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vocals in electronic dance music

ive listened to alot of songs which, frankly, are plainly great, if it werent for the vocals thrown in... this is especially true of remixes where an instrumental version would have sufficed but theres none to be found
i dont know, but are there examples of producers and remixers contractually required to include a significant coherent portion of the vocals into the songs they make, even at the deteriment of the finished product?

There are tons of examples of a vocal being added after an instrumental has seen some success. Here's a few off the top of my head:

Cass & Slide - Perception
2 Unlimited - Get Ready For This
Jam & Spoon - Odyssey To Anyoona

yes no doubt that sometimes vocals actually add to the song, but in my experience that is the exception rather than the rule... if the use of the vocals were at the discretion of the remixers, i think that many would not have applied it as extensively as they did, i.e. to the point of getting in the way of the song itself...

Re: vocals in electronic dance music

quote:

Originally posted by carmatic i dont know, but are there examples of producers and remixers contractually required to include a significant coherent portion of the vocals into the songs they make, even at the deteriment of the finished product?

Easy there, Shakespeare this is teh internets!

Re: Re: vocals in electronic dance music

quote:

Originally posted by woscar99 Easy there, Shakespeare this is teh internets!

Ouch, my head hurts from reading that you well educated Malaysian kid.

The last EDM track with vocals that I really liked was Late Night Alumni - Empty streets(Seamus Haji & Paul Emmanuel Remix)



Great deep House feel.

quote:

Originally posted by Sykonee There are tons of examples of a vocal being added after an instrumental has seen some success. Here's a few off the top of my head: Cass & Slide - Perception 2 Unlimited - Get Ready For This Jam & Spoon - Odyssey To Anyoona

The vocal version of Perception was horrible.

Loads of producers add vocals to get chart success, recent examples

Bodyrox - yeah yeah
Dave Spoon & Lisa MAffia - Bad Girl (at night)

Who's the hottie in the video?

That's none other than Nadia "pussy probably smells like curry" Ali. I'm
just talking from a bad experience, don't go down on Indian chics.

quote:

Originally posted by woscar99 Who's the hottie in the video?

maybe having hot girls in videos is just part of the same trend as adding vocals to songs, in fact mostly female vocals .... the video could be just an example of the commercialization that producers are trying to achieve, and putting prominent vocals into their songs might be another means to that end

then again i have heard songs where the vocals are actually used artistically as opposed to commercially, being given equal emphasis as the rest of the instruments , and sometimes manipulated to become another instrument or even given so little emphasis that you cant hear the words properly anymore... to me songs like these are far more tolerable than others in which the singing is the primary focus while the rest of the sounds we traditionally associate with electronic dance music are merely used as accompaniments to the vocals... then again these songs were not written to be pop chart toppers, and they have not and will not be

a bunch of 4 String songs added vocals on later after the instrumental did well

Good recent example:

Cosmic Gate - Consciousness

which later became...

Cosmic Gate - Body of Conflict

Largely the same track, but with vocals now. I loved the original when I heard it, and also like the new version with vocals, but it would be a pity if there was no instrumental version for sure because vocals are not good for all occasions. The breakdown melody in this track is more than enough to add emotion to the track.

Re: vocals in electronic dance music

quote:

Originally posted by carmatic ive listened to alot of songs which, frankly, are plainly great, if it werent for the vocals thrown in... this is especially true of remixes where an instrumental version would have sufficed but theres none to be found i dont know, but are there examples of producers and remixers contractually required to include a significant coherent portion of the vocals into the songs they make, even at the deteriment of the finished product?

If you are talking about trance, then you're pretty bound to encounter shitty vocals.

Vocals are very edgy. If you don't push it enough, it seems forced and sounds false. Then its a buildup towards a very thin line, and if you cross that line, it sounds cheesy, commercial, generic and forced. In most cases, its either one. Too much or too little attention to vocals. The middle is hard to achieve...

That is why many producers decide to use samples of voice, whether it is actual signing, or only words.

In general, I would say vocals are shit, especially in trance/house generic crap.

Re: Re: vocals in electronic dance music

quote:

Originally posted by julien2 If you are talking about trance, then you're pretty bound to encounter shitty vocals. Vocals are very edgy. If you don't push it enough, it seems forced and sounds false. Then its a buildup towards a very thin line, and if you cross that line, it sounds cheesy, commercial, generic and forced. In most cases, its either one. Too much or too little attention to vocals. The middle is hard to achieve... That is why many producers decide to use samples of voice, whether it is actual signing, or only words. In general, I would say vocals are shit, especially in trance/house generic crap.

Yeah I know, trance sucks. This forum is not called trance.nu, so all those who like trance should just quit...stop posting. Start posting about minimal...but please none of that trance crap....that's not what this forum is about!

lets not get too far off topic now

What i was wondering when i started this thread, was wether the use of vocals in some remixes is beyond the remixer's control... Its perplexing that they would create such a solid track in the first place that the vocals sound out of place , its almost like they were just doing their stuff making great music, until the time comes to actually include the vocals into the track... I cant count anymore the number of times ive been led into the song with a great buildup, only to be dissapointed when the vocals come in

I generally don't like vocals in the more mainstream genres of electronic music, like house or trance. Some of the less "well defined" genres though, I feel completely the opposite. Groups like Massive Attack do some incredible stuff with their range of different vocalists.

Edit: Sorry, I'm a bit off topic.

quote:

Originally posted by carmatic lets not get too far off topic now What i was wondering when i started this thread, was wether the use of vocals in some remixes are beyond the remixer's control... Its perplexing that they would create such a solid track in the first place that the vocals sound out of place , its almost like they were just doing their stuff making great music, until the time comes to actually include the vocals into the track... I cant count anymore the number of times ive been led into the song with a great buildup, only to be dissapointed when the vocals come in

Ok, to directly answer that...

Maybe they thought adding the vocal track was an improvement to the song? Because you don't like it, doesn't mean they don't. Often, remixers will remove large chunks of the vocal track, but I would think that is also due to their own taste. I'm not sure it sounds reasonable that a producer would be "forced" to include a vocal track?

Another reason for using vocals in EDM might be in order to appeal to a more mainstream market, and get some radio time/record sales. Again, it's not necessarily forced, but hey, it's nice to make a few bucks right?

hmmmmm, this is going to have to be precise


i pick:
Iio - Rapture (AVB remix)

Vocals definitely fit house music the best. Some vocal trance tracks are okay, but house music just does them so much better...even those diva tracks! Justine Suissa is probably up there with Jan Johnston for vocal trance tracks....of all vocalists Jan Johnston has done the most for trance IMO

quote:

Originally posted by Sykonee 2 Unlimited - Get Ready For This

I always thought it was the other way around for 2 Unlimited, because the UK versions were usually the largely instrumental ones. Apparently they thought that the UK would prefer more dancey, less poppy tracks. However, seems I was wrong.

On the subject more generally, vocals often work perfectly well in electronic music, provided the track was specifically written for them. Shitty "slap a vocal on" money-grabbing versions almost always suck, even though there are occasional exceptions.

That said, I rarely have time for vocals in trance.

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