On November 4, 2014, Julianna McDuffie released an album called “The King & Queen of Nowhere.” I would tell you more about who Julianna McDuffie is, but there is very little info about her musical career that I could find.
I really pay no attention to classifying music by genre. But researching for this article (some of us still do) was like a crash course for this old man. I think ‘Neoclassical Trip Hop’ would be my favorite. Let me quote from her official page,”Classically trained by a former Met Soprano, Julianna has collaborated with artists around the world and appears on a variety of releases, ranging from experimental Hip Hop, IDM, Techno and Industrial Electronica.” This is her first solo LP. She has written, produced, and performed the entire album entirely with Propellerhead Reason.
I am impressed by the entire album. But what impresses me most of all is Julianna McDuffie’s voice. She sings sometimes a little above a whisper and other times full and strong. On ‘Corduroy (Little Sister)’ her voice is very breathy and seductive, with many layers of background vocals. There is a super bass line that illustrates what “less is more” really sounds like, laid out over a laid back groove. Then there is the song “All That He Had.” More and more layers of vocals and a very tasty dissonant chord progression featuring solo cello and string section.
[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=4160711393 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small track=4126084655]Julianna’s voice is treated with all the love and respect it deserves. The use of the stereo field is excellent, props to the mixing and mastering peoples. I could go on about this album, but that would spoil it for you. Oh yeah, I love backwards sounds.
You can check out Julianna at the following…
