Why vocals are so special in dance music

To uninformed observers, dance music can often be dismissed as “repetitive beats”. Although not wrong, it’s a snub that devalues the music you love and places it in a lower tier than other types of music.

Dancing to repetitive beats is an ancient and visceral practice. But when you add vocals, there’s a more human, emotive layer to the experience. Whether it’s a chopped up sample, a simple repetitive motif or a full-on song, vocals liven up DJ sets all over the world. Here’s why they’re so special…

A TRULY HUMAN “INSTRUMENT”
The human voice is the oldest musical instrument, and most complex in terms of timbre. Our connection to vocals goes way deeper than any other musical sound because it’s so inherent to us as humans.

EMOTIONAL CONNECTION
Vocals are a perfect vessel for transmitting the full spectrum of human emotion. The limbic system, which processes emotions and memories, illuminates in functional brain scans when we listen to music.

MEMORIES
You’re way more likely to remember the vocal aspect of a tune, even if it’s a simple word, than an instrumental part. It’s generally easier to imitate vocals and remember words - especially the often simple, repetitive use of vocals in rave tunes.

POWER OF SINGALONG
On the subject of imitation, when you hear a catchy song, or vocal clip, you may end up repeating it yourself. This increases your connection to the tune and also increases the chances of you remembering it, adding to its impact.

FAMILIARITY
Ultimately, vocals add a feeling of familiarity to dance music, no matter how minimal or distorted they are. For example, tracks like ‘Glue’ by Bicep or MK’s infamous remix of ‘Push The Feeling On’, where the vocals are indistinct, yet still somehow very catchy and easy to repeat.