Professional Singer Reaction & Vocal ANALYSIS - Ren x Chinchilla | "Chalk Outlines" (Live) 

So great to finally hear Ren really SING! And Chinchilla was the perfect collaborator for this song -- what else from Ren (or Chinchilla) should I analyze next?

You really should do “How To Be Me” live by these two. More straight singing by Ren and Chinchilla! ❤️🎶

For Ren's singing voice: - I Shot the Sherrif/Road to Zion... - Wade in the Water/Nina Simone... - Earned it/Man's World...

I'd recommand Chinchilla's live version of either "fingers" or "little girl gone". You're going to love her, she is a STAR

During his interview with Elizabeth from Charismatic Voice, Ren explained that he meticulously adjusts the mic levels in post to account for things like turning his head away from the mic. It's hours of work but means he can get an almost studio quality recording with the benefits of a dynamic, characterful live space and performance.

To get more of Ren singing, dive into his band "The Big Push".

Chinchilla's voice is currently one of the finest extant (and criminally unrecognized). She can do almost anything. FINGERS LIVE is one of the most amazing examples of vocal gymnastics I've ever heard. ASTOUNDING!!

They have snother live duet called How To Be Me. Also if you want to hear Chinchilla really blow, then check out her live performance of Fingers

The guitar is linked up via a Bluetooth input

*ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED* congratulations! You have found new ren friend chinchilla! She's great too, definitely worth a look at. I'm glad you finally got to some of rens vocals, loved your analysis of it! 😊💜💜

Thank you for another unique and valuable reaction. Your vocal analysis goes deeper and more technical than any other reactor. RENegades like me crave this in depth look at where those incredible voices actually comes from. You might want to check out Ren’s collaboration with Sam Tompkins doing a mash up of Earned It/ Man’s World/ Falling. Both young men hit incredibly high notes while Ren plays the guitar. It’s a live street performance in front of a few hundred lucky people who stopped to listen.

I’d love to see you do some of Rens busking with Sam Tompkins or his band The Big Push :)

The guitar is electric, and it's plugged into an amp wirelessly. You can see the amp when he's turning the corner. There's a red light from the amp on the wall. The amp is then routed directly to a Zoom or some other recording device, same with their voices. Ren then massages the mic recording with the guitar, you can see it's probably a mic'ed amp. But I'm not 100% sure because of the shallow depth of field in the camera. You can see the amp in the background at multiple times, but 4:09 (in the original video) is a decent view. In your video you stop at that frame at 25:09, you can see the amp. It looks like the amp has a mic on it, and possibly a third microphone for the ambience on the side? I really can't make out what the blurry messes are. Maybe someone has better luck. You can hear what his lapel microphone sounds like pretty raw and without much work if you check out (on your own time, there's no real point of you reacting to it) the Dumb King Come diss track. It really doesn't sound like he made much work on it besides compressing the fuck out of it. Also, Ren uses audio editing tools, for example Izotope RX 10. You can push down, or up, reverb/vocals/drums individually, even in a full mix. It's a great tool if you need to fix bleed in a drum mix, for example. I don't generally need it because I don't really record much messy live recordings. But I use it to mangle and adjust samples for other purposes.

You should really do their song How to be Me. Live version.

Fun reaction! Chinchilla has a lav mic too…listen to when she first comes in and runs her fingers through her hair. If you listen to Ren’s interview with the Charismatic voice, he goes into great detail about mixing these live recordings…but all that volume/distance control between their voices is fantastic mixing work on Ren’s part. He has to do a ton of manual volume and EQ work to make the lavs sound good even to just compensate for minor position changes (like turning his head). How to be Me is an obvious next choice.

Ren is such a fascinating artist to me. This is the first piece of his that I actually added to a playlist. So thanks for adding to my music library.

