Tonic Sol-fa
Sugarüe & Boston to Beijing
Tonic Sol-fa is a great A capella group from right here in Minnesota, Minneapolis ST. Paul to be exact and they have a great hip blend of pop and classic Christmas songs.
Tonic Sol-fa is a great group out of the Minneapolis St. Paul area of Minnesota with a great A capella sound bringing hip hop and other genres to their unique blend of vocals. The four part harmony group has been going strong since 1995 selling more than a million records and touring the country and abroad.
Tonic Sol-fa includes Shaun Johnson as tenor, Mark McGowan as baritone, Greg Bannwarth as tenor and Jared Dove as bass. The group really does have a unique sound and have really taken off in sales as well as sold out tour dates across the country.
Their unique blend of A capella group singing and use of hip hop and other genres adds to their unique sound but they also have an almost classic sound to them. Their Christmas album is a unique take on several classics while their Boston to Beijing album brings a great mix of new songs and remakes to their repertoire.
I hate using the term remakes because it just does not do justice to their songs or their style with which they add so much to classic songs and give it new appeal and a today feel. Their unique harmony singing with occasional hip hop tones and beats adds to the songs and their style that creates a new and unique genre all its own.
The Sugarüe album is a Christmas delight with ten classic Christmas songs done only in the style Tonic can bring including Hark the Herald Angels Sing and Joy to the World.
Others include Joseph’s Song, I Saw Three Ships, O Come All Ye Faithful, The First Noel, Silent Night, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, SNō and The Little Drummer boy.
All the titles you recognize are remakes or better yet recreations of classic and traditional Christmas songs while Joseph’s Song and SNō are written by Shaun Johnson. The other songs of the album are really great recreations with a new beat and rhythm that give it a real modern feel, especially with their use of hip hop tones from time to time.
Their other album I was grateful to receive is their Boston to Beijing album with twelve songs including six originals and six remakes in their own style highlighting their talent. They can truly take any song they want and recreate it into a new and wonderful masterpiece with a style all their own but the original character and appeal of the songs creator.
Original new songs on Boston to Beijing include Boston to Beijing, Sleep On, Who Wants To Go, Oklahoma Wind, So Easy and Other Side of Town. Other songs are It’s Me Again originally by Wayne Kirkpatrick, Twenty Nine Ways To My Baby’s Door by Willie Dixon, Rescued Me by D. Vincent and Marc Allen Barnette and Grace by J.C. Crowley.
Whether it’s a Christmas song, a classic one they have added their heart and soul to recreate or an original Tonic Sol-fa really does a number on anything they touch. They add such a new style and beat as well as keeping things clear and clean to make really beautiful music.
Their songs inspire and touch your soul while you’re working or whiling away the day and are really enjoyable with a very nice harmonic rhythm. Even their Christmas songs are so good that you would not want to store them away with all the other Christmas stuff the rest of the year.
I truly enjoy their music and they are now another great addition to my building repertoire of music on my computers, MP3 player and in my heart. Tonic Sol-fa is a great a capella group and adds a new unique style all their own to their music and have plenty going for them.
Check out their albums Sugarüe and Boston to Beijing and watch for local tour dates as they are crisscrossing the Midwest with their current tour.