Your name:
Andrea Cockerton.
Where are you from?
Cambridge, UK.
Name of band:
The Dowsing Sound Collective.
Who else is in your band?
For our next gig there are 100 singers, a trumpet player, a violin player, bass guitar, drums, African/Middle Eastern percussion, Hammond organ, lead/acoustic guitar, a double bass, a cathedral organ, an opera singer, tubular bells and an iPad…
How would you describe yourselves?
Eclectic, unpredictable, rather large!
Who are your main influences musically?
We perform original covers and arrangements of tracks by a vast range of artists, and this diversity is really core to who we are. At the moment we’re working on tracks by Moby, Peter Gabriel, Agnes Obel, Mary Mary and The Head and The Heart, but we’re also stretching back to some 15th century polyphony and including some ‘Puirt-à-beul’ (Scottish mouth music) mixed with a bit of acid house & funk.
What do you hope to achieve in music?
Bands write brilliant music, but not everyone gets to sing in one…local choirs sing good but perhaps predictable pop hits in very simple harmonies, but many trained musicians won’t go near them…and conventional choral groups sing challenging pieces, but not everyone can read music. With The DSC I’m trying to fuse all of these together – to get people singing complex arrangements to a really high standard, but without excluding anyone, to mix vast amounts of voices with professional musicians and unusual instruments, and to together have a huge blast – much more like a gig than a concert - while doing so. It’s a lot of fun.
What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?
The first DSC gig which had about 10 minutes of applause at the end and two standing ovations.
And what’s the moment you want to forget?
The disappointment of sound problems during one of our gigs when I realised that people couldn’t hear the voices properly.
If you could choose just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?
Tough call! If I’m really honest I’d want to share it between our covers of Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap and Tonight We Fly by The Divine Comedy…. But if it has to be one, it would be our cover of Madness by Muse, which is coming out on our new EP soon and we’re performing in Ely in July (see below). There’s a clip of it (and the Temper Trap track) on our website at the moment.
Where can we listen to it?
Where can we find out more about your music?
Anything else you’d like to say about your band that I forgot to ask?
We’re going national and are looking for the best instrumentalists and MDs that want to be in the band/run sessions, as well as opening the doors to singers all across the UK. Get in touch if you’re interested! And the other thing is that we have a lot of men, which often surprises people… mostly they come because of our set list but I think our ‘no dance moves’ policy has something to do with it. The final thing is that we’re fast selling out for our 6 July gig in Ely Cathedral but tickets can still be bought online https://tickets.elycathedral.
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