A Cappella

A cappella basically means singing "without instrumental accompaniment" - so what you get at a Suade show is five guys doing a rock, soul, jazz and R&B show using only their voices. Think Billy Joel with "For the Longest Time," or Boyz II Men without the cheesy synth backing tracks!

How does it work? Well, we do our best to make it look easy and natural, but the fact is that every member of the group has a different part to sing - usually bearing little or no relation to the melody of the tune. So when we decide to put a new song into the set, we've got to sit down and write out parts for everyone, then bring sheet music into a rehearsal and develop the song from there.

Once the harmonies are all locked in and everyone knows their part backwards, we throw it all out the window and start having fun with it. Come along to a show, you'll see what I mean!

There's a bunch of different types of a cappella group out there - barbershop quartets, choirs and many gospel groups fit the bill, as well as soul/R&B type groups like Suade.

A few groups have managed to cross over into the mainstream - Human Nature, Az Yet, Boyz II Men and Take 6 were all sensational a cappella groups before getting into pop. It's extremely embarrassing to admit that N*Sync also began in a cappella. And it's even more embarrassing to admit that they sound absolutely amazing when they're not pulling honky dance moves in puffy jackets to a backing track. Just goes to show, eh?

Melbourne's a cappella singing scene is pretty small - especially compared to Europe and America, where most colleges have fantastic a cappella programs and competition is fierce. In fact, probably the most common reaction we get after a show is "Struth! I've never heard anything like that before!"

Well, we're going to do all we can to change that. Suade's unofficial charter is "to bring A Cappella into the pubs of Australia."

If you're interested in learning more about A Cappella check out some of these links we've found handy, or drop us a line!

A Cappella Links:

Primarily A Cappella
A great resource for learning about some of the world's top groups, as well as finding arrangements for groups with all voice types.

Mainely A Cappella
A top spot to buy good quality sheet music. The range is incomprehensible.

Take 6
These guys released one of the definitive a cappella albums with "Take 6" way back in the early 90's, and went on to follow it up with a stack of shonky synth-backed bollocks. Nonetheless, their vocal tracks continue to set the standard for the genre.

BaSix
A fantastic Danish group. Check out their awesome album "The Grass."

The Idea of North
Australia's most successful a cappella group, based in Sydney. They're just beginning to make some serious waves internationally... Go guys! Do us proud!

The Vocal Consort
Chris and Loz both spent many years singing with this Melbourne-based choral group, and they remain good friends of ours. In fact, if you check out their website you may be able to spot Loz and Chris in their promotional photos!