Why No Vocals?

i get asked this question a lot. i used to just hide behind some stupid excuse like “oh its just not finished i’ll find someone to add vocals” but ultimately i knew in my heart of hearts i didn’t want vocals. it wasn’t until i fully embraced the world of post rock that i finally got comfortable in my musical skin. i know “post rock” has in some circles a rather negative reputation, that its over-indulgence and arrogant. well maybe, but if you knew me, you’d know that you could probably never associated those attributes to my personality.

i don’t like myself very much and would rather not waste any time on the “self” to indulge in. what i do like is music without words. music like that speaks to me. i listen differently than many people, i listen for the nuances of the instruments and how they fit together and how their composition, tone and arrangement make me feel. words, more often than not just get in the way.

also, i have asperger’s syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder. what this has to do with music is that i don’t know how to manage human relationships very well, and that subtle contexts and the unspoken language that happens when communicating verbally are often lost on me, so my music tries to mimic how i interpret the world. it doesn’t always work, and it doesn’t always make sense, and many “neuro-typical” individuals find that there is often something “missing” from my music (as well as my method of communicating period.)

does this mean that my music will always not have a vocal component? no, not at all. i have a dear friend who is a splendid vocalist and she and i have been talking about working together, and she understands where i’m coming from so she wants to an instrument another component of the music.

i’ve found freedom through post rock, i’ve found support and a musical vocabulary that agrees with my aesthetic. i’d rather spend my time making sounds than pleasing a crowd, or delivering a verbal message through music. i’ll let others do that.