Karma Police Background Vocal Effect

[ixnys]

How do they get those shrilly background vocals in the verses to morph into that haunting feedback. Are they even vocals to begin with? You can hear what I'm talking about at 0:59, 1:12 & 2:03.

[karatemanjohnny]

Hey,

Radiohead is probably my favorite band of all-time. I'm not positive about the vocal effect, but I'm pretty sure that's just Thom Yorke singing "ahh ahhh ahhh." It sounds like the tonality of his voice to me, but just run through some serious distortion.

Also, IMHO, they don't really morph into anything, they're just him singing with distortion.

What I find more interesting are the "ahh's" at 3:17, 3:30, that time frame. It sounds like guitar and vocals blended together on the same pitch, with some reverb and delay, being panned as it goes. Absolutely brilliant. Man I love Radiohead.

The production/mixing on "Let Down," same album, is also SO GOOD.

okay, I'll stop now.

- John

[six_wax]

Nigel Godrich is my frickin' hero. Kid A bakes my noodle every time I listen to it, and it was all done analog. Amazing. Otherworldly. My own personal 'White Album'.

The Godrich-era Radiohead albums always make me think, damn, have I got alot of work to do...

[karatemanjohnny]

Here's a good interview with Nigel Godrich:

http://www.nigelgodrich.com/press3.htm

It gets real good towards the end.

There are some others on his website too.


I must admit, I listened to the leaked version of Hail to the Thief - all unmixed, and unmastered. It leaked out a few weeks before the release, and I played it over and over and over again. And it sounded absolutely great.

Then when I bought the album, it sounded even better. I couldn't believe the difference on some tracks, particularly myxomatosis. They are extremely good at tracking. Just amazing.

When it first leaked, someone from Radiohead said, 'Oh. Well, hail to the thief!' But then they got upset, especially Nigel. He said something like, 'This is not my work. This is not the album.' I felt bad having listened to it, but I bought the album the day it came out

Anyways, back to production for Radiohead - the toms on "There, There" are the best example of tuning toms to the song I've heard.

Their B-Side "How I Made my Millions" is a great example of how the song is what matters most - it was recorded on a 4-track at Thom's house, and you can hear his girlfriend doing dishes in the background. The piano clips all over the place also. But it's just amazing to listen to, regardless.

Any other responses to the original post?

- John

[FMNYC]

one of the best bands of all time.
OK Computer makes me proud to be a musician and shames me into seeking a higher standard.
not that i actually achieve it.

i've seen them live a bunch of times, a couple of them pretty close up and whenever that sound came in i was looking at Ed and he had some kind of megaphone he was singing thru.
maybe in the recording it's a combination of something like that and reverb.

just a thought.

FM

FM sucked the moon and spoke too soon.

[FMNYC]

dude!
check it out!
i'm a gear head now!!!

nice.


FM

FM lives with a cracked polystyrene man.

[ixnys]

All the wierd sounds they get throughout all their albums are amazing. I definitely agree it makes me strive for better.

[BrianBrian]

Have any of you Radiohead fans listened to Martin Gretch? He is very heavily influenced by Radiohead, and his album "Open Heart Zoo" is fantastic. There is some awesome production and mixing on that one, and very emotional and well-crafted songs, especially from such a young artist.