Ammonite is the new project from songwriter and producer Amy Spencer. Her debut mini-album, Blueprints, explores two opposing sound worlds, voice and technology. Where layers of improvised vocals meet electronic processing and flow like a glorious, glitchy blue river.
Although she was a competent singer-songwriter and guest vocalist for Bicep (who wrote two songs on her debut album), TVAM, DC Gore and Motsa, like many women in music, she experienced "imposter syndrome" in male-dominated environments and preferred to leave others to produce. But with Ammonite, Spencer decided to try something new: creating fragments of self-reflective lyrics, droning vowels and staccato repetitive words, she constructed this debut 7-track sonic manifesto, with her voice at the forefront.
Throughout Blueprints, Spencer displays vulnerability and strength. Her music is close and intimate, but distant and reflective, as if from another time, floating in the atmosphere between space and earth. It is both organic and artificial. Neither good nor bad; human or machine; male or female.
We have had the pleasure of speaking with Amy, and this has been the result.
What opposing sound worlds does Amy Spencer explore on her album "Blueprints"?
My music is made with vocals and electronic processing. I’ve found that the voice is often associated with being natural, bodily, and intimate, whereas technology is frequently thought of as the opposite – manmade and masculine. Music production and technology is also a field dominated by men, whereas women are more affiliated with performing and singing. I loved that the music I was making synthesised the two very different worlds.
What techniques does Spencer use to fuse voice and technology in the song "ARP"?
I sampled my voice – a simple OH or AH sound, then used Logic’s built in arpeggiator to create two arps that weave within each other. I then built all of the other layers around it, and eventually brought it to collaborator Calum Duncan to help finish it off. This track is so bonkers but it’s a special one to me. I never thought I’d be able to create anything like this!
How does Spencer describe the change in tone on "ARP" compared to the rest of the album?
ARP doesn’t have a lyrical vocal line which is different to all of the other compositions. But it does have some effected voice notes where I’m talking through my process, and trying to understand what this music represents. These were initially much clearer voice notes – you could hear me say things like “I want to find the perfect ways to utilise my voice, but I think part of my approach has to be trying to escape this need for perfectionism, and just letting what happens be…” but Calum Duncan (who helped me finish the music) and I ended up making these a lot blurrier and intense so they fit better with the track. I think the sentiment is still there though, and this is really underlying throughout all of the tracks on Blueprints.
Why did Spencer and Vardi decide to depict Spencer's voice as "jolts of electricity"? What visual connection is Vardi seeking to establish between the energy of Spencer's voice and the imagery of "ARP"?
When Yasmi heard ARP, she said that she imagined my vocals as “jolts of electricity”. In this song in particular, they carry quite a lot of energy –– it’s an intense and pretty epic track compared to my others –– so she wanted a way to showcase this throughout the visuals. The visuals are very reactive to the voice and are so impactful on a big screen while I perform live. After my first show, I had lots of people come up to me and say they loved the visuals in that song.
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