Keeping It Fresh

Today I wanted to do something a little different and talk about a style of music that absolutely bloomed and took off within the past few years. I realized that I have not posted music quite like the music I am posting today, in such a very long time. In recent years, a capella has become a huge part of youth and has entered the realm of pop culture. Acapella is the performing of songs using solely the vocal box, no other instruments are used to make the song. I think the concept of a capella is absolutely phenomenal because not only does it take great voices, but it also takes a creative genius to make the song work and function and sound as it should. A capella groups really started to make it to the forefront through social media sites like YouTube (thanks!) and film and TV and have really taken off. So many schools have a capella groups and the best thing about these groups is that it isn't that difficult to start. The pioneer a capell...

Today I have some music for you which comes from the world of a Capella. I haven't posted much about a Capella in general, and today I wasn't able to get enough of one of my favorite a Capella groups. Chai Town is based in Urbana-Champagne, and is a fusion a Capella group. What I love about this group is that their a Capella isn't limited to just English and Hindi. There are other Indian languages which are thrown in, and other styles of music as well from famous Disney songs to some club bangers. But somehow Chai Town seems to make these all work, and sweetly and deftly creates mashups which are irresistible. Chai Town also does an awesome job of incorporating songs that aren't necessarily recent or current. A lot of the mashups and renditions we hear, are of songs that have been out for a while and even a bit classic. For example, with today's mashup, the English song is one that is reminiscent of my childhood. This was such a classic while growing up, and is stil...

Today I have some music for you out of the world of a cappella. This comes from a group out of Chicago called Chai Town. Now this group has to be one of my favorite a cappella groups out there for a couple of reasons. First of all, they are legitimately very good live. I have heard live performances of other a cappella groups and teams, but a lot of them fall short of their recorded performances. But Chai Town was phenomenal when I got the chance to hear them perform. Now another reason I really like this group, is because they like to mashup Bollywood songs with English songs and other Bollywood songs. We get to hear more Bollywood and Western mashups, but it was really cool to be able to hear two Bollywood songs get mashed up. Strangely enough, that is rarer to find. Now Chai Town is also very experimental with their mashups and performances, going for songs that are more different and less expected. I really like that, and it makes them more enticing to listen to. For example this s...

Aaaaaand we are back and ready to roll with some new music your way! So this past weekend, I had the opportunity to meet up with and hang out with the artist group of the day. It seems that a capella has become a very popular and extremely entertaining style of music. What makes this style of music so different is that there are no other instruments other than vocal chords. That means everything you hear is done solely by singing or beat boxing. Now this is something that is very hard to do, and is something that the a capella group Chai Town does extremely well. Chai Town is an a capella group who also mashes up South Asian songs and Western songs, which I definitely am a fan of. Chai Town is an all male a capella group from Champagne, Illinois and is one of those groups that is very good at being low key. For the most part, Chai Town is a group that is extremely popular amongst the college crowd, which makes sense considering they are a college group. And while their popularity is as...

I realized that I have never really posted music quite like the music I am posting today. In recent years, a capella has become a huge part of youth and has entered the realm of pop culture. A capella is the performing of songs using solely the vocal box, no other instruments are used to make the song. I think the concept of a capella is absolutely phenomenal because not only does it take great voices, but it also takes creative genius to make the song work and function and sound as it should. A capella groups really started to make it to the forefront through social media sites like YouTube (thanks!) and has really taken off. So many schools have a capella groups and the best thing about these groups is that it isn't that difficult to start. The pioneer a capella groups are absolutely phenomenal and some of them have gotten quite a bit of fame for their abilities. One of these groups is an all male group known as Straight No Chaser. This a capella group is one of the older and mo...

Today I have two versions of the same song for you. This first one is the original version of the song. Now of course, being by Earth, Wind, and Fire, this song has a very groovy feel to it that makes you feel really good and smooth. And the guitar riffs in this song are absolutely amazing. I think the ending is really wicked because the instruments drop out and then the singers continue a cappella style which is something that is not common to music from then. Now this second version is a cover done by the band Jump5. There are definitely parts of this song that I find kind of great! They throw a more modern twist on that disco funk and make it into more of a pop feel while also keeping a sweet guitar riff. Not too shabby of a cover in my opinion! I hope you enjoy the music and please feel free to comment!

So today's song is actually a mashup done by and incredible a capella group called Penn Masala. A capella groups don't get a lot of attention so I give them the spotlight! Now what I love about this group besides their obvious talent is the way they mash up cultures as well. I mean the first song is one everyone recognizes because its by Coldplay, but the second song comes from a Hindi film. I think they mashed these songs up so well and I have to say to Penn Masala, you are phenomenal and outstandingly talented! Today's second song is going to be the original of the Indian song that is featured in Penn Masala's work so you can compare the two! I hope you enjoy the music and please feel free to comment!