Resonancias (Dec 2022)
Agudeza y desconcierto en la voz de Chinoy
Abstract
This article examines ideas about gender identity raised by the reception of singer-songwriter Mauricio Castillo (Chinoy)’s ‘high-pitched voice.’ It seeks to avoid a deterministic association between body and vocal sound, as well as between voice and identity. It proposes to complexify the concept of a ‘high-pitched’ voice by analyzing various sonic and performative features (vocal timbre and other noises) that impact the perception of a ‘disconcerting’ voice. Through oral, musical, and hemerographic sources, this article describes the setting up of a performance of vulnerability, which renders the singer’s body audible while characterizing extravagant voices. This case study explores the implications of vocal performance for the configuration of divergent masculinities in the context of a contemporary independent music scene in Chile.
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