For those of you curious about the stunning vocal sound during the chorus: Alison's vocals are being run from the extra mic she has into a synthesizer (seen at 2:35) called Korg MS-20. The synthesizer then recognizes the pitch of Alison's voice and plays it back through an internal sound source, effectively turning her voice into a synthesizer. It's also worth noting that Alison has to sing her fucking heart out, otherwise the synth won't recognize or track the pitch of her voice well enough for this to work.
I feel comfortable sharing my doubt under this comment: I got the feeling that they'd put the wrong microphone through the relatively pronounced echo effect. The alien wailing would have sounded even better that way, whereas now the normal vocals sounded a bit strange.
is this like a vocoder? cos we can hear her real voice (just a bit), or is too loud that her main clear mic is picking up the sound? I'm interested in reproducing that but not sure it can be done in any synth.
I got the feeling that the sensory side of the synthesizer is only setting a harmonic resonance against her vocal input, and the guy manning the console is actually steering the pitch with the knob... something that would take A, LOT of practice in order to learn the feel for the sensitivity and slope of that particular analog pot. Somebody who knows more about this, and has an ear for it, tell me if this is true. But before you do, first listen to it again and observe how the pitch is often leading hers rather than following. It works out to a cool kinda gritty effect!
When I first heard this song, this voice this arrangement, this sound I knew it would never leave me. They are one of the great bands of all time, for while they shift and turn, they never put a foot wrong. Maximum repect
Heaven fell to earth in the form of Alison Goldfrapp. a voice of an angel with a tortured soul. after watching her perform i feel drained and elated. amazing.
This is, by far, the absolute best performance of this song. So haunting, so sensual, so musically perfect on the tone. Thank you Goldfrapp and uploader!
It really adds rich dynamic to the strange sound by visually seeing her do it. And I believe the reason it's the most powerful is because it immediately followed her performance of Yellow Halo. The significance being that this was the first show she'd performed it live after her mother had recently passed, and it was written addressed to her mum. She softly broke down as she delivered in her typical strong voice, getting choked up and missing lines here and there. It was bittersweet and beautiful. The unique response from the audience is what prompted her to make that comment you see at the beginning of this video about it being too quiet in here. Her belting into the synth mic was kind of a wail as she was still shaking it off. I love this.
I like that on this live version - which is superb - I can hear Alison’s voice going in to the voice changer, as well as post conversion. Great performance all the way!
Completely true... Just an amazing sound, so unique....how ever was 'Human' never used as a bond theme is an injustice to the unheard millions who'd have said it was an iconic Bond theme
The chorus, is without doubt, the most extraordinarily demonically possessed sound I have ever heard. It is truly other worldly! God bless you Will and Alison. x Pioneers without a shadow of a doubt!
I think it's quiet because this just followed Yellow Halo, where Alison broke down several times (it's a song in tribute to her mother, they had never played it before Maida Vale)
The crowd is very quiet; some of the persons responding to the video also have noticed that, but they don't know why... I know why: Goldfrapp performed 'Yellow Halo' before this song, and Alison cried (Goldfrapp made that song for Alison's Mother who died unfortunately). That's why they probably are that quiet ;)
What happened to the world of music when we had sounds like this and we end up with the empty dross churned out today. Can we please have music back? Goldfrapp were truely inspiational and I look foreward to her new stuff eagerly.❤
Incredible performance + lovely audience. I would have been perfectly still too--not to miss a single note, a single breath. Despise when the audience applauds prematurely & obliterates the carefully crafted denouement. Feels like one is rushing the performer/performance. But each to their own.
I hear an Enio Morricone influence here. She’s beautiful, cinematic, ethereal. A one-of-a-kind, uber talent. (I much prefer this musical route than the dance-pop she often does...or did).
CHUY VARGAS, esta es de mis favoritas, aunque se puede percibir la melancolia que siente al cantarla, es mas diria que en ese concierto ella se ve muy deprimida, resfriada, hasta triste quizá
Thanks for recording and sharing. yeah the audience is so quiet at the very beginning, it's as if everyone's sleeping in there ... I'm wondering why... It's a high quality live session I really like it. Deserved to be released as an extra DVD for a limited edition of Tales of us, why not, we could always hope for it to happen...
