The Backbeats have barely taken off and already they’ve set
the world on fire.
When they first stepped before the camera on Season 2 of
“The Sing-Off,” opened their mouths and unleashed their
jubilant harmonies, that was not only their network debut –
it was the first time these gifted young men and women had
ever sung together in public, anywhere.
And by the time they’d seized third place at season’s end,
they had ignited a blaze whose light had drawn thousands of
fans not only to their unique sound but also to the
contemporary a cappella phenomenon as a whole. No one in the
Backbeats had any idea where their path would lead when they
resolved to compete in the popular NBC series. But once it
was over, they knew that they were riding a wave that would
take them places none had imagined reaching before. That
wave crests with the release of their self-titled, first
album on the aptly named Arrival Records/Madison Gate
imprint. Drawn together by their televised adventure,
knowing that something bigger than their considerable
individual gifts was leading them now, they hit the studio
with a unified vision and a determination to spread the joy
they draw from music to listeners everywhere.
Listen to the shimmering textures, gentle at first and
blossoming into the choruses of Katy Perry’s “Firework.” The
gentle ecstasies of the lead and backing vocals on their
version of Adele’s “Turning Tables.” The full-bodied
treatment of “Need You Now” takes on new intensity through
expansions on Lady Antebellum’s original three-part
arrangement. Every track on The Backbeats crackles with the
excitement of artistry energized by the sheer love of
singing. That same quality brought them into the spotlight
on “The Sing- Off,” but here it rises to a higher level of
achievement. Impeccably crafted, this album will be
remembered as a milestone in the chronicle of a cappella
recordings.
“It definitely encapsulates us as a band and as artists,”
says alto Rachel Saltzman, speaking for the group. “It
demonstrates a lot of what we did on the show – we portrayed
deeply expressive and emotional qualities in our
performances. Using that as our backbone, the album gave us
a chance to showcase our voices differently than we could on
the show. The emotions hit even harder because of the bigger
sound we can create in a studio setting.”
That sound comes not only from their talent and camaraderie;
it also results from the fact that they insist on singing
only songs that speak to them personally. “Every single song
tells a story about somebody and something in relation to
the meaning of our group and what we try to express as
individuals and as a whole,” Saltzman comments.
It is frankly difficult to accept that the Backbeats
accomplished all this while most of them were still in
college, singing with their school’s a cappella groups, with
baritone Kenton Chen, soprano Kelley Jakle, tenor Eitan Nir
and alto Saltzman at USC, from which bass Todd G. Levin had
recently graduated, soprano Joanna Jones at UCLA, and
alto/vocal percussionist Courtney Jensen at Brigham Young
University, while Jordan Pharoah, an alumnus of the Los
Angeles County High School of the Performing Arts, was
performing around Southern California.
This diverse gathering found common ground in the skills
demanded for unaccompanied vocals. Perhaps the most
important of these is to be able to listen to every voice in
the blend while singing, making sure that it all comes
together seamlessly. But with the Backbeats in particular,
there was an additional requirement that each note convey
the greatest possible feeling.
The bonds of trust developed rapidly as they began
rehearsing for “The Sing-Off.” “We didn’t know what our
group’s sound would be like when we came into it,” Saltzman
says. “Like I said, our first performance ever was on the
show, so we went on this little retreat before the taping.
For a week we lived in a house together and just sang and
ate and got to know each other more. You could tell even
then there was something special here. We had no idea how
people would react to us; we didn’t even think it would last
past this summer. But it has and we wanted to keep it
going.”
That’s what brought them into the studio. Ben Bram and
Kenton Chen, who arranged and produced the album together,
kept the magic alive by combining careful execution with
spontaneity. “In the recording studio, options are
limitless,” Bram explains. “On ‘The Sing- Off,’ The
Backbeats only had their ten voices. In the studio, we could
track as many times as we wanted. So we arranged everything
carefully while also using the strengths of the studio, to
maintain the soul and passion of the individual voices and
the group sound as a whole. This gave us a chance to explore
new songs and dig deeper into a variety of styles.”
“We do more than just sing,” Saltzman concludes. “We tell
stories. We evoke emotions in ourselves and, hopefully, in
the people we’re singing to. At the end of the day, it’s
about making great music. We are a singing group, we are
singers and we’re happiest when that’s what we’re doing.”
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