Hi Micky
@mickyplankton , thanks for asking about my vocals. It is something I have been trying to get better at this past year.
I am chuffed you think my vocals have a signature sound, as that is what I have been aiming for with these more quirky songs.
It all goes back to many years ago when my band at the time was playing at a club in Leeds and I was lead singer. The promoter, at the end of the gig, said we were good and everyone had had a good time. But we were not distinctive. And he named about three or four bands that my vocal style of the time sounded like. He said we would never make it unless I could create a distinctive sound and unfortunately for us he was right.
If you think of your fave bands or singers. You would know them within a second of hearing a new track. So, as I am trying to write these Quirky narrative songs at the moment, a bit retro too, then I realised they had to have a larger than life vocal delivery and something that sounded a bit unique. So Michael A the performer is more extrovert than me in real life. I kind of camp it up, add a bit of drama, and hope that this will convince the listener of the authenticity of these vivid songs.
Technically, I am miles behind some on here production wise. I got used to using just GarageBand on iPad when in my job I was travelling away a lot - easy to stick in a travel bag. Now I have given that up, I have stuck with the habit all the same. So I just record on GarageBand but with an iRig mic, which is very clear but a bit thin. In the App Store there is an app called MicSwap Pro. This enhances the mic sound, making it sound warmer, and is meant to simulate more professional mics.
In production I add vox a bolster track at about 70 per cent the volume of the main vox track, which gives a thicker sound. Then I add intermittent vocal high harmonies at either a third interval, or some higher counter melody which I think fits. From there it is just a case of some compression, reverb and delay.
But the main difference is just in the slightly over the top delivery, and more practice at staying on pitch!
If you go on Soundcloud and listen to one of my old more serious songs 'Beautiful & Brave', featuring our own Karen
@MonnoDB on backing vox, you can hear what the more normal me used to sound like, singing straight into an iPad mic with just reverb added.
Cheers, hope that was OK!
