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By Paul John Caña,
Contributor
Filipino audiences have yet to
get acquainted with the ladies of Escala, but with the launch of
their eponymous debut album, it shouldn’t take long before the
British group becomes a household name in these
parts.
Backed by no less than caustic
American Idol judge Simon Cowell, Escala is comprised of four
talented musicians who don’t look so bad either: Victoria Lyon and
Izzy Johnston are both ages 25 and play the violin; Chantal Leverton
is also 25 and plays the viola, and Tasya Hodges is 26 and plays the
cello. Fusing contemporary sounds with classical instruments, the
group offers a fresh and innovative sound.
They first attracted widespread
attention in the second season of the TV show Britain’s Got Talent
(where Cowell also serves as judge). They may not have won that
competition, but they did get a lucrative recording contract with
Sony, and an album produced by veteran Trevor Horn, responsible for
such chart toppers as Pet Shop Boys, Paul McCartney, Seal and Cher.
The album features an assortment of familiar pop tracks and
classical pieces reworked for more mainstream listeners, including
Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir,” (which they performed with former
Guns ‘N Roses guitarist Slash), Snow Patrol’s “Chasing
Cars,” Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die,” and their
signature tune, “Palladio.”
In this exclusive interview,
Manila Times gets to chat with Escala violinist, the lovely Izzy
Johnston. Excerpts:
The Manila Times: Where are you
now and what’s outside your window?
Johnston: I’m in London, very
much enjoying the English heatwave we’re having now. Outside my
window . . . well I live in High Street so [there’s a] very busy
buzzing outside my window.
TMT: Tell me how Escala got
together
Johnston: Well, basically we were
formed independently to tour with the British boyband called McFly.
We realized we had actually gotten on really well as friends and
musicians. And so we thought, ‘why don’t we do something?’ So
we started gigging, doing weddings and corporate events. We used to
dream of recording our album and amazingly four years later, we are
really fulfilling what we’ve always dreamed about.
TMT: So you guys didn’t know
each other before the McFly tour?
Johnston: We did know of one
another. Its funny in the music world, it’s a very small place and
we kind of knew of each other but we never really played together as
a four-piece group before.
TMT: Tell me about your
experience with Britain’s Got Talent
Johnston: It was a platform for
us as a group to expose us to a wider audience who perhaps haven’t
listened to a string quartet before. We are really passionate about
our music and we wanted to get out into a big audience and
Britain’s Got Talent was the perfect platform for us to perform. I
don’t think we ever expected to get the outcome that we did. So
we’re really, really happy.
TMT: Yeah, and I know Simon
Cowell has some very kind words to say about you…
Johnston: Yeah, it’s amazing.
He’s such a lovely man and it’s amazing to have his support. And
for him to believe in us. We are very privileged to be on his record
label, to know him and to have him supporting us.
TMT: Tell me about the album. How
did you decide which songs to cover and what the overall concept of
the album would be like?
Johnston: Basically when we
started four years ago, we used to talk about what tracks we wanted
to do for our record but could never afford to do ourselves. So we
all kind of had a clear idea as a group what tracks we wanted to do.
We got together for a meeting [with the label] and discovered that
they ore or less have the same idea also, like “Kashmir” which
we collaborated with Slash, which was amazing. The ones that we
brought to the table was “Feeling Good,” “Live and Let Die,”
“Palladio,” so it was really more of a collaboration between us
and the label, which we’re really pleased about because
everybody’s happy. When we do go and promote the album, it’s an
album that we really believe in and we’re really passionate about.
TMT: Can you talk about the other
members of the group?
Johnston: Well, we’re really,
really good friends, the four of us, we’re very close. We’re
like sisters. We know everything about each other, good and bad.
Tasya who plays the cello, she’s very intelligent you would
definitely go to her for advice. She’s somebody you can really
look up to in the band. And she’s our fashion guru. She’s very,
very stylish. Chantal is our very glamorous viola player. I’m
very, very close to Chantal, she’s kind and thoughtful. She would
never let anybody down. She is a really lovely kind-natured girl.
And Victoria, she is incredibly funny. She’s never in a bad mood.
She’s always the entertainer of the group and makes us all smile
when we’re feeling a bit down. And she’s very thoughtful.
TMT: And you? How would you
describe yourself?
Johnston: Me? [pauses] Oh I
don’t know. [Giggles] You need to ask them . . .
TMT: So you have plans to tour
for the album?
Johnston: Oh I hope so. We’re
really looking forward to come to Asia to promote the album. We’re
hoping to do as many gigs as we can because that’s when we’re
most at home. We absolutely love performing together. Hopefully we
can tour the album because really that’s what Escala is about.
TMT: Do you have other plans way
off into the future apart from playing and performing music?
Johnston: After world domination,
you mean? [Laughs] I absolutely love teaching the violin. It was
something I did that I had to give up when we got signed as a group.
I’m very passionate about that. And I hope to go back to teaching
the violin one day.
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