Four Gonville & Caius College students are competing in Take it to the Bridge, a ‘battle of the bands’ competition run by the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Music Performance. The prize? A set at this summer’s Cambridge Club Festival, performing in front of thousands alongside world renowned artists such as Chaka Khan, Sister Sledge, Melanie C, and Jessie Ware.
The four Caians are in three different bands. Sarah O’Callaghan (Medicine 2019) and Finlay Gerrand (Physics PhD 2021) are in Quasar and Gabriel Arpino (Engineering PhD 2021) is in Temor with Fin Waugh (Music 2021), who is in two bands on the night. The contest takes place on Friday 1 March at The Junction (J1) in Cambridge, with East Street on a Tit and Soft Crunchy Landing, with Fin on trumpet, also performing.
Jasmine Habgood met with Finlay and Gabriel to find out more.
Temor, with Gabriel on double bass and Fin on trumpet, left (credit: Temor), and, pictured right, Quasar, with Sarah on vocals and Finlay visible in the background on drums (credit: Quasar)
Could you tell us more about your bands, and what we can expect from your upcoming sets at ‘Take it to the Bridge’?
Gabriel (Temor): “I formed Temor when I started my PhD here in 2021. Temor means fear in Portuguese, and as band, we feel that fear can sometimes be a good thing. At ‘Take it to the Bridge’ we’ll be performing a set of original material, with no standards or covers, for the first time, which will feel very vulnerable for us. Our unique sound comes from a blend of all our individual interests. I’d say our music is Classic Jazz with Groove, inspired by Latin American and Classical influences.”
Finlay (Quasar): “Quasar was initially set-up as the house band for the Hip-Hop Society. We take tracks from various genres like Hip Hop, RnB and Jazz and arrange them for our line-up. Sarah, our vocalist and another Caian, is other-worldly. She’s so versatile and can sing anything, from Jay-Z to Adele, to Ella Fitzgerald. She also sang in The Choir of Gonville & Caius College for a long time, so she has a lot of varied vocal experience and excellent training. We also have two rappers who write their own bars which is truly one of our USPs as a band.”
What would it mean to have the support of Caius students and staff at this event?
Gabriel (Temor): “It would mean a lot! Especially as there’s an audience vote! It’d be great to have the support from staff and students, and for people to see the talent that comes from Caius! Caius offers a lot of support for their music students; last year, I received the Grabowski music award from Caius which I put towards my instrumental lessons.”
Finlay (Quasar): “Historically, with the shows Temor and Quasar have done together, we’ve had a lot of support from the Caius MCR, which is always great. I’ve felt supported by Caius College through the Co-curricular Grant. It can be quite expensive keeping equipment up to date and maintained. Last year I used the grant to purchase some new bits of percussion, and to buy a new cymbal bag when mine fell apart!”
How would it feel to win the ‘Take it to the Bridge’ final?
Gabriel (Temor): “It would mean a lot to be recognised in the scene, especially as a jazz band. This will be our first time performing only original material, so it’d be a great opportunity for us to showcase our more vulnerable material and break into the broader music scene. In terms of our own individual performances, I’m sure we’re going to do the best we can, but if our friends win rather than us, I think it’s still a win!”
Finlay (Quasar): “It would be great to win, and to get the opportunity to perform at the Cambridge Club Festival. For us it would make a huge difference to play in a professional setting, with a big stage and proper gripping. It will require a huge level of professionalism and it would be great to get the recognition – for whichever band wins! All the bands on the bill are seriously brilliant, and they all have their own thing that they offer, so we’ll see what happens on the night.”
Could you both sum up your bands in three words?
Gabriel (Temor): Fearless, Groove, Democratic
Finlay (Quasar): High Energy, Unique, Genre-bending
For more information, and to purchase tickets please visit: https://www.cmp.cam.ac.uk/events/event/item/take-it-to-the-bridge/
