As I mentioned when talking about my last vocal experiments, I didn’t really like how my voice sounded. This is partly down to the fact that I barely ever hear my voice recorded, but also I think because of how I had edited the voice. Whilst the experiments I did were all successful and offered differing moods, I felt that they lacked the intimacy I wanted. I really intended for the processing to be subtle but purposeful, transforming the voice in a way that feels organic.
I came to reference a Kodwo Eshun quote from ‘More Brilliant Than the Sun’, a book I have already referenced in the last blog post. Speaking on the genre of dub, Eshun hints at the idea of “space as an invasive force on the song, x-raying the song structure, disembodying the song” (1998, p.058).
I read this quote and began to think differently about how the spoken word would best be presented. Instead of a constant underlying soundscape, I began to envision an empty space reminiscent of a vacuum, where sound doesn’t travel. This image in my mind prompted me to take a ‘less is more’ approach and focus on the editing of the vocal recording in isolation. I wanted to spend more time and focus on how I could most effectively produce the effect of a human/cybernetic hybrid, with the voice being positioned as an unstable force in itself. Instead of filling the space, intricately placed effects and automations on the voice would emit out into the void, eventually being consumed by the blank space – this approach situates the absence of sound as arguably the most present element of the composition.
I felt that the previous vocal processing was a bit too heavy and sounded as if it had been added to the voice, whereas I wanted to create something that sounded like it was genuinely part human and part machine. I started this process by using the recorded sample of me speaking the poem and putting it into Phase Plant. I then used a spectral wavetable with a good amount of harmonics to modulate the phase of the recording, and muted the sound of the wave. This created frequency modulation within the vocal sample itself and already began to achieve the effect I was after. I applied some light delay to this, with a quick delay time and low amount of feedback, so that there was a subtle ‘ghost vocal’ that quickly faded away.
I then used Ableton’s ‘beat repeat’ effect to stutter the vocals, and used a random LFO to modulate the rate and loop time of the beat repeat. This further extended the machine-like effect on the voice as it made the voice sound like it was glitching and not working properly, as if it was a machine that had not been fixed in a while. Finally, I used my initial background vocals to enhance the impact of certain lines, and I feel that this gave the sound more scope and makes the listener aware of how big the space around the vocals is. I also decided to use one of the synth atmospheres towards the end of the track to build up some intensity before it abruptly ends.
Overall I feel this more minimal and considered approach creates a much more effective product, with the sound design being totally formed off the back of one vocal recording. This version sounds more immersive due to the domination of space, so when delays or background sounds fill the space the overall track feels more ominous. That being said, the vocals have more of an intimacy because there are simply less frequencies masking them, so the words are delivered in a very direct way.