I didn't realize that once I broke the seal the confessions would pour out so freely.
I'm a sucker for a cappella music. Ok, let me explain. I'm a fan of what a cappella aficionados would call the "contemporary a cappella" genre. What this means is that the style of music I'm referring to is not barbershop quartet or some sort of street corner doo-wop. Contemporary a cappella is very much like modern rock or pop music, except that the instrumentation just happens to be voices and sounds made by various appendages.
Some of the groups I enjoy are "pure" a cappella, meaning that the recordings are essentially 4 or 5 voices around a microphone, while others manipulate the vocals in post-production to create "percussion" loops or to make voices sound more like instruments.
I think part of what intrigues me about this genre is the complexity of the arrangements and the way that this style of music exposes all of a song's harmonies and moving parts.
Here are a few selected tracks from my collection that I highly recommend. The links will work for 100 downloads or 7 days, whichever comes first.
1. "4U4Now4Life" by Scott Leonard
Scott Leonard, lead singer and arranger for Rockapella, wrote this track, recorded every sound on it, tweaked the sounds in post-production, and mixed it himself. It's an exciting arrangement and has one of the hookiest choruses I've ever heard.
2. "Moments of You" by Rockapella
Another Scott Leonard lead vocal and composition, Moments of You was the song that first interested me in a cappella music. Rockapella (known primarily for their stint on "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?") still tours all year round and puts on a great live show.
3. "25 or 6 to 4" by The Ex-Boyfriends
A larger group than most, The Ex-Boyfriends cover a lot of classic rock and have a less-produced sound than many other a cappella groups. They write a lot of long, sprawling arrangements that includes snippets of other songs in them. This is a Chicago cover, but it includes moments of George Harrison, Pat Benatar, Led Zeppelin, and more.
4. "Eleanor Rigby" by Tonic Sol-Fa
The most traditional a cappella group I'm featuring tonight, Tonic Sol-Fa records straight-forward but extremely well produced arrangements. One of my favorites is this cover of Eleanor Rigby.
Other Nerderific Blogs
The following blogs are all reporting on their Nerderies as well:
1 comment:
I downloaded all of 'em. Pretty cool stuff, yo.
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