In the year 2016, a capella music has a mainstream presence mainly due to bands such as Pentatonix, or any other America's Got Talent runoff. For some of us, this can be frustrating, as music fans sometimes have to hide their love of vocal only music for fear of being thought of as a Pitch Perfect fan.
I am glad to say that if music made solely from voices is what you crave, as well as anything with an experimental beat to it, Eola is your guy.
Eola is the solo project of Florida native Edwin White, who takes his name from the lake in his hometown of Orlando. For years, Edwin and his brother Andy have explored numerous sonic realms with their respective groups, solo projects, and their true collaborative effort, Tonstartssbandht. In his solo music, Edwin takes the occasional vocal experiments of his brother and band and stretches them to their extreme ends. Wordless loops, seemingly endless harmonies, high-pitched whistling, tape distortion, and sunny melodies cohere for a sound that is equal parts Brian Wilson and Gregorian chanting.
On his last record, Ye, Ed allowed the music to speak for itself, eschewing words for pure vocal bliss. Tracks such as "Theme for Baroness 1901" showed off his skill for drama and pomp.
Others, such as "Notfelix," showed off a much more playful side, which can be seen in the strange music video.
On his upcoming album, Dang, Eola goes for more concrete themes and lyrics. The record features several covers of incredibly diverse artists, such as Blind Willie McTell, Andy Boay (his brother) and Sam Cooke.
It is that last cover that is the most exciting of the singles released ahead of the album, Eola's fantastic rendition of "How Far Am I From Canaan?" On this rendition, Ed splits the difference between haunting and uplifting, as he uses a self-supplied choir to recount this classic tale of redemption and peace in a manner that goes from a gentle beginning to a looser, more distorted middle section. By the vocoded end, you'll be ready to start the song over again. I certainly always am.
With new music from Eola on the way and plenty more in his various back catalogs, you'll find just about anything you could want from one of the most thrilling artists making music right now.