For Chinchilla, check out Fingers, but make sure it's the live version. It's very different from the studio version, vocally and stylistically. If you want to check out another collab of Ren and Chinchilla, check out "How to Be Me". For me, it's far superior as a collaboration than this one.

ren is a fan of jeff buckleys singing style which is why he changes the ending of the words where he sings the soft notes that you mentioned ,

Thanks so much, Peter, glad you're seeing another side to Ren (our genre bending bard 🙂). I'd like to suggest the LIVE version of How to Be Me, another collab with Chinchilla. It's pretty spectacular. Thanks and HNY! EDIT: I'm thinking Chinchilla might be mic'd because in her initial verse, you can clearly hear her nails (I think) running across her forehead... not sure though.

Loved this. Next - Ren & Sam Tompkins - Earned it /Mans World / Falling

Those two together are such a treat. Well worth checking out their busking and live performances.

Ayeeeeeeee! Can't wait for you to hear Chinchilla too - together they are pure magic ✨❤‍🔥🥰

You should check out Ren with The Big Push doing I shot the sheriff/road to zion/Hip hop (red suspenders) or him and The Big Push doing Wade in the Water/Trouble so hard/feeling good! Love your analysis!

Check out "How To Be Me" live by Ren and Chinchilla as well. It's great!

Great reaction! I think his live acoustic singing is fantastic, especially in some of the busking videos with Sam Thompkins. He does some of that with his band the big push as well, but a lot of that are covers. Still, their Bongo Bong cover is probably my favorite song.

Their next one how to be me live for sure. Her fingers live video should be pretty entertaining for you to analyze.

That was really enjoyable. My first time hearing Chinchilla too so that added to my appreciation of your analysis.

The guitar was on a DI (Direct Input) via wireless. There is a blue lit plug in is the transmitter directly to the recording input, essentially it's own channel input via wireless.

Ren's vocals here are beautiful but you'll have to watch some of his live busking videos, particularly with his band 'The Big Push' or with Sam Tompkins, to hear Ren REALLY sing! :)

Not sure if you have reacted to it already or not, but Ren's acoustic cover of Murderer has some really great vocal flairs. Worth a watch!

Fuck yes, finally! I joined your patreon for the year so I could vote for ren on your next poll (haven’t seen one just yet) … you do some of my fave breakdowns for him ever!

Great reaction! I would also love to hear your reaction to Ren singing with his band The Big Push, specifically their cover of the song Bongo Bongo.

how to be me is another great one with them, and there is an old busking one, but i cant recall the title but both are excellent

We really NEED you to interview Ren. He seems very open to supporting reactors and I believe he would really appreciate your very educated questions and opinions. Thank you Peter.

Even though 2024 has just started, I 100% guarantee that if you check out Chinchilla's "Fingers" live version, you will hear your favorite belt for the entire year.

To really hear Ren stretch his vocal capabilities, you'll want to listen to his duets with Sam Tompkins while busking. Specifically I'd say their performances of Walking On The Moon, Blind-Eyed, and especially Earned It/Man's World.

Thank you for this reaction and for providing an explanation that someone like myself (musically ignorant) can understand. Subscribed. 😊

Awesome. I was hoping you’d do more Renny Boi. Your perspective is always interesting to me. See you in a few days!! 🌹

Thank you for not feeling the need to talk through the beginning. That gives you BIG marks in my book. SO many reactors feel the need to fill that time with chatter. As though it is a "throw away" moment. It's not. It sets the mood to this wonderful performance. THANK YOU

LOVE your reactions! Chinchilla is miced. You can see it clipped to her collar when she first starts to sing (and hear it pick up her nails running though her hair in her opening moments.) After that her hair conceals it for the remainder of the video. Of all Ren's singing, I think his MOST IMPRESSIVE (and that's saying something) is WADE IN THE WATER/NINA SIMONE/TROUBLE SO HARD with his band The Big Push. It's astonishing.

