My Repetoire...

-take7

A demo recording of one of South Africa's most beloved choral classics.  Originally composed by Mike Moerane.  Vocal arrangement done by Vuyo Tshuma.  You can access the notation at www.africappella.com/products/sylvia_notation.pdf 

Sylvia Demo

This is the demo of a wedding song that I wrote with Siedah Garrett -- and which I recently sang live (with Nita Whitaker) at Siedah's own wedding to Erik Nuri.

This demo features Siedah and myself on vocals.

"Bless This Union" (Song Demo)

a demo i created for a recent movie score. i sang all parts and played all instruments.

the director wanted it to sound like the score to "butch cassidy and the sundance kid." little did he know, that score was performed by 'the swingle singers,' and i'd grown up listening to them. literally. (ultimately the director abandoned the "butch cassidy" idea.)

Mervyn Warren - "PM Swingle" (demo)

an unreleased version of a track from the #1 film "the wedding planner." 

i wrote the underscore for the film, and this song's melody is based upon my main theme from the film. lyrics by david zippel.

although the song does appear on the official soundtrack (http://amzn.to/oIbQTE), there was a problem making a deal with dana glover's label. so, on the soundtrack they released the DEMO, which featured another vocalist.

oh, the politics of the music business.  :-)

Dana Glover & Mervyn Warren - "Plan On Forever" from 'The Wedding Planner' (2001)

a diet-coke spot i did, eons ago. (man, would i love to retouch 4 or 5 of the lead-vocal notes with melodyne.) all vocals performed by myself, except vocal guitar by david thomas and bass by alvin chea (both of take 6).

"Diet Coke" - A Cappella 60 (circa 1997)

words & music by Mervyn Warren
performed by Mervyn Warren

"Say It Isn't So"

This is a demo of a song I wrote for my 2012 film "Joyful Noise," starring Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton. 

I was asked to write an uplifting, choir ballad with no solos and minimal drums. (Of course I hear ad-libs and drums all over this thing, but omitted them, as requested.)  :-)  I'm playing and singing everything you hear.

Ultimately, this song did not make it into the film. Them's the breaks!

My Repetoire...

Patrick Kembele