• Band / Artist : Navi Redd
• Genre : Pop / Rock / Acappella
• Sample Track Download : The Chant
• Buy CD : Bands Store
• Buy Digital Download : Bands Store
• Rating : 9 out of 10

There are many different ways to make music, just ask my wife, but all too often, the most wondrous instrument is overlooked. That instrument would be the human voice. If you haven’t guessed already from the album title, Voices by Navi (pronounced Navy) Redd, is a purely acappella offering, without another musical instrument in sight, except their own voices. I’ve heard acappella offering in the past, but nothing quite prepares you for the amazing sounds that emanate from this album, because sometimes you can swear you’re hear instruments.

I first heard Navi Redd on the Lynn Parsons podcast, she picked up on their “Two Beds and a Coffee Machine” track. Now maybe I’m a bit dense, but I didn’t clue in at all that this was a cover of a song by the Aussie band Savage Garden. It wasn’t until I played the song to my oldest daughter did I find out. Anyway I couldn’t get the song out of my head and approached the band to do this review.

Well once I got my hands on the album, I was dumbstruck. With 18 tracks on the album, there’s certainly an interesting choice of covers, for indeed this album totally comprises of covers, from artists such as the aforementioned Savage Garden, Marvyne Gaye/Paul Young, Robbie Williams, a medley from Grease and a few mashups. One of these mashups is primarily made up of Black Eyed Peas and U2. I wasn’t overly keen on the Black Eyed Peas part, but would dearly love to hear a full rendition of U2’s “Without You”. Amongst the album, there are a few tracks that sound familiar, but are in Afrikaans, so I can’t quite put my finger on the origin of the songs, but they make fascinating listening. As with any album, there are a couple of tracks that are not quite my cup of tea, but this is more my personal preference, rather than any failing of the band.

As I said before some of the tracks are in Afrikaans and this makes perfect sense when you realise the band is actually from South Africa. It’s when I discover bands like this, that everything Indie Launch pad is trying to do, pays off. Previously the bands just sold their records in South Africa, but after a bit of nudging, you can now buy their music either as MP3’s or CDs directly from the website. In fact not 24 hours after the band added this to their website, they had their first order. The world indeed has become a much smaller place.

Conclusion : This is an amazing album, the has that touch of something unique. I’ve played this album a few times and had a shiver running down my spine, it’s that good.