Here’s a totally different topic for a change on the blog today – I’m talking music.
You’ll already know my love for the a Capella group Pentatonix (who, can I say, won their third Grammy this year; a collaborative effort with Dolly Parton rearranging her classic, Jolene).
Another equally talented and innovative group I’d like to introduce to you is Walk Off The Earth (WOTE).
WOTE are Canadian and sprung to prominence when their rendition of Gotye’s Somebody That I Used To Know became viral back in 2011. The selling point in the video was that the entire song was played on one guitar by 5 people at the same time.
You read that right. Here’s the proof:
Since then they’ve done stunning covers of well known and commercially mainstream songs (including Adele’s Hello, Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus, Royale by Lorde, most recently Ed Sheeran’s Shape Of You). Everyone in the 5 piece band sing and everyone plays multiple instruments – guitar, ukelele, kazoo, bass, mandolin, percussion, whirly tubes, harmonica, piano, organ, bells, the list is endless.
While I hate using this term due to overuse, they appear a really down to earth group of people with a brilliant talent for arranging and composing. Their videos range from the really simple but effective (Let It Go cover by James Bay) to the utterly, relentlessly perfect one take wonders (Material Girl by Madonna, or their original song Red Hands).
Along with a host of covers they’ve also released 3 original albums all with equally catchy, wholesome, and just bloody catchy tunes. I currently can’t stop listening to Hold On and the aforementioned Let It Go.
Check them out if you’re interested in genuinely creative music with talent and a twist. I think they’re touring internationally this year (dates being announced) and hopefully they’ll make their way down this end of the globe.