Flying Pickets Link Their Past to the Future with Everyday
Written by Jay Howser
Sunday, 19 June 2005
When the Flying Pickets set to work on their latest album, they hoped to create a recording that would reflect the changes the group has seen over the years while still capturing the singular Pickets sound.
The result was "Everyday," an album that has received acclaim from fans as well as critics and peers in the recording industry. In April it won second place for the Best Album category in the 2005 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARAs).
With its 12 tracks including covers of "Long Train Runnin'" by the Doobie Brothers, "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman as well as original songs, "Everyday" is a little different than the group's past albums, said Simon Foster, who joined the five-man group in 2004.
"For me, 'Everyday' sounds much more contemporary than any of the past albums but maintains that certain something which sets it apart as a Pickets album," Foster said. "It's very much a reflection of the current members of the band, taking elements of all our musical tastes and singing styles and molding them into one."
The album has a strong emphasis on vocals as opposed to studio effects. This was done to let the album breathe" and allow listeners to catch subtle messages in the songs, said Andrea Figallo, the group's bass and vocal percussionist who also produced "Everyday."
"One of my main goals was for the album to be one of those albums that after five or ten years you'll want to take out of your CD collection and put into your CD player. I own so many CDs that I have listened to three or four times and never again. I didn't want this to happen to 'Everyday,'" Figallo said.
Being the newest group member, Foster said he was very pleased with the way the album turned out.
"It was a delight working with Andrea as he got me doing things with my voice that I didn't know I could do. Over the years, I have found that recording sessions can be a little bit dull, but actually building the structure of the song from scratch with voices is a wonderful experience," Foster said.
"Everyday" is the first of three Flying Pickets albums that will be distributed over the next few years by In-Akustic, a German label. The group isn't wasting any time as it is already hard at work on the next album, which will likely contain many original songs, Figallo said.
"I consider ("Everyday") as a connection between the Pickets' first 20 years and our future. The next two albums will define our current style, allowing us to experiment a bit more with modern studio technology while still not forgetting that an a cappella album should sound like it's about voices," he said.
Jay Howser is a former journalist and a genuine a cappella enthusiast. He lives in Utah with his wife and two daughters.
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