A medley of interwoven voices start singing to an upbeat tune, mimicking different instruments. Together, along with a soloist, the voices create the medley cover of “Addicted to You” and “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody.”
These united voices are all the members of Lehigh’s coed a cappella group, the Lehigh Melismatics, singing the first song of their recently released album “Addicted.”
The album can be purchased on iTunes or a hard copy is available through the Melismatics’ website, lehighmelismatics.bandcamp.com. On the website people have access to the Melismatics’ work and contact information. Nat Jenkins, ’17, the group’s musical director, said the album is also on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, and Tidal.
Jenkins said the production of making this CD was not easy work. Every member recorded his or her part individually and from there, Jenkins would put the recordings together so the voices flowed perfectly. The group started the production of its album in the spring semester last year and finished it up a little bit this semester to make some last minute adjustments. The Melismatics were extremely driven and excited to get this CD all together.
Jenkins was able to compile the voices of all the members with the added task of adding the beatboxing. He then had to send it out to the group’s third party distributor and then from there, the album was sent to iTunes.
John Larson, ’17, the business manager and president of Melismatics, said the group took the album very seriously.
“With the new album, we also had a new look,” Larson said. “We got new shirts, we got a new logo and most of this we did ourselves.”
Larson highlighted the fact that some members now and in the past are music majors and minors.
“I think we have always had this level of seriousness and commitment to the group,” said Aliza Molgora, ’16, the group’s treasurer.
Molgora said everyone who is there wants to be there. She also mentioned how the group has become a bit edgier.
Melismatics group member Monique Gabriel, ’17, said the group has definitely taken a more serious approach to the arrangement and production of its music. She talked about how recording songs and working on the album has created a new type of dedication.
“Every single person takes it like an art form,” Gabriel said. “They really care what their arrangement at the end of the day sounds like.”
Cohesiveness has been emphasized within the group, especially since it has been able to retain many members over the years. This has allowed the Melismatics to further develop their sound and help them get to where they want to be.
“In the past couple of years we were really able to get our sound,” Gabriel said.
Jenkins said one the tasks the group has is picking what songs to perform. The members all suggest songs that they would like to see performed and then the group will listen to them all together. They then vote on the songs anonymously and ultimately come out of the process having a list of songs to work with. These songs will then be delegated to arrangers in order to arrange them to be done a cappella. Auditions are held thereafter to choose soloists for each song.
The Melismatics have the experience of competing, as well as performing at events where people have requested them to perform.
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