Does Tufts need another a capella group?
For the members of the newly-created a cappella group Full Sound, the answer is a resounding and harmonious “yes.”
Full Sound singers specialize in covers of Chinese-language pop songs like “Under a Vast Sky” by Beyond, a rock band based in Hong Kong, and Taiwanese boy band F4’s “Meteor Shower,” often switching from Mandarin Chinese to English -- all the while mixing in the traditional “doo-doo’s” and “bop-bop’s” characteristic to a cappella arrangements.
After his stint in the Oxcar Singers at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, a group that performs an “Asian repertoire," senior Wei You decided to form a similar organization on the Tufts campus.
He talked to students who had expressed an interest in Chinese pop music at parties and other events. None of them played instruments, citing cost and inconvenience, but loved to sing, and so they thought, “why don’t we just form an a cappella group?”
Today, Full Sound has nine singers, comprising of multiple first-years, a junior and a senior. They began practicing in the fall of 2016, and have since performed at the Tufts Chinese Student and Scholar Association Spring Gala and at the Tufts Chinese Student Association (CSA) New Year Gala that took place last weekend.
For some of the members, Full Sound is the first time they’ve ever participated in anything musical.
“I had no experience in singing,” first-year Jay Yang said. “In an orchestra? No. In a choir? No.”
According to You, vocal percussions are something they’ve had to teach themselves over time. Many of their arrangements don’t require a lot of background beatboxing. Instead, when they’re singing upbeat pop songs like “Lost in Paradise” by Joanna Wang, they rely on cymbal-like stylings that have the effect of a high hat.
During their performance at the CSA New Year Gala, the words "Full Sound" were projected above their heads in both Chinese characters and English. The microphones weren’t set up and so they amplified their singing themselves, pausing between songs to readjust the positioning of the baritone, bass, soprano and alto voices on stage.
The Chinese name, You explained, is “Fu Sheng,” fu being the mandarin word for traditional music and sheng meaning sound or voice.
While there are other a cappella groups on campus, including the Disney-themed Enchanted and African diasporic music groups S-Factor and the Ladies of Essence, You feels there is room to add to Tufts’ cache of instrument-less singers by focusing specifically on Chinese pop music.
“There are many very wonderful groups of Chinese culture on campus, like the WuZee Chinese dance group, and there are many student-organized associations who have put on events to introduce traditional Chinese music,” You said. “We just want to add a little bit more contemporary stuff to the repertoire.”
According to Yang, the group may add English-language songs as well in order to cater to the audience who has little knowledge of Chinese culture.
You hopes that Full Sound’s first concert on Sunday evening will help them recruit members for the next semester. Though he plans on graduating in the spring, he wants the group to continue growing and possibly create original pieces in the future.
After the New Year Gala, Yang looks forward to their ensemble debut. However, he still feels a bit nervous.
“I’m not that kind of stage person. I sweat all the time, like just now,” he said. “I wish I could practice on stage by performing. Then I can be more confident.”
