From the classic computerised vocals of Kraftwerk to the Robo-Funk of Daft Punk, the divisive sound of Kanye's 808s & Heartbreaks, right down to the frankly unbearable Auto-Tuned warbling of Cher's Believe, vocal synthesis and processed vocals have played a pretty substantial role in the past few decades of music and sound design.
Whatever you think of the artists listed above, understanding and exploiting the potential of creative vocal processing is an essential tool for your production arsenal. In this month's cover feature, we run you through the science behind these classic sounds. Be sure to check out the accompanying videos and audio examples too, all of which are available for download at http://vault.futuremusic.co.uk.
We've also got an absolutely absurd competition prize to give away this issue. We've teamed up with our sister magazines to create a whopping bundle of music gear worth over £14,000, including synths, software, interfaces, monitors, guitars, amps, drums and loads more! See inside for full details. We hope you enjoy the issue!
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Interviews
Disciples - Fresh off the back of How Deep Is Your Love, their collaboration with Calvin Harris, FM meet up with the fast rising London trio
The Black Dog - The Techno pioneers tell us about making a DJ controller, and their latest album Neither/Neither
Tyondai Braxton - We talk to the experimental New York composer about his explorations into modular synthesis with HIVE1
The Track: Huxley - The British producer breaks down I Want You, from his debut LP
Classic Album - Hijack on creating UK Hip Hop classic The Horns Of Jericho
Technique
Vocoding & Vocal FX - Get creative with our in-depth guide to vocal effects - from vocoding and pitch correction to speech synthesis and more
Producer's Guide To... Ableton Push: Part 1 - We run through the essentials of composing and creating with the official Live controller
Modular Monthly - We test Abstract Data's ADE-32 Octocontroller, and explore the world of Eurorack DIY via Music Thing's Radio Music module
Reviews
- Roland System-1m
- Arturia BeatStep Pro
- Novation Launchpad Pro
- NI Symphony Series Brass Collection
- Novation MoroderNova
- Softube Heartbeat
- Moog Minifooger MF Chorus
- And more...
Samples
Talkies - Vocoder and processed vocal samples. Pitched and processed words and phrases to give your tracks a unique voice.
Ultimate Cymbals - Rides, hats, crashes and more. From pristine hits to processed loops, rolls and fills. All the cymbals you'll ever need!
PLUS: Access the FM sample archive! - Download the 'Archive' packs and get over 8GB of loops, hits and instruments from our back catalogue of high-quality and royalty-free samples. From vintage synths and drum machines to esoteric instruments and FX - think of it as our best of. All the samples you need to create great music!
