Sonos Sings … Near You!

The rich harmonies and ultra-contemporary arrangements of Sonos bring a cappella singing to a level those guys in the striped vests and boater hats never could have dreamed of.

Don’t know Sonos? You’re in for a treat. The L.A.-based sextet visited Studio 360 last fall to talk with Kurt and perform live in the studio:

[AUDIO=http://audio.wnyc.org/studio/studio102309d.mp3]

Now you can hear their fresh, thrilling sound in person. They’re touring the east coast —including New York, Cambridge, and Portland, Maine— for the next week or so. Then they head out west and Midwest, so get to a gig near you. You can see their full tour schedule here.

Can’t wait for the show? Here’s Sonos’s cover of Bjork’s “Joga,” recorded live in our studio:

[AUDIO=http://audio.wnyc.org/studio/studio102309e.mp3]

—Cary Barbor

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Off With “The Sing-Off”

It turns out that Fox’s hit musical comedy “Glee” was primetime TV’s gateway drug to a cappella.  NBC’s “The Sing-Off” ended last night.  Kudos to the winners aside (congrats to Nota), if there’s one thing that I’ve learned from a week of this show, it’s that matching fluorescent outfits and coordinated dance moves do no favors to a cappella music.  Distracting, disturbing, and just plain da-da-da-dumb.

I get my a cappella fix from the fantastic Sonos – six singers out of LA who soup up their sound with the sly use of electronic effect pedals.

Hear their killer cover of Björk’s “Joga” live in Studio 360 earlier this year:

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And lest you think I’m down on reality-vaudeville shows, I’m counting down the days until the January 28th premiere of “America’s Best Dance Crew #5.”
(Beat Freaks forever!)

- Jenny Lawton

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