Equivox

2010-09-06T18:47:00.000+08:00

We have been quiet on our blog (our apologies!) as we have been rather busy! Equivox recently had the honour of sharing the joy of two couples who got married in the last couple of months... So for a quick update:

We recall the beautiful wedding on 3rd of June in Raffles Hotel, where Caroline & Alastair said their vows to each other under the moonlight in the romantic courtyard. It was wonderful singing in the open and feeling the love in the air that night.

In the courtyard of Raffles Hotel for Caroline & Alastair's Wedding

We also thank them sincerely for their comments: "Even with the pseudo bad weather, you performed outside and gave the evening your best. We enjoyed your singing and everyone was complimenting our choice of a cappella group!" Congratulations once again, Caroline and Alastair!

On to the second wedding that gave us smiles and joy. In the glass hall of the Singapore Arts Museum, the very adorable couple Shuping & Julien shared moments of happiness, laughter, and even invited us to JUMP with them (a literal jump, yes!) as they take a leap into their new life as a wedded couple. How novel!

Equivox with Shuping & Julien @ SAM

The wedding ended with a flash mob dance that the bride Shuping secretly put together and got all her close friends & herself to dance to! This was one very unique wedding indeed and we had a blast!

We recently also performed for the Peer Support Symposium on 28th August @ Red Dot Traffic.
More pictures will be posted once we receive them!

2008-12-15T01:09:00.007+08:00

Equivox Social Nite, Dec 15 2008

Merry Xmas everyone!

Featuring our full singing cast!

Introducing our newest Soprano, Gail!

Of course, what's Xmas without wine and log cakes?

Courtesy of Adrian...

And Simon!

That's when things started to get a little weird...

For more Xmas mania and quirkiness, the full set can be found...

Here!

2008-12-05T19:50:00.003+08:00

A Good A Cappella Repertoire?

A cappella in Singapore has come a long way. I remember my first encounter with the a cappella scene in Singapore was when I heard In-A-Chord perform Christmas songs at some shopping centre. I was fascinated with the fact that there were no instruments used at all(except, some may argue, the voice, of course). I was amazed by the fact the voices could blend into a single chord and sometimes it was quite difficult to distinguish the individual parts from one another(some say that is a trademark of a good a cappella group).

I guess anyone who is listening to vocal harmony for the first time will, like me, be enthralled by its novelty first and foremost. No instruments! No synthetic drum pads! Just a mouth with plenty of rhythmic spitting(trust me on the spitting part)! And I'm guessing that for most of the groups that have sprung up recently, it was this novelty factor that they wanted to portray.

It is of course heartening to see the scene flourishing with many groups(some of solid standard, mind you. Just because it's local doesn't mean it sux yeah?). The competition amongst the groups in the annual A Cappella Championships gets tougher every year, so i'm a little relieved that Equivox won it early. I don't want to end up stripping for *ahem* bonus points.

So I guess with so many groups around having a decent ability to sing a cappella, it only makes sense to start thinking about where a cappella should go. And by that, I am really talking about the repertoire that groups should possess.

First and foremost, a group's repertoire should be sufficiently challenging for most, if not all, of its singers. for example, it could be written so that it can stretch a member's range, or it could be rhythmically demanding, or it could simply have "complicated" chord changes so that members can brush up on their intonation for various intervals. By writing more of such stuff, practice sessions can become more effective. How so? I know from experience, that difficult songs tend to be memorised more easily. Furthermore, a group that is singing a song that is too easy for most of its members will be inclined to make more mistakes during performances simply because singers tend to become complacent. Thirdly, when every singer knows that he/she will be challenged at practice sessions, the sessions themselves become more focussed, and things get done/learnt more quickly. Besides, it just feels good to have tamed those difficult notes. Ideally, a group should 'level' up after learning a song.

Secondly, the songs should be interesting, either by themselves, or the arranger has arranged it in an interesting way. I think this is quite obvious. If the song is boring, but difficult, what reasons are there for learning it? No one wants to perform such a song, and the group will be unmotivated even to learn it, let alone memorising it. Some will ask me why shouldn't this point be of utmost priority? Basically, it is my belief that the challenges in a song itself will make the song an interesting one. But this really brings us to our next point...

