Doug McNicol, student at SJU and co-President of 54th and City, SJU’s only all-male a cappella group on campus, is here to tell you that size doesn’t matter. In the world of a cappella, the quality of the sound and the creativitity of style does not depend on how many people are in the group. But with a cappella groups on the rise, this genre of music becomes more and more complex. However, it still allows the human voice to mimic the sound and timbre of instruments and ultimately allowing groups to achieve their ultimate goal: finding their sound.
Archives for posts with tag: a cappella
- Members of Rockapella
The world renowned a cappella group, Rockapella, has finally released their new album entitled “Bang.” After a long hiatus from the CD world, the group has come out with their first studio album since 2002 and their first CD since their live show in Japan in 2004.
“Bang” is a cappella at its finest with tight harmonies, organically created rythyms, and excellent vocal percussion. All of the songs on the album are original except for the Vampire Weekend cover of “A-Punk”, which is considered a bonus track. Additionally, each of the five members have written at least one song. “Bang” is an incredibly ambitious endeavor but one that Rockapella has tackled with ease. Maybe ease is not the right word to use because it took them all summer to work on it without announcing a release date (thanks for keeping me on edge, guys).
I have seen Rockapella live 6 times, each time better than the one before. Experiencing them live is the best way to hear the a capella sensation they are. Yet the great thing about “Bang” is that it is recorded in a way so that each song has that “live” feeling to it, something that the group was debating on for quite some time – whether to release a live album or studio album. As an avid fan of Rockapella, I’m just happy they made a decision. Their long-awaited album is here and now all I can do is listen. I have listened the shit out of this album.
Roughly Speaking 