are spread out between Boston, Pennsylvania, New York, Indiana, and Connecticut.

What does Liquid 5th do?
Liquid 5th offers two primary services: live a cappella sound production and a cappella album production. The former requires that they provide all elements of live sound at any given concert: speakers, mics, running the sound board, etc. Their current clients include the Pentatonix tour, the ICCA Finals, as well as numerous semi- and quarter-final events, and the SoJam a cappella festival. The latter of their services involves any and all of the following: recording/tracking, editing, mixing and mastering.

How do they do it?
Liquid 5th’s standard recording technique includes a mobile recording rig that can be set up in any suitable room, which can include classrooms, practice rooms, closets and basements. This allows them to travel to the client such that the process is as easy and convenient as possible.
In addition to their mobile rig, they recently opened The A Cappella Studio, a full-service a cappella studio in Durham, North Carolina. The state of the art studio includes four isolation booths, a live room, a solo room, and a control room, which allows up to eight singers to record at once without bleed between mics.
During the recording process, they take extra care to ensure that the client is the boss to whatever extent that group would like to be. In other words, they will offer expertise as often as they can, but the product is not finalized until the client is not only satisfied, but excited.

Why UACUK?
While Liquid 5th have done extensive work in the States, they are very excited about their new involvement in the UK, particularly with the UACUK. The UK a cappella scene, particularly at the collegiate level, is about to explode and they are so thrilled to be a part of that. Our hope is of course to have the opportunity to work with as many UK groups as possible and immerse ourselves in what promises to be a thriving community for quite some time.

You can find out more about Liquid 5th by heading to their website.

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.

Vive Triumph in Debut Season; Fifth Different Winner at Fifth Final

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In a night full of passion, intricacy, humour, style, sophistication and most of all, music, it was debutants Vive that took this year’s Voice Festival, triumphing over the likes of The Sons of Pitches, The Oxford Alternotives and last year’s champions All the King’s Men in the final at the City of London School for Girls.

With the group from Guildhall College of Music and Drama only reaching the final via a Wildcard after winning the Ward Swingle Award for Originality at the London Regional in the same venue last week, they put together a set never before seen in recent Voice Festival memory, with breaks in between each song to outro and intro the songs either side – something most other groups rarely have time for. The group were clearly the best musicality and indeed in terms of originality – their set contained two songs penned by group members themselves – but the audience favourite appeared to be The Sons of Pitches, who toyed with the audience deliciously throughout their set, and more than deserved their awards for ‘Outstanding Vocal Percussion’ and ‘Outstanding Choreography/Stagecraft’, the latter of which they picked up at last year’s final. Special mention must also go to Jessie Reeves of The Oxford Alternotives, who took the audience on a real emotional journey through her solo of Regina Spektor’s Samson. Surprisingly, reigning champions All the King’s Men left empty handed, as did Glaswegian group Choral Stimulation and Exeter based Semi-Toned, but these were by no means poor performances – each and every group could have made a point for why they were deserved winners on the night; it was merely a case of which group was the most outstanding.

So Vive it was that claimed the title ahead of the rest. What next for the group from Guildhall?

Results Round-Up
Outstanding Musicality: Vive
Outstanding Choreography/Stagecraft: Joe Bellum and Joe Hinds of The Sons of Pitches
Outstanding Arrangements: Sam Robson of Vive
Outstanding Vocal Percussion: Jack Blume of The Sons of Pitches
Outstanding Soloist: Jessie Reeves of The Oxford Alternotives for Samson

Winner: VIVE

A full review of last night’s show will be available shortly.

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!

Poll: Who will win the Voice Festival UK 2013?

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With three weekends of top quality a cappella having whizzed past absurdly quickly, we are all set for a fifth Voice Festival UK University Final this weekend, taking place at the City of London School for Girls on Friday 15 March. With three groups having had experience in finals before, as well as three debutant groups, it really is wide open. Who is your favourite?