If an arranger tries to be difficult just for difficulty's sake. the members will not be motivated to learn the song. How would it feel if I wrote a 3 octave jump for my sop just to make sure she can do it? Songs must be challenging, but they shouldn't be written just for difficulty's sake. There are etudes which are fun, and there are etudes. Some etudes, you want to do them again and again until you've reached an insane level of execution. But some, you just want to leave if for the day that never comes. Let the sophisticated elements in the music challenge your singers. No point forcing them to tackle tritone intervals because you have deliberately littered them all over the place without due consideration for voice-leading and the fact that some other part may find the note easier to hit. So point no. 3: Songs must be meaningful to the group in levelling the group up.

I could go on forever about repertoire, but I think most of beginning arrangers out that will know what i'm getting at. Mere transcriptions of the favourite songs on radio are fine as long as the group is not solely focussed on doing a song a cappella just because the group CAN do it. Exercise some creativity. Make the song sound BETTER when your group sings it. Make everyone(including other groups) want to sing the song. But make sure that there is no way other groups to sound better than your group doing the same song. And then you will know that you have a good repertoire.

Yours truly,
Simon
Resident Baritone

2008-11-11T12:12:00.003+08:00

on 15NOV 08

Clap your hands to our performance as we sing right in the heartlands!
CLAP stands for The Community Life Arts Programme,
and along with the ethos of this outreach by CDC,
Equivox also believes that the arts and singing should be enjoyed by everyone!

So catch us as we'll be singing LIVE acapella music in:
Venue: Bukit Merah Central Amphitheatre
Date: 15Nov 08 Sat
Time: 730-9pm

2008-06-22T18:29:00.006+08:00

Vocal Obsession III - an a cappella concert by Resonance

Resonance, a campus a cappella group from NUS, will be holding their third major a cappella concert on Saturday June 28, 7.30pm, at the NUS UCC Theatre. Tickets available at $15. To book, please call Suhui (9661 5384) or Daniel (9090 4176). Visit vocalobsession.blogspot.com !

2008-05-28T22:35:00.005+08:00

Singapore Art Cafe, May 28 2008

Many thanks to Jonathan of the Singapore Art Cafe for hosting us, and for your kind assistance during the entire evening. SAC is a delightful cafe, and an excellent platform for up-and-coming musicians; we had an awesome time performing there. Do check it out at the library@esplanade!

2008-05-15T23:04:00.014+08:00

UM-NUS Inter-Varsity Tunku Chancellor Golf Tournament 2008 Welcome Reception -
5 May 08, Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore
Photo: NUS Office of Alumni Relations

Photo: NUS Office of Alumni Relations

looked great, tasted even better

Performing at this event was a great honour and an exhilarating experience. Evidently, the dinner we had was one of the highlights of that marvellous evening :)

2007-12-12T23:36:00.000+08:00

caroling at the atrium@orchard

...and a brief pre-show respite.

2007-12-10T15:45:00.000+08:00

Catch Equivox Live on:

15th Dec . 1pm @ Novena Square

&

23rd Dec . 830pm
@ The Atrium (outside Dhoby Ghaut MRT)

Spreading the Christmas cheer to you on the streets!!!

2007-11-30T22:02:00.000+08:00

scenes.from.thursday

happy holidays :)

2007-10-01T22:41:00.001+08:00

Congrats, Pan Liang and Serene! May you be happy always! -29 Sep 07

2007-08-01T23:51:00.000+08:00

Equivox is looking for a baritone

Greetings to all! Equivox will be holding auditions for a baritone singer. The singer should preferably have a vocal range of F 2 octaves below middle C to F above middle C. Performers who can do vocal percussion are highly welcome to write to us too.

Equivox's repertoire consists mainly of contemporary pop songs, but we love experimenting with other genres as well. Interested parties, feel free to drop us an email at we.are.equivox@gmail.com to arrange for an audition. Alternatively, buzz Adrian at 93853639 or Shinni at 97938303. The auditions will be held later this month, over a weekend.

For more information on Equivox, drop us an email and we'll respond as soon as we can. Cheers!

