Naturally 7, The Persuasions, Reggie Watts
This is Acappella!
Brighton Festival Exclusive
'I believe that singing is the key to long life, a good figure, a stable temperament, increased intelligence, new friends...' For Brian Eno, singing could well be a panacea for our age! Here Brighton Festival's Guest Artistic Director prescribes a healthy dose of acappella in a one off celebration of the unaccompanied voice.
The Persuasions have kept the acappella art form alive for over four decades. They cut their teeth singing on street corners and subway stations in early 1960s Brooklyn. Since then they've opened for Frank Zappa and Ray Charles, performed with Stevie Wonder and Van Morrison and released over 20 albums.
The Persuasions might have carried the torch but New York Septet Naturally 7 reignited the flame in the late 1990s with their original take on the acappella inventory - 'vocal play'. If the former is singing without instruments, then the latter is singing as instruments - seven voices replicating the full band arsenal armed only with their vocal cords and natural harmonies.
When it comes to acappella, Reggie Watts - Seattlebased singer-cum-stand-up-cum-self confessed-'disinformationist' - has ripped up the song sheet and set his own agenda. His songs are created on the hoof and in the moment with only his formidable voice, 'side splitting wit' and a looping machine for company.
Signed performance
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