Expressions of Selfhood through Interactions With Vocal Technology

Luckhoff P, Özcan Z. Expressions of Selfhood through Interactions With Vocal Technology. In: 2025 Breaking Barriers in Audio. Audio Engineering Society; 2025.pp. 9:1-6. Available from: https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=22832

@inproceedings{Luckhoff2025_22832,
  author = {Luckhoff, Paul and Özcan, Zeynep},
  title = {{Expressions of Selfhood through Interactions With Vocal Technology}},
  booktitle = {2025 Breaking Barriers in Audio},
  pages = {9:1-6},
  year = {2025},
  month = mar,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  url = {https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=22832}
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - Expressions of Selfhood through Interactions With Vocal Technology
AU  - Luckhoff, Paul
AU  - Özcan, Zeynep
T2  - 2025 Breaking Barriers in Audio
SP  - 1
EP  - 6
M1  - Paper 9
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/03/27
UR  - https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=22832
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - This paper examines how vocal technologies, including microphones, autotune, and vocoders, enable artists to challenge normative gender expectations associated with the human voice. It argues that while these technologies are often designed for utilitarian rather than artistic purposes, their unintended potentials for musical interaction have fostered innovative singing techniques that disrupt traditional categorizations of identity. Focusing specifically on vocal fry, a vocal characteristic often negatively associated with women, this paper explores its transformation into a popular singing technique through technological mediation; this development has allowed artists to redefine its cultural meaning and utilize it for distinct forms of musical expression. This analysis illustrates how exploring vocal technology beyond its prescribed uses opens new avenues for aesthetic exploration and subverts gender-based prejudices. By analyzing the musical evolution of vocal fry and other technologically-mediated singing techniques, this paper demonstrates how artists leverage technology to express selfhood outside of binary norms.
ER  -