Andrea Cockerton knows this will be a moment to remember. It’s December, 2014, and the Cambridge- based pianist is on stage at the Corn Exchange with her new 120-strong choir and band performing the Proclaimers’ I’m Gonna Be. The audience is on its feet, in full voice, raising the roof. As they reach the chorus, a spontaneous conga breaks out, and their collective voice grows louder still.
“It was total mayhem. In one ear I had the choir singing at full volume and the audience in the other, and I felt this overwhelming, mad joy,” she says. Andrea, who studied music at Cambridge University, is the founder of The Dowsing Sound Collective. Described as ‘not a choir and not a band, but something in between’, it’s open to singers of all or no experience (she doesn’t hold auditions; as long as you can carry a tune you’re in).
They performed their first gig – an unexpected, overwhelming success – at Cambridge’s Great St Mary’s in 2011 (“they were queuing out the door down to TK Maxx!”), and now they’ve got their sights set on Glastonbury.
“It’s more like a band than a choir, and we play gigs rather than concerts”
A lifelong lover of all kinds of music, Andrea learned the piano at seven, sang in choirs and then took up a place at Cambridge to study music. “The degree didn’t really suit me to be honest; it was very theoretical and I’m a performer,” she says. “I spent the next 10-15 years in business but in the back of my mind I was trying to find a way to get into music and merge all the things that I loved about it.”
Then inspiration hit, as it’s wont to do, in an unexpected place. “Four years ago I was on the A14 listening to a piece of North African club music. It was a cool track and I thought, ‘I can really hear this to voices and instruments’. I put a post on Facebook seeing if anyone was interested in getting together and there was a great response.
“My vision was to do a gig in Cambridge that could prove you can sing good music to a high standard without it being stuffy, or oversimplified. There are loads of brilliant choirs that sing to a fantastic standard, but you have to be able to read music. At the other end, you’ve got community choirs who are doing great music but it’s generally quite simple. I thought there’s got to be something in between.”
So the Dowsing Sound Collective was born. Led by Andrea on keys, this monster choir and band (instruments range from electric guitar to bagpipes) performs two gigs each year, including their Dowsing Christmas Cocktail at the Corn Exchange – now a firm fixture in Cambridge’s Christmas calendar.
“It’s more like a band than a choir, and we play gigs rather than concerts,” Andrea explains. “Our set list is pretty eclectic: we cover Coldplay, Scissor Sisters, Goldfrapp… but also bands people might not have heard of, plus the classical stuff. I love coming across new music. We’ve sung in Icelandic, Spanish… It’s absolutely not cheesy pop.”
Dowsing Sound also has a charitable mission: “I knew from the start that I wanted to do something good with it, so we donate 40{b486c5a37ab2d325d17e17d701cb2567b1ecd1814e8ceb33effa2a4f1f171d46} of all gig profits to charity. We’ve set up The Dosoco Foundation, which helps music-related projects, for instance a choir for people with dementia or buying instruments for children with illnesses. Music is so powerful in improving lives, so while we’re having a great time on stage we’re also able to help less privileged people, which is the icing on the cake.”
Word of Andrea’s unique musical mission has spread, catching the attention of club kings Basement Jaxx. “They came to our last Christmas gig where we were covering one of their tracks,” she says. “Somehow they heard about us, and were just going to come for the first half but stayed for the whole gig because they loved it so much! A couple of weeks later I had a call from Felix saying they were looking for a choir to work with them on a music project called Power to the People, where they were getting groups from all over the world to perform their music. So in March last year we went down to the Cambridge Union, in fancy dress, and recorded.
“When you’re on stage, everyone is out of their comfort zone doing something they wouldn’t normally do – that’s when exciting things happen”
“Basement Jaxx go large with clothes, though initially Felix asked if we’d all do it naked! I said no, but what about fancy dress? There was no theme, but people had to do it properly – no half-hearted attempts. I went as Adam Ant. It was brilliant fun. What an experience.” She adds: “We’ve also collaborated with Boo Hewerdine, Megson and Dirty Freud, ‘the high wizard of electro dub’! They’ll be on our EP, out in July.”
Andrea is also approaching Secret Garden Party, Latitude and Glastonbury. And having established a DSC in London, she’s now expanding the project to other cities, starting with Brighton and Birmingham. Says Andrea: “When you’re on stage, everyone is out of their comfort zone doing something they wouldn’t normally do – that’s when exciting things happen. The sense of euphoria and achievement at the end of a gig is just insane. It’s so powerful and sometimes really emotional. That’s what makes music so profound.”
www.thedowsingsoundcollective.com
Listen to the Dowsing Sound Collective performing Power to the People by Basement Jaxx:
The Dowsing Sound Collective – Power to the People (collaboration with Basement Jaxx) from The Dowsing Sound Collective on Vimeo.
