Bringing together the King of Rock n’ Roll, the blue-eyed contemporary pop singer Katy Perry, and many more artists in between, Soul Sounds, the all-female choir who have gone places in the past decade present their new show ‘Sounds Like Pop’ this weekend at the Lionel Wendt. Pros at Gospel and spiritual music, the choral group will step out of their familiar genre to give the audience a selection of well known pop hits.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Soundarie David, music director of Soul Sounds, reveals more about Sounds Like Pop.
Q: This the first time Soul Sounds is taking on an exclusive pop performance of a wide range of pop hits. Why pop? And why now?
Soul Sounds has always believed in doing things differently, creating spaces for new ideas, this was how we started, ventured internationally when no one from the Sri Lankan choral scene had done so before, and that in turn brought in many challenges and opportunities. Since then, we’ve mastered the art of true gospel singing, worked on folk music, classical, even jazz.
We’ve always wanted to work on pop, since many have grown up listening to this music, and it was a challenge to put the genre of pop into choral arrangements. We’ve always loved the challenge, and since we were able to successfully pay tribute through song to the King of Pop Michael Jackson two years ago, we thought why not an entire concert with pop, so here goes. Why now? There is never a correct time for music, we just felt it was time the audiences heard us singing pop as well!
Q: With a span of pop hits from 1950’s to today, what’s the reason behind the variety of songs chosen?
Well.. firstly, these are some of the songs that we all like, in fact we discussed and chose the songs together. And we also felt there was something in this repertoire for everyone. So this was possibly the main reason we finalized with a variety from Annie Lennox, Gloria Estefan, Michael Jackson to Kate Perry.
Q: How is pop different from the Gospel and spiritual music that Soul Sounds specialises in?
It is a different genre; Gospel requires more soul, after all it is the singing of praises to God, and in many ways is a spiritual experience. This, is different, because you don’t get choral renditions of pop music, so it was more a challenge to put the music together, because we did not follow any sheet music.
Further it is a challenge to use the voice the correct way, with all the correct vocal technique, yet sing pop the way it is supposed to be sung. The common thread that binds all music together is of course the ability for it to cut through all barriers and convey a message to the people, so we hope regardless of the genre of music we are performing, it will be a musical experience to remember.
Q: You’ve mentioned that Soul Sounds will be adding to these popular tracks its “own flavour”. What would that be?
Our own style, our own interpretation, our own arrangement, in sum, our own unique Soul Sounds stamp!
Q: Apart from being vocally engaging, the concert is said to be visually engaging as well. Can you elaborate on that?
Well, we will not just stand and sing, but the show involves choreography and movement, so visually I am sure it would be engaging as well.
Q: How has the choir found rehearsing for ‘Sounds Like Pop’?
All our concerts and appearances are to raise funds for the choir development fund. We have a few tours abroad this year, and our goal is to showcase Sri Lankan talent to the world. Hence it is only concerts like this that can help us raise funds.
hat being said, this concert requires an enormous amount of funding on lights, sound, and extra musicians, so we have to rely on funding to cover costs. We would like to acknowledge Etisalat as our principal sponsor, and of course our print media sponsor Sunday Times, Digital Media Sponsor, Colombo Spirit, and Electronic Media Sponsor, Yes Fm. Soul Sounds is also collecting musical instruments to send to schools in the north and east, so part proceeds will be used to buy instruments.
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Sounds Like Pop will have choreographers Shehara Liyanage and Saumya Fernando, as well as musicians Christopher Prins (drums), Shobi Perera (bass), Revel Crake (lead guitar) and Soundarie David (keyboards), along with the Colombo Brass Ensemble, and Kevin Nugera and Shohan Chandiram in charge of dance moves.
The show goes on the boards at the Lionel Wendt on May 31 and June 1, at 7.30 p.m. Tickets are available at the Lionel Wendt. |
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