Semi-Toned

The university's first all-male a cappella group was formed when Eddie Henley, Simon Eaton, and Jon Minter met after a Chapel Choir rehearsal. Initially the group sang a collection of old barbershop classics in a much more formal style. After expanding to ten members the following year, Semi-Toned initiated the move away from barbershop into a modern collegiate A Cappella style. They competed for the first time in The Voice Festival UK in 2012, the UK Collegiate A Cappella competition winning both "Outstanding Arrangement" and "Outstanding Vocal Percussion". In 2013 the group won the South West regional where they were awarded "Outstanding Stagecraft and Choreography" and, once more, "Outstanding Vocal Percussion", before advancing to the London semi-final.[1] Semi-Toned made their Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut in 2013 with their show, "The Exe-Men",[2] which received a five-star review from Broadway Baby.[3]

Semi-Toned competing in The Voice Festival UK Quarter-Finals 2013

In 2014, the group reached the final of The Voice Festival UK and won awards for "Outstanding Arrangement" for their mash-up of "Dear Darlin'" by Olly Murs and "The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?)" by Ylvis, "Outstanding Overall Performance" and "Outstanding Soloist" for Michael Luya in "Motion Picture Soundtrack" by Radiohead.[1] They then continued their Edinburgh Festival Fringe success with 2014's "Toned Up!" which saw a second five-star review from Broadway Baby and a prestigious "Bobby" Award, the group becoming the first University ensemble and first A cappella group to achieve this.[4] In September the group recorded its first self-titled 5 track EP with The Vocal Company, featuring covers of John Newman, Daft Punk, Paolo Nutini, Kanye West, Jay Z and Radiohead and was released in early 2015.

Semi-Toned winning The Voice Festival UK 2015

In January 2015 for the first time, Semi-Toned competed in the Semi-Finals of the ICCA's in London, finishing in second place overall, whilst winning "Outstanding Choreography".[5] In April, Semi-Toned won The Voice Festival UK as well as "Outstanding Overall Performance".[1] Soon after they embarked on their first tour of the East Coast of the United States, visiting and performing with groups from Colombia, NYU, Princeton, Yale and North Eastern Colleges. In August, Semi-Toned performed for the third year running at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with their show "Game of Tones".[6] Just before this, they released their first professional music video, a mash-up arrangement of "If I Were A Rich Man" from Fiddler on the Roof and "Rich Girl" by Gwen Stefani which reached the front page of internet news site BuzzFeed. In 2016 the video was nominated in the Contemporary A cappella Recording Awards for Best Scholastic Video.[7]

In 2016, Semi-Toned won the Quarter-Finals of the ICCA's held in Exeter, competing against other UK A cappella groups before finishing second at the Semi-Finals in London behind eventual World Champions The Techtonics. At the same time, Semi-Toned released its second 6 track EP "Sing Theory" with Liquid Fifth with covers of Fleetwood Mac, Regina Spektor, Frank Ocean, Beyoncé and a mashup of Jungle and Chic. The group at the end of March embarked upon their second tour of the United States, this time performing a 90 minute long show in large venues and travelling over three weeks along the east coast from Florida to Connecticut, including an appearance at Virginia Arts Festival.

Through the Summer of 2016, Semi-Toned participated in Gareth Malone's BBC2 program "The Choir: Gareth's Best in Britain" which was aired in November–December 2016. After competing with groups from all over the country, on 6 December Semi-Toned was named as Gareth's Best Choir in Britain during the final in Westminster Central Hall.[8]

Shortly after winning The Choir: Gareth's Best in Britain in December 2016 Semi-Toned released their second music video, a charity fundraiser version of their Christmas Medley entitled 'A Very Semi-Toned Christmas', in support of the Order of Malta Volunteers. In January 2017 they released a third video, their cover of Beyoncé's '7/11' which was a track on their 2016 EP 'Sing Theory'. After this they toured the USA for a third time with their show of the same name, travelling across the Midwest and Western States, culminating in Richmond, KY.[9]

During the summer of 2017, Semi-Toned were invited to take part in the recording of a new Sky One television show, entitled Sing: Ultimate A Cappella, hosted by Cat Deeley.[10] Filming took place throughout the summer, with the first episode airing on 6 October 2017.[11] Semi-Toned came top of their heat, narrowly beating rival group Elle & The Pocket Belles with their performance of 'The Chain' by Fleetwood Mac to qualify for a place in the final episode. The final aired on 10 November 2017, in which Semi-Toned performed 'Careless Whisper' by George Michael and 'Don't Stop Me Now' by Queen. After their second performance, they were eliminated from the competition.

Semi-Toned released another Christmas music video in December 2018; their cover of Wizzard's 'I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday'.

• Semi-Toned (2015)
• Sing Theory (2016)
• Strike Three (2018)
• Infrared (2020)

Sing Theory and Strike Three were review by the Recorded A Cappella Review Board (RARB), scoring 4.7/5 and 4/5 stars respectively.[12][13]

• A Very Semi-Toned Christmas (2016)
• Candle in the Wind (2017)
• Sober (2019)

Candle in the Wind was also reviewed by RARB, and received a 5/5 star rating from reviewer Dom Otto Asís.[14]