“Music Delight” Series: Naturally 7 (Concert Screening) with Live Demonstration by SENZA A Cappella 【Programme Cancelled】

Since the video recording of the concert in Germany by Naturally 7 is not able to be held as scheduled, the captioned programme on 17 December 2021 (Fri) at 8pm at Auditorium, Sha Tin Town Hall has been cancelled.

Patrons please keep the original intact ticket(s) (with stubs) for refund at the location during the period specified below:

For enquiries, please send email to cp2@lcsd.gov.hk or contact us at 2268 7321 during office hours.

Vocal masters from the US x HK talents　Immerse in endless possibilities of singing power

Critically acclaimed for their unique “vocal play” techniques, American a cappella group Naturally 7 has been storming every stage worldwide.  The programme will feature the first-time screening of Naturally 7’s performance in Germany in November 2021.  Pieces to be performed include the the group's self-penned “Wall of Sound”, Coldplay's epic “Fix You” and many more covered songs rearranged by the group in its distinguishing ways.  Besides concert screening, local vocal band SENZA A Cappella is invited to give live demonstration and "interact" with Naturally 7, bringing the Hong Kong audience an extraordinary vocal feast.

The programme will run for about 1 hour and 30 minutes without intermission. 

Concert screening in English and live demonstration in Cantonese.

Audience is strongly advised to arrive punctually.  Latecomers will only be admitted at a suitable break. 

The presenter reserves the right to change the programme and substitute artists.

7 Vocal Players

Combine the number “7” with an upside down “7”, and it becomes the natural sign in music, which also happens to be the logo of a celebrated American a cappella group.  The group has been active for over twenty years; not only does it have a memorable name and logo, its sounds and style of performance are also highly recognizable and absolutely unforgettable.

Naturally 7 is formed of seven black male singers. Its core members are the brothers Roger Thomas and Warren Thomas, a pair of Manchester-born singers who grew up in New York.  In 1999, they found five like-minded friends to play music together.  However, performing as an a cappella group was not their original plan – they wanted to form a band, but did not have the funds to buy the equipment they needed.  As they hesitated over what to do, they found an opportunity in one of Warren Thomas’ skills – beatboxing.  Here is the funny thing:  Warren wanted to learn the drums as a child, but his parents refused as they thought it would be too loud, so he settled for the next best thing and learnt to beatbox.  As the saying goes, “When God closes a door, He opens a window”.  Warren’s beatboxing skill inspired them to perform with only vocals, and the a cappella group Naturally 7 was born.

In the same year of its founding, the group was invited to sing at the Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival, an annual nationwide competition in the United States.  The competition attracted hundreds of groups each year, including many from outside the US.  Past winners included famous names such as M-pact, The Idea of North, Groove For Thought.  The newly founded Naturally 7 sailed through the competition, winning the regional event and went on to take the national title, which was a major boost to their performing career.  Despite this, Naturally 7 remained unsure about what direction to take...

In fact, from time to time, people would tell them that they sounded like the Bee Gees, the Beatles or Bobby McFerrin. Only then did they realise that Naturally 7 only sounded like other groups to the audience’s ears and did not have its own voice, so they started thinking about their own performance and where to position themselves.  Later, a Swedish jazz group that imitated instrumental sounds came to Roger Thomas’ attention.  This served as inspiration and the group decided to borrow the idea from them, but instead of performing jazz, they would sing gospel, R&B, funk, pop and hip-hop – music that best represent black culture in New York.

After establishing their musical style, they gradually developed the concept of Vocal Play: an incredible mastery of vocal performance where they no longer only imitated the sounds of instruments, but actually became the instruments themselves.  The members did not sing a particular voice-part, but instead turned into an instrument – drum set, bass guitar, harmonica, trombone and DJ scratching.  And so, with just seven mouths, Naturally 7 transformed into an ensemble on stage, producing musical sounds so well that people would believe they were hearing real instruments.

But then came another question: if a member left the group, what would happen to the ‘instrument’ he was supposed to ‘play’?  In fact, Naturally 7’s members have changed many times over its twenty years of activity.  In terms of singing, they would find someone with a similar vocal range to replace the person who left.  As for instrumental imitation, they do not force new members to imitate the same instruments.  They understand that the sounds of the old instruments cannot be replicated, so they let the new members discover the sounds that best suit them on their own, making Naturally 7’s sound more organic.

