oldie lounge singers and hiphop?

[lyricalcharms]

yea im adding a trio of girls to sing a melody behind a chorus thats rapped. but because of the feel in the beat, the whole 50's/60's lounge singer....um back up lounge singers rather, comes to mind. i dont need a strong harmony of high and low notes, more of an alto range for this project.

so my MIX QUESTION is do u think if i slightly pitch shift them while keepin them in key would be good enough? i dont want a digital sound..i know "try and find out..." but i was wondering if n e one else has ideas or experience on mixing a trio of girls? I have access to 4 vocals (not professionals but damn good)

girl 1 - soft soulful Soprano
girl 2 - soft emotinal Alto
girl 3 - a sharp/bold high Alto/Soprano
girl 4 - a strong Soprano/Alto

who knows i might use all 4... n e tricks or tactics i should try? oh and no i cant get all four of them here at once... id be lucky to get 2 in at the same time. i do know girls 1 & 2 vocals match pretty well,(i only have them tracked curretently) but i've only used girls 3 and 4 on solo projects. i appreciate your time.

 

[chazba]

Could be a recipe for disaster...The BEST way is to insist that they practice and get it right B4 you let them near a mic. 4 voices may be too many, that is, too dense a sound unless thay are the featured sound. If you want a B/U, use 2 or 3 and doubletrack them. Choose the 2 that sound most alike. Again...insist that they get it down and right in advance. One final idea...don't let them into the mixing session unless you like to be overpowered by MORE MEEEEE.....
Ohyaaaaaif you have to do any pitch shifting you have the wrong girls.
chazba

 

[Daisy]

Why don't you just try it and see if it works?

Yea, it's a revolutionary thought.

 

[The Green Hornet]

Amen! A while back in Chicago, I had the distinct pleasure to hear a "waitress" working where I was a bartender. She was an "oldie" I guess by many terms. Her name was Bee Harold and she had a wonderful voice. She sang with no music, no backup and she was still great.

I've heard another gal, a friend of my fave bass player in my area, sing on an old LP. Man, could she groove! Such great phrasing and CLEAR -- no mud. But, you know, those folks kind of suffer in the backdrop unless they are doing back-ups or commercials.

Many of our current vocalists can REALLY sing, too; but not quite at the older standard IMHO.

Green Hornet

 

[lyricalcharms]

hahaha I appreciate the advice chazba... right now its sounding good... i had 2 of the girls do some back ups, and its sounding great. there wasn't much lyrical content for them to get down, but i was able to give them plenty enough time before the actuall recording.

right now there are 3 girls on the track singing back up... it sounds clean. 4th girl never got a chance to come in, but since all 3 girls know they could be bumped for what sounds better, i might still bring in girl number 4. When i get final approval from the original artist, ill see if i can post it.

thank u for your help.