Winner of two ARIA awards, contemporary a cappella quartet, The Idea of North (or TION), boast an evoking repertoire steeped in jazz yet easily crossing over into pop, gospel, folk and comedy. The band will play the Tanks Arts Centre on Friday the 12th of May as part of it’s “Jazz Up North” series of shows.
TION’s distinctive style and sound has clinched them an enviable reputation both in Australia and overseas, seeing the vocalists perform at major festivals and arenas throughout the world.
“Anyone who comes to a show of ours is treated to a huge range of music – from sophisticated jazz arrangements with nice crunchy harmonies, through to funky pop re-arrangements and hilarious comedy tunes,” TION tenor Nick Begbie explains.
In just two decades the group have achieved successes that many could only dream of.
In 2003 TION won The Harmony Sweepstakes in the USA, one of the largest international open a cappella competitions in the world, and in its (then) twenty-year history, this was the first time that the winner was an ensemble from outside the USA.
On top of that, The Idea Of North have been awarded two ARIAs and are the only a cappella group to have ever received an ARIA.
TION are the third act in the 2017 Tanks Jazz Up North music series and this will be the first time the group take to a stage inside a concrete tank.
“We LOVE the idea of performing in a tank!” Begbie says.
“Singers, particularly a cappella singers, spend an inordinate amount of time looking for spaces that have amazing acoustics that they might sing in them and bask in the sound bouncing around the space: bathrooms, churches, concrete stairwells.”
With twelve albums in their catalogue and a significant local and international fan base, these four friends deliver spectacular music arrangements presenting “truly a sight and sound experience of the highest calibre” (Don Burrows, Australian jazz legend).
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