2007-07-30T23:38:00.000+08:00

Dear Johann and Fiona, it was great pleasure performing for you guys. Thank you for having us. All the best in your future endeavours, and have a blessed marriage :) -28 Jul 07

2007-07-14T23:31:00.000+08:00

Catholic High Music Awards

thanks to the kind soul who took these shots for us! if we could we'd give you CCA points :D

Some pictures from our guest-performance at CHMA. Some awesome talent they've got! We were blown away by some of the student performers. And judging by their applause we think they liked our set too. Ha ha.

2007-07-10T12:46:00.000+08:00

Equivox and Corrinne May

We met the very lovely Corrinne May at the official opening of the NUS Bukit Timah Campus over the weekend, at which we both performed. Pardon the white spots, the mist-spewing fans were in full force!

2007-07-08T09:59:00.000+08:00

To the lovely bridal couple, Wee Pin and Shermeen, thanks for having us sing at your wedding! May you have a blissful marriage :) -9 Jun 07

2007-05-22T16:11:00.000+08:00

Come watch us perform this weekend in Raffles City!

Dates: 26th and 27th May 2007
Time: 7pm for both nights

Get ready to be dazzled by some of our latest pop renditions!

Get soaked into the atmosphere of the
Arts Festival in this tiny red spotted island now!

2007-05-22T15:52:00.000+08:00

Greetings to all!
It's been a while since our last shout-out, and we have some news to share with you guys:
Equivox will be gigging at Raffles City, as part of the Singapore Arts Festival Arts on the Move programme, this weekend. 26 and 27 May 07, Saturday and Sunday, 7pm. We should be performing somewhere near the fountain. Do come and watch us!

2007-02-24T00:01:00.000+08:00

We will be gigging (woohoo) on Friday March 9th, 7.30pm at Blue Moo Cafe (that's at the rooftop of YMCA Orchard). We will perform some of our new arrangements, so do drop by and check us out. Tickets are $12 | $10 (concession), and one ticket gets you a drink and a snack. Reserve seats at www.bluemoo.com.sg now!

2007-01-21T21:36:00.000+08:00

The Real Group

The Real Group, live in Singapore, Jan 11 07, Esplanade Concert Hall - with new member, soprano Johanna Nyström (seated, 2nd from right)

Words cannot begin to describe how good they are.

groupie alert!
(L to R) mei ting, shin ni, Katarina Henryson

2006-12-22T18:54:00.000+08:00

Happy Holidays

It's been a week since our last gig. Serene is in Amsterdam (the last I heard she's heading to Germany); there are two long weekends back to back. Quite a wicked time for Equivox and all of humanity aye.

Next on our plate: gig at the Istana in Jan 2007. Too bad it's a private event (I think!).

Have a great holiday everyone, and have an awesome year ahead. :)

2nd row (Spit zone), at m-pact's concert last month

2006-12-16T22:34:00.000+08:00

16th December, Saturday
Marina Square, Kid's corner

Spreading the Christmas cheer!

2006-12-13T00:12:00.000+08:00

A Shoutout (and a bit of thanksgiving)
Ah yes.
so we were very honoured to be mentioned (even if a little) in The
Straits Times Life! Section on December 7th by June Cheong

Here's the online article: Trill Seekers

We've come a long way since...
winning the Acappella Championships,
performing at the AcaFest (BeDazzled! Concert)..

...to singing for the Blue Moo Christmas Special.
So...
Continue to watch out for more of us.
Getting a tad emo here... but oh well. Do indulge us for this entry.

-serene|shinni

2006-12-11T13:36:00.000+08:00

Equivox in action!

8th December, Friday
Blue Moo Christmas

We had a blast. It was wonderful singing Xmas carols
in that wonderful atmosphere
under the stars and moon (literally)
Thanks everyone who came!!!

9th December, Saturday
Marina Square, Groove Nation

We had angels beside us while we sang...
How magical.

There you go. The adventures of Equivox.

Catch more of us in Marina Square on
15th Dec 7pm, main stage
and
16th Dec 6pm, Groove Nation (3rd floor) !

2006-12-05T14:44:00.000+08:00

We have been youtubed. Again.

