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Naturally 7: the eighth wonder?

Written by Semper Azeez-Harris
Thursday, 12 February 2009 00:00

Maybe, like me, you watched a video of seven guys on a Paris subway singing in a cappella the Phil Collins’ classic, “In the Air Tonight”. It was a brilliant performance and a taste of talent. Its popularity on YouTube (2,684,649 views to date) is indicative of their growing fan base.

I was recently invited to their performance at The Pigalle Club with a brief opportunity to interview the group.

One has to be careful about throwing superlatives around like some obsequious fan intent on stalking, but the fact is that they truly are brilliant, amazing, talented and astounding. (There – I have finished and now I will begin my stalking.)

The night began as it should have with vigour and the energy continued throughout. Like a well-drilled army platoon (without the wish to kill), they put into practise their coined phrase “vocal play”. Each member is able to sing but also able to replicate certain instruments, so you could close your eyes and believe there was a full band in place. Charisma was oozing from their pores as they went through tracks off their third album (released on 26 January), Wall of Sound.

The album is a mix of their own tracks and some well-known tracks. They said: “Well, we kept quite a few songs on there that people know – almost 50% – so that they can see what we are doing arrangement wise.”

Despite the fact that they may make it look easy when you see them live, you know instinctively that it is not. “What we do in the studio and what we do live is very different,” they said. “We have to be very specific. It’s hard work.”

A version of the Simon & Garfunkel track, “Bridge over Troubled Water”, on the night of the gig brought the house down. It was an intense and hugely emotive rendition with such intricate harmonies.

They did not restrict their performance to covers, however. Taken off their album, Say you Love Me, was an excellent track written by Dwight. If you can imagine Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River” with vocal harmonies reminiscent of Boyz II Men, then you will have some idea. I absolutely loved this track on the night and it was clear that they enjoyed singing it too.

They interacted with the crowd like seasoned veterans and definitely had everyone in the cliché “palm of their hands”. Notable audience members were Chris Martin from Coldplay and Natalie Imbruglia who gave standing ovations for their performance. Chris Martin said: “They were brilliant. I would love to work with them.”

The obligatory solos were added in to reinforce the fact that this is all “vocal play”. While all the solos were truly exceptional, the solo section award had to go to Hops, the bass section, so to speak. Speaking to him, you find he has a deep voice that does not seem to fit with the guy you’ve just met. Hilarity ensued when N’Glish held him like a double bass and he let rip. This was only topped by the fact that he dropped Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” bass with the dance moves. Let crowd pandemonium ensue.

Speaking to them after the show, they were obviously ecstatic; but, for a group that was actually signed by a Swiss label rather than a US label (as you might expect, considering their talent), they have big plans for 2009. Dwight said: “Starting here in the UK, we want to become household names. It is hard to do what we do with vocal music, but we feel that we have what it takes. We have been spoilt because every crowd we go in front of just absolutely love it. When people think of a cappella and vocal play, we want people to immediately think of us.”

Naturally 7 look set to be very successful. Individually, they could each probably have a record deal alone, but they work wonderfully well as a unit. There is no other group that at the moment this unique.

The following day, they were due to perform on the multi-award winning GMTV.

Importantly, their fan base is not growing solely because they have that unique quality, but because they are a brilliant harmonising group able to cross genres from gospel to motown to whatever you may request. As Adam from their PR company said, it would be amazing to see them perform Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”. It is perfectly suited to their style of intricate vocal inter-play.

They are a growing force and the fact that have such versatility and, evidently, likeability should prove a successful recipe. With tours around the world set and their return to our shores some time in May 2009, I am ready to stick my neck out and say that they are going to become a phenomenon.

In the meantime, check out their album Wall of Sound and, if you get the chance, definitely see them live!

 

Find out more about Naturally 7 at their website:

http://www.n7house.de/ >>

Naturally 7 on Myspace >>