Q&A With Elisabeth Swedlund, founder and leader of the choir Ready Singer One. Ready Singer One calls itself the UK’s nerdiest choir – and they sing songs from video games, anime, science fiction and fantasy movies.
Q. So, first of all, where did the idea for Ready Singer One come from?
I really have a love for choral music and for the genre of video game music and I was astonished there wasn’t a choir singing that type of music. Other genres of music can be quite restrictive in the subjects they cover. Lots of choral music is religious whilst lots of pop music is songs about love. But the genres we sing are about immersing yourself in vast fictional worlds, and playing characters (not necessarily human). So the possibilities are endless.
I studied opera, which is basically storytelling through singing. But opera can be seen as outdated. Music for video games brings back the element of storytelling. The music budget for the gaming industry is bigger than the music budget for any other industry – even bigger than film.
Q. The choir started in 2020. How did you initially find people who wanted to sing that kind of music?
I found a lot of internet communities. I posted on Reddit. I posted on lots of different Facebook groups. It was very much word of mouth. Now we have three different locations and over 150 members. The big surprise was that no one else in London was doing this before
Q. One of the things I really like about the choir is that it has a very even female-male split? Is that deliberate?
It 100% happened organically. I’ve never engineered it. I just target nerds and that’s it! I’ve had a few men come and talk to me who say, “This choir is good because even if they enjoy the music and the repertoire of other choirs, they’re surrounded by 90% sopranos and altos and it’s a bit much for them.” So I think men come to our choir because they enjoy the theme and also because they feel like they’re part of a proper section as well. So I’m happy. I’m delighted.
Q. Tell me about some of the different places that you’ve performed.
We’ve performed in a lot of niche nerd events, like Comic-Con and EGX. We’ve done a few things with the Science Museum. Lots of events which have to do with Japanese culture because we do a lot of anime. In October we sang to a packed Trafalgar Square at the Japan Matsuri which was very exciting. We’ve also sung on the BBC as part of a collaboration with the BBC Singers and sung at the Choirblast festival. So we go from mainstream to very niche.
Q. And do you have any personal favourites in the repertoire?
We sing Sogno di Volare from the game Civilization by Christopher Tin. He’s a great composer. I personally love Guren no Yumiya from Attack on Titan. I just like the really high energy ones. And maybe Dragonborn (from Skyrim) as well, because it’s a huge energy release, but in a really positive cathartic way.
Q. The choir recently expanded from 2 nights to 3 nights. Do you have plans to keep expanding?
I always say I’m less keen for it to expand in numbers. I’m more keen for it to expand in terms of really good concert opportunities and getting the musical level better and better. I want to keep on doing more and more musically interesting stuff. And in my dreams we’d do the BBC Proms!
Q. How important is the social aspect of the choir?
That’s something I hadn’t anticipated – I was quite surprised how much of a social community it’s become. I think it’s because there is something which links us all, which is our love of all kinds of different fictional stories. And there are a lot of introverts in the choir as well, because of the nature of the genres. So people kind of find their people. And a lot of members have told me that now many of their close friends are people they’ve met through the choir. In Ready Singer One you can get a ready-made social life! It’s something that obviously I don’t really control, it happens organically. Choir members meet up to play D&D campaigns or board games. People meet a lot just for movies, sushi making, karaoke, quizzes, all kinds of activities. It’s wonderful.
Q. And what are there any sort of pieces on your list that you really want to do to introduce the repertoire?
There are quite a few gaming pieces which are quite famous which we don’t have in the repertoire yet. Snake Eater from Metal Gear. That’s one which is really cool with a big jazz band feel. We’ve done Baba Yetu once, and I really want to bring it back.
You can hear Ready Singer One at the Omnibus Theatre on 1st December or find out more about them at https://readysingerone.co.uk