Great reaction I feel like we just sat thru class with Professor Barber. Awesome. Thank you for doing this I hope you are well man Take care Daz

I remember reading somewhere (or listening to Ren) that they used a direct pickup for the guitar, two lavaliers for Ren and Chinchilla, and a Mic for room ambience. It is so well mixed. If you listen very very closely you can hear that they really have to push the gain on Chinchillas mic when she sings really quietly.

Really good reaction explaining singing techniques - very enjoyable ❤

The guitar is Bluetooth to a speaker... Looks like a sound bar standing in the corner ✌️♥️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿.

LOVE that you took the time to comment on how Ren pulls his voice on lyrics. Manipulation of the sung line like that, on unusual/surprising lyrics, is something I absolutely crave in modern music. I 100% agree that it's an invitation to vulnerability. Often, I also interpret it as "if this person was telling this story without singing, this is where they'd have a momentary loss of control of their voice in one way or another, due to the emotion threatening to overcome them." I find that even though Ren's singing the melody through this, there are beautiful moments where he pulls his voice while singing with Chinchilla... there, I don't think it's necessarily only what I described above; my brain interprets it that maybe he feels that the beauty of her harmony interplaying with the guitar is more important than the note(s) of the melody he himself is singing in that moment. Also, probably others have mentioned it already (already too many comments for me to feel certain that I sifted through them all, tonight!) but in case that's not the situation - I'm told Chinchilla's got to be mic'd. You can hear the rasp of her fingernails, near the beginning of her verse, when she pulls them lightly through her hair. Not that I know anything about sound recording/production, but my vague impression is that Ren's camera person's camera also usually has a mic that gets used, or occasionally a mic separate from the camera might be involved (as you suspected).

Yeah. Definitely "Fingers Live for Hunger TV" for Chinchilla. Really showcases her voice.

The guitar is DI'd to a zoom device I believe, possibly through a wireless system. you can see he has something other than a cable plugged in when he picks it up. Also, I think Chinchilla has her own mic... Ren likes to meticulously mix his stuff. He used to use Rode lav mics, and he does a LOT of cleanup in post. He got good at his live mixing from producing his busking videos with Sam Tompkins and with The Big Push.

Chinchilla Fingers live for HungerTV is a MUST SEE for an incredible vocal performance!

One of my favorite things is seeing someone experiencing something they genuinely love & seeing the joy it brings them. Thank you for sharing

There are several songs off his new album that is just singing as well as him busking on the streets with his old band "The big Push".

I think the way they both play so intentionally with the dynamics here is incredibly appropriate, and useful, in conveying that tension between the intimacy, and almost internal thoughts aspect of the song, with the anger and frustration, as well as the highs and lows that both the emotional situation depicted and the medical intervention imply. I love it.

What a great reaction. I enjoy your break down of the different vocal styles. Ren has said he spends more time adjusting sound volume to be even than anything else on this live performances.I think this is such a beautiful vocal from both of them, but feel like Ren does alter his part to make for those nice harmonies and blending of their voices. Would love to see you react to The Big Push medley I shot the sheriff / road to zion / hip hop. Just blows me away how his voice is so ever morphing into what he needs for each song.

Ren singing wade in the water is supper amazing also bob marley A big must is ren” the tale of Jenny and screech with violet the trilogy “

Oooo! Ok you have my attention..... in 6 days apparently lol

Absolutely loved this, thank you for your continued support of Ren. I did learn a lot about volume and distance/ vocal ranges from you in this reaction. Wonderful, Peter!

Ren’s guitar has a remote jack plug - when he picks up the guitar you can see the jack plug lit up. That would send a signal to an amp or sound desk. Love your reactions! Cheers

I really love singing this song, it just flows fun & it's a lovely description of chronic illness, something I've dealt with for over 30 years.