Naturally 7 stands in a league of its own with the sounds discovered through the Vocal Play concept.  Equally impressive are the group’s live performances, I once watched online one of its ‘battles’ in Belgium, where the group was pitted against a full orchestra.  Even though the group only had seven members, its stage presence was just as imposing as that of the entire orchestra.  It is the most charismatic cappella group that I have ever seen.

With such amazing showmanship, Naturally 7 easily captured the hearts of its audience and even attracted offers to work with mainstream artists such as Quincy Jones, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, and Lionel Richie.  But its most important collaboration was with Michael Bublé.  The group was the warm-up act for Bublé’s world tours, performing over 400 shows (including one in Hong Kong in 2014), which helped introduce the group and its powerful vocal plays to more fans around the world.

Naturally 7 has been around for more than 20 years and has a brilliant track record of hits.  Here are some of them:

Wall of Sound, from the 2009 album of the same name, is a song that best represents Vocal Play.  The voices come in one after another, playing different parts such as synthesizer, bass, trombone and a variety of interesting sounds, allowing the audience to experience the appeal of vocals.

Both Sides Now is the title track from the group’s 2017 album.  Most of the songs are covers and the album goes back to the basics, re-creating the traditional a cappella singing style with a focus on harmonies.  It showcased a different side of Naturally 7.

Another important collaborator of Naturally 7 is Coldplay.  Lead singer Chris Martin heard Naturally 7’s performance on the radio and took the initiative to get to know them, and the two groups have been friends ever since.  Naturally 7 later covered their hit song Fix You.  I have listened to the group’s live performance of this song - the music opens with calm and gradually increases in intensity, tugging on your heartstrings without you knowing, and the result is a very therapeutic feel.

Written by Edison Hung

Naturally 7 (USA)

Naturally 7 was founded in 1999 by brothers Roger and Warren Thomas, who recruited five other singers the brothers had come to know over the years of singing around the city.  Roger Thomas developed an affinity for a cappella sounds and a unique ability to create distinct harmony arrangements.  The group not only sings but also creates every backing instrument heard on their songs. They have branded it “vocal play” - an intriguing combination of pristine a cappella harmonies: every instrument sound that they sing is created from the human voice.  There are no actual drums, guitars, horns, flutes, or any other instrument that is heard when listening to them perform; it’s the band members playing each of their vocal instruments.

As the special guest of internationally acclaimed singer Michael Bublé, Naturally 7 has been met with standing ovations nightly in Europe, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and the USA during three world tours with over 500 shows since 2010.  The group has also performed at major jazz festivals over the years, including Montreux Jazz Festival (2007, 2008, 2009) and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (2016) etc.  The group has also recorded a number of CD albums over the years and continues to play an active role in the music circle internationally.

SENZA A Cappella

SENZA is so named because the word sounds similar to the Cantonese phrase meaning ‘hoarse’. It is Italian for ‘without’, which is fitting for its a cappella singing style - singing without music instrument accompaniments.  Since 2009, the vocal band has strived to promote a cappella singing, and its cover songs have reached over 7.5 million views on YouTube.  SENZA debuted in 2018 with their original song Four Minutes.  In 2020, they released two chart-topping songs I Reach Out to Hold Myself and Stories, becoming the first Hong Kong a cappella group to be nominated for the Ultimate Song Chart Awards and “Favourite Music Group” award.  In the same year, SENZA, being the only group from Hong Kong, was nominated for “Best Original Music of the Year” and “Best Music Video of the Year” at the Beehive Awards.  The band released their debut album Circle of Fifths in 2021, and performed two sold-out concerts. 

Information provided by the artists.

Tickets available from 19 November at URBTIX outlets, on Internet, mobile app and credit card telephone booking.

Half-price tickets available for senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and the minder, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients (limited tickets for CSSA recipients available on a first come, first served basis).

Group Booking Discount

For each purchase of standard tickets, the following concession applies:

10% off for 4-9 standard tickets; 15% off for 10-19 standard tickets; 20% off for 20 or more standard tickets.

Patrons can enjoy only one of the above discount offers. 

Programme Enquiries: 2268 7321

Ticketing Enquiries: 3761 6661

Credit Card Telephone Booking: 2111 5999

Internet Booking: www.urbtix.hk

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