'Bollywood songs are so much fun'

Individually they are great but together they are the best. British a capella troupe ‘The Magnets’ have performed at various venues across the world, including the Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s Jubilee.

The group recently performed in Bengaluru along with crossover singer Natalie Di Luccio as part of their India tour, named ‘The Magnets Feat.

Natalie Di Luccio’, conceptualised by AGP World. On the sidelines of the event, Nic Doodson spoke to Rajitha Menon about their journey so far.

How was the band formed?
The band was formed 22 years ago when some of us met at university at London. We would sing in a place called Covent Garden to make enough money to go to the pub.

Several years (and many pints) later, we graduated from university and decided to try and see if we could make a living singing….and here we are!

The most challenging part about a capella...
A cappella is singing without a safety net. There’s no instrument to hide behind, either physically or musically. You have to listen to be in tune and in time with your bandmates. But if you listen too much, you will look like you’re concentrating too hard and not enjoying the performance. It takes a lot of practice to do both at the same time and feel comfortable.

How do you select which songs to perform?
One of us suggests a song. We argue about whether it’s going to work. Some of us will try jamming a version to see if it feels right.

Then we argue if it is working. If we feel so, one of the guys will write out the music for everyone to learn.

When the song is ready, we sing it in public to see the reaction and then argue about whether the people liked it.

What are the requirements to be a good a capella singer?
A cappella is all about singing and listening so not only should you be able to sing, but you must be able to listen and blend with the other singers.

Tell us a bit about your India tour?
We really enjoyed our India tour; we went to Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi and Agra — all places were so different and so amazing. We can’t wait to come back!

What is the biggest attraction of Bollywood songs?
Bollywood songs are so much fun! They have great rhythm which means that they’re really fun to tackle; our beatboxer loves them.

There’s also a sense of grandeur in the songs that we don’t have in western pop songs.

Best part of the tour?
The food! We love Indian food; it is the most popular cuisine in the UK but that’s nothing compared to what you get here.

Most memorable moment in your singing career so far?
Singing at Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s jubilee. We were lucky enough to sing on the same stage as some of the biggest names in pop. We didn’t get to meet her but still we get to say we performed in Buckingham Palace.

One time you goofed up on stage?
Too many times! There are regular episodes of forgetting words, forgetting dance moves and generally looking silly. Then there are some specific occasions.

Once one of the guys ran off stage to be sick but left his mic on and the entire audience could hear him. Once one of the guys tore his trousers in the middle of the show and had to run off to get them changed.

There was even a time that we tried to stage dive but the audience parted so we just landed on our
face.