Getting into Neo-Soul/Funk: Gear, Techniques & Practical Advice from Established Artists

Always wanted to know how to perfect that deliciously warm Neo-Soul/Funk sound?

We speak to some of the biggest and best Neo-Soul/Funk artists in order to find out what is behind the sound; we talk gear, performing your tracks live, and awesome vocal tips for anyone interested in nailing the Neo-Soul/Funk sound

By Eimear O SullivanMusicngear Editor

Article photo - Getting into Neo-Soul/Funk: Gear, Techniques & Practical Advice from Established Artists


Phoebe Katis

Vocalist/Songwriter/Musician (tours around the world with Cory Wong of Vulfpeck)

Article photo - Getting into Neo-Soul/Funk: Gear, Techniques & Practical Advice from Established Artists

Gear you would recommend for Neo-Soul/Funk

I’m not much of a gear ‘nut’ and my go-to equipment is really whatever is easiest / inside my budget, so this may not be the most exciting reply! But because of this (and mainly my lack of knowledge in this area haha) I feel like the emphasis is more on the instruments/vocals rather than what the gear can bring to the table. Just capture the sound as simply and easily as possible and keep it as clean and dry as possible, before production. For recording I have a super basic set upFocusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen interface, Rode NT1-A Complete Vocal Recording, Logic Pro X, Yamaha HS 5 monitors. My studio keyboard is a Roland RD 64, gigging is a Yamaha CP73, or a Roland FA-08. I definitely love the Roland feel for piano more than Nord, and also the Yamaha has great Rhodes/Wurli sounds (of course nothing beats the real thing!). But yeah, nothing fancy in terms of mics, but I do want to investigate the next level for vocals as I’m growing more aware of how much difference a ‘good’ mic can make. I’m a fan of capturing whatever sounds good in the room so that’s where the quality has to come first for me.

The voice is a complex muscle. It needs training, and this is key to strengthening your mixed voice in order to sing loudly, with depth, and without straining

Practical tips for performing your productions live and the gear/setup you would recommend using:

As above, nothing too fancy in terms of gear, my live set up would be as simple as possible, Shure SM58 LC, my keys, and if I’m doing my vocoder stuff it’s the TC-Helicon VoiceLive Touch. I like to have a touch of reverb on all instruments, but still like sounding as close and ‘in the room’ as possible. As long as you can hear yourself clearly then you’re good to go however basic or complex the set up is. A priority for me if I am on IEMs (in ear monitors) is to have a room mic feed too so I can feel the room whilst performing. Otherwise, it’s a strange feeling of sounding like you’re playing to an empty studio whilst actually on stage in front of a crowd! My first two albums are very much based on the live band style and are reflections of how I like to perform live, with a full band (keys, drums, bass, guitar, background vocals). I often gig with my background vocals on track, a good substitute until I can afford a 10 piece backing choir (the dream!). This next record I am working on at the moment is much more studio built, with samples, synths, electro atmos type production. I’m excited to dig into more nitty-gritty methods of live performance and bring these productions to life. 

Vocal tips/techniques for artists who are interested in singing in this style

I often get a lot of people asking about the ‘speak sing’ soft vocal technique, compared with the more stage trained pop belt voice that you hear a lot in musical theatre & pop, and how to balance the two.

I grew up singing musical theatre, classical, and belting, wishing I could make a lot of noise on very high notes. The mixed voice is key to develop here. It takes a lot of time and patience, just as training for a marathon takes focused practice, proper warm ups and warm downs, stretching, and slowly building your stamina. The voice is a complex muscle. It needs training, and this is key to strengthening your mixed voice in order to sing loudly, with depth, and without straining.

Once you’ve developed your mixed voice to a comfortable point you’ll notice you have a lot more control over tone and power across your entire range. This is crucial to achieving the strong lower ‘spoken’ vocal style, whilst also being able to carry that power through into your top range. 

What is also commonly seen in the more soul-pop, singer songwriter style of performance is a soft/airy high tone on the most powerful moments of a song (the chorus, post chorus, or climax of the song). Why does this softer, more delicate / seemingly relaxed style of vocal work over a big climactic part of the song? In my opinion, it is the juxtaposition of the two ‘moods’ – relaxed, tender, vulnerable, open vocals, over the more energetic, driven, impassioned music, creates an exciting atmosphere for the listener. 

You’re drawn into the human element of the voice whilst your energy and blood is pumping from the excitement of the music. For me that’s the sweet spot, and where I feel most captivated when I listen to that style of music. This is in live music and in recording. The important thing to remember when recording your vocals compared to when you’re performing is that production can offer a huge helping hand in achieving this effect (compression, double tracking, reverb/delay) and you can often get carried away and end up sounding completely different to your live vocal. 

My advice would be crank up the compression, get super close to your mic, and sing as relaxed and non projecting as you can. That way you know how your voice sounds in the closest of environments, and you can dial it in from there, how much you like that sound, and how much you want more ‘live’ energy. Finding the sweet spot is the blend between your ‘produced’ vocal and your live ‘in the room’ vocal. For my style of music, I feel like the two are very close. That’s what gives it the authentic ‘real’ factor. 

