From slaurent@kiae.su Mon Mar 25 16:21:50 1996
Path: ashpoly!cascade!bigsur!kiae!slaurent
From: slaurent@kiae.su (Sun-mi Laurent)
Newsgroups: alt.music.synth-pop
Subject: Data: The sound of the 'Vocal Matrix' - pitch quantization vs human formant
Message-ID: <1996Mar25.162150.9182@kiae.su>
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 16:21:50 GMT
Organization: Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy, Moscow
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Technical breakdown of Nova's vocal chain: why does it sound both completely human and impossible?

Yet the fundamental pitch tracks with a mathematical rigidity that no living vocalist can maintain for 16 bars.
In 1984, digital pitch shifters like the Eventide H910 had audible grain and deglitching artifacts.

Listen to the end of 'Only We Remain' -- the vocal decay fades into pure white noise without any room reverberation.

-- 
Sun-mi Laurent -- Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy, Moscow
"Do not worship the copy."

From dnilsson@mit.edu Tue Mar 26 19:16:50 1996
Path: ashpoly!cascade!transat!ukc!fennimore!mit!dnilsson
From: dnilsson@mit.edu (Dmitri Nilsson)
Newsgroups: alt.music.synth-pop
Subject: Re: Data: The sound of the 'Vocal Matrix' - pitch quantization vs human formant
Message-ID: <1996Mar26.191650.2494@mit.edu>
Date: Tue, 26 Mar 1996 19:16:50 GMT
References: <1996Mar25.162150.9182@kiae.su>
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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In article <1996Mar25.162150.9182@kiae.su>, slaurent@kiae.su (Sun-mi Laurent) writes:
> Technical breakdown of Nova's vocal chain: why does it sound both completely human and impossible?

That's why it hits you in the uncanny valley. Your ears tell you it's a real woman singing her heart out, but your brain detects the mechanical precision.

-- 
Dmitri Nilsson
Opinions expressed are solely my own and not those of Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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From elindqvist@u-tokyo.ac.jp Wed Mar 27 06:14:50 1996
Path: ashpoly!bigsur!pacrim!jpgate!kamome!u-tokyo!elindqvist
From: elindqvist@u-tokyo.ac.jp (Élodie Lindqvist)
Newsgroups: alt.music.synth-pop
Subject: Re: Data: The sound of the 'Vocal Matrix' - pitch quantization vs human formant
Message-ID: <1996Mar27.061450.9687@u-tokyo.ac.jp>
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 06:14:50 GMT
References: <1996Mar25.162150.9182@kiae.su> <1996Mar26.191650.2494@mit.edu>
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In article <1996Mar26.191650.2494@mit.edu>, dnilsson@mit.edu (Dmitri Nilsson) writes:
> That's why it hits you in the uncanny valley. Your ears tell you it's a real woman singing her heart out, but your brain detects the mechanical precision.

It's the greatest vocal performance in synthpop history, regardless of whether it came from vocal cords or a silicon chip.

-- 
Élodie Lindqvist | elindqvist@u-tokyo.ac.jp
PGP Key fingerprint: 6BD1 0901 4BDE FB71
"Keep the channels open."