Even on our worst days during this pandemic, music can help lift anyone’s spirits, improve our mood, and can even be an escape from reality.
For members of Hooshir A Cappella, it’s medicine.
“Music is truly, truly medicine,” group equipment manager and IU senior Garrett Shuman said. “We have all put in so much effort and emotion into this album, and I think that the music will reflect the times that we’ve been living in, and the emotions.”
The album Shuman is referring to is set to be recorded in Bloomington on April 17 and 18. Hooshir, an eight-member group consisting of Jewish and non-Jewish students, began preparing to rehearse songs for the album last August.
“In the past, we’ve produced maybe three or four albums every couple of years within the group,” group director and IU junior Erilyn Briggs said. “Since we aren’t competing or traveling, it was just really nice to have something to work towards.”
As Briggs mentioned, Hooshir has not been able to travel and perform like they typically have in the past because of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, it has allowed the group to spend more time on campus to focus on their album.
“Though certainly traveling is a great way that we’ve gotten close in the past, I think the connection that this specific group has with each other is very unique and very tight,” Briggs said. “We’ve gone through a lot of ups and downs over the past couple of months. I think that we’re all very connected and very close. And we care for each other, a lot.”
COVID-19 has caused many on-campus organizations to change how they normally operate. Hooshir had to get creative during the fall semester, practicing in one of their member’s garages so they could still meet outside. This semester, the group was able to hold their rehearsal sessions at the IU Hillel Center.
Perhaps the most challenging part of rehearsing in a singing group— wearing a mask around others.
“While a mask doesn’t make it harder to sing, it does make it harder to express yourself and feel the expressions of your other group members,” Shuman said. “So we’ve had to adapt to learn, you know, how can we come together to make this unified sound and relate to each other and listen— we had to really grow our listening skills to feel what we are trying to express through our music.”
In this video, Briggs explains what the process of preparing for recording an album is like.
The album is set to feature eight songs, with a mix of secular and religious music on the track list:
Secular Music:
Talk Too Much, Coin
Sound and Color, Alabama Shakes
Best Part, H.E.R. feat. Daniel Caesar
Stevie Wonder Medley, Stevie Wonder
Ba Kalil, Ido B Zooki feat. Avidos
Religious Music:
Al Hanissim
Havdalah
Yih’yu L’ratzon
In this video, Shuman explains where you can listen to their latest album upon its release.
Once the group walks out of their recording session on April 18, Shuman believes he will finally be able to reflect on the countless hours of work himself and his group members have put into the album.
“You know, with any type of performance, my hope when it’s over is that I left everything on the stage,” Shuman said. “I want to give my time in the studio every ounce of energy I have within me to really put all my focus into the music we record. So when it’s done, I think I’ll feel satisfied.”
The album, which has not been given a title yet, is expected to be released in the summer or fall later this year. It will be available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, SoundCloud, and a physical CD copy of the album can be ordered on their website.
“When the album finally comes out, put on a pair of nice headphones or bust out your speaker and just enjoy,” Shuman said. “Just listen. You know, because there’s going to be so much joy and raw emotion packed into this album. I think there will be something that everyone can relate to.”
