Artists inspire through their works, which is what the duets of Spring Sing aspire to do. This year’s Spring Sing will feature four duet acts that vary from being classically influenced to technologically charged. The duet groups include Auni featuring Bryan West, Arianna and Kabir, Cameron and Mike, and Los Dos.
“Nobody really likes boxing their music into a genre,” said Auni Hovanesian, a fourth-year creativity and society student. Hovanesian sings and plays guitar along with Bryan West, a fifth-year cello performance and music composition student, who accompanies her on the cello in the act.
When asked to define their musical style, Hovanesian described that it resembles folk with splashes of pop and classical influence. Hovanesian’s influences include artists like Regina Spektor, Feist and classical composers, such as Franz Schubert.
“We really like playing around with textural stuff,” Hovanesian said.
Los Dos also possesses a distinct texture as they synthesize sounds electronically, with fourth-year theater student Reider Larsen on vocals and the omnichord.
“For how much we are able to put into the song … (it makes it) a little absurd in what we are able to do,” Larsen said.
The group’s indie-electronic style gives them a rockstar, mad-scientist kind of vibe, said Charlie Domingo, a recent UCLA graduate, who plays bass and cues sound samples through the computer.
On a different musical path, Arianna Afsar, first-year undeclared life science student, and partner Kabir Nigam, first-year microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics student, pose an unlikely yet comfortable match despite their musical differences, which includes Nigam’s taste for rock and metal as opposed to Afsar’s more mellow jazz and pop music.
“We are opposite in our musical tastes, but the way we create music works well together,” Afsar said.
Afsar provides the vocal talent, having participated in last year’s season of American Idol, while Nigam accompanies her on the guitar. Together, Afsar and Nigam said they agree that their style is jazzy pop, which is influenced by artists like Adele and John Mayer.
Pop sounds are also part of third-year ethnomusicology students Cameron Hovsepian and Mike Greenwood’s duet, except they give a classic twist to the newer sounds.
Hovsepian described that their musical style is similar to that of Jason Mraz’s, if he incorporated a lot of jazz techniques.
“A lot of people our age don’t want to listen to too much jazz so you have got to give it to them in a way that they’ll understand it and want to hear it. … I feel that’s how (our music) comes out,” Hovsepian said.
Their classical combination creates a new sound for the average audience member.
“I want some people to respect something a little different,” said Greenwood, in reference to their jazz style and techniques.
Jazz is a very important part of their music, which they hope to share with the Spring Sing audience.
All of the duets hope to leave a lasting impression on their audience this Friday with their meaningful, original work.
“The whole reason of writing this song, at least for me, is what kind of feelings I would want to put out to my peers on the eve of my graduation,” Larsen said.
For Los Dos, their song is a farewell. For Auni featuring Bryan West, Spring Sing is a way to spread their music to a larger audience.
“I hope people will sort of feel the music and be … touched by the message,” Hovanesian said.
Other students such as Nigam and Afsar said they are happy to showcase the results of their unique collaboration.
“It’s just so weird how different we are in terms of our musical abilities. … In the end it came together really nicely,” Afsar said.
And duets like Greenwood and Hovsepian are excited to be at the show.
“When the actual show comes, you are happy you made the journey,” Greenwood said.