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Readers recommend: songs with vibrato, tremolo and oscillation | Peter Kimpton | Musique Non Stop

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Thursday, December 18, 2014

Readers recommend: songs with vibrato, tremolo and oscillation | Peter Kimpton

Wondrous wobbles, brilliant bends, tremendous trembles. In voice or guitar, organs or other instruments, name your songs that show expressivity and innovation by sound alteration


A tiny female figure stands in huge, cavernous church in winter, the neck of her electric guitar pointing to the ceiling. Behind her, silently poised, is an ensemble of string players and a choir. The lights are low, and flickering slightly, her shadow is cast into a vast, ghostly giant on a far wall. A packed audience holds its breath. She inhales, opens her lips, and the first vowel, rich and voluminous, emanates, gorwing, filling the space, building to the end of line at the end of which her larynx climbs to full throttle. The volume and power seems astonishing, and the first long, held note begins to ripple. It has an expressiveness that sends shivers up spines. Then with the first full flourish of arm, her hand strokes the strings in a circular movement as if skimming across a harp, and a rich twang vibrates with a warmth of resonant sustain.


Anna Calvi, an artist I saw perform only last week, is an unusual hybrid. A classically trained violinist, she is not only a surprisingly powerful singer and very gifted guitarist – rarely do the two come together – but also combines effects in voice and playing that capture particular expressivity in vibrato and tremelo. Adopting a dramatic persona and flamenco-style look (behind which is a tiny, meek speaking voice) and using a jangly-sounding Vox AC30 amp, tremelo effects and a Fender Telecaster, Calvi exemplifies qualities variously found in many artists and songs across numerous genres, all of which fall under this topic – oscillation in its many glorious forms.


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by Peter Kimpton via Electronic music | The Guardian

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