AFL Hyperscale Band ‘The Hyperscalers’ were back for another Christmas original by our very own Miles Walsh, joined once again by lead vocalist Dan Brown, violinist Lesley Burrell, and new vocal additions from Rhiannon Robertson and Ros Neat.
Last year, the popular ‘December Snow’ raised £1,100. This year, Miles wrote a more rock-inspired number and together with the band raised an impressive £1,952 for MK Food Bank. Mk Food Bank, established in 2004, supports more than 5,000 families in the local family every year.
The cost-of-living crisis is affecting more and more people. In 2022, MK Food Bank gave out some 15,000 emergency food parcels. This figure is 30% more than last year and is consistently increasing.
“In the last 18 months MK Food Bank have supported around 1 in 30 households across Milton Keynes. This means on average one in every school class, at least one in each street, and probably one in your workplace. And every week at least 50 people contact us for the very first time.” (Source: MK Food Bank official website).
This year’s song, ‘Santa Brought a Guitar’, proved to be a catchy and immensely popular number.
“It was great to be able to work with a slightly larger group on this year's song. Everyone gave it 100% and jumped in with great enthusiasm. After doing a serious song last year, I wanted to redress the balance a little, and do something a bit lighter and rockier this year. As is usually the case, the title popped into my head first of all - then I looked at my (somewhat ridiculous) guitar collection, and the idea of our central character getting a bunch of different guitars for Christmas took hold - very loosely based on my own lifelong obsession.
Once the idea was there, and we knew who had signed up, I let it stew for a day or two, thought about how the story might develop, how it might tie into some video ideas - then writing the actual song down and filling the gaps took maybe an hour, as I already had everything plotted out and knew where I wanted to go with it. I'm pretty pleased with how it came out, delighted with the money raised for a very worthy cause, and feel really grateful to be able to use my modest talents in a positive way.”
Miles has been with us for over ten years. He started displaying his musical talents with the recorder as a child, progressing to the clarinet in local orchestras and wind bands before teaching himself guitar. He also plays bass, keyboard, and drums.
Lesley has been a Product Engineer with us for two years now. She has always had a keen interest in music and played the trumpet and guitar as a child before taking a hiatus, returning with a vengeance to take up the violin. Lesley has experimented with various musical genres (particularly progressive rock and jazz fusion) and currently plays classical music in the Northampton Symphony Orchestra.
This was Lesley’s second time performing in The Hyperscalers, and this is what she had to say about this year's performance:
“Rehearsing and recording the Christmas song was a lot of fun! It's great to find other musicians within the company and using my musical interest to raise money for a good cause has been a satisfying experience. Release day is a bit nerve racking, but the response and support we have received has been fantastic!”
Lead Vocalist Dan, our Commercial Lead for Colocation Data Centers (EMEA), was also back for a second year in a row. Dan has been part of the AFL family since 2008 and is always willing to take on a challenge in the name of charity!
When asked how it felt to be back behind the microphone, Dan had this to say:
“It was really great to be involved in the charity single again and even more so having additional colleagues taking part. I enjoyed the more upbeat tempo of the single this year and the reaction from everyone was fantastic. Everyone in the band really let themselves go and went in all guns blazing, which came across in the video. Great effort from Miles in the writing of the single, recording of the video, and the recording of the vocals (extra thanks for the auto tune). Donations were flying in for such a worthy charity. It really gives you a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that those less fortunate will benefit massively from everyone's work and generosity. Well done team AFL. “
One of the newcomers, Ros Neat (head of Technical Compliance and Quality) has been with the company since 2011 and sings in her local church choir.
Ros had this to say about her experience: “Recording the 2022 Christmas song on one Saturday afternoon was hard work but really worthwhile for our charity. I now really appreciate the skill of band backing singers and even more the patience and skill of our musical director, Miles Walsh. My singing experience is choral style in a local Church choir and a choral society providing concerts.”
Rhiannon, our copywriter (and other new band addition), joined us in November 2021. Rhiannon was concealing a theater kid past and decided to come out of hiding for a good cause and contribute some backing harmonies to the project.
“I used to sing in a lot of theater ensembles when I was younger but haven’t sung publicly (aside from the odd regrettable pub karaoke session) for about 15 years. I don’t particularly enjoy hearing my voice being played back, but I do enjoy getting the chance to take part in charity projects that will make a difference to the local community, so it was worth it! Miles expertly guided me through the process and was very patient with me.”
A big well done to the band for all their hard work and a special thank you to everyone who donated to this worthy cause. What a wonderful way to kick off the new year!
