Hi, I have a quick question about Thom Yorke’s vocal effects on two songs. On the latest “5.17/That’s How Horses Are” release, his vocal track has this unique doubled-up or double tracked effect, and I recall his vocals on the chorus of “Daily Battles” having a similar thing. Would you happen to know *exactly* what’s going on here? Like beyond just double tracking, or a chorus effect, it sounds like there’s some kind of unique compression thing going on. I lack the vocabulary to describe– help?

Sing the “same” thing twice (taking plenty of liberties). Compress each take to bring out the sustain (1176 with slow attack and quick release). Pan both takes center. Apply a bit of stereo reverb to the main take, and a ton of stereo reverb to the other take. Side-band compress the reverby take so it ducks behind the main take.

They’ve used similar techniques on several songs in the past, perhaps most notably on Spectre. But it’s rare to hear it for the entirety of a song. Usually the technique is used to accent certain words, such as on Guess Again! and Truth Ray (“thin thin thin”).

And the more general idea, heard across Thom’s discography, is to feed your delay/reverb effects with a secondary take. Sometimes we only hear the delay/reverb, which adds a really interesting character as the “echo” is different from the original. I suppose it’s the same principle as adding modulation to a delay/reverb to make it feel unique from the original, but taken a step further.

Daily Battles is a bit different, as it just has a second take of the main vocal panned right during the choruses. But that song does feature its own unusual vocal effect: a fast stereo delay that’s applied extremely briefly on certain sibilants, accenting the start of certain words.