Semi-Toned

Semi-Toned is a British all-male A cappella group from the University of Exeter, in the United Kingdom who sing a variety of modern and classic songs. They were formed in October 2010 originally as a barbershop quintet, before establishing themselves as a twelve-man contemporary group with a wide range of repertoire. They became more well known after multiple TV & radio appearances on shows such as 'The Choir: Gareth's Best in Britain' (BBC2) and 'Sing: Ultimate A Cappella' (Sky One), as well as singing on BBC Radio 2 with Rylan Clarke-Neal during his 'Great Ka-Ry-oke Challenge' in support of BBC Children in Need 2019. They now regularly tour both the UK and US, as well as performing annually at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and frequently releasing albums and music videos.

Semi-Toned
Background information
Origin	University of Exeter
Genres	A cappella
Years active	2010–present
Website	www.semitoned.com
Members	Oliver Hopkins - President Ollie Baker - Business Manager Tom-Bryan Isaacs - Musical Director Rhys Woolmer - Musical Director Aiden Skelley Ludo Palazzo Anthony Yammine Chris Mott Matt Vine Fergus Cooper
Past members	Eddie Henley Simon Eaton Jack Telfer-St-Claire Jon Minter Sean Li Ed Jillings Joe Lane Theo Cowper Johnny Wood Ben Dale Jamie Blencowe Ben Street Adam Carpenter Michael Luya Ed Scott Ashley Waters Rob Cross Michael Sole Alex Deakin Satchit Srikanth Tom Broadbent Duncan Payne Sylvan Rackham Ted Bartram Robert Akerele-Miles Charlie Rockall Tommy Hamer Henry Edwards Sam Harper Greg Munday Ludo Graham Alfie Davies Chad St Louis Jacob Westbrook Will Sharpe-Neal Djantai Otorbaev Jacob Storey Ryan Land Max Weeden Rupert Cole

History

Semi-Toned's first performance in The Old Firehouse, 2010

2010-2013: The Early Years

The university's first all-male a cappella group was formed when Eddie Henley, Simon Eaton, and Jon Minter met after a Chapel Choir rehearsal. Initially the group sang a collection of old barbershop classics in a much more formal style. After expanding to ten members the following year, Semi-Toned initiated the move away from barbershop into a modern collegiate A Cappella style. They competed for the first time in The Voice Festival UK in 2012, the UK Collegiate A Cappella competition winning both "Outstanding Arrangement" and "Outstanding Vocal Percussion". In 2013 the group won the South West regional where they were awarded "Outstanding Stagecraft and Choreography" and, once more, "Outstanding Vocal Percussion", before advancing to the London semi-final.[1] Semi-Toned made their Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut in 2013 with their show, "The Exe-Men",[2] which received a five-star review from Broadway Baby.[3]

2014-2015: Voice Festival success and first US tour

Semi-Toned competing in The Voice Festival UK Quarter-Finals 2013

In 2014, the group reached the final of The Voice Festival UK and won awards for "Outstanding Arrangement" for their mash-up of "Dear Darlin'" by Olly Murs and "The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?)" by Ylvis, "Outstanding Overall Performance" and "Outstanding Soloist" for Michael Luya in "Motion Picture Soundtrack" by Radiohead.[1] They then continued their Edinburgh Festival Fringe success with 2014's "Toned Up!" which saw a second five-star review from Broadway Baby and a prestigious "Bobby" Award, the group becoming the first University ensemble and first A cappella group to achieve this.[4] In September the group recorded its first self-titled 5 track EP with The Vocal Company, featuring covers of John Newman, Daft Punk, Paolo Nutini, Kanye West, Jay Z and Radiohead and was released in early 2015.

Semi-Toned winning The Voice Festival UK 2015

In January 2015 for the first time, Semi-Toned competed in the Semi-Finals of the ICCA's in London, finishing in second place overall, whilst winning "Outstanding Choreography".[5] In April, Semi-Toned won The Voice Festival UK as well as "Outstanding Overall Performance".[1] Soon after they embarked on their first tour of the East Coast of the United States, visiting and performing with groups from Colombia, NYU, Princeton, Yale and North Eastern Colleges. In August, Semi-Toned performed for the third year running at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with their show "Game of Tones".[6] Just before this, they released their first professional music video, a mash-up arrangement of "If I Were A Rich Man" from Fiddler on the Roof and "Rich Girl" by Gwen Stefani which reached the front page of internet news site BuzzFeed. In 2016 the video was nominated in the Contemporary A cappella Recording Awards for Best Scholastic Video.[7]

2016: Sing Theory and The Choir: Gareth's Best in Britain

In 2016, Semi-Toned won the Quarter-Finals of the ICCA's held in Exeter, competing against other UK A cappella groups before finishing second at the Semi-Finals in London behind eventual World Champions The Techtonics. At the same time, Semi-Toned released its second 6 track EP "Sing Theory" with Liquid Fifth with covers of Fleetwood Mac, Regina Spektor, Frank Ocean, Beyoncé and a mashup of Jungle and Chic. The group at the end of March embarked upon their second tour of the United States, this time performing a 90 minute long show in large venues and travelling over three weeks along the east coast from Florida to Connecticut, including an appearance at Virginia Arts Festival.

