Listen to Vorsen's Soulful Bedroom Pop
British-Australian producer and songwriter Oliver Halvorsen a.k.a. Vorsen is releasing 'Half as Much', the first single from his debut EP Real Life.
His trademark style incorporates ambient textures, soulful vocals and percussion made from field recordings and kitchen sink sounds, including passing trains, salt shakers and even computer space bar sounds. Some of those made their way into 'Half as Much', making it sound even more intimate and organic.
His trademark style incorporates ambient textures, soulful vocals and percussion made from field recordings and kitchen sink sounds, including passing trains, salt shakers and even computer space bar sounds. Some of those made their way into 'Half as Much', making it sound even more intimate and organic.
Vorsen
On the production front, I'm pretty drawn to sampling and sound design using organic sounds. In part, I think it's stemmed from having spent a lot of time in the mountains of Norway growing up. My father is Norwegian so he would take us on these hikes quite a lot. The beauty of the natural world is always something that i've tried to incorporate in some small way into my music, even if it's subtle. Often though, I think using organic textures can produce some really interesting sounds, especially when chopped up, stretched, pitched, processed, etc. I've definitely been influenced by artists like Jon Hopkins, who seamlessly weave organic sounds/textures with synths and acoustic instruments to create these incredible soundscapes.
On the whole, I try not to make things sound too 'polished'. I leave a lot of mistakes in my songs; mistakes I like. Andrew Lawson who mixes the tracks really understands that side of things too. For example, in 'half as much' you can hear parts of the beat where I've accidentally recorded myself pressing the spacebar to stop playback. Andrew left a lot of those spacebars in the mix - they became part of the actual beat and now I love them.
On the contrary to this kind of lofi/organic side, I'd say I definitely get inspired by sounds from the 80s. That thick drum sound by bands like The Blue Nile is amazing, also the clean DI guitar tone that Nile Rogers and Prince have coined is great.
Lastly, with both 'half as much' and all the other songs I make, there is a great emphasis on vocal layering and harmony. I listened to a lot of soul growing up but also stuff like the Beach Boys and the Beatles. I love layering up vocals and harmonies. It just really broadens the the sonic palette of a song and accentuates certain parts of the melody, plus it's just really fun! Processing different vocal harmonies and doubles differently can also create really interesting sounds and group effects. I use the Soundtoys 'Alterboy' quite a bit, especially playing around with the formant knob. I do also sometimes use a vocoder underneath my main vocal to beef it up!
On the whole, I try not to make things sound too 'polished'. I leave a lot of mistakes in my songs; mistakes I like. Andrew Lawson who mixes the tracks really understands that side of things too. For example, in 'half as much' you can hear parts of the beat where I've accidentally recorded myself pressing the spacebar to stop playback. Andrew left a lot of those spacebars in the mix - they became part of the actual beat and now I love them.
On the contrary to this kind of lofi/organic side, I'd say I definitely get inspired by sounds from the 80s. That thick drum sound by bands like The Blue Nile is amazing, also the clean DI guitar tone that Nile Rogers and Prince have coined is great.
Lastly, with both 'half as much' and all the other songs I make, there is a great emphasis on vocal layering and harmony. I listened to a lot of soul growing up but also stuff like the Beach Boys and the Beatles. I love layering up vocals and harmonies. It just really broadens the the sonic palette of a song and accentuates certain parts of the melody, plus it's just really fun! Processing different vocal harmonies and doubles differently can also create really interesting sounds and group effects. I use the Soundtoys 'Alterboy' quite a bit, especially playing around with the formant knob. I do also sometimes use a vocoder underneath my main vocal to beef it up!
Also check out Vorsen's earlier singles.
