NATURALLY SEVEN

What is it you're doing?" the 7 New Yorkers were often asked. Instead of answering, they wrote a song: "What Is It?" What else could the group do? They were surprised by their own talents; their music developed differently than expected.

There were 3 of them to start with. Brothers Roger and Warren played in a hobby band with Garfield; one by one the others joined them. They'd all been singing in church choirs since they were little. The classic gospel school. They decided to make themselves into an a cappella band.

One day Garfield played harmonica - without a harmonica. It was noises coming out of his mouth. "Hey, that's good, we can use that," the others agreed. Somewhere along the way, Warren started making noises too. They sounded like a drum-kit. "Hey, that's good, we can use that!" -- " Wait a moment, I can't keep that up all through a song!" ... Warren found he was mistaken.

In time, the choral seven discovered even more hyper-vocal capabilities, till now they can use their mouths for most instruments. However, their ability ranges wider. Just listen (and look) how Rod mimes a DJ. He puts the vinyl on the turntable, lowers the needle onto it, and it begins to crackle. No vinyl, no needle, no tricks! There's very little that the septet still has in common with an a cappella band. They have matured into a regular pop band that has liberated itself from equipment. Whatever you hear from Naturally Seven is done without musical instruments! Even if you can scarcely believe your ears. The very next tricky R&B rhythm will make you doubt your senses again ... but it's a fact: ALL DONE BY MOUTH. By seven vocal virtuosos, by the grace of God. They are the natural enemies of the international instrument makers' cartel. They are Naturally Seven.

Their first appearance as a vocal wonder of the newest kind was a home fixture. The seven were singing at Garfield's wedding and had rehearsed the song "Bless This House". "It took us months to get this song together ," recalls Roger Thomas, the arranger, musical director and first-among-equals of the band. Their music is a tricky thing to practice, the traditional methods of close-harmony singing are inadequate. "We don't think of ourselves as a unit, but we work very hard at sounding united," says Roger with understatement, concealing the fact that this process lasts years and practically means the seven of them living together. Naturally Seven are now on the road giving concerts 220 days a year.

1999 saw Naturally Seven pass the psychological limit of 100 stage appearances a year. And when they got together again for their six-monthly group conference (at which they critically assess themselves and set objectives for the coming half-year) they decided to give up their jobs and upgrade themselves from amateur to professional musicians.

They may have found a new way to make music, but they were never compelled to make up the music themselves. All seven have their preferences, styles, favourite songs – and they can interpret them all. Naturally Seven summon up soul, rap, rock and folk from their throats in harmonious balance; their repertoire consists half of their own compositions, half of cover versions. There are disco classics (Don't Stop The Music, Yarbrough & Peoples), Simon and Garfunkel hits (Bridge Over Troubled Water) and rock ballads (More Than Words, Extreme), while their own R&B numbers easily keep pace with any Neptunes production. (Just to remind you: Naturally Seven use neither instruments or samples for any of this!)

The seven vocal giants have found a wonderful way to exploit the variety of their styles – with a self-directed irony, they dramatize their competing musical interests as comedy. When big bassist Marcus descends into the depths of Barry White's heartfelt groans, pocket-sized Dwight will come up to him, stop him moaning, then begin to sing himself – a whole octave lower. Whereupon Marcus dutifully airs his falsetto ... There are many such small and big moments in the stage shows of Naturally Seven, spicing their performances with thrills, wit and artistic whimsy. No CD and no video can remotely communicate this amazing entertainment like a live appearance can.

Even so, there will be a new album out in the autumn, their second. If the first ("Non-Fiction") was still highly jazzful and musicologically composed, the second will offer a totally new quality of pop music, striking sparks as soon as you hear it, with an organic fizz to it that palpably distinguishes Naturally Seven from the manufactured polish of many R&B bands.

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