Acca-awesome
No the title of the post is not a typo... For those of you who don't get it, it's a reference to the film Pitch Perfect. If I tell you it's a musical chick-flick you may be put off, but I'd encourage you to watch it as it's surprisingly good, loaded with cool A Capella songs that are carried along by hilarious acting from a top-notch cast.
I've always liked A Capella acts. The absence of backing music and digital effects shifts focus on to the clarity of the performer's voice, making for some spine-tingling moments.
I'm also a big fan of Country music and live music shows in general, and I keep an eye on CMA (Country Music Awards) who quite often put out live shows compiled of a variety of Country, Folk, Rock, Church and A Capella music. They blend variety and talent together with showmanship and it makes for good viewing so I always keep an eye out for them online and on Sky Arts.
Over the festive period it didn't take long before one caught my eye and I recorded it; the CMA 2016 Country Christmas.
I only got round to watching it recently and as usual I thoroughly enjoyed it.
One thing that really caught my eye during the show was Pentatonix, an A Capella group, performing their song That's Christmas to Me from their album of the same name. After seeing their CMA performance I went on to check them out in further detail and listen to some more of their music, and today I thought I'd share them with you...
Pentatonix, sometimes abbreviated to PTX is made up of 5 members, mostly from Arlington, Texas, who formed in 2011 just before they entered NBC's show The Sing-Off, which is a US TV singing competition solely for A Cappella groups. They stormed through the show with their medley-form covers of well-known songs, mixing pop-style arrangements with vocal harmonies, bass-lines, riffing, percussion and beat-boxing. They won the show and received $200,000 and the promise of a recording contract with Sony Music, however after the show the record deal actually fell through. Don't ask me how; you would've thought something like that was hard for them to get out of but I guess it wasn't legally binding...
I can't find much info on why or how it happened, but from what I've heard members of the group say it looks like they were signed to Epic Records which is a Sony Music label, and Epic just didn't know how to handle an act like them. I guess they got scared and instead of taking the plunge on something new and edgy they freaked out and dropped them...
Having won the show and been promised a contract, PTX thought they were all set to hit the big time so they moved to LA and set their sights on fast becoming the most famous A Capella group in modern history. When they lost the record deal it could have been game over for PTX but they didn't give up, they persevered and began work on original material as well as steadily releasing amazing cover songs on YouTube to maintain their buzz and keep their fans satisfied whilst also garnering more of a following.
They released their eagerly-awaited first EP entitled PTX, Volume 1 in June 2012 and since then they've constantly put out new music in the form of EP's, albums, singles and Youtube videos and they often tour or appear in live music events. The group consists of 4 guys and 1 girl, who are all pretty stylish and quirky, and from what I've seen on social media and in interviews they are pretty cool and down-to-earth. They are each talented and unique and I think they work really well together, complimenting each other's styles and subtly shifting the balance of songs as they perform in order to highlight each individual sound. I particularly like Avi, the guy who does the bass, when everyone else goes dead silent and it's just him, with a dopey little grin on his face and this booming deep droll that floats through the air to pass through my eardrums and stay stuck in my mind all day... Check them out!
