Spectrum Vocal Band & FreePlay

Spectrum Vocal Band is a five-member Bulgarian a cappella group with a unique style and approach to vocal music. The group's repertoire crosses boundaries between pop, jazz and traditional Bulgarian folk music, thus creating a fresh and distinctive sound.

 

Since its foundation in 2012 Spectrum has performed at some of the most notable stages in Bulgaria and abroad with great success, including jazz, classical, choral and contemporary arts festivals. Their concerts are often broadcast by national radio and television stations. In April 2023 the group had its first tour across the Atlantic, performing concerts in five cities in Canada. In 2018 Spectrum were invited to be the opening act for the Manhattan Transfer at their concert in Sofia and were highly praised by the giants of vocal jazz. The group also released a number of musical recordings, and their latest album, Singerprints, received several nominations and awards for its original production and studio work.

 

The five members of the group – Ivelina Tsoneva, Vesela Morova, Daniel Nikolov, Yanko Yankov & Konstantin Beykov – are all professional vocalists with rich experience in the a cappella, choral, vocal jazz and pop genres, sharing the mutual love of creating a unique and thrilling performance with nothing else but their voices.

 

The love of a cappella music (and a happy coincidence) brought Dylan and Suba from FreePlay Duo to the concert of Spectrum Vocal Band in Toronto, as the Bulgarian quintet was touring Canada in April 2023. The two groups quickly became friends and only three months later gave an experimental double bill concert in Sofia, where they also performed a couple of brand new 7-part arrangements. The show was a total success.

 

Using only their voices and innovative live looping techniques, international vocal sensation FreePlay sings you around the world without leaving your seat. New York jazz, UK pop, European classical, Indian ragas, Brazilian samba… FreePlay does it all, a cappella. 

 

Dylan and Suba first met in Toronto in 1993, singing in a jazz choir at York University called “Wibijazz’n’”: soon after, they started directing the choir together. At their year-end concert, Dylan and Suba performed an a cappella “director’s duet”, and FreePlay was born. Partners in music and in life, Canadians Dylan Bell and Suba Sankaran delight in sharing their unique and virtuosic a cappella style around the world, with performances in over 25 countries across 6 continents in support of their latest album, Talk To Me.

 

 

Spectrum’s own compositions and arrangements, many of which are based on world-renowned Bulgarian folklore, and FreePlay’s innovative vocal acrobatics, combined with modern live-looping technology, give the seven singers unlimited options to experiment with. The exciting combination of folk-jazz, funk, pop, intricate rhythms, harmonies, beatbox and vocal loops will showcase each of the two groups’ most impressive features, as they join forces for one-of-a-kind feast of vocal harmony.