Case Study 3, Lorde - Team

Intro: Lorde is a singer songwriter from New Zealand and her song, Team released on the Pure Heroin album in 2013 is a minimalistic pop song that is an example of the "indie pop" that Lorde is known for. The song uses some influences from rap and hip hop as well as pop, giving a unique sound that Lorde is known for. Musical Theory:

This song is 3:13 minutes in 4/4 in the key of G flat Major which gives a sense of happiness in a sea of uncertainty. This key was likely chosen because of Lordes limited vocal range of 3 octaves G2 - G5 This is a classic pop piece with an Intro Verse Chorus Verse Chorus Bridge Chorus scheme. The intro is much longer than most pop songs and helps to set the tone and dims the lights so to speak giving her unique sound. The Vocals: The vocals are the centre of attention for this song. Through the quiet verses the vocals are a single track with slight reverb that is sharp and bright, while there is also a fair amount of compression, most likely due to a volume instability during the recording process i.e. from a whisper to a high note. The chorus opens up the panning of the vocals by adding two "Bass" vocal tracks and splitting them to the left the and right. It also adds a second mainline vocal on the left The stereo panning only in the chorus gives the verses a stripped back minimalistic sound. The vocals are also used as a a sample for the intro, creating a loop that's been pitched 2 octaves lower and is reminiscent of a hip hop or rap track.

Soundstage: The stage for the vocals in the verse is very narrow as seen below in the Goniometer. To get this tight there would have been some kind of binaural stereo processing.

This then opens up for the chorus in both volume and stereo spread. The vocal tracks are layered and panned to create a smooth spectrum show to the right. Spectral Balance: Lorde's vocal range is about 3 octaves G2 - G5, by adding the heavy bass of the kick drum and the light airy synth the full spectrum is taken care of. Through the chorus the frequency content is rich, from the amount of layers in the vocals, and the full synth loadout. There's mostly high end in the vocals, and during the chorus a bass layer is added alongside panning gives the full rich sound. The Synths: There are 3 synths in this song, the bass synth which is a sine/saw sound that's used towards the end of the song during the bridge between the last 2 choruses. The body synth is a grittier (higher frequency content) saw wave that comes out during the choruses. This synth is side chained to the kick drum. The third light airy synth that goes through the entire song, creates peaks during the chorus and gives the melodic harmony through the verses. This synth has a stereo delay of some sort running to the right then binaurally behind the head to the left.

Soundstage:

The light airy synth gives a nice movement through the song, though it's fairly far back in the mix. When the high synth pans to the right during the chorus the mid synth takes a place on the left to keep the balance. Spectral Balance: The high pitch of the synth for the verse fits well with the drum's bass, leaving the mids open for the vocals, though during the chorus the mid range synth adds body substance to her light vocal.

The Drums: Apart from the vocals, the other main driving force in this song is the clap based drums used in the song, these are very layered and drive the whole song. The drum beat is reminiscent of a hip hop or rap influence. There is a large amount of reverb on both the claps and the kick, giving the feeling that Lorde is performing inside a box. The kick has a lot of bass and reverb that during the intro has a longer release than the rest of the song. It's tightened up with a gate very slightly.

Soundstage:

The kick is panned straight down the centre and the claps are panned far left and far right. The layout doesn't change much throughout the song, some light cymbals can be heard on the far edges during the chorus. Spectral Balance:

The drums have been split between bass and highs and doesn't have much in between. This leaves the mid range open for the vocals. The bass of the kick is around 20 - 100 Hz, and the clap/snare contains frequencies from 1k - 16k. The claps carry the high frequency content in this song. Final Thoughts:

The minimalistic style really suits her soft husky voice, and with the use of heavy reverb on the vocals created a great atmosphere for the song. This song is an interesting example of a vocal musician that wants to influence her own songs with more of a hip hop vibe instead of going mainstream and poppy. This is an uplifting song with a simple drum line, this is easily marketable to the masses.