Other useful tips

Genre is a funny word – I don’t believe I’m qualified in any one genre (or at all!) to give a huge amount of advice haha, I am constantly learning new techniques in both production and live performance. I’d say get to know your instrument, how you like it to sound both live and on record. This means listening back to voice memos and old demos and comparing what you like and don’t like, and building your preferences. That way whomever you’re working with either a live engineer or producer, you can give them an idea of what you like, and build from there. 

Connect with Phoebe 
Website / Spotify /  Instagram / Facebook


ZASKA

Guitarist/Composer/Producer/Songwriter

Article photo - Getting into Neo-Soul/Funk: Gear, Techniques & Practical Advice from Established Artists

Gear you would recommend for Neo-Soul/Funk

If your style is more leaning towards Funk then I would definitely recommend a guitar like a Stratocaster or a Telecaster as those instruments cut through so nicely when you have a big 8 piece band like mine which means you can keep your rhythm playing volume low enough and still hear yourself well. If it's more soul orientated then I think a Gibson 335 is a great guitar for that as it brings that warm jazzy feel but you can also get a great lead tone from it for soloing. 

Another piece of gear I use all the time is an Electro Harmonix Micro Q-Tron mini auto wah pedal. It gives you this "quack" like sound that you hear a lot in Neo-Soul/Funk and it can really bring a whole new dimension to your soloing or chords. Best used with some kind of a compressor pedal though to balance out the volume jump when you push it on :)

Give the people what they want -  which is badass musicianship and a great live experience!

Practical tips for performing your productions live and the gear/setup you would recommend using:

My live show is generally super upbeat and energetic and something that has upped my live game a lot is going wireless on my guitar. I use an XVive wireless system that only costs about €130 and it frees me up on stage so that I can walk around loads and vibe way more with my band, I can go crowd surfing and still be soloing and I can lead conga lines around the room too! 

Another bit of gear I use is a Fender Deluxe tube amp as I love keeping my guitar sound super clean and hate when an amp starts to distort the clean signal when you turn it up. I only put it at about 3 and it's plenty loud even with an 8 piece band! 

Other useful tips

Another useful tip for this genre is that the people who are into Neo-Soul/Funk are generally what I call musos :) There either musicians themselves or are just really passionate about groove-based music. So when you play live, what that particular crowd wants to see is a lot of musicians grooving their asses off! So you can extend songs dramatically, have plenty of breakdown/groove sections and solos where the spotlight is on (hopefully) the great instrumentalists/singers you have in your band. For this genre, you don't have to play the tunes exactly as they were recorded like say an indie band would. Give the people what they want -  which is badass musicianship and a great live experience!

Connect with ZASKA 
Website / Spotify / Instagram / Facebook


Melina Malone

Artist/Musician/Vocalist/Producer

Article photo - Getting into Neo-Soul/Funk: Gear, Techniques & Practical Advice from Established Artists

Gear you would recommend for Neo-Soul/Funk

I have a Boss VE-20 Vocal Performer pedal that I love using for live shows with the band as I can control all my effects on stage. It has different channels so you can presave effects for each track. I love using the vocal octave doubler on choruses to add emphasis, and being able to control your own reverb, delay, and chorus is great too!

...ultimately it’s all about finding inspiration from lots of different places

Practical tips for performing your productions live and the gear/setup you would recommend using:

We perform a lot to tracks so I think it’s important to ensure the live show sounds full. I like to make sure the backing vocals are mixed really well with my live vocal for the live tracks to really feel like they’re there with me, as they make a huge difference when performing soulful music.

Vocal tips/techniques for artists who are interested in singing in this style

I think the best tip is just to immerse yourself in that style of music, listen to as much as possible, and broaden your listening as well. I’ve been listening to a lot of Jazz and Bossa Nova lately which is influencing my vocal style. Having a solid warm up routine is always important too! For a more R&B style vocal, I’ve been listening to a lot of artists who run flawlessly like Jazmine Sullivan, Yebba, and H.E.R and trying to replicate their runs while practicing. The Instagram page ‘They Have The Range’ is an amazing resource for vocal inspiration too!

Other useful tips 

I think ultimately it’s all about finding inspiration from lots of different places, and finding what you love to do! I wouldn’t necessarily have any specific tips for people who want to get into soul music, I think it’s something you just know as a vocalist whether you are or not, if that makes sense?

Connect with Melina Malone
Website / SpotifyInstagram / Facebook


Tolü Makay

Artist/Vocalist/Songwriter

Article photo - Getting into Neo-Soul/Funk: Gear, Techniques & Practical Advice from Established Artists

Vocal tips/techniques for artists who are interested in singing in this style

Neo soul is a fusion of pop, soul and R&B. (contemporary soul) So the vocal techniques can range from falsettos to chest voice. The key and the most important thing is being aware of your placements.  Vocal placements are a guide in your body of where you draw your sound from. If you want something deep and low you feel it in your stomach so you draw from there. If you are sing talking and being playful with your style that can be a combination of head and chest voice. 