"How to Be Me (Live)" by these two is even better! The way they layer their voices and the performance- chills every time. Please consider that one next! Also, Chinchilla "Fingers (Live)" also a must! :)

This is one of my favorite Ren Songs, so I've watched a BUNCH of reactions to it. I've never heard someone nerd out this hard on Ren and Chinchilla's voices and vocal delivery! I mean that as a very sincere compliment! I found your analysis very interesting and informative (even if some of it was way over my head!). I appreciate the way you focus on voices and vocal delivery because that's your area of your expertise. That being said, sometimes I would kinda like to hear you talk about the lyrics and subject of the songs you are analyzing. I still really enjoy what you are doing with this channel! It brings out the inner music nerd in me. I have a basic internal understanding of what you are saying, I just don't know the terminology for some of it (Ok, a lot of it. I'm still trying to learn and better my vocabulary!).

I love that you not only go into what makes a voice unique/special but you also give us a look at what was very likely happening on the production side as well. Thanks :)

They had the lapel mic (I believe they had one each - you can sometimes see Chinchilla's on her right shoulder under the hair) and there was a remote plug for the guitar (you can see the green led from it in some angles). Ren has said that he volume automates everything manually afterwards (not just slapping a compressor on). He spends hours and hours doing that for each recorded track. That's why even the live sessions sound like studio recordings but they still are picking up ambient noise like Chinchilla's jewlery when she runs her nails through her hair.

Great reaction 👍 I would recommend you check out REN with his band the BIG PUSH, busking, doing some BOB MARLEY, I SHOT THE SHERIFF, mashup with some other songs, you really get to see his vocal range, and a really great performance from him and the band.👍🍀

his guitar has a wireless dongle plugged into the output jack. not sure if it is transmitting to a small amp or directly to the mic rig ...

You should absolutely listen to The Big Push, which is the band Ren was in. They do a lot of covers. Black Sabbath’s War Pigs is great!

Oh, and if I recall, there's mic's at both Ren and Chinchilla's throats. There's also another one on the camera. The guitar has a wireless pickup on it. Ren's a producer as well, he blended the audio sources together by hand.

Definitely think you should check Ren and Chinchilla doing “How to be Me”(Live) !!

I had wondered about the mic placement and without a background in this, guessed a mic was on the camera. Thanks for breakdown Peter.

Really enjoyed your incite to their singing. I learned a few things too so thank you sir!

In this song she is mostly chest voice coming in under his upper register. "How To Be Me" they reverse it and we get to hear Ren's amazing natural chest voice for a lot of the song. Chinchilla of course is spectacular in any range.

Ren is such a legend and as a fellow Brightonian I'm very proud.

Loved your reaction and analysis of this song! If you're interested in seeing more of Chinchilla she has some fantastic Live songs on her own, I really recommend Fingers Live for Hunger TV. Her other live one with Ren, How to be Me is also highly recommended.

18:24 - she must have a mic, you can hear her earing 'clacking'. Great reaction, you are one of my favourites for Ren. Do more!

Ren can be really soulful in his singing too, which you might enjoy seeing. His live busking videos are awesome: earned it/man’s world/falling with Sam Tompkins or Wade in the Water/Nina Simone/Trouble so hard with his band the Big Push are well worth checking out.

Great reaction!!! For more of Ren's singing voice I would recommend The Big Push - Wade in the Water/ Nina Simone/ Trouble so Hard (absolutely amazing!) and Ren - Murderer (Live Acoustic Video)❤

Awesome breakdown, thank you! As bizarre as this might sound, their other live collab "How to be me" is even better. Seriously it's utterly mindblowing. Chinchilla is a phenomenal talent. Listen to her stripped down live version of "Fingers" for Hunger TV and you'll see. Cheers!

I was very excited to see you react to this song: both Ren’s singing AND Chincilla! 😁

If you really want to hear the true beauty of Ren's singing voice, you need to react to "I shot the Sheriff / Road to Zion" mash up he does with his old band "The Big Push". His vocals will blow you away! Stunning!

