Everybody loves sex, but it’s not always easy to come by (take that as you will). When you’re hard up, the second best thing to gettin’ some is listening to electronically manipulated recordings of people having sex, arranged as background for an industrial/electronica style music recording.
OK, maybe that’s not the second best thing (perhaps that honor goes to ice cream or something), but it does exist. Jersey City resident Jessica Vale has created such an album along with musicians Ivan Evangelista and Jean-Luc Cohen, from Jersey City and New York, respectively.
“All of the music is sonically manipulated recordings of people having sex. Everything from toys, to moans, to breathing, to heartbeats,” said Vale. “Whispers, Velcro wrist restraints, people in a shower. Anything that makes a good sound for things.”
The album has the sound of industrial music – a genre in which artists create a collage of sound using noises from machinery and other non musical sources. Most of the sounds on The Sex Album are unrecognizable (at least to this writer’s imagination), recorded with audio software like Reason, QBase and Digital Performer. The noise provides backup to Vale’s lyrics and vocals.
“A lot of the ideas for the songs were things I wanted to produce in short films,” said Vale. “Music was something I always loved as a child, so we took this as an opportunity to make an album.”
Vale is a fan of industrial and electronica. Some of her favorites include Bjork, Nick Cave, Nine Inch Nails, and the Cure.
Recruitment
So how does one approach people for such a project?
Vale and company went out looking for sex the same way the rest of us do – trolling the clubs.
“We went out to the clubs and approached different people who seemed like they might be outgoing and willing to help out,” said Vale.
Vale said their success rate in finding volunteers was something like one out of two or three (Yeah. I want to know what her line was too!) The seven couples all volunteered on a basis of anonymity.
“We did it in their homes because we didn’t think they’d be comfortable in the studio,” said Vale.
The crew placed mics strategically throughout the room, and were in fact in the room the whole time making sure the sounds were being recorded as needed.
A live tour?
Vale said that they are creating a stage show to support the album for a future tour, but are still working out the details.
“It’s going to be a multimedia experience, and not too explicit,” said Vale. “We’ll use live instruments, but try to keep to the recording. We’re looking into the possibility of having people engage in some level of activity so we can sample the sound while it’s happening.”
The tour would start out locally, but she hopes to bring it nationwide.
The album is available at www.thesexalbum.com. (Make sure you get the url right. Trust me).