Here's a little video recording we did during one of our rehearsals. We've sung the carols to near-death over the past couple of years (perfecting them is another matter altogether. Ahem.) but we're not that sick of them yet. Not yet. Give or take 5 years. Hur hur. (we still love Rockapella though, they rocked our socks off at their concert here last month)

Spot the two people in the background, our beloved Derek and Charmaine from Resonance, slaving away for their exams (how they do it with us singing our innards out 5 feet away from them, I have no clue). We love Resonance.

Enjoy the video :D
~ ah-ni

2006-12-05T14:25:00.000+08:00

Christmas with Equivox

Equivox will be performing live at Blue Moo, YMCA Orchard, this coming Friday! Come join us on Dec 8th, 7.30pm, and be entertained with charming renditions of classic Christmas tunes this festive season. Ticket prices ($10 | $8 concession) include a drink and a bag of chips. For ticket reservations and more information on the event, do visit www.bluemoo.com.sg. Hope to see you there!

2006-09-28T12:00:00.000+08:00

"Nan Ping Wan Zhong" LIVE

This was how we performed during the Acappella Championships...

The quality is a 6/10 so do bear with us.

Enjoy!

2006-09-19T17:33:00.000+08:00

Equivox Sound Clips

Thought we'd share this with the world. Do enter Adrian's blog and download demo recordings of our songs. Let us know what you think.

Do note that they are in RAW format...and we mean literally.

http://metastasis.multiply.com/music

2006-09-13T19:57:00.000+08:00

Be!Dazzled
A cappella Fest 2006

Equivox is performing this Friday at AcaFest, BeDazzled!!!

We'll be singing three great songs...
A Chinese Jazzy Piece (Nan Ping Wan Zhong)
A Poppish soul song (My Immortal by Evanescence)
and a new medley--where we pay a tribute to MADONNA!

Groups like Nanu, Verve Enharmonics, Upbeat and
the Superband favourite, JUZ B are also performing!!!

Do come and support the local a cappella scene if you can on:

Friday (15th Sept) OR
Saturday (16th Sept),
7.30pm
at Victoria Theatre!

Tickets are available at Ticket Charge
at http://www.ticketcharge.com.sg/eventsinfo.asp?idx=66

Do come down and Be!Dazzled
:-)

2006-07-30T23:47:00.000+08:00

Nan Ping Wan Zhong:
The Practice before the competition

This is the scat part for Nan Ping, the song which we will be producing a single for... so watch out for it! Enjoy this preview!

Catch more of us in the coming weeks!

2006-07-25T12:23:00.000+08:00

Yes, you read right!!!
Equivox bagged the first prize for the Open Category
in last week's National A Cappella Championships held in the Esplanade!

We just wanna say we are extremely delighted to have won,
and we will continue to work hard and produce great music for our listeners!

Watch out for our upcoming single, Nan Ping Wan Zhong

AND our free performance on

31st July 06, Monday
830-9pm
Esplanade Concourse
(outside Hagen Dazs, where art installations normally are)

We will be entertaining you so do come down and watch us!!!

2006-07-03T16:41:00.000+08:00

Here was what Equivox (minus Huahui, sadly) was up to during Vocal Obsession II!

Fooling around and perking ourselves up before we went on stage...

We then sang our hearts out on stage...

And the concert ended with a great big finale!

After the fun fun concert with Resonance,
it's time now for A Cappella Championships 2006!

Catch us on the 20th of July, in the Esplanade forum (outside Haagen Dazs)
while we croon Nan Ping Wan Zhong, Agua De Beber and Miss Independent!

2006-03-31T01:17:00.000+08:00

UPCOMING Equivox PERFORMANCE!

Catch us LIVE at Vocal Obsession II, an exclusive acappella concert
which will also feature Resonance, a group of aspiring singers from NUS!

Be entertained by jazz, rock, pop, ballads and more on this solid one-night performance only!

WHEN: Saturday 24th June 2006
TIME: 7.30pm
WHERE: Singapore Polytechnic Auditorium
Tickets at $12 each only!
Do email nusresonance@yahoo.com.sg to find out more!

2006-03-10T12:47:00.000+08:00

Hi mortals! We are a group of aspiring musicians ready to touch the world with our voices!

Watch out for our upcoming gigs which will be broadcasted here!