Polyphony Episode 7: Pandemic Impact on International Groups

This week on Polyphony, we head overseas to hear about how the pandemic is affecting some of our international groups. Aaron and Rachael sit down with Peter Huang of MICappella, Jon Smith of The Swingles, and Lorenzo Subrizi of Rebel Bit for a global perspective of the shutdown.
Hear it first tonight at 5 pm Pacific/8 pm Eastern. Podcast available later in the week!

New Tunesday – The Summer Wrap-Up

While we were out enjoy the sun, the sand, the surf, and all of the other spoils of summer, the titans of a cappella still churned out some great new music. Here are the highlights:

Pentatonix

There were a lot of mixed feelings about the Lion King remake, but there no questioning the PTX take on this classic song off the soundtrack.

BYU Vocal Point

Not to be outdone, the men of Vocal Point released their own Lion King harmonies with their cover of Circle of Life.

MICappella

It was a busy summer as always for these Singapore superstars and rumor has it there will be even more music coming soon. Get your abbreviated Chinese music history lesson now.

N’Harmonics

It is almost time to submit your applications for the 2020 ICCA season. Be inspired by the set from the 2019 champions.

Nor’Easters

They may not have made an ICCA appearance last season, but these collegiate powerhouses did take their talents to Memphis to win the NACC Collegiate Competition.

m-Pact

There’s never a bad time for Earth, Wind & Fire, especially not when covered by m-Pact, who we can’t wait to see in November for the m-Pact Vocal Festival in Kansas City.

From The Roots

SING! Texas is just around the corner, but not before you can relive this gem of an original written by Hannah Lewis.

Plus, they released another new original “Broke My Window.”

Midtown

This year’s BHS International 5th place medalists have been making quite a slash with their music videos. Have a little fun with this cover from the Goofy Movie, a follow up to their Spiderman Theme Song.

Pitch Slapped

If this is how the ladies of Pitch Slapped are kicking off the new year, we’ve got a lot more amazing music coming our way.

New England Voices in Harmony

Harmony, Inc. unleashed part of the winning set from the 2018 International Champions. Enjoy “I See The Light” arranged by Kevin Keller.

New Tunesday – May 7, 2019

Nothing proves that music is a great communication tool like this week’s new releases:

The Swingles

Only The Swingles could release a soundcheck video as beautiful as this.

The G-Men

Fresh off their excellent performance at the Playstation Theater for ICCA Finals, this University of Michigan standout released their semi-final performance of their winning set.

Six13

In honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Six13 shared this.

VoicePlay

There may never be another Prince, but at least we can still enjoy great covers like this one.

From the Roots

Captured during their performance at SING! Texas, From the Roots shares a Sylvan Esso cover.

Triforce Films

Take a break from the Starbucks cup dilemma to enjoy the GoT theme song done right, er, a cappella.

UNC Clef Hangers

When you’ve got a whole a cappella group at your disposal, why wouldn’t you include them in your proposal?

MICappella

Speaking of using a cappella to make a big announcement, this Singapore group used their music to make one of theirs.

FORK

Sometimes the news is less than great, but a music video is still the way to say it.

The Lost Keys

This NYC-based groups brought a little Pomplamoose influence to this Hall & Oates classic.

Flight Scene

You can never go wrong with an Amy Winehouse cover.

Natural State of Mind

This high school group out of Arkansas certainly has made the rounds this spring. This song is one of the most powerful from their competition set.

Arvada West Vocal Chords

Bringing things back to the chapel, this high school choir gives a modern take on the origins of a cappella with this Bon Iver cover.

New Tunesday – January 8, 2019

New year, new tunes! As we’re all stepping out of the holiday daze, here are a few of our favorite recent releases in the aca-verse.

MICappella

International superstars out of Singapore quietly dropped a bombshell with 《王妃》- Jam 萧敬腾 over the holidays with an arrangement from Tat Tong and production by an all-star team of Peter Huang, Tat Tong, Plaid Productions, and Dave Sperandio.

RESOUND

A very happy new year indeed, with the release of “Disney Medley II” from this soulful Richmond, VA trio.

Due North

2018 National Harmony Sweepstakes Finalists, Due North, kicked off the new year with a fully produced music video of their cover of “Lost on You.” This relatively new group out of the Twin Cities is pushing hard and we suspect that this is only the beginning.

Drums of War

Australian hip hop a cappella at its finest, 2015 AUSACA Champions, Drums of War, cover Talib Kweli.

Ardú

Leaders of the a cappella movement in Ireland, Ardú uses a little looping to present their version of the popular Muse song, “Madness” live in concert.

DocAcappella

Marc Silverberg is officially the Weird Al of a cappella and we can’t get enough. His latest release, “ICCA” comes just ahead of the start of the 2019 season and it’s hilariously spot-on.