Arora, stylized in allcaps with the first R backwards, and formerly called Sonos, is a vocal band based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Sonos originally grew out of a 2006 recording project and began performing and touring in 2008. The group's repertoire centers on vocal covers sung

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

with the use of effects pedals. Sonos competed in the third season of

The Sing-Off ''The Sing-Off'' is an American television singing competition featuring a cappella groups. It debuted on NBC on December 14, 2009, and was produced by Sony Pictures Television and Outlaw Productions, with Mark Burnett's One Three Media (for a t ...

on NBC and was eliminated on the fourth episode. The group changed their name to Arora in 2013 in preparation for the release of their third album, "Bioluminescence."

History

Sonos began as a recording project in 2006, composed of then current and former members of the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

co-ed

group Awaken A Cappella; the group arranged and recorded several songs. In 2007, the recording project disbanded and former members Christopher Harrison, Jessica Freedman and Paul Peglar recruited friends and colleagues Rachel Bearer, Katharine Hoye and Ben McLain to form Sonos. In the fall of 2008, the sextet began performing live and incorporating electronic effects pedals. In the summer of 2009, Sonos completed ''SonoSings, 2009'', produced by band member Harrison, as well as Gabriel Mann, and Hugo Vereker.

Sara Bareilles Sara Beth Bareilles ( ; born December 7, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. She has sold over three million albums and over 15 million singles in the United States. Bareilles has earned various accolades, including ...

was featured on the cover of her own song "Gravity" as a guest vocalist. Sonos signed onto

Verve Forecast Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * '' The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee h ...

and released SonoSings September 15, 2009, and began touring. Special appearances include live radio sessions on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

's ''

Weekend Edition ''Weekend Edition'' is a set of American radio news magazine programs produced and distributed by National Public Radio ( NPR). It is the weekend counterpart to the NPR radio program ''Morning Edition''. It consists of ''Weekend Edition Saturday ...

'',

KCRW KCRW (89.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is an NPR member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programming ...

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Americana,

Studio 360 ''Studio 360'' was an American weekly public radio program about the arts and culture hosted by novelist Kurt Andersen and produced by Public Radio Exchange (PRX) and ''Slate (magazine), Slate'' in New York City. The program's stated goal was t ...

and

Sirius XM Radio Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merger ...

; performances at

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

2011,

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

2010,

Celtic Connections The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, and has since been held every January. Featuring over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of trad ...

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

Awards and L.A. Ovation Awards; collaborations with

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...

and the

Young@Heart Young@Heart, also Young@Heart Chorus, is an entertainment group created by and for the elderly, comprised at present of people at least 70 years of age. Some have prior professional theater or music experience, others have performed at amateur le ...

Chorus at

Royce Hall Royce Hall is a building on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Designed by the Los Angeles firm of Allison & Allison (James Edward Allison, 1870–1955, and his brother David Clark Allison, 1881–1962) and completed ...

. In further collaborations, Sonos performed with Sara Bareilles at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles and sang on an

Ozomatli Ozomatli is an American rock band, formed in 1995 in Los Angeles. They are known both for their vocal activist viewpoints and incorporating a wide array of musical styles – including salsa, jazz, funk, reggae, hip hop, and others. The group ...

remix as part of their ''Ozomatli vs. KCRW Soundclash'' EP. ''Gods & Marionettes'', their collaboration with the L.A. Contemporary Dance Company and playwright David Bridel, premiered in 2010 in Los Angeles at the Ford Amphitheater and USC's Bovard Auditorium. In November 2010, Sonos released their second studio album, ''December Songs'', also self-produced. ''December Songs'' comprises holiday season classics as well as four original songs: two by Bearer, and one each by Freedman and McLain. In 2011, Sonos appeared on the Sing Off. They had 3 performances and were eliminated in the fourth week. In 2012 Sonos appeared on

Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...

' album Elysium. In July 2013, Sonos changed their name to "Arora" to reflect changes in image and style accompanying their third studio album release, "Bioluminescence." Arora says of their latest album, "Two years in the making, 'Bioluminescence' perfectly demonstrates the cinematic dream pop sound that is Arora, marrying dreamy vocals with striking production. Arora takes the album to the stage using nothing except their 5 voices and their rig of live looping and effects pedals." In 2015, they worked with Mattel for the film Barbie in Rock 'n Royals. They recorded some songs for the movie.

Members

*Jessica Freedman (soprano) *Rachel Bearer (mezzo, writer/arranger) *Katharine Hoye (alto, writer/arranger) *Ben McLain (vocal percussion, tenor, writer/arranger) *Christopher Given Harrison (bass, recording & mixing, producer, writer/arranger)

Discography

Awards

*Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARAs) **2010 ***Best Pop/Rock Song: "I Want You Back" from ''Sonosings'' **2011 ***Best Holiday Album: ''December Songs'' ***Runner up: Best Religious Song: "Ave Maria" from ''December Songs'' ***Runner up: Holiday Song: "Come December" from ''December Songs'' ***Runner up: Best Professional Original Song: "Home" from ''December Songs'' *A Cappella Community Awards (ACAs) **2011 ***Favorite Pop/Rock Group ***Favorite Female Vocalist: Jessica Freedman ***Favorite Songwriter: Ben McLain ***Favorite Arranger: Christopher Given Harrison ***Favorite Mash-Up: "Wonderwall" (arr. Katharine Hoye) *** Runner up: Favorite Professional Album: ''December Songs'' *** Runner up: Favorite Vocal Percussionist: Ben McLain *** Runner up: Favorite Live Performance Moment: Sonos set at SoJam A Cappella Festival 2010 **2010 ***Favorite Pop/Rock Group ***Favorite Professional Album ''SonoSings'' ***Favorite Female Vocalist: Jessica Freedman ***Favorite A Cappella Song: "I Want You Back" ***Favorite Gender-Bender Song/Solo: "I Want You Back" ***Most Cutting-Edge Group ***Runner up: Favorite Arranger: Christopher Given Harrison ***Runner up: Favorite Arrangement: "I Want You Back" by Christopher Given Harrison

Footnotes

External links

Official WebsiteFacebook Fan PageGroup TwitterSoundCloud
{{Authority control Professional a cappella groups