That the University of Virginia is a school of tradition is a fact few would attempt to dispute. Every student knows by heart the origins of the honor code, and each has been weaned on the vibrations of the Good Ol' Song pulsing through Scott Stadium. What would be the impact, then, of a genuinely new idea on the fabric of the tried and true? What would become of the trailblazers who went against the grain of the University culture? The all-male a cappella group Academical Village People (AVP) will soon find out.
This week marks the release of the group's sixth CD, "Room Zero," and the onset of an experiment in musical deviation. This fun and eclectic compilation features tracks such as N'Sync's "Bye Bye Bye," Sting's "Fields of Gold" and even the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back." Other artists used include Prince, Phish, Tim McGraw and Shaggy.
It sounds innocent enough, and yet the release of this CD has sparked controversy that threatens to fundamentally divide the University's a cappella world. AVP member and fourth-year College student Mark Manley (CLAS) observed from the start that other groups were "kind of upset" at what they feel is a dishonoring of the tradition of a cappella.
"Even within the group we were initially critical," Manley admitted, but he added that when members realized it was an opportunity to do something unique, "we jumped on it."
Just what makes this CD so different from its predecessors, and indeed, the work of every other a cappella group on grounds? Manley attributes it to the fact that "Room Zero" "take[s] college a cappella beyond what it is."
Part of the in-group impetus for the idea, Manley felt that it was time for a change in the way AVP produced its albums. "I felt like we [had] kind of hit this wall where we were putting out the same album every year," he said. Last year's release "was a good CD, but it didn't do anything new. They [the University community] have heard a million albums like the one we produced."
Pursuant to this desire for change, Manley and other members of the group searched the internet for a production company through which to develop their ideas. The group created an initial recording with the Virginia-based company to which most groups turn for production - a company which, Manley adds, is "terrific" for this purpose. But that company does not have the ability to provide the cutting edge sound the group sought, so AVP sent its work to a studio in San Francisco.
There it was modified multiple times, in close communication with the group, until a product had been achieved that "delivers a wide variety of styles and studio wizardry ... unlike anything we've ever done before," said AVP member Blaise Warren, fourth year in the College.
Warren explained that the group "re-arranged songs so they would sound better for the studio," using "mixing and mastering techniques that have not really made it to college a cappella on this coast yet." Third-year member Micah Hart called the process "a learning experience."
The net result of extensive effort and pioneering technique in the studio is a powerful sound atypical of a cappella recordings. Particularly evident in percussion-intensive tracks such as "Bye Bye Bye" is a professional quality partially achieved by looping recorded bass sounds. This tactic reduced the element of human fallibility Manley had noted as problematic in songs with exhaustive repeated bars. Thus, the net result is the preservation of human sound and yet the heightening of listener-friendly aspects to the CD. "Ear candy," as Warren categorizes it, has been achieved.
Indeed, the aim of the new strategy - to make a CD mostly for the people who buy it, and not, as Manley observed, as a mere memory for group members themselves - is admirably achieved in "Room Zero."
In Manley's mind, AVP has merely taken the next logical step in the world of studio a cappella. "When you listen to Britney Spears, you don't listen to the same recording techniques the Beatles used," he said. "I think ['Room Zero'] is probably the best-listen of any CD that ever came out of U.Va. We're showing that college a cappella doesn't have to be bare bones. We can get the same [professional] artistry."
Whatever the outcome, though, Manley seems confident in the permanence of the group's stylistic shift. Room Zero "is more interesting because of the technology. We're not going back to the other way."
"Room Zero" will be available for purchase on the Lawn and via e-mail. See www.virginia.edu/~acadvil for details.
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