#dueting

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🎵SCREEEEEE

!!🎻🎶

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAA!!!!!!

VoicePlay is always looking for new ways to get their music into the world, collaborate with new artists, and reach new audiences. So in early 2022, they started searching TikTok for potential tunes they could work their harmonic magic on. First up was this indie darling.

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Dueting

Isabella Kensington sang the catchy chorus of this surprise hit song all by herself, so VoicePlay decided to give her some backup.

Details:

title: The Record Player Song (feat. Isabella Kensington)

original performers: Daisy the Great

written by: Kelley Dugan & Mina Walker

arranged by: Isabella Kensington & VoicePlay

release date: 13 February 2022

My favorite bits:

Isabella's breathy, playful timbre

the slight delay on Cesar and Eli's echo of ♫ "out… sorta green" ♫

how delicate Geoff's ascending bass lines are

Layne using a lot of woodblock sounds in his percussion

the guys cutting out to give Isabella the last word

Cesar's sweet, encouraging nod at the end

Trivia:

The original song was Daisy the Great's debut single in 2017. After it became a viral hit on TikTok in early 2021, the band was contacted by AJR, and the two groups worked together on a remix version released in August.

Isabella's first version features audio that pans back and forth when wearing headphones, but VP simplified it for their duet. She uploaded her solo portion with regular stereo audio a few years later.

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Duet-able

In the spirit of continuing collaboration, VoicePlay also put a duet-able version of their backing vocals on TikTok. (Darn Tumblr and its inability to directly embed TikTok videos / single video upload limit.)

Among the folks who took up the challenge, their buddy Deejay Young put his spin on it, including an inevitablly impressive riff.

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Dueted

Another local Orlando performer of their acquaintance, Sarah Whittemore, also gave it a whirl.

Details:

title: The Record Player Song (feat. Sarah Whittemore)

original performers: Daisy the Great

written by: Kelley Dugan & Mina Walker

arranged by: VoicePlay & Sarah Whittemore

release date: 15 February 2022

My favorite bits:

alto Sarah getting up into a lovely, airy head voice

her crisp diction for ♫ "came out a seasick sort of green" ♫

the bouncy ascent on ♫ "when they fall" ♫

ending on that smooth descending riff

Trivia:

Sarah has many connections to the group. She played the witch in the 2019 CFArts production of Into the Woods with Cesar as Jack, she was part of a livestreamed concert series hosted at PattyCake in early 2021, and she's a member of both Voctave and Voices of Liberty with occasional VP collaborator EJ Cardona.

Some of the gang were rather effusive at each other about the brief collaboration. (Here's hoping they get to do something in person someday.)

HAHAHAHA this is so funny!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Ronnie, I'm not surprised you dueted it!! LOL!!

VoicePlay tends to stick to reasonably family friendly music, or alter spicy lyrics to make them safer to play for your grandma. But once in a while they'll dip their toes in something a litttle sexier, and it's always a treat. Having Ashley along for the ride is the cherry on top.

Details:

title: River (feat. Ashley Diane)

original performer: Bishop Briggs

written by: Bishop Briggs, Ian Scott, & Mark Jackson

arranged by: Geoff Castellucci

release date: 18 June 2022

My favorite bits:

the lovely yearning in Cesar's voice on the opening lines

the subtle hummed bell chord under ♫ "How do you fall apart?" ♫

Layne's sultry shuffling percussion

the contrast between Geoff's descending arpeggio and the syncopated ascending ♫ "Don't you say it" ♫ from Eli and Cesar

Ashley's knowing smirk as she demands ♫ "Shut your mouth" ♫ before handing off the melody

the creaky sliding pickup Geoff uses to take the lead

the reattacks on Eli, Cesar, and Ashley's ♫ "will ma-a-ake" ♫

that crunchy harmony of ♫ "and ruuun" ♫ just before Ashley takes the lead again

Geoff holding his last ♫ "river" ♫ from the melody as he slips into the bass line, then dropping down the octave in the background

Ashley, Cesar, and Eli's gorgeous harmonies on ♫ "Choke this love…" ♫

the guys fading out then reappearing with the audible gasp

the camera shake in response to Layne's throat bass drop

ending on that bare, confident riff

Trivia:

This short was filmed on the same day as their full-length video for "Running Up That Hill" and their "Your Turn to Role" short. They were the first projects recorded in the new, bigger PattyCake studio space.

The YouTube description claims that "We have no idea what this song is about, but it feels really good to sing it." (Silly creatures.)

Geoff also joked in the YouTube comments that the narrative voice might benefit from slightly more genteel manners.

Cesar had worn the same floral shirt for their "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" short in April, which let them do a bit of old-fashioned crooning.

The original song was featured in the second season of the Scream TV series.

VoicePlay reposted a slightly shorter version to TikTok in late 2023 to give the fans a little something while the guys recovered from the Chicago anniversary shows and Eli was on paternity leave.

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Dueting

In a slightly different process from their previous TikTok-centric projects, VoicePlay mashed up the chorus of their own arrangement with a recording by Filipino-Australian singer Erica Padilla a few days later. As the caption notes, "We couldn't help ourselves."

Details:

title: River (feat. Erica Padilla & Ashley Diane)

original performer: Bishop Briggs

written by: Bishop Briggs, Ian Scott, & Mark Jackson

arranged by: Erica Padilla & Geoff Castellucci

release date: 22 June 2022

My favorite bits:

the rich timbre of Erica's voice

that touch of grit in ♫ "holding hands" ♫

the descending riff on the end of ♫ "sinner" ♫

her boyfriend cleaning his glasses so he could hear her better

Trivia:

Erica performed this song on Australian Idol the following year, earning praise from Meghan Trainor.

She then competed on Netflix's series Building the Band and is now a member of the girl group Siren Society.

One of the songs the Sirens performed on the show was a cover of Justin Bieber's "Love Yourself". VoicePlay had recorded a rendition of that as the first entry in their PartWork series, and PattyCake had included an excerpt in their "Beauty and the Bieber" jukebox musical.