I’m going to out myself as a big fan of 70s and 80s music (yes, I know, I’m dating myself, but there’s been precious little worth listening to in the last quarter century; feel free to disagree – de gustibus non est disputandum). One of my all time favourites is Africa by the band Toto, who’ve produced a lot of great music.
A few years ago, I was surfing Youtube.com for the best rendition of my favourite Toto tune when I came across a vocal group from Slovenia called Perpetuum Jazzile and their rendition of Africa. It was, in one word, fantastic. They sing mostly a capella and yet manage to mimic the sound effects of a band to the point of giving their songs a depth you couldn’t achieve otherwise, with all due respect to the original artists. The gentleman doing the human beat-box is worthy of a Grammy for his virtuosity.
Perpetuum Jazzile has covered a lot of good music, delivering not only an auditory but a visual feast. You can’t appreciate their artistry without watching them elevate Abba, the BeeGees and so many others to a new level. Fortunately, through the magic of Youtube, you can both see and hear this magnificent bunch. They’re not hard on the eyes either.
Whenever I’m feeling down or I’m otherwise out of sorts, spending an evening watching and listening to Perpetuum Jazzile puts a smile back on my face. I doubt they’ll make it across the big pond to perform in North America again any time soon, but if they do, you can be sure Mrs Thomson and I will be at the head of the line for tickets.
Give them a try and if they don’t make you feel at least a bit more cheerful about life, you may have bigger problems than a blogging science-fiction author can help solve.
Enjoy, and long live Slovenia!
Eric Thomson's Starship Stories 