Post by richnorri on May 23, 2007 7:48:28 GMT
From inthenews.co.uk
Richard
All Angels - a classical crossover hit
Tuesday, 22 May 2007 17:20
All Angels performed at the
Classical Brits
Young, personable and extremely talented, All Angels have enjoyed near platinum success since they launched their bid to be the queens of the classical chart last year.
Fans of pop and indie music might instantly ask 'who?' when their name crops up, but in their genre All Angels have proved to be a hit. I first met the four-strong group in December and, as they admit themselves, they have since gone from "strength to strength".
Made up of 16- and 17-year-olds Melanie, Laura, Charlotte and Daisy, the group aims to tackle the classical crossover market with a mix of choral, opera, classical and pop. And they seem to be doing pretty well; their debut album was one of the biggest selling Classical albums of 2006 and they were nominated for best album of the year at the Classical Brit awards – to which they lost, with no shame, to Sir Paul McCartney.
For their performance at the awards, the girls wore outfits designed exclusively for them and sung Steal Away, a song which Daisy says the group "likes to sing a capella".
As the girls talk about the night, it is clear that singing live is something they are keen to do to prove that their enviable singing voices are not the result of studio-tweaking.
"We want to do lots of performances, as we enjoy them and want people to see that we can sing and that our voices aren't dubbed on the CD," Charlotte explains. "We can quite proudly say that we're alright as singers."
So far this assertion has been proved in some high profile places; as well as the Classical Brits, All Angels have sung the national anthem at Twickenham, performed Elgar's Nimrod outside the Bank of England to protest against his face being taken off the £20 and were one of the acts singing at the festival of remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.
With all this performing, singing at the Classical Brits in front of their musical peers was not something that the girls were too fazed about.
"We still kind of get a little bit nervous and you get adrenalin when you're performing but we're getting more used to it and as we get to know each other better it becomes easier," Laura said.
And, Charlotte added, the festival of remembrance was a nerve-wracking preparation for the Classical Brits.
"We did the Albert Hall for the festival of remembrance which was amazing and in a way more prestigious because it was such an important thing and, because it was for the remembrance service, we really had to be the best that we could be, so having done that it's been a real preparation – made the nerves a bit less for the Brits as we've done something so huge like that," she said.
With the Classical Brits now behind them, All Angels are focusing on their next album – a re-release of their first album with the additional songs Sancte Deus (Nimrod), Make Me A Channel of Your Peace and Pie Jesu.
"We're quite excited about it as there's going to be more performing and it should be really exciting having done the promotion of an album it will be quite cool to feel a bit more experienced and that will bring something new to it," Melanie said.
And after that the plans start to become, in Daisy's words, a bit "hush hush". But what they can say is that a new album is in the pipeline which will be "along the same lines" as their first album but with "a few variations".
"It's not completely decided; we don't have a definitive list," she said. "At the moment we have the opportunity to add our own input."
Whatever happens in the future (the girls are signed for five albums), Charlotte maintains that they are "just trying to be optimistic and enjoy it". With their success so far, it seems they have every right to be optimistic.
Carolyn Robertson
Tuesday, 22 May 2007 17:20
All Angels performed at the
Classical Brits
Young, personable and extremely talented, All Angels have enjoyed near platinum success since they launched their bid to be the queens of the classical chart last year.
Fans of pop and indie music might instantly ask 'who?' when their name crops up, but in their genre All Angels have proved to be a hit. I first met the four-strong group in December and, as they admit themselves, they have since gone from "strength to strength".
Made up of 16- and 17-year-olds Melanie, Laura, Charlotte and Daisy, the group aims to tackle the classical crossover market with a mix of choral, opera, classical and pop. And they seem to be doing pretty well; their debut album was one of the biggest selling Classical albums of 2006 and they were nominated for best album of the year at the Classical Brit awards – to which they lost, with no shame, to Sir Paul McCartney.
For their performance at the awards, the girls wore outfits designed exclusively for them and sung Steal Away, a song which Daisy says the group "likes to sing a capella".
As the girls talk about the night, it is clear that singing live is something they are keen to do to prove that their enviable singing voices are not the result of studio-tweaking.
"We want to do lots of performances, as we enjoy them and want people to see that we can sing and that our voices aren't dubbed on the CD," Charlotte explains. "We can quite proudly say that we're alright as singers."
So far this assertion has been proved in some high profile places; as well as the Classical Brits, All Angels have sung the national anthem at Twickenham, performed Elgar's Nimrod outside the Bank of England to protest against his face being taken off the £20 and were one of the acts singing at the festival of remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.
With all this performing, singing at the Classical Brits in front of their musical peers was not something that the girls were too fazed about.
"We still kind of get a little bit nervous and you get adrenalin when you're performing but we're getting more used to it and as we get to know each other better it becomes easier," Laura said.
And, Charlotte added, the festival of remembrance was a nerve-wracking preparation for the Classical Brits.
"We did the Albert Hall for the festival of remembrance which was amazing and in a way more prestigious because it was such an important thing and, because it was for the remembrance service, we really had to be the best that we could be, so having done that it's been a real preparation – made the nerves a bit less for the Brits as we've done something so huge like that," she said.
With the Classical Brits now behind them, All Angels are focusing on their next album – a re-release of their first album with the additional songs Sancte Deus (Nimrod), Make Me A Channel of Your Peace and Pie Jesu.
"We're quite excited about it as there's going to be more performing and it should be really exciting having done the promotion of an album it will be quite cool to feel a bit more experienced and that will bring something new to it," Melanie said.
And after that the plans start to become, in Daisy's words, a bit "hush hush". But what they can say is that a new album is in the pipeline which will be "along the same lines" as their first album but with "a few variations".
"It's not completely decided; we don't have a definitive list," she said. "At the moment we have the opportunity to add our own input."
Whatever happens in the future (the girls are signed for five albums), Charlotte maintains that they are "just trying to be optimistic and enjoy it". With their success so far, it seems they have every right to be optimistic.
Carolyn Robertson
Richard
