Vulnerability isn't always comfortable
I think there are four essential components to a recording:
- the song
- the artist
- the space the recording is happening in
- the space the artist is in mentally
And that last one is the biggie — it influences all the others. It's the biggest variable.
I’m working on a record at the moment with someone who recorded it during a very painful breakup. I think it would be fair to say that he was not doing well mentally when he recorded these songs.
And as we work together on refining my mixes, his notes for a couple of the songs keep pointing back to something he’s not saying directly, which is that he’s perhaps a bit dissatisfied with how he recorded his vocals. And I had this to say to him today:
You recorded these songs in a certain mental space, and I think that's reflected — not just in the performances, but also in the technical details, the way you captured the performances. In this way, I think that what you ended up with is a true artistic statement, and also a unique document of a moment in time.
So I guess I'm saying, there is another way to look at the sound of this vocal. I don't know if you could have gotten this same vocal recording in a different moment, and I don't know if this song would be this song without this performance and this recording. It is what it is. I for one celebrate it. It's unusual and unorthodox, yes — it's also very moving. 🖤
The things we think are the problems are sometimes the very things that other people think of as the best parts. What they latch onto emotionally. Everyone’s looking out for vulnerability. People see themselves in the imperfections.
Humanly — jamie