At the beginning of 2020, the idea of recording in a studio was raised for the first time within the Sing Out Brussels! board of directors. The choir has only been existing for a year and a half, but it has already built up a diverse repertoire, with quality original arrangements.
And then in March, Covid came along and everything changed…
Bringing together people from different backgrounds, singing together, creating a community? Non-essential!
For two years, our choir alternated between (long) periods of confinement and (short) periods of activity. All our concerts were canceled. And no virtual tool could replace the pleasure of a collective rehearsal and the emotion created by the mingling of voices. But what to do?
We could have given up and stopped. But we took a different path. Taking good advice from our friends the Pink Singers in London, we first recorded ‘Dancing on my own’ in December 2020. While strict confinement applied, each chorister recorded themselves at home, on their smartphone, with the piano in their ears. Then our sound engineer Vincent Debast worked his magic and mixed these individual recordings.
Then we recorded ‘Can’t stop the feeling’ in April 2021. The confinement rules had been relaxed and the choristers were able to meet outdoors in small groups to rehearse. Several recorded their voices at the home of our choirmaster while the others did the exercise alone again at home. And a collective work was born.
These projects, together with the shooting of two video clips, kept the choir going despite the pandemic. But what was missing was the joy of working together.
So finally, in 2022, we made this dream come true. And it took on a whole new meaning given the context. First of all, it was a relief to see it come to fruition, when socio-cultural activities were still prohibited a few hours before the recording weekend in the studio and several of our members, who tested positive, were unable to participate. It is then the joy of having succeeded in gathering our community around a common project, whereas for the last two years, everything has been put in place to isolate us. It is also the joy of seeing the stars in the eyes of the choristers. What a joy to create and sing together! What a difference with our solo recordings the year before! Finally, it is the pride of listening to the final recordings, after long hours of work.
Soon, you will have the pleasure of receiving at home these two songs recorded during the confinement and the four songs recorded in the studio. They are a testimony to the strange two years we have lived through. For us, they are also the most beautiful memories.
To get them and support us: www.ko-fi.com/singoutbrussels