All the King’s Men

The reigning champions are in their third final in as many years, and having once again won the tough London Regional, must be feeling confident in their third straight final. The Men are currently the third best collegiate group in the world, having placed 3rd at last April’s ICCA Finals in New York, and will have been honing their VF-UK set while touring the US again this February. Losing their founder and long-time Musical Director Henry Southern will have been a blow, but it appears they have gone from strength to strength and look a good bet to defend their title.

Choral Stimulation

The hugely unfancied Glaswegian group (having only secured 4% of the vote for the St Andrews Regional Round in our previous poll) took everyone by surprise with their phenomenal set in St Andrews, becoming the first group outside of St Andrews to qualify from that particular Regional. This is their fourth year in the competition, which gives them more experience than all but one of the other groups, and they have been on a steady incline of improvement since their debut back in 2010. Will their lack of Final experience count against them though?

The Oxford Alternotives

The Alternotives last qualified for the final back in the first year of the Voice Festival UK, in 2009. That year, they made it through the now-defunct Cambridge Regional, whereas this year they progressed in their hometown in Oxford. The group have picked up several awards in the years they haven’t made the final, demonstrating they have always been there or thereabouts when it comes to qualification, but this is the year to really capitalise on their Final berth. They sounded fantastic at the Edinburgh Fringe over the summer – to what extent will this be continued?

Semi-Toned

Having made a strong debut last year, despite not making the Final, Semi-Toned secured one third of the vote to win the Exeter Regional and proved they had built on last year’s strong foundations with an astonishing set, picking up the majority of the awards at the Regional as well as securing qualification. As one of three all-male groups at the Final, they will need to do well to stand out, and a question marks lies over whether they have quite found their unique personality as a group, but they are definitely on their way to becoming one of the biggest male groups in the country. Can they rubber-stamp that fact with a win on Friday?

The Sons of Pitches

Having arguably been close runners-up in last year’s Final, the Birmingham-based group will feel in a strong position to further challenge for the VF-UK title this year, having picked up no less than three awards at the Birmingham Regional yesterday night. The boys claim that their success at last year’s Festival was a springboard for their spring and summertime successes, so imagine what the boys could achieve were they to win the thing? Praised for their masterful stagecraft and energetic performance in recent years, do the boys have enough musicality to win them the entire competition?

Vive

The wild-card entry (literally) in this year’s final, Vive have taken a leaf out of Pentatonix’ book by being a small, male-dominated group with one exceptional female lead to add the extra-dimension to their numbers. While the group focus on an entirely different repertoire to their American counterparts, the Guildhall-based group inherently have a huge amount of musical proficiency behind them and to qualify ahead of the likes of The Techtonics from the London round is quite an achievement, even if it was through the use of the Ward Swingle Award for Originality. I cannot wait to see these guys live, and see what they can offer. Will their lack of experience hamper their ability to win? Time will tell.

Have Your Say

Our poll is now open. Who do YOU think will win this year’s final?

All the King’s Men Set to Defend Title; Vive Pick Up Ward Swingle

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In an astonishing night of a cappella at the City of London School for Girls, potentially two groups made it through to the final next weekend – All the King’s Men, as overall winners of the Regional, and Vive, who according to Voice Festival rules, will qualify also, unless a group from Birmingham also picks up a Ward Swingle Award as the six-strong group did this evening.

In a night filled with a high standard of collegiate a cappella, it was reigning champions All the King’s Men that saw of stiff competition from other London groups, including The Techtonics, debutants The Scopes and The Houghtones, and all-female group The Imperielles. But it was Vive who perhaps steal the headlines, becoming the first group since Fitz Barbershop in 2010 to pick up the Ward Swingle Award for Originality, and the second group ever to do so.

Depending on events in Birmingham, both All the King’s Men and Vive will be joining Choral Stimulation, The Oxford Alternotives and Semi-Toned in next weekend’s final, plus the representative from Birmingham that will be announced later this evening. Hold onto your seats.

Results Round-Up
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 Techtonics

Winner: ALL THE KING’S MEN

Ward Swingle Award for Originality: VIVE

A full review of last night’s show will be available shortly.