Efter at Ben Folds via Youtube erfarede, at hans sange var populære blandt college vokalgrupper besluttede han at udgive et album med titlen Ben Folds Presents: University A Capella.
Albummet er kommet til at indeholde 16 sange fordelt på 14 grupper. Blandt grupperne er Spartones fra University of North Carolina, hvor Ben Folds også selv har gået. Spartones har indspillet en medley af numrene ”Magic”, ”Brick”, ”Evaporated”, ”Fair” og ”Army”.
Om sine egne sanges egnethed til a capella udtaler Ben Folds følgende til Billboard:
“My songs have all the things you’d hope they’d have, because they’re classical structured. It’s pop music, but they’re built to be interesting in their voicing and chord changes. They’re kind of made for elaborate arrangements, so it makes sense to me they would appeal to these (groups). I’m a songwriter first,” he explains, “and yet I’ve never really been covered. In a funny way, I still always think of the (recordings), when I do them, like demos. I figure they’re going to be covered by somebody important one day. So of course I was thrilled. I got to hear the songs actually take flight. These are the songs doing what they’re supposed to do.”
Ben Folds er også i gang med at skrive sange til sit kommende ’rigtige’ album og han har allerede 18 sange klar. Den britiske forfatter Nick Hornby hjælper til med tekstskrivningen, og juni måned er sat af til at indspille.
Ben Folds Presents: University A Capella udkommer den 28. april.