Really REALLY should do "How to be Me" now with these two. It's even more absolutely amazing! Hopefully asap because I just know you'll go nuts for it! 😊

you really need to react to Ren's The Tale of Jenny and Screech the full version. It is Shakespearean in lyrics, music, performance....EVERYTHING. I've never seen anything quite like it and I think you would be absolutely blown away

You MUUUUUST do Chinchilla’s “Fingers”, the live version!!! You’ll be stopping for a comment every 3 seconds!!!! It’s breathtaking!

And Chinchillas live version of Fingers is amazing ❤❤

The guitar has a wireless connection to the amp which is a few feet along the corridor. I enjoyed your analysis. I always learn something from your reactions.

Ren has taken a lot of singing inspiration from Jeff Buckley especially Jeff’s live performances. He said he watched Chris Liepe’s videos to learn about Jeff’s style.

chinchilla has two very good live perfomances online, fingers and little girl gone. and for more ren singing, do yome of his band, the big push. maybe the war pigs cover?

Ren is clearly talented and he surrounds himself with very talented people as well. Chinchilla Fingers LIVE is amazing!

I’m usually mesmerised by the song, but this time it was the quality of your technical analysis. Fantastic man, thanks so much for those insights… gonna jump on the Patreon!

‘Diazepam’ has some really interesting bluesy vocals. Ren puts on his “rock” voice in ‘Fire’ though. Either song is reaction worthy! ✌🏼

Love this reaction, Peter. Please check out the live version of How To Be Me with Ren and Chinchilla. I would also recommend watching REN’s band, The Big Push, do live busking version of I Shot The Sheriff/Road To Zion/Hip Hop (Ren is wearing red suspenders. 😂). ❤

They have a few other songs together, How to be me and the busking ones. Chinchilla is amazing her newest song Cut you off is a must see!

You might enjoy Ren and Sam Tompkins singing "Earned It-It's a Man's World=Falling. Thank you, I learnt a lot.

Great analysis ....and now - one more time, just listening for the song and the emotions...😉

You might really enjoy hearing him with his band called The Big Push. They are doing a mashup of I shot the sheriff, Road to Zion, Hip hop.

This was great to watch, just 2 of the best untrained singers letting the emotion of the lyrics and story flow through them. Raw and live is so much better than overproduced. Anything The Big Push (Rens former band) is worth your time, the "wade in the water/nina simone/trouble so hard" mashup shows Rens pure soul voice and the bands talent.

You just gotta watch the latest interview with the charismatic voice and a bunch of Ren's vids to get an idea of how rediculously Great he is in so many ways. This song is so beautiful, But only a small part of what he is capable of...

Ooh, check out his busking video with Sam Tompkins:Earned It/Man’s World/ Falling, or busking with his band The Big Push: Wade in the Water/ Nina Simone/ Trouble So Hard. I think because of his experience busking and producing/mixing, Ren is a master of judging mic distance…

My understanding is that there is a lapel mic on Ren and an ambient mic picking up the room, and the guitar has a cordless transmitter in it, so I think it's being recorded directly and not through an amp to a microphone. Chinchilla is a MUCH more powerful singer, so I agree, there's no mic on her, she is just getting picked up by the ambient mic. Also, You should do "How to be me" live version, also Ren and Chinchilla, also one take live. Chinchilla also does a live one take performance for Hunger TV of her song "Fingers" that is a vocal analysis smorgasbord

How To Be Me LIVE VERSION and his band The Big Push Praise You Fat Boy Slim cover. Soooo good and the best harmonies imo.

definitely must react to Chinchilla Fingers Live for Hunger TV. Epic performance.

Ren does a lot of work on the quality, post live recording. Yes Chin has developed the head voice.

For vocal analysis and more of Ren's range I recommend Wade in the Water /Nina Simone/ Trouble So Hard. It's on his page under Busking with his former band The Big Push