One thing I find artists who do contemporary soul is their ability to emphasize. For example, vowels to pronounce certain words would be slightly changed to put more focus. An artist who does this well is Ari Lennox. Her "I" turns to"E".

A great example of a great Neo soul vocalist would also be Jill Scott and Erykah Badu. It almost feels like they are telling you a story.. But when they want to put emphasis they are able to play with their placements.

A song to listen to that seems more on the pop side is Bad Blood by NAO, her placements and use of vocal range is quite amazing! This would be what most people would consider Neo soul because it has a combination of heavy pop-influenced production using a R&B soul vocal style. The Internet are another band who are Neo soul using Bass as groove with very delicate soft vocals. 

I hope this is helpful and I hope it makes sense. Placements are key to vocal techniques because it makes a huge difference by making others feel what you sing.

Connect with Tolü Makay
SpotifyInstagram / Facebook / Youtube


Barq

Four piece group  - Neil Dorrington (Bass) , Stephen McHale (Guitar), Jess Kav (Lead Vocals) & Tommy Gray (Drums)

Article photo - Getting into Neo-Soul/Funk: Gear, Techniques & Practical Advice from Established Artists

Gear you would recommend for Neo-Soul/Funk

I like using my strat for neo-soul stuff, I feel like it’s well suited to getting the subtle, slinky sound that I always gravitate towards when listening to Neo-Soul guitarists. It also has the benefit of having that classic funk sound if you want to dig in with your picking hand a bit more. I find that if I’m playing a guitar with humbuckers it’s hard to dig in without sounding a bit too harsh and heavy, but having said that I regularly see masters of the genre like Isaiah Sharkey or Melanie Faye using guitars with humbuckers and sounding absolutely unbelievable! I feel a lot of it is just personal preference and figuring out what works for you rather than there being any kind of defined rules as to what kind of gear you should or shouldn’t use.

...it’s always worth spending a little extra and getting good quality equipment

Practical tips for performing your productions live and the gear/setup you would recommend using:

Keep good care of your gear! There’s nothing worse than a pedal malfunction or a cable suddenly giving up in the middle of a gig. Total panic and extreme sweating are sure to follow. Also, it’s always worth spending a little extra and getting good quality equipment. There are a few pedals on my board that I’ve been using constantly for 15+ years that have never given me any trouble - they’re worth their weight in gold! 

Again, I think rather than there being any specific types of gear you should use it’s all down to finding what works for you. I will say that it’s important to have as many bases covered as possible on your pedalboard, especially if you’re working in a session musician scenario. If somebody asks you to use a specific effect in a song it’s good to be able to just do it immediately rather than having to explain why you thought it wasn’t important to have that particular sound! 

Other useful tips 

A bit of an obvious tip, but it’s worth remembering how lucky we are to live in a time that there is instant access to an almost never-ending volume of free material to learn from online! There are hours and hours of recordings of incredible guitar players on youtube so there’s never going to be a shortage of material you can be learning from. Take bits and pieces from musicians you enjoy and incorporate it into your own playing, build it up slowly using a metronome and you’ll soon have a huge neo-soul vocabulary to draw from. It’s incredible to be able to have access to a lesson with Isaiah Sharkey where he’s playing his licks and also explaining his approach to the neo-soul genre. What a time to be alive!

Connect with Barq
Website / Spotify / Instagram / Facebook


Also check out Getting into House, Getting into DubstepGetting into SynthwaveGetting into Alternative/Indie Electronic and Getting into Synth-Pop with gear, techniques and practical advice from REES, Donny Rotten, Karim Atari, Mehta, Parallel, ShamanskEE, Inwool, EGOLESS, Jon1st & Shield, Von D, BREAKFAKE, Mexican Stepper, IMAJIKA, Vincenzo Salvia, Dana Jean Phoenix, Morgan Willis, ArvoParty, SYLK, Anna Mullarkey, Bantum, Xylo Aria, Double Screen, CYNEMA, True Tides, Flecks, Lunnah, Host and Peachface.

About Eimear O Sullivan

Eimear Ann O Sullivan is a multi-genre music producer, audio engineer and vocalist. After receiving a Masters in Music Technology from the CIT Cork School of Music, she went on to operate as a producer under the name Blakkheart. Her releases have received critical acclaim from Ireland's biggest music publications, such as District Magazine and Nialler9, alongside receiving heavy commercial radio airplay. She currently works in Cork recording studio Flashpoint CC. Previous clients of hers include the likes of Comedy Central’s Dragony Aunt star Candy Warhol, rapper Darce and Outsider YP. (Photo credit @Fabian Boros)

Contact Eimear O Sullivan at eimear.o.sullivan@musicngear.com

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