Cyborg Voice - Der Auto-Tune Effekt als Klangästhetik des Humanoiden: Ein medienarchäologisches Statement

It must be clear that every recorded music is medialized: a form of music not only shaped by technology but also aestheticized through it. Consequently, it is almost negligent to attempt an analysis of (recorded) acoustic events without considering involved media because these technologies are decisive for sound aesthetics. Especially when studying popular music, I argue in favour of a media archaeological approach since the applied technology intervenes in aesthetics during (re)production of music itself. Furthermore, technology forms and organizes a defined framework within music—a sort of irrefutable regularity. As shown by the example of the Auto-Tune effect, its technology works exactly as it is programmed to, on the digital computer, which is very different from a vocoder’s or harmonizer’s sound production. Therefore, sound effects of vocoders, harmonizers, and Auto-Tune are not the same regardless of how similar they sound. Media archaeological investigation always refers to technically founded laws and grounds the scientific endeavour and emancipates itself from history’s narrative structure. From this basis, it is possible to describe a sound aesthetic that allows technology to speak for itself to a certain extent, detached from cultural-historical dimensions. In the case of the Auto-Tune effect, it has revealed a humanoid sound aesthetic that does not need any further (audio)-visual signs since these are derived from the technology itself.