MALIK ARSHAQ
UNORTHODOX
VOCAL PROCESSING TECHNIQUES
It can be agreed upon that the vocals on a song predominantly shape it, at least in most cases. And with the development in technology, the possibilities, when it comes to processing vocals, are endless. In this edition we shall go through a few unconventional vocal processing techniques and dissect some music from artists that employ them frequently.
One of the most iconic techniques is using a vocoder. From subtle usage in tracks such as“ In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins, to artists such as the French house producers Daft Punk, the vocoder has been used to get a wide selection of results. Initially developed to serve as a speech coder for telecommunication purposes, it uses vocals to filter out the signal of a musical instrument to produce a strange melodic-speech effect. A similar effect can be achieved by an equally well-known device, the talkbox. Showcased in songs such as“ Jambi” by Tool as well as“ It ' s My Life” by Bon Jovi, the first being a groovy progressive metal track and the latter a pop-rock number, it serves very different purposes.
Autotune is a processing technique that is widely looked down upon as it seen as an on-record crutch for bad singers to disguise off-key inaccuracies by tuning the vocals to the nearest correct note. But artists like T-Pain, for instance, who is an extremely talented and efficient singer, uses it as a trademark technique or production aesthetic in his music.
Kanye West is another producer who has worked towards seamlessly integrating vocals as a part of the instrumentals. From sampling Daft Punk’ s signature vocoder sections on“ Stronger” to the intricate choirstyle vocal layering on“ Jesus Walks”, he manages to showcase the human voice as a timeless instrument.
As hip hop had adopted sampling and began experimenting with all the possibilities that it had brought about, a lot of producers began re-pitching vocals and chopping them to rearrange them as a part of the instrumental. Jay-Z’ s 2017 track“ The Story Of O. J” had a pitched up and chopped version of Nina Simone’ s vocals on“ Four Women”. While this brings a completely new sonic flavour to the track, the vocals are also placed in a certain context to support the completely different narrative.
While this technique has been around since the 70’ s, today, radio-friendly pop music has saturated the air waves with pitched up and chopped vocals. A long list of pop and EDM artists, including Beyoncé, Major Lazer, Skrillex and even Justin Bieber, have employed this technique to produce repetitive and catchy hooks. The overuse of pitching in modern pop has led to a lot of artists sounding the same and in a lot of cases, unoriginal.
On the other hand, English singer and producer, James Blake, takes vocal effects and processing to a completely different level. A perfect example of his prowess is the song“ If the car besides you moves ahead”. With his signature minimalist percussion and synth sections, the absolutely dizzying and aliensounding vocals take center stage. Varied levels of reverb, layering, filtering, chopping up and tasteful re-pitching pushes the listener into a ethereal state.
With the rise of the DAW-based production trend, achieving these results has been made a lot more accessible and is limited only by our imagination and taste.
The Score Magazine highonscore. com
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