The Most Beautiful Instrument

Okie dokie. Time for a little change of pace. No pandemic perturbances; no political posturing. Promise.

To preserve my own sanity, I have fallen back on one of my most favorite things … music. The salve for the soul. Honestly, in musical terms, I am stuck in the 60s & 70s. Other than melodically-themed movie soundtracks, [i.e. Braveheart, Lonesome Dove, Last of the Mohicans, Rob Roy] if it wasn’t written in or around that timeframe, I probably never heard it. So, I did some searching around for a bit of new music.

I discovered two. Two that I really, REALLY loved.

One thing that they have in common, they both feature the most beautiful instrument of all … the human voice … an amazing, God-given talent.

One is all lads, the other all lasses. Home Free & Suddenly Years Align [or SYA, otherwise known, to me at least, as SophieYvonneAmanda]. The lads are solely vocal – a cappella – the lasses also feature voice and their 3-part harmonies, but additionally complement the tunes with simple & elegant acoustic instrument accompaniment. With the guys everything you hear is voice, including an incredible “beat box” by co-founder Adam Rupp [he truly is amazing]; with the gals you’ll hear guitar, piano, flute, harp, accordion, and a few other sounds. The boys are American southerners & mid-westerners; the girls are from Holland. [Don’t fret, they sing in English … well, mostly, but the songs on which they sing in their native language are just as enjoyable, and I don’t speak a word of Dutch … beautiful melodies and, as usual, lovely harmonies!] Music is universal.

What a delightful treat both groups have been for me. Just some of the most inspiring performances I have ever heard. I just had to share.

Home Free are more well-known, having appeared on television’s The Sing-Off – and winning it all – in 2013. SYA are perhaps more obscure. Consequently, the former has a fairly extensive discography, while the latter have but one album to date. Both are sure to endure in your hearts & souls if you are a fan of the human voice.

You know what could be perfect? If these two collaborated on a project. Beautiful Voices!

Have a listen:

For more info on the bands:

About – Home Free’s Got New Music (homefreemusic.com)

SYA – SYA | Dutch acoustic music trio (syamusic.nl)

NOTE: Home Free has had one or two members come & go, but the five guys pictured seem to have stabilized and are the most recent iteration. SYA, on the other hand, has not-too-long-ago lost a member. Pictured here are those on their fantastic album. The “S” in SYA has moved on to ROWANN. She has been replaced by a “D” – Daphne.

~~ Thanks for the lasting listening memories, and for bringing me into the 21st Century ~~

For More: https://www.mohicanpress.com/SYA/