Just ‘phil’ the music: a cappella group releases new album

By Hannah Lee     11/12/24 10:10pm

Step one: Say hi to PHIL, the jolly stick figure on the cover of the Philharmonics’ newest album: “still phil.”

Step two: Click the play button for arrangements of songs by artists like Joji, Conan Gray and Taylor Swift.

Step three: Listen. Did you notice yet? There are no musical instrumentals, only voices.

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Rice Philharmonics, the oldest a cappella group on campus — nicknamed “The Phils” — released their album “still phil” on Spotify Aug. 16, marking the end of a project started in 2022. The album boasts a nine-song tracklist, each an a cappella arrangement of mainstream songs like “People Watching” by Conan Gray or “Every Summertime” by NIKI. 

For “still phil” to come to life, the Phils made a cappella arrangements of songs they wanted to record. Some of these songs had already been performed at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella in 2022, including “Same Old Blues” and “Diamonds,” both of which are mashups of songs from artists like Rihanna, Sam Smith and more. 

According to Josh Paik, Phils’ music director, members could also suggest songs to be arranged.

“Phils is unique in the way we arrange all of our own music,” Paik, a Duncan College junior, said. “That [isn’t] common amongst a lot of collegiate a cappella groups.”. 

Rita Ajit, now Phils’ president and first-year member at the time of recording, said she appreciated the amount of input every member had in choosing the setlist. 

“The whole group had a discussion about what was going to be on [the album],” Ajit, a Lovett College senior, said. “Usually, it’s up to the people who make the arrangements because [they] make these [songs] come to life. But I still feel like there was a group-wide consensus about all the songs.”

After finalizing the arrangements, recording began. While most students may remember Fondren Library as a study hub, Ajit remembers its basement — which houses the digital media commons — differently.

“Fondren was just the place I went to study,” Ajit said. “And then it [became] the place where we’re producing this whole album that will eventually be on Spotify.”

Unlike other voice parts with sheet music, Paik, the group’s beatboxer, said it would have been difficult to transcribe beatboxing the same way. 

“The thing is, you can’t really put beatbox in [sheet music],” Paik said. “I thought about how the drums work in this song. How can I try to improve the rhythm of this? The kind of mood that is brought about by this beat?”

Record. Not satisfied? Repeat. The Phils would spend hours recording in Fondren’s basement, according to Dhilani Premaratne, the Phils’ publicity manager. 

“We would try to take each song fully from the beginning to the end without cutting too much … that was the ideal take,” Premaratne, a Jones College junior, said.

According to Premaratne, the experience of recording songs in a studio was new to the a cappella group.

“I didn’t have experience with [recording]. I think most of us didn’t,” Premaratne said. “We listened to our music director and recording manager give us input to make sure that we felt comfortable in the studio environment.”

According to Paik, finalizing the album took a long time because of the Phils’ three-year cycle of competing at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella, going on tour and producing an album. Now, after nearly three years, “still phil” is available on platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. 

While it’s a celebratory moment for the Phils, according to Ajit, it’s also bittersweet, because many voices and artistic touches of the album belong to members who have since graduated. Ajit said that ‘PHIL’, the hand-drawn stickman that serves as the album’s cover art, was drawn by a Phils’ alumni.

“Our old music director, Audrey Ma designed this little guy. She graduated last year,” Ajit said.

But despite the time that passes, some Phils traditions keep the former and current members connected, according to Ajit.

“For our last song at our homecoming concert, we always sing ‘Africa’ by Toto. It’s just a Phils tradition,” Ajit said. “For that song, we always ask if there are any Phil’s alumni in the audience [to] come back up and sing with us. This year, there were four alumni [who] came back on stage. It just felt more complete.”

While the name “still phil” is a clever pun on the album’s title track, “Still Feel,” it takes on a deeper meaning for all generations of the Phils, Ajit said.

“Phils is something that continues after you graduate … Phils is so much more than what we do in rehearsals and concerts,” Ajit said. “It’s also [the] friendship that you take with you … preserving those memories that you made together, and, remembering that that part of you is forever there. Having [the album] be called ‘still phil’, reminds all those other people who’ve worked on it, that they’re also still Phil.” 

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