WATCH: Virtual sing-along celebrates “human spirit in adversity”

Thursday 30 July 2020

50 musicians, including some well-known local faces, have put their voices together to celebrate the “human spirit in adversity” in a track created by a Jersey-born musician and filmmaker.

Todd MacDonald, who goes by the stage name ‘Alex Alex’, is a musician, producer and filmmaker, and united these three talents to create 'Alone Together' to articulate the idea of unity in isolation.

Explaining how the song came to be, Alex Alex admitted that he couldn’t remember exactly when or how it happened in “the blur of lockdown”. 

“As I began to write, it felt like a reaction to how separated I was feeling from everyone and how so suddenly this was such a universal feeling,” he explained. 

“I think it’s the first time I’ve felt such a strong sense of collective emotion and I think that’s what made me write something that wasn’t just about my position but everyone’s.”

Video: 'Alone Together' features nearly 50 musicians.

Whilst creating the track, the musician imagined “a wall of voices all singing together”. “There’s nothing quite like the sound of a big group of people singing together,” he said.

To find these voices, he issued a public invitation for collaborators to “sing, dance and generally have a good time” in a “a celebration of the human spirit in adversity”.

The response was huge, the musician said, with nearly 50 musicians including the likes of Jersey artists, Sam Walwyn, Rhumba Club, Optimistic Voices, Winterfalle, and Tom Rolls sending their videos, which he then edited into one “epic music video”, which has been released today. 

Pictured: Local musicians such as Sam Walwyn, Rhumba Club, Optimistic Voices, Winterfalle, and Tom Rolls also took part. 

Alex Alex said he was delighted with the response, despite not knowing what to expect in the first place. 

“I realised early on that I was asking quite a lot of people to film themselves singing,” he explained.

“It’s a vulnerable thing to do if you’re not a musician or performer of some kind. I feel incredibly grateful to the people who got involved despite this. Their contribution during this time is a huge demonstration of strength and kindness which I feel very moved by. 

“If any of them were feeling hesitant or unwilling, then I hope they love what they’ve seen in the end. They certainly did a good job of hiding it from me during the production!”

Pictured: "Their contribution during this time is a huge demonstration of strength and kindness which I feel very moved by."

The project kept the musician and producer busy throughout lockdown and evolved into something he hopes “encapsulate this time we’ve been through, and the ways in which we can be even more united during times of difficulty and isolation".

“We’ve seen a huge array of inspiring and uplifting projects of this nature in the last few months and I think it’s definitely enhanced our ideas about how collaborative art can be made,” Alex Alex said.

“I think that often one of the most productive things about the creative process are the restrictions that are imposed. With everyone being required to stay at home, that was a huge restriction in creating something widely collaborative. 

Pictured: "Great art is often all about problem solving."

“Great art is often all about problem solving though and we are already living in an age where the continued creative use of technology and communication is rapidly developing all the time. 

“This was a hugely engaging challenge for me which I learnt a huge amount from so who knows what we might end up doing in the future.”