Uboa - Validation Pyre (2025 redux) (now on the She/Her TDoV Compilation 1)

Here is a redux of an old song made originally just for soundcloud that I always was fond of, remade with everything I have learned about production, mixing and sound design over the past 7 years. It has a different structure too and more instruments added - notedly vocals.

Specifically, I have learned the importance of dynamic range (NOT brickwalling everything), frequency seperation/masking (eq'ing out frequencies you can't hear in the overall mix to eliminate mud when not wanted, giving each track its own space in the frequency spectrum) and taming resonant frequencies so your ears don't get too sore and tired unless intended. The other thing I am learning - especially with ambient-esque songs - is the importance of pacing. I often rush things and make things too dense, likely due to my ADHD. I am slowly trying to let things sit for a bit and build up. I got it right on "golden flower" and it was an issue on the demo/soundcloud version of validation pyre - so this newer version is a teeny bit longer so the crescendo has more payoff. I also tried to make the crescendo build up more naturally - the atonal orchestral samples (from xenakis or ligeti? its past copyright and I loooove modern classical) are higher in the mix, with the dissonance creating tension before big organ-esque sample comes in.

Finally, while I did add vocals to this one as I felt a big scream would be nice at the end - I don't feel like all my songs need vocals. However I often add them as adding my voice to a song makes it recognisably 'uboa' - my clocky, young-sounding (I am in my mid-30s), breathy, soy and self-taught contralto doesn't sound like much out there. Part of it is my lack of voice training (other than often aiming for higher notes and using breath) and the other part is my autistic-australian accent.

-

Interesting fact: australian accents are generally more masculine, with women speaking much lower than americans (we're more comparable to some european accents, like english cockney which is my dad's accent) as we tend to relax our vowels and use less nasality (I am unusually nasal). It means when we do voice train we often get an american accent, especially if autism is in the mix too. I kinda like my accent and my voice didn't drop too low, so I kinda keep it as it is mostly. I always do still get envious of how feminine US accents (and other accents) sound - it is interesting how culturally relative passing and even dysphoria can be.

However, I feel a few compositions don't need vocals to work and often worry about 'forcing' them in. Hopefully they fit in this one, but expect a few more instrumentals in the future. I just hope they still are recognisably uboa.

-

This was made for an upcoming compilation called "She/Her" showcasing transfem musicians - so it is behind the paywall so people get the compilation instead (except y'all, the trve uboa fans). It will also have a seperate master too. There will be a link to it when it is out, and will use a seperate new master.

One day I'll put all these compilation and one-off releases together in a big "selected works" once all their charities/comps have run their course. Which means mixing/mastering them to be coherent with each other ... not looking forward to that lol. But I love doing one-offs without the expectation of the song being part of an LP, it takes off the pressure and allows me to experiment more freely.