Two years after the release of their last album, the critically acclaimed Cornell a capella group, The Chordials, released their ninth album, Surface, on Friday.
The Chordials, founded in 1997, have been nominated for 14 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards, according to their press release.
“Surface is our ninth studio album and is a collection of all of our favorite songs from the past two years” said Chordials’ President, Grace Becker ’17. “Recording albums is an important part of our identity as a group, so I’m sure Surface will not be our last.”
Because budgetary allocations for clubs by the Student Assembly Funding Commission do not include funds for media equipment, the group used private funds to support this project, according to Dedzidi Ladzekpo, ’16, another member of The Chordials.
“A lot of the fundraising happens through ticket sales at our concerts and other performances around campus,” she said. “This time, we also did a small fundraiser on our social media.”
The album “aims to process all of the emotions that might arise during a drastic life change,” according to Rocco Recce ’17, Business Manager. He added that the album guides its listeners through a “tough, toxic situation.”
“The album outlines every stage of the transition, mostly in the context of relationships,” Recce said. “From pre-surfacing, to post-surfacing, and the act of crossing over itself, our music aims to process all of the emotions that might arise during a drastic life change.”
The group chose the songs for the album based on which they thought audiences would be most receptive to, according to Anita Alur ’17, another member of The Chordials.
“During each semester, the Musical Director and Assistant Musical Director essentially looked through the group’s repertoire from the prior term to decide which songs had the most recording potential.”
The album is a collaborative effort of the group members, according to Brian Gips ’15.
“This album was recorded over four sessions spanning three semesters, but the full production took about two years” said Gips.
While Ladzekpo said she hopes the album resonates with students at Cornell, she also said she hopes it also reaches beyond the Cornell Community.
“We also hope our album reaches people throughout the a cappella community, such as the groups at Ithaca College, that we have connected with throughout the years.”