015: Maria Franz: Voice of Our Ancestors - Part I

No one knows what music from the Bronze or Iron Ages sounds like, but the musical group Heilung presents a version of what music in that era could have sounded like. Their music is often described as “amplified history” and it evokes something primal in audiences around the world. 

In this two-part episode, we sit down with Maria Franz, the lead female singer of Heilung, as well as two other bands, Euzen and Songleikr. We shared a cup of tea while chatting about how they’re creating intriguing sounds, fantasy roleplaying, and the banshee wails.

Maria’s vocal creativity had already blown me away, and I was so eager to ask her about how she had developed such a unique sound and vocal technique. Maria decided to quit smoking to help preserve her voice. It’s incredible how much anything that affects a person’s body will also affect the voice. After all, the voice is IN our bodies, so anything you ingest or do will, in some way, work itself into your vocal folds.

Allow Heilung’s music to sweep you away into another time and moment in history and grab a copy of their new album, Drif, which releases on August 19.

In this episode, you will hear:

• How Maria ended up being part of Heilung
• How Heilung makes their music organically and where they draw inspiration from
• Capturing professional-level audio outside of the recording studio
• Getting the audience as part of the ritual
• Making the banshee wail
• Maria’s vocal techniques: expanding the rib cage and the back muscle support
• How everything you do affects your vocal cords

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Supporting Resources:

https://www.facebook.com/amplifiedhistory 

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.