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Keeping it real

The Real Group from Sweden is the star attraction of the Second Taipei Philharmonic Summer Festival, which hits the stage tonight at Kaohsiung's Cultural Center, and tomorrow and Sunday at Taipei's Concert Hall. The 17-year-old vocal group of five were college pals who decided to get together to sing the music they love. Their repertoire ranges form Swedish folk, to pop, to jazz. The group uses only their voices, but these are often employed, to great effect, to imitate the sounds of musical instruments.

Arriving in Taipei, the group - comprised of two women and three men - talked jovially about their families and showed photos from home. Each of the band members sings, composed, and if you ask who is the leader of the band, all will raise their hands. They have toured around the world but this is the group's first trip to Taiwan. Their nine CDs are ubiquitous throughout Scandinavia, and when their hit single Commonly Unique was released last October, more than 16,000 people downloaded the song from the band's Web site.

Having recently finished a stunning performance earlier this month in Finland, where 8,000 fans packed the venue, the Real Group is excited to show their regional tunes to audiences in Taiwan, their second stop on a trip to Asia after playing in Japan. Their two albums will be distributed for the first time in Taiwan too. Commonly Unique was released last year and One for All was released in 1998.

The festival also includes a grand finale concert on Sunday featuring American conductor Jerry Jordan of the University of Mississippi Concert Singers who will lead the Taipei Philharmonic Chorus in a variety of American folk songs, African-American spirituals and contemporary compositions. Foundation for Culture and Education at 2773-3691.
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