
1. I've been listening to a lot of Burial lately and I noticed he uses a ton of vocals. It seems hes using mostly R&B and Gospel women singers? It's hard to tell but they're really long and crying out, whale like, drenched in reverb it really adds a ton of emotion. Where can I find some vocals like these? I tried searching 90's R&B acapellas but none were as emotional and long and crying out like a whale as Burial's.
2. Furthermore, when making a tune with such vocals, does Burial match his melodies, chords, pads, whatever to the key of the vocals? Also, does he time stretch them without effecting the pitch to ge them in the same tempo as the new track? I know he mentioned he doesn't have much musical knowledge and just does what sounds good, so I'm thinking not. But at the same time his songs sound so cohesive. I can't tell if thats due to everything being in key, him just having a good ear, his ability to arrange, or the way he creates such a smooth mix with nothing too upfront, everything kind of wishy washy with maybe one element taking the light but most just drenched in reverb.
3. So if you do think its a must to create the tune in key with the vocals, how do you go about finding what key the vocals are in? I know Logic has a tuner that will tell you the notes of things, but it doesn't do so well with a lot of sounds, only very basic ones. Also, Burial does A LOT of pitching to his vocals. Do you think he pitches in octaves to keep everything in key or is he just pitching to taste? I tend to let these concerns act as barriers and it affects my creativity if I don't know how to keep everything in key but want to, or if I don't need to keep everything in key but can't help but want it to be.