Everything You Need to Know About VOCES8's New Album, Infinity
VOCES8 are a revered vocal group with an astonishing, all-encompassing sound. Their lockdown experience has seen a string of globally successful virtual festivals and they are now heading towards an all-new album, Infinity.
VOCES8. Credit: Andy Staples.
VOCES8’s new album, Infinity, released on Decca Classics this August, is a beautiful amalgamation of eight classical voices. It’s a collection of meditative and otherworldly choral recordings that transcends genre with sophisticated prowess. The body of work includes six new compositions as well as eight newly arranged covered from renowned composers in the field.
As one of Britain’s biggest choral ensembles, they discuss fondly of how they started as a group. Longtime member Andrea Haines relates the story. “Like many good things, it started with friendship!” Many of the group’s founding members sang at the Royal School of Church Music’s Millennium Youth Choir, and it kept building from there.
She continues, “Once they'd got too old for that [the youth choir], [they] decided to keep singing together as a group of friends, with Barney and Paul Smith (the brothers who founded the group), hosting sleep-over singing weekends at their house. They went on to be successful in several choral competitions in Europe, and the ball started rolling from there with offers of concerts from promoters on the continent. Since then, the group has grown and evolved with new members, record deals and the expansion of the VOCES8 Foundation.”
The group even celebrated their 15-year anniversary last year.
As many groups do, VOCES8 have seen small transitions in members over the years. Ms. Haines continues, “Of course, it's always sad to say goodbye to colleagues, but change is something we try to see as a positive thing which encourages us all to find fresh perspective and keep on top of our game. We have a rigorous audition process in order to find the right people for the position, and then it's a two-way street to welcome that new person to the group; it's important that the transition involves the ensemble adapting to a new voice and personality, not just that individual adapting to 'fit' the group.”
VOCES8 Digital Academy
Clearly, morals and a deeper connection to music is important to any individual joining VOCES8. As part of this, the group have put education at the forefront of much of their work. As part of their integral mission, VOCES8 describe themselves as lucky to have worked with people that have inspired them when they were growing up. Fueled by the realization that music education within the curriculum is “woefully underfunded”, the group work hard to make sure music is available to everyone.
“The annual program of education work overseen by the VOCES8 Foundation sees us work with more than 40,000 people around the world each year, in partnership with music hubs, schools and communities, using the power of music to encourage creativity,” says Ms. Haines. As part of this, the Digital Academy was born.
“When the pandemic hit and working in schools and communities in person wasn't an option, we wanted to create something that would allow us to continue teaching, and also provide a resource which would help teachers maintain their choral programs in schools and universities, or help new choirs get off the ground in the most difficult of circumstances,” says Ms. Haines. “With all that in mind, we launched the VOCES8 Digital Academy in the summer of 2020. It contains repertoire ranging from complex eight-part polyphony through to single line melodies and rounds, and each piece includes recordings and videos enabling you to learn and sing with VOCES8. It's become a hugely important part of the Foundation's work, not just during the pandemic, but to provide resources into the future.”
New Album Infinity by VOCES8
Heading towards their new album, VOCES8 discuss the unique variety of compositions that it boasts. One particular favorite is from Jon Hopkins, or maybe the 13th century Icelandic Hymn recreation. When speaking to the group, this range of sound was clearly intentional. One thing they do always prioritize (when facing the very beginnings of an album creation) is the potential journey that album may take the listener on. This mix of sound can create something haunting, angelic or utterly jaw-dropping. When reworking certain tracks (such as Scene Suspended), the talk about the importance of knowing the arrangers well.
“Finding an arranger who can re-imagine/re-work a piece of music into the voices of the ensemble effectively is like striking gold, and we're very lucky that Geoff Lawson, who arranged Scene Suspended (and several other tracks for us in the past) is one of those people,” says Ms. Haines. “He's familiar with the sound of the ensemble and also individual voices within it, so we end up with a 'tailor-made' arrangement.”
Lockdown has been surprisingly busy for the group. Their 15th year anniversary was marked by the stunning album, After Silence. Shortly after, VOCES8 got into the writing and recording space for their next album. As already mentioned, their Digital Academy was launched and they also saw huge success in their very own digital festival (that’s now going into its fourth iteration), Live From London Summer 2021.
Ms. Haines continues, “When we haven't been working at home or in the VOCES8 Centre in London, members of the group have been pursuing various interests in gardening, cooking, composing, and Barney even became a father in that time too!”
Even so, the group are so excited to get back to live, in-person concerts.
The upcoming album from VOCES8 sees works from Jon Hopkins, known for work with Brian Eno, Coldplay, Imogen Heap and more. The first single is specifically created for wordless voices and harp. The composer and orchestrator, Geoff Lawson, has weighty credits behind him including Maleficent, Black Panther and Thor Ragnarok. There’s a particularly emotive performance of Jóhann Jóhannsson’s A Pile of Dust, which features in the original soundtrack for the 2017 biopic The Mercy, arranged here for a cappella voices by rising star composer Benjamin Rimmer. All equally striking, uplifting cinematic works that showcase VOCES8 and their incredible versatility.
Listen to the new Infinity album on the 27th of August, 2021.
