Four young men and four young women formed their a cappella group apes&babes in Norway in 1999, thinking it would only be a small summer project, but it took off from the first tone. Enthusiastic audiences demanded more, and since then the eight singers have ridden their fiery energy, driving rhythms and musical playfulness to success in several festivals and memorable concerts throughout Norway. Now they are based in Chicago, and in addition to saying that we think they should seriously consider entering the Chicago Regionals of the Harmony Sweepstakes in 2010, we really like this group! They started out with the intention of pushing the a cappella envelope, to sing pop without instruments and still sound like a band-and they have created a fresh, richly harmonic unique sound with faux instruments and an infectious spirit that continues to delight audiences (and judges!). There are 12 songs here, many with Norwegian titles, but the songs spoke to us very clearly, whether we understood the words or not. "Bei mir bist du schon," is the U.S. hit from the Swing era sung in German and English; you might remember "La Cumparsita," sung in Spanish, as "Hernando's Hideaway;" "La Sagesse" (Women, I'm Calling You) is a powerful tribute to the wisdom of women, mostly sung in English; "Little Sparrow" is a traditional folk tune with a strong message, and the Bulgarian folk tune "Gankino Horo" recalls the Swingle Singers with its driving symphony of nonsense syllables. "Miseriou" is a traditional Greek folk dance, brought to us in several different "ape-styles" and "Nane Coha" is a popular song among the Romany people about a girl who is getting married, but alas, has no dress. "Tika Tiki Kardi" by the Iranian singer Arash Labaf, is a driving, dramatic deep-bass folk tune, and the opening song, "Villemann og Magnhild" is a medieval Norwegian ballad about trolls, heroes and love. A beautifully designed liner notes booklet gives us the stories behind the songs and all the lyrics. Great stuff, from beginning to end-don't miss your chance to take a walk on this very cool a cappella planet!