2025-02
Delay, Deny, Defend, and Die (Acid Omen mix) feat. Aisha Ricketts
I often commission vocals from Aisha, who delivers exactly what I need, along with an improvised addition that ends up leading me in new directions.
For "Delay, Deny, Defend, and Die", not only did she sing the vocal in multiple styles, but she also hummed one of the instrumental parts, unprompted.
While it didn't fit with the original mix, I took that hummed part — just three notes — and built an Acid Omen remix around it. I ended up varying the part to an overly excessive six notes, and layered on top a higher open-vowel part. Then I commissioned this second set of vocals from her.
She promptly delivered the new wordless vocals, along with various further improvisations and flourishes around them, which improved them no end. I rearranged and featured these variations in the song's outro, where they have room to breathe and take centre stage.
She also included a version of the higher part in the kind of operatic style that I've previously used in tracks such as "Vitruvian Shift". Again, this extra version isn't appropriate for this particular mix, but will likely in turn inspire a third one. It's quite a symbiotic relationship at this point, with both of us creatively inspiring the other one.
Studio journal: 2025-02
