“AXIOM is a product of the pandemic – we all wanted to jump back into singing and wanted to find the best talent to sing together without geography as a barrier and that’s how we ended up with this 11-strong vocal group.”
WHO: Charley Strachan
WHAT: “There’s nothing like the power of unaccompanied human voices singing together. This year, AXIOM is debuting a brand-new a cappella experience which challenges conventions and expands your expectations of what’s possible in live singing. We guarantee that everything weird and wonderful you hear is created by the human voice alone. We’ll rejuvenate well-known classics with arrangements to keep you intrigued. Crunchy harmonic chords. Energy. Passion. Join AXIOM on a musical journey to discover what makes this award-winning group shine.”
WHERE: Paradise in Augustines – The Sanctuary (Venue 152)
WHEN: 17:00 (50 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
Yes, this is the company’s first time at Fringe but our production team and some of our group members have performed/been in the audience before. We can’t wait to bring our debut Fringe show up and bring this new group into the Fringe fold.
For a couple of our singers, it’ll be the first time they’ve been to the Fringe (and Scotland!) so we’ve made them an Edinburgh bingo card. We’ll also be sharing them on the Mile if anyone wants one!
For me personally, it’ll be my first time music directing a Fringe show in gig format rather than a jukebox musical, and with such a talented group, I’ve been able to let my creativity run totally wild – think a cappella including DnB, reggae and birdsong respectively…
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2022 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
I visited the Fringe as an audience member in 2022 and didn’t realise how drastically different the experience felt compared to performing there. When performing and directing groups before, I had a very rigid idea of what should happen but now I’m so much more open to experiencing new art forms and basking in the gloriousness of Edinburgh in August.
I learnt so much from being the other side of Fringe in 2022 so I’m hoping to carry that fresh open-mindedness into this year’s festival and see as much new work as possible!
Tell us about your show.
AXIOM is a product of the pandemic – we all wanted to jump back into singing and wanted to find the best talent to sing together without geography as a barrier and that’s how we ended up with this 11-strong vocal group.
We primarily rehearse virtually with singers based all over the UK so having everyone in the same space for our run and being able to develop our sound together, in-person for an extended period is something we haven’t done before. Sounds wild but it’s true!
So our show is totally a cappella which means singing without instruments. We’ve got a multi-award-winning, hugely talented team (promise I’m not saying that cus we’re mates) including two beatboxers and a specialist a cappella sound engineer so honestly it’s gonna be a cappella like you’ve never seen before (fingers crossed). The entire creative process has been done in-house but we’ve got the production team behind 2019 Fringe show 10 Things I Hate About A Cappella to get us over the line.
At our first ever performance, we won the national Open A Cappella Competition 2022 and after that, went on to perform at Northern Italy’s Solevoci Festival and London’s The Other Palace Studio (pats on the back all round). We were super proud of what we achieved in our first year but knew we wanted a space to develop our sound over a full run rather than just doing one-off performances. That’s what led us to Fringe – developing our style and sound, reaching new audiences, and generally living our best lives.
We’re super lucky to have had the opportunity to perform some of our arrangements before, most recently at FUSE International Festival run by Creative Youth in Kingston, so we’ve got an idea of things that need tweaking ahead of August. At the moment, we’re looking for touring opportunities to keep the show alive post-Fringe 2023!
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
We’re super hyped about seeing:
HEART by Jade Anouka – From 24-26 Aug, 11pm. We’ve loved Jade Anouka’s previous Fringe performances so we can’t wait to see this. Also there is live music and sound design by 4x UK Beatbox champion Grace Savage – incredible.
The Kinsey Sicks: Drag Queen Storytime Gone Wild! – From 2-27 Aug, 7:20pm. An America drag a cappella quartet – why were they not in Pitch Perfect?!
The Beatbox Collective: What’s Your Sound? by The Beatbox Collective – From 2-12 Aug, 7:45pm. This line up of beatboxers is unreal.
A cappella’s a close knit community and our members include alumni from the below uni groups, all creating incredible work:
A Cappella: Double Treble by Aca-Pocalypse and RadioOctave – From 7-12 Aug, 6:45pm. A family-friendly show full of energy, excitement and crunchy chords.
Aquapella by Aquapella – From 14-26 Aug, 12pm. They’re back for their seventh year at Edinburgh Fringe (aware it sounds like a fragrance)
Northern Lights A Cappella’s 10th B’day Bash: Top of the Bops by Northern Lights – From 4-12 Aug, 1:10pm. These folks won this year’s UK Open A Cappella Competition (congrats guys!)
The Notebook by The Songsmiths – From 21-26 Aug, 4:35pm. Think a cappella but while reading a book – we’re intrigued.
Vocal Vengeance: A Murder on the Stage Floor – From 21-26 Aug, 5:50pm. This is the group’s debut Fringe show! We can’t wait to see it.
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