[108.1] SHOUT IT OUT

'On Arrival' is the new CD by The Shout, an 18-piece British choir, or 'vocal big band' as they call themselves, formed in 1998 by the composers Richard Chew and Orlando Gough. NFE has championed them in the past -- and BBC Radio 3 played an excerpt from the album (which can also be previewed at the Carbon 7 site) last Thursday. The collection was previously issued as a demo CD called 'Tall Stories' after Gough's piece, which premiered last year (24 April) at the Battersea Arts Centre in London, UK.

The singers come from the most varied of backgrounds - gospel, jazz, blues, contemporary classical, opera, Indian music - and the group includes several improvisers. The Shout is an ensemble whose personalities are revealed by the music and who are given the freedom to sing solos and improvise, and yet it is also capable of a homogeneous effort. It explores the possibilities of both 18 individuals and of a single voice with 18 components.Among its luminaries is my good friend the Australian soprano Adey Grummet. Richard Gough is interviewed at AI magazine here. Unfortunately The Shout's biog and information page seems to be down at the moment. They also appear on an Unknown Public CD, UP 11 Beauty and Terror. See also COMA Voices...