If there was a metal band on stage without a guitar in sight, you would think this slightly strange, right? If you were to go see a jazz concert and you couldn’t see a trumpet, a saxophone or even a double bass, would you be surprised?
While this seems odd, you could be seeing a lot more of it, and it could even be the next big thing in the music scene. While we all know the greats such as Elvis to have many impersonators and tributes, there is a new cover trend emerging, and The Talent are stepping into the world of super-niche covers.
An all metal tribute of the Bee-Gees, Stayin’ Alive… The adjective ‘interesting’ would probably come to mind first.
So, what is Genre Swapping?
You could refer to this as doing covers of songs already out there, but as a band, making it true to your style and personality. We all know of maybe acoustic covers of songs, metal covers and more, and this is pretty much genre swapping, however there are pioneers in the world who are taking it to another level…
Charley Stone. In her spare time she’s is Joanne Joanne (an all-women Duran Duran cover band), The Fallen Women (Live karaoke versions of the Fall, played by women, with the audience singing too), The Misters of Circe ( a genderqueer Sisters of Mercy cover band) and Ye Nuns ( the work of 60s garage band the Monks performed by all women).
This is pretty far away from one man is a white jumpsuit singing suspicious minds to a backing track.
“At heart, it’s totally different,” Stone says, “even though in essence it’s the same thing. The motivation and the way it’s approached is completely different. We home in on what we like, so it’s like creating an ideal mix of songs you love. When you go to see a band that have all the right equipment, and they emulate all the guitar parts, it loses the energy. I wouldn’t want to be in a band that was trying to do a 100% faithful replication.”
Want to see Ye Nuns in action? Take a look at the video below.
Gateway to Another Musical Dimension
What’s your take on these unusual covers? One may think that it is a refreshing outlook on music, and while the outcome could be incredible, they are all nevertheless interesting.
There’s been some unique covers in the past; everything from Limp Bizkit covering Faith by George Michael to the Mike Flower Pops covering Wonderwall by Oasis. You can check out 20 of the most surprising genre crossing covers here.
As a cover band in London, The Talent thought that we want a slice of this genre mixing pie! We like to experiment when ever possible, because the outcome can sometimes be spectacular. Just like our smooth jazzy cover of Uptown Funk, which we evolved and put a sprinkle of The Talent on, to transform into Uptown ‘Slow’ Funk.
You can see our repertoire here and our range of videos here.
If you would like further information about our services or you would like to hire our cover band, simply get in touch.
