"Remain In Light" vocal sound

[Zygomorph]

I really really like this record, and I've been wondering a bit about the sound of Byrne's vocals on it. They have this very even, continuous saturation to them that makes me think of graphite drawings. I haven't really heard it as such in many other recordings. The closest I've ever gotten to such a sound was when I used an AKG 414 for relatively loud vocals, or like, when I crank up the "saturation" knob on BlockFish (which is, of course, not as even or nice sounding).

Any ideas on the matter? It kinda shows up all over the mixes, so i wonder if maybe it's the mixing board?

[Peterson Goodwyn]

I have nothing informative to add about the vocal sound except that I too notice its "saturation." Part of this, I believe, is just Byrne's strength as a vocalist--he seems to be able to distribute power evenly and generously to every note he sings.

But I also have a related question that surely someone here can answer which is, is that Brain Eno singing on the chorus?

[Zygomorph]

You know, I was just thinking the same thing tonight as I was listening to this record on the subway platform... he's clearly singing consistently enough to work a consistent coloration out of whatever machine is in the works; similar, i guess, to how an electric instrumentalist works the distortion of their amplifier from their axe. Except that you have an engineer turning a knob and saying "keep singing it just like that."

Actually, I once turned pages for a pianist on a classical recording session; and this producer, who has apparently won grammys or whatever, would occasionally come on over the little speaker box on the stage to say "Hey, so-and-so, you're starting to play just a touch hot." Which is to say, she's watching the levels and listening very carefully for consistency across takes.

And yes, I believe it's Eno. His singing is very distinctive, especially when he sings with Byrne, because they never bother to match their vowel sounds, which is always charming. Like, you can't sing it as gloriously as it needs to be unless you sing "Given the chAAAAAHnce, I'll die like a baby...."