Being a wordy kind of guy, I tend to focus on the lyrics of a song. Lately, however, I’ve been saving the lyrics for last, allowing myself to first enjoy the overall sound of any new song I hear.
Every Song Has a Voice
Music, after all, is a language all it’s own, spoken in tones and beats and pockets of silence, and in the language of music, more than in any other language, the voice conveys as much meaning as the words being spoken.
This voice is what I’m referring to when I talk about sound.
That sound, that voice, is a combination of many things: the timbre of the instruments (including a singer’s vocal chords), the interplay between the music and the space in which it’s played, and the subtle but unique traits of each musician involved.
Every Record Has a Voice Too
In our age, a time when music is not only recorded and distributed but filtered and mixed and laid down in tracks as well, a song’s sound can also be the result of a record’s producer. In fact, that’s really the job of a producer, to direct the overall sound of an entire album.
No one performs this role with any more skill and creativity than Brian Burton, a.k.a. Danger Mouse, who’s joined up with James Mercer from the Shins to form Broken Bells.
I Like the Sound of this Song’s Voice
Here’s the first release from their upcoming album. The song’s entitled The High Road and I’ve yet to figure out the lyrics, nor have I tried to. For now, I’m enjoying the sound, which I find to be incredible.
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I like it Broken Bells