I know what you mean Uma. Frankly, I"m a little tired of this
stereotype: whispy, ultra feminie vocals over electronic dance tracks. I suppose it's why I like Bjork so much: she can get down with her voice and have it be raw.

Apropos of this, I just released a brand new
CD that is entirely realtime vocals with heavy electronic and live looping processing and/or computer generated human voice.
I also performed at the 1st Berlin Live Looping Festival with an amazing live looping acapella vocalist by the name of
Michael Shiefel (www.schiefel.de).

I think, in general(though I eschew generalities for the most part), that woman's voices tend to sound more ethereal than men's which may be why a lot of electronica producers tend towards using female voice although there are some notable exceptions like David Sylvian and Tim Bowness
(check out burning shed on line to see this amazing singers prolific work).

I, too, am drawn to voices and music that take me to other states of being which is why I'm quite fond of a lot of middleeastern desert vocals (Music of the Magrheb).

Check out a really cool CD by Abed Azrie called AROMATES for
a very deep and beautiful voice that is married to very, very minimal and subtly beautiful electronics and frame drum (another nice combination that has not been mined much).

You must also know of the body of work of the late Qawali master from Pakistan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Qawali is ecstatic music where the singers do not sing words but, instead improvise with vocal sounds. There's a particularly nice collaboration with Nusrat and some electronic musicians
on Real World, called Musst Musst.

Also, the way I see it, when you can't find enough music in the styles that you like, it is a mandate to make some of that music for others like you. I look forward to hearing your CD, given your professed sensibilities. Please let me know when you release it. Any mp3s online of stuff you've done?
Also, have you checked out Voice and Electronica tribe here at tribe.net. Come on over and join us.

You also mentioned that you don't beat box. I just did an amazing show with three beatboxers (including Kid Lucky and Kid Beyond, representing the East and West Coasts). What was very hip was that they were both moving into melodic territory and more avante garde sound textures to augment their original hip hop base. Check their stuff out.

I also started doing what I call Faux Industrial Beatboxing because I was a little sick of everything being hip hop oriented (thought I do love those rhythms). I'm also trying out things like trying to replicate analogue drum machines and west african djembe drummers, etc.). The voice is such an amazing instrument. It really can do almost anything. Let's do it!!!

greetings all,
considering th plethora of male vocals in most other styles of music in the last century or so i find it refreshing that more woman are getting behind the microphones, however i have noticed that a lot of the 'electronica' seems to be selling a sultry, commercial, kind of sound that really doesn't seem to open up any room for these vocalists to really put out anything of substance. i don't get to listen to all that much of what is out there though so maybe i am missing the really solid stuff.

yep nusrat with michael brook is quite excellent.

i personally am finding it really hard to connect with folks to do live sounds in the sf bay area because of a lack of usable spaces. unless there's a lot of money involved (djs mostly) there doesn't seem to be too many places where we could all get together and make some noise...

cheers,
crystal