Through the Summer of 2016, Semi-Toned participated in Gareth Malone's BBC2 program "The Choir: Gareth's Best in Britain" which was aired in November–December 2016. After competing with groups from all over the country, on 6 December Semi-Toned was named as Gareth's Best Choir in Britain during the final in Westminster Central Hall.[8]

2017-18: Music video releases and Sing: Ultimate A Cappella

Shortly after winning The Choir: Gareth's Best in Britain in December 2016 Semi-Toned released their second music video, a charity fundraiser version of their Christmas Medley entitled 'A Very Semi-Toned Christmas', in support of the Order of Malta Volunteers. In January 2017 they released a third video, their cover of Beyoncé's '7/11' which was a track on their 2016 EP 'Sing Theory'. After this they toured the USA for a third time with their show of the same name, travelling across the Midwest and Western States, culminating in Richmond, KY.[9]

During the summer of 2017, Semi-Toned were invited to take part in the recording of a new Sky One television show, entitled Sing: Ultimate A Cappella, hosted by Cat Deeley.[10] Filming took place throughout the summer, with the first episode airing on 6 October 2017.[11] Semi-Toned came top of their heat, narrowly beating rival group Elle & The Pocket Belles with their performance of 'The Chain' by Fleetwood Mac to qualify for a place in the final episode. The final aired on 10 November 2017, in which Semi-Toned performed 'Careless Whisper' by George Michael and 'Don't Stop Me Now' by Queen. After their second performance, they were eliminated from the competition.

Semi-Toned released another Christmas music video in December 2018; their cover of Wizzard's 'I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday'.

Discography

EPs

• Semi-Toned (2015)
• Sing Theory (2016)
• Strike Three (2018)
• Infrared (2020)

Sing Theory and Strike Three were review by the Recorded A Cappella Review Board (RARB), scoring 4.7/5 and 4/5 stars respectively.[12][13]

Singles

• A Very Semi-Toned Christmas (2016)
• Candle in the Wind (2017)
• Sober (2019)

Candle in the Wind was also reviewed by RARB, and received a 5/5 star rating from reviewer Dom Otto Asís.[14]

Edinburgh Fringe Shows

Semi-Toned have performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival every year since their debut there in 2013. Their shows have consisted of;

• "The Exe Men" (2013)
• "Toned Up" (2014)
• "Game of Tones" (2015)
• "Sing Theory" (2016)
• "Stay Tuned" (2017)
• "Strike Three" (2018)
• "Life on Mars" (2019)

In 2014, 'Toned Up' also received the Broadway Baby Bobby Award, the rare and highly prized accolade of the Edinburgh Fringe.[15]

Tours

The group have conducted four tours of the USA and one tour of the UK. The first tour, in 2015, was managed by the group. The three successive tours of the USA (2016–18) were jointly planned and undertaken by Semi-Toned and Arts Management Associates.[16] Semi-Toned took a break from the USA to conduct their first tour of the United Kingdom in 2019. Their 2020 tour, planned for the USA, was cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Semi-Toned Tours[17]

Tour Name	Year	Locations	Tour Manager
Semi-Toned	2015	New York, NY - Boston, MA - Cambridge, MA - Washington, DC	Tommy Hamer
Semi-Toned: Game of Tones	2016	Tallahassee, FL - Miami, FL - Raleigh, NC - Norfolk, VA - Allentown, PA - Danbury, CT - Valhalla, NY	Tommy Hamer
Semi-Toned: Sing Theory	2017	Kerville, TX - Medford, OR - Bend, OR - Yountville, CA - Lancaster, CA - Las Vegas, NV - Cedar City, UT - Ames, IA - Hopkinsville, KY - Richmond, KY	Henry Edwards
Semi-Toned: Season Three	2018	Delray Beach, FL - Venice, FL - Troy, AL - Beaufort, SC - Aiken, SC - Norfolk, VA - Scranton, PA - Valhalla, NY - Rockville Center, NY	Alfie Davies
Semi-Toned: Homecoming	2019	Grantham, UK - Hereford, UK - Monmouth, UK - London, UK - Reading, UK - Guildford, UK - Brighton, UK	Max Weeden

References

1. "University Results from the 2015 Competition". Thevoicefestival.co.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
2. "Exciting Expansion at Exeter: Exclusive Interview". The UK University A Cappella Blog. 22 December 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
3. "SemiToned: The ExeMen" Archived 5 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Broadway Baby, 6 August 2013.
4. Ivers, Charlotte (4 August 2014). "Semi-Toned: Toned Up!: Broadway Baby, Brighter Coverage". Broadwaybaby.com. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
5. "Results - Page 3 - 2015 ICCA Midwest Quarterfinal 1". Varsityvocals.com. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
6. "Game of Tones | Music | Edinburgh Festival Fringe". Tickets.edfringe.com. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
7. https://www.casa.org/cara2016n
8. "Exeter's Semi-Toned choir crowned 'best in Britain' by Gareth Malone". Exeter Express & Echo. 6 December 2016. Archived from the original on 7 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
9. "Tour Dates | Semi-Toned". Semi-Toned. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
10. "Cat Deeley explains everything you need to know about Sing: Ultimate A Cappella on Sky 1". Radio Times. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
11. Darvill, Josh (6 October 2017). "Sing! Ultimate A Cappella: Meet the contestants and groups in the first heat tonight". TellyMix. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
12. "Semi-Toned - Sing Theory EP (2016)". www.rarb.org. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
13. "Semi-Toned - Strike Three (2018)". www.rarb.org. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
14. "Semi-Toned - Candle in the Wind - Single (2017)". www.rarb.org. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
15. "The Bobby Award". broadwaybaby.com. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
16. "SEMI-TONED". Arts Management Associates. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
17. "Tour Dates | Semi-Toned". Semi-Toned. Retrieved 11 January 2020.