Oddly, I have good associations built up around house or techno 12's
with off-key vocals. Y'know, like an old 12 on DJ International or
Eightball. I can't tell you how many times I've heard a vocal
trainwrecks, as a dj beatmatches flawlessly while the vocals roar out
of tune over each other. There's something really awful about it, but
the imperfection sort of puts the humanity back in a dj set. It's a
sort of sonic phenomena that you wouldn't ordinarily hear (hopefully)
where people were singing two distinct songs, wildly out of tune.
Im fine with vocals in techno (while Im not crazy about Atkin's "The
Flow", his single "Ill Be There" is an outstanding cut). Doesnt make a
difference to me. Best sets I've ever heard involved a good mix between
house & techno 12s, with an attentive dj who just knew what to play.
And a good house set with a live singer just brings back
disco/gospel/soul in a good way.
Peter
--- Tim Moore <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> 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
>
>
__________________________________
Yahoo! FareChase: Search multiple travel sites in one click.
http://farechase.yahoo.com
