Vocal Production Notes page 2

It is also used during the stanza:

His hands foreign things

His mind a maze of menace

To his soul

which was done to pull the listener into a disconnected feeling during this section. These lines refer to the way the poet sees himself; yet the voice speaking is outside the poet, lending to the illusion of 'stepping outside oneself'. I recorded a vocal track to imitate the sound of a news radio broadcast in the background. I read a short article from a newspaper and blended the track volume down so the words are clearly heard only during the pauses of the main voices. A punch track was used to add emphasis to certain words and lines. In the first stanza, the line 'the poet lies bleeding' is punched, and the delay repeats during the pause of the main voice. This was done to indicate the vital issue of the poem: the death of this man, the poet. In the second stanza the word 'poison' is again heard on this track. This was done to emphasise the poet's main view on the conflict; that it is a poisonous, nefarious force on the face of the planet.

'Menace' is punched in the next stanza and the effect is allowed to ride over the next line,

To his soul

to reinforce the idea that menace has overrun the poet's soul. On the stand alone line:

He lost his words to the wind

the punch track is used in conjunction with a whispered vocal, adding an intimacy to the words as well as a dynamic audio experience that audibly drags 'lost his words' out in the delay. On the last line of the poem, the words 'the dust' are again punched with a whispered vocal. The delay on these words is purposefully drawn out beyond the end of the poem, letting the listener know that the dust is the final element remaining in the poem.