Lana is a heavy breather!

[Honeymooner 336]

Now that I have your attention... I know it sounds weird, but in listening to some of Lana's songs in comparison to other singers (I'm talking album recordings, not live), I've noticed that you hear her intakes of breath a lot more strongly than most other singers. Whether her breathing is naturally louder than others because she smokes, I don't know, but it makes me wonder if some others make it a point to back off of the mic a little when they breathe in, and Lana doesn't. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, just something I noticed... it actually adds an air of realism, and, dare I say it, sexiness to her voice. She does it in "Once Upon a Dream" a lot, and in that song, it actually adds to the haunting quality.

 

Any thoughts/opinions?

[leaked_version 10,499]

To hear the breathing of a singer is used by especially female singers as a method to create rawness and intimacy, check the first recods of Tori Amos. There it was heavily used.

[Trash Magic 28,395]

I think that's primarily due to the recording equipment and whether it was done in 1 take or not

[Valentino 885]

People who aren't trained in singing tend to breathe loudly to get the breath they need for their songs. If you hear classically trained singers, they tend to go out of their way to eliminate the breathing noise. In popular music, hearing the breathing is viewed as raw and real as opposed to poor technique, so they don't even try to take it out (it's pretty easy to edit out breath intakes a lot of the time...). Lana aims for a "sultry" sound on songs like OUAD, which requires a breathy tone. 

 

I can't say if she does it more or less than other singers. For the most part, I don't notice it so I'd say her breath intake isn't much more than any other singer. I know this one song by this one singer that's gorgeous but her constant sharp breaths make it sound unprofessional and ugly. She clearly had trouble singing the song and you can hear it in the performance. It's kind of a shame that it came out so noticeable because it's a beautiful song.

[NamiraWilhelm 5,044]

I don't notice it so much with Lana, as opposed to Lily Allen, I can hear nothing but her breathes in her music

[Creyk 11,699]

This thread made me think about Burning Desire

I don't like it when we can hear the breath and I usually do edit it out, but now that you mention it I never noticed it in Lana's case as something disturbing, as for example in Kesha songs

[Honeymooner 336]

I think that's primarily due to the recording equipment and whether it was done in 1 take or not

Many Ultraviolence songs were done in one take, but this goes back to Born To Die. (I don't have any previous songs of hers.) What's interesting, too, is that when she uses multi-layer vocal tracking, you can hear all of the Lanas breathing together. Kinda cool!

 

 

I don't notice it so much with Lana, as opposed to Lily Allen, I can hear nothing but her breathes in her music

Maybe I just listen more closely to Lana's music than others, since I like it so much, but I just noticed it moreso with her than with most others that I've listened to. (I've never listened to Lily Allen.)

 

 

This thread made me think about Burning Desire

I don't like it when we can hear the breath and I usually do edit it out, but now that you mention it I never noticed it in Lana's case as something disturbing, as for example in Kesha songs

I don't find it disturbing in Lana's case. As I said originally, I actually like it with her; it adds a sultriness and sexiness to the words and the song.

[Mafiosa 1,089]

I don't think it's poor technique. It's quite real and endearing and adds a certain quality to her songs that fit with the usually melancholy themes.

[Spac3gypsy 72]

Most artists edit out breathing. I think it's cool that she leaves it in. It adds to her aesthetic and I think it goes perfectly with her statement about recording music the first time it is played. It will never be quite the second, third, etc. time around so to cut out the breathing would diminish the reality and freshness that Lana strives for.

[strange weather 1,953]

To hear the breathing of a singer is used by especially female singers as a method to create rawness and intimacy, check the first recods of Tori Amos. There it was heavily used.

 

ESPECIALLY on boys for pele. it's part of the record itself. a lot of critics totally hated her breathing on it!

 

i've never really noticed in lana's case, but i'm sure since you pointed it out it's all i'll be able to hear now.

[Honeymooner 336]

i've never really noticed in lana's case, but i'm sure since you pointed it out it's all i'll be able to hear now.