By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
The popular talent show ``Britain's Got Talent'' has discovered its share of musical sensations like Paul Potts, Andrew Johnston, Connie Talbot, and most recently, Susan Boyle.
The all-female electronic string quartet Escala is proving to be no exception.
Composed of cellist Tasya Hodges, violinist Izzy Johnston, violist Chantal Leverton and violinist Victoria Lyon, the group found fame when they reached the finale of ``Britain's Got Talent" last year.
In an e-mail interview with The Korea Times, Hodges talked about Escala's experience joining the hit TV show and recording their first album.
The four girls met when they worked in the string section of the orchestra on tour with band McFly in 2005. Prior to that, Leverton and Lyon were in a junior orchestra together, and Leverton also worked with Johnston in a group named Wild.
``We were all originally musicians, and the community is small, so we knew each other for a long time. … The four of us got together as a band to play at parties and weddings. We've been together for four years,'' Hodges said.
Escala performed at an after-party for British show ``X-Factor,'' which is also produced by the same people behind ``Britain's Got Talent.''
``A producer came over and asked us if we ever thought about being on the show. We talked about it and decided to be on the show. The whole thing was an amazing experience. We had great fun, and the people we met were really nice,'' Hodges said.
Escala got rave reviews from the panel of judges, including Simon Cowell, for their electrifying performances of ``Palladio'' and ``Live and Let Die.'' It could not be denied that the girls had talent, but their beautiful and glamorous looks also helped.
Despite not winning the show, Escala's talent did not go unnoticed and the group signed a record deal with Sony BMG last year. The group worked with producer Trevor Horn on their self-titled debut album, which was released last May.
``It was an amazing privilege to work with Trevor Horn. He was really detailed about his work, it once took him three weeks to get the drums right. We didn't know what to expect at first, but he was a good person. We recorded until one or two in the morning, and started recording at 10 in the morning the next day,'' Hodges said.
Escala also collaborated with former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash on a cover version of Led Zeppelin's ``Kashmir.'' The girls never got to meet Slash since they recorded it separately, but Hodges is still happy to have worked with him.
``I have two brothers, and to them, I became the world's coolest sister, because I worked with Slash,'' she said.
Amid their newfound fame and hectic work schedule, the friendship between the four girls remains strong. Hodges said they are all very opinionated, but they don't fight.
``We each have opinions about music and we can't always have the same opinion. But among all the groups I've been in, there was never a group like this. All four of us deserve a place in the group. If we bicker about something, which is rare, it's because we're tired, we're on the road, and sometimes we have a 21-hour day. But arguments are rare in this group,'' she said.
Escala is in the middle of promotions for their first album, and hope to perform around the world, including Korea. ``I can't wait to tour all over the world,'' Hodges said.