By Natasha Barbieri
The last time we talked to G4 (made up of, Ben Thapa, Jonathan Ansell, Mike Christie and Nick Ashby) the group was together for a one-night reunion concert. The crossover quartet which began on X-Factor have seen their unique arrangements take them to the top of the charts but had begun to peruse solo projects. However, the fan response was so incredible that they toured across the UK including a “Back for Good” tour. Now, almost four years later, they are still performing together on a regular basis and have released an album entitled, “Love Songs.”
How did the concept for this record come about?
Mike: When we worked out that the space in our schedule to release a new album would be the month of February, it made sense to tie it in with Valentine’s Day! Although most songs are about love anyway, so it made it very hard to whittle it down to the right number for an album. Also, our duet partner for two of the songs on the album – Lesley Garrett – we have known for years, and she’s always up for putting our own spin on classic love songs, and so we ended up recording the Meatloaf classic I’d Do Anything for Love with her!
How do you decide on arrangements? Are the harmonies given or is it more of a trial and error between you guys?
Jon: We create all the arrangements ourselves. They are trial and error for sure, but when we have it correct it just feels right and sticks.
The album features the City of Prague orchestra. Did you all record live together with the orchestra or later on in England?
Jon: We actually recorded all the vocals before the trip to Prague and then had the brilliance of hearing the orchestra join us on the tracks in real time. What a thrill!
How do you decide on songs? Do you have a favorite on the album?
Nick: We came up with a huge list of songs for the album. Could have been a triple disc-er, but time and money didn’t allow us to record them all sadly. We tried arranging them acapella, just the four of us to see what would work, and some fell by the wayside. During that process the shape of an album slowly emerged, and they became THE tracks! There’s always disagreements in those situations, but it’s healthy! It means people have strong opinions about the music. Better than the alternative! My favorite is the Elvis track, Can’t help falling in love, but I’m a bit biased as not only did I choose that song, but also infer a solo on it…
How did the collaborations with Lesley Garrett and Merrill Osmond come about?
Mike: We have been friends with Lesley for nearly 15 years, having duetted with her on Barcelona back in 2005. When we were putting the ‘Love Song’ album together, we wanted to include some duets, and we were keen to duet with her again. So, we phoned her and she said yes, and even came to Gibraltar with us to record the music video for ‘All I Ask of You’ in St Michael’s Cave amongst the damp and stalactites. Jonathan has known Merrill for a while and had mentioned to him we were recording a new album, to which he said he’d love to be involved, and that was that! It’s always so humbling when musical icons want to duet with you!
Nick, the last time we spoke you were getting ready for your first concert with G4. What have been the biggest highlights for you since then and do you have any upcoming solo shows?
Nick: It’s been a bit of a whirlwind since then really. I think that first moment of walking out onto the Barbican stage for the reunion show was a big highlight – I just had no idea what to expect! But I got so much warmth from all the fans, I needn’t have been worried! Another highlight was getting to take one of our shows to South Korea! An amazing and unforgettable trip. Especially the silkworm soup. Not going to forget that in a hurry… I have a few shows in which I’m doing solos, but no fully solo shows any time soon! Keep an eye on my twitter feed for more info…
Jonathan, you have played various roles onstage and are now set on a new musical theatre collaboration called the “Les Musicals” tour with Rhydian Roberts. What are your favorite musicals and can you give us a quick preview as to what the show will be like?
Jonathan: My favorite musicals are Les Miserable and Blood Brothers. I first saw Blood Brothers when I was about 14 and I was totally transfixed on the stage throughout with floods of tears emerging at the end. That’s when my love affair with Musical Theatre begun.
‘Les Musicals’ is a concert tour celebration of the greatest hits from the West-End and Broadway. We are removing traditions also and tackling some of the biggest female showstoppers in a unique way.
Mike, you have made your opera debut in Manon Lescaut. Tell us a little bit about your preparation and experience with this role. Are there any roles you would like to perform?
Mike: The opera is by one of my favorite composers, Puccini, however I had never performed one of his roles before. I played Geronte de Ravoir who is a villain in the opera, and often laughed at, so it really gave me something to get my teeth into for my first ever opera role. I started to prepare by listing all the things that Geronte said about other people, and that other people said about Geronte during the opera to get an idea of who I was, and found during the rehearsal, as well as the shows, that I learned more about my character all the time, as it’s an ongoing process.
Ben, you will soon be on stage in scenes of Idomeneo and soon after will be involved in Mozart’s Requiem. Do you have a preference for any one composer or time period that seems to work best with your voice?
Ben: Buxton Festival Opera have been wonderful in giving me great opportunities to perform operatic roles at a professional level in amongst all of the G4 stuff. I’ve sung a lot of Mozart but also some later Germanic repertory: Beethoven, Strauss and Wagner. That’s not stuff you go into too young, so I’ve just been dipping my toes in. I still love Monteverdi, Bach, Handel, and I hope my love of that comes across when I get the chance to perform it. Having perfect pitch allows me to learn music quickly too: one of the coolest things I did was perform the role of the President in the UK premiere of Stockhausen’s Mittwoch aus Licht for Birmingham Opera Company in 2012. We repeated it at the Proms in 2013. Quite an experience!
You gentlemen have been on quite an extensive tour and are set to continue dates from September through to the end of the year. What is your favorite part about touring together?
Jonathan: Mainly the energy that builds during rehearsals and the tour itself. It’s an amazing ride to be on as we travel and perform together each day right around the UK.
Do you ever change song arrangements for the tour or are they performed close to the studio versions?
Jonathan: Versions change slightly but traditionally they remain the same. We sometimes make them a little bit more complicated on stage if we discover that there are great bits we should have added in the studio!
Ben: It depends which set of words Jon remembers at any given time…
Do you have any road essentials?
Mike: A phone charger is pretty essential these days, but also, I discovered the benefits of lavender oil last year on tour, as a few drops on the pillow each night helps calm me and give me a better night sleep when the tour bus is rolling around the country.
Ben: Tonic water and avocados.
Can you tell us a little bit about the special guests you’ve had so far and any information about the guests for the last leg of the tour?
Mike: We’ve had the fortune of singing with so many legends in music including Lesley Garrett, Sir Cliff RIchard and the late Robin Gibb, two of whom we’ve performed with at the Royal Albert Hall. Also, due to us having four different male voices, it always makes sense to have a Guest Soprano on tour with us to be able to sing some of the greatest love duets like Barcelona, I’d Do Anything for Love and All I Ask of You. Sopranos we’ve duetted with include Laura Wright, Lucy Kay, Margaret Keys, Faryl Smith and Charlotte Jaconelli to name but a few. We currently have Downton Abbey Songstress Mary-Jess on tour with us, and she’s going down an absolute storm with all the audiences.
The classical crossover genre is being pushed in all kinds of new directions including genres like hip-hop! Do you think there should be parameters as to what should be considered crossover or is it more difficult to define?
Nick: It certainly is difficult to define and should be! I think there is good and bad music in all genres, and everything should be accessible to all! The more that people test themselves by listening to music they wouldn’t normally listen to the better. Try something new, see if it moves you, if it doesn’t move on, if not then explore more!
Are there any plans for a new album in 2019?
Mike: We’re all really busy with our own projects through most of 2019, but it would be great to release a Christmas album before our Christmas tour next year!
