On Nov 3, 2005, at 3:53 PM, Ian Malbon wrote:
Clearly there has been a move by many producers to incorporate more
vocals in techno and related genres (Diva-house has always been an
exception). I remember thinking this was going to become a trend when
Juan dropped "The Flow". Some, like Recloose, employ guest vocals,
and others, like Jeremy Ellis, handle the task themselves.
First, what's your general reaction to vocal tracks? And does it
bother you when some of these vocalists can't quite cut it?
I think that vocal tracks, used sparingly, can really enhance a set or
an album, but it is easy to overdo it. Bad vocals can be pretty bad...
or not, just as in rock music. It's not as much a matter of whether the
vocals are on key as whether the style fits the rest of the music and
the rest of the set. To choose some examples, I think Matthew Dear
pulls it off really well, because his delivery sounds very "techno" to
me. On the other hand, when I saw Safety Scissors live, I have to say
his vocals were a low point. Maybe it's the difference between using
live, dry (and not especially strong) vocals vs. studio-manipulated
ones. But then to further contradict myself, I thought the Nitzer Ebb
track on the first Dex Efx & 909 mix ruined the flow of the mix, even
though I have no problems with the track on its own.
Overall, I like the move towards more vocals... I don't mind the
blurring of the boundary between techno and pop music at all. But when
DJing, you have to put each track into the context of the set as a
whole (as always) and make sure you're neither playing too much of one
style, nor constantly jarring people with tracks that are totally out
of place.
--
Tim Moore
