Joji’s music is known for its ethereal, melancholic sound, blending lo-fi aesthetics with polished production. One of the key elements that define his unique sonic signature is his vocal processing. His use of reverb, delay, and saturation plays a crucial role in shaping the dreamy, intimate feel of his tracks. In this guide, we’ll break down how these effects contribute to Joji’s sound and how you can achieve similar results in your own mixes.
Understanding Joji’s Vocal Style
Joji’s vocals often feel distant yet emotional, washed in ambient effects that create a sense of space and vulnerability. His music blends elements of R&B, indie, and electronic genres, with production techniques that emphasize warmth and nostalgia.
To recreate Joji’s vocal sound, you need to focus on:
- Reverb: To create a spacious, airy sound.
- Delay: To add depth and movement.
- Saturation: To bring warmth and texture.
Now, let’s break down each effect and how Joji uses them.
The Role of Reverb in Joji’s Vocals
Reverb is perhaps the most defining effect in Joji’s vocal chain. It creates the illusion that his voice is floating in space, giving his music a cinematic and melancholic quality.
How Joji Uses Reverb
- Long, atmospheric reverbs create depth and space.
- Dark, low-passed reverb prevents harsh high frequencies.
- High pre-delay keeps the vocal clear before the reverb tail kicks in.
- Layered reverbs blend short and long reverbs for a richer texture.
How to Recreate Joji’s Reverb
Choose a large hall or plate reverb. Use a plugin like Valhalla VintageVerb, Pro-R, or your DAW’s stock reverb. Set the decay time between 3-6 seconds for a deep spacey feel.
Adjust the pre-delay to keep the vocal intelligible before the reverb tail kicks in. Set it between 30-70ms to prevent the vocal from getting lost.
Darken the reverb by applying a low-pass filter around 6-10kHz to make it sound warm and distant.
Blend the wet and dry signals properly. Send your vocal to an aux reverb bus rather than inserting reverb directly on the vocal track. Start with 30-50% wet signal and adjust to taste.
Joji’s songs often use reverb automation to create dynamic moments. Try increasing reverb during choruses, breakdowns, or emotional peaks and reducing it in verses for clarity.
You could also use joji vocal presets from cedarsoundstudios.com
How Joji Uses Delay for Depth
Delay is another essential component in Joji’s vocal processing. Rather than making vocals sound robotic or rhythmic, Joji’s delay settings are typically subtle and ambient, helping to add depth without overpowering the vocal.
How Joji Uses Delay
- Subtle slapback delay for width and thickness.
- Quarter or eighth-note delay to create a sense of movement.
- Filtered, lo-fi delays for a vintage, nostalgic feel.
How to Recreate Joji’s Delay
Use a slap delay for thickness. Set the delay time to 50-120ms with very low feedback, and pan it slightly left and right for width.
Use quarter or eighth-note delay for space. Set the delay time to match the BPM of your track. Start with feedback around 15-25% for subtle repeats. Low-pass around 3-6kHz and high-pass above 300Hz to avoid muddiness.
Automate delay for emotional impact. Increase the delay feedback on certain words to make them repeat into space. Use a high-pass filter sweep on the delay tail to make it feel like it’s fading into the distance.
Using Saturation to Warm Up the Vocal
Saturation is the secret sauce behind Joji’s warm, slightly gritty vocal tone. It adds harmonic richness, making the vocal fuller and more present without sounding harsh.
How Joji Uses Saturation
- Tube-style saturation for warmth.
- Tape saturation for a slightly vintage feel.
- Subtle distortion on backing vocals for extra texture.
How to Recreate Joji’s Saturation
Use a saturation plugin. Try Soundtoys Decapitator, FabFilter Saturn, or Softube Saturation Knob and apply gentle tube saturation to enhance warmth.
Focus on the mids and highs. Boost around 800Hz-3kHz for presence and add subtle saturation in the highs (8-12kHz) for extra air.
Use parallel saturation for depth. Duplicate your vocal track, apply heavy saturation on the duplicate, and blend it in at 10-30% wet to keep the main vocal clean but textured.
Add light distortion on backing vocals. Use a bitcrusher or tape distortion on harmonies and ad-libs. Roll off highs above 10kHz for a lo-fi effect.
Additional Tips to Nail Joji’s Vocal Sound
- Use a high-quality microphone with a warm character, such as a Neumann TLM 103 or Audio-Technica AT4040.
- Record with a softer vocal delivery to match Joji’s intimate, breathy tone.
- Experiment with pitch correction (Auto-Tune or Melodyne) to subtly smooth out notes while keeping the natural feel.
- Layer background vocals subtly with wide panning and reverb.
Final Thoughts
Joji’s vocal effects are a perfect blend of spacious reverbs, subtle delays, and warm saturation, giving his music an unmistakable atmosphere. By carefully applying these effects, you can craft a vocal sound that feels intimate, dreamy, and emotionally charged.
Whether you're mixing your own vocals or working on a similar style, experimenting with reverb, delay, and saturation is key to achieving that signature Joji vibe.