Name: Kadri Sammel aka Bedless Bones
Occupation: Singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, interdisciplinary artist
Nationality: Estonian
Current release: Bedless Bones's third full-length album Mire of Mercury is out via Metropolis.

If you enjoyed this Bedless Bones interview and would like to find out more about her music, visit her official homepage. She is also on Instagram, Facebook, and Soundcloud.

For an even deeper dive, we recommend our earlier Bedless Bones Interview about her creative proces, around the re-release of her debut album Sublime Malaise, and the lyrics to her current work Mire of Mercury.



Do you think that some of your earliest musical experiences planted a seed for your interest in your voice and singing? How and when did you start singing?

I don’t know of a connection to a specific early childhood experience. I think the desire to sing is natural to humans. We instinctively start to hum along to everything from songs to the vacuum cleaner. It’s so easy.

I remember being very enthusiastic about singing in kindergarten and that’s when my music teacher suggested my mother put me in music school. Apparently, I was louder than other kids when I sang.

If you're also playing other instruments, how does the expressive potential of these compare to your own voice?

Your own voice is so much more personal. So there’s the undeniable element of extra vulnerability. No proxy.

It seems to be easier to belong and connect through the voice — in singing along to birthday and celebration songs, traditional singing, runic songs etc. But it being so personal can put some people off from singing, because of being told they can’t sing and shouldn’t be singing, whereas when they’ve not mastered an instrument yet, the criticisms can just be in the vein of “you should practise more.”

I think your voice should be treated as a means to express yourself, and singing doesn’t equate to getting on stage and performing for others.

Singing is an integral part of all cultures, and traditions. Which of these do you draw from – and why?

From sacred music’s divine choral harmonies, Hildegard von Bingen, Bulgarian polyphonic singing to Sámi traditional joik; the raw expression in Americana: blues, outlaw country, murder ballads …



[Read our Marja Mortensson interview about the Sami art of Yoik]

What were some of the main challenges in your development as a singer / vocalist? Which practices, exercises, or experiences were most helpful in reaching your goals – were there also “harmful” ones?

Learning to adapt and contain my voice, which is relatively atypical and with a metallic timbre. I’ve not been very methodical with training it, and preferred learning through practice. However, I’ve gotten a good foundation with singing in choirs for ten years.

A vocal warm-up is a must. I’ve skipped it a few times over the years in the hectic pre-show daze and it has always come back to bite me in the ass. It may be a controversial point of view, but unless you’re a vocal athlete or solely committed to performing the works of others, over-training can be harmful for the artist’s sensibilities in my opinion.

I find it more fascinating to see and hear that creative channelling happening through the artist, but that requires giving up control to some extent. And not being afraid of failure.

What is the relationship between harmony, rhythm and melody? Do you feel that honing your sense of rhythm and groove has an effect on your singing skills?

Definitely. I just listened to David Eugene Edwards’s new album Hyacinth and was once again blown away by his impeccable sense of rhythm and musical timing that completely captivates you, and makes you listen to his storytelling.



No hooks or repetitions are necessary if the singer has that ability.

What are the things you hear in a voice when listening to a vocalist? What moves you in the voices of other singers?

A strong suggestive force, a character, a sense of independence. Anything that makes the vocalist uniquely themselves and having a message to convey through the voice.

I'm basically looking for a religious experience. The vocalist shouldn’t be an ornament.

How would you describe the physical sensation of singing? [Where do you feel the voice, do you have a visual sensation/representation, is there a sense of release or tension etc …]

It’s a release of something … An inner impulse. But it shouldn’t be a strain. When I use my chest voice, I visualise the voice rising from deep within my core, sometimes from my tailbone. The head voice is imagined to descend from above, through my crown. That’s the vertical axis. Then I move the voice horizontally.

My natural tone is dark and sits more in the back of my head, so I grin and grimace to bring the sound more forward and brighten the tone.

What kind of musical settings and situations do you think are ideal for your own voice?

I prefer recording vocals on my own — solitude enables me to be the most creative and experimental without holding back.

We have a  drone / ambient / noise side project with my other band, Forgotten Sunrise, called Syndrone, where I sometimes sing and vocalize through effect pedals. Since it’s experimental and improvisational, the unexpected sounds and setting can host an invigorating space for creation. I used to be blocked and unable to vocally improvise, and that has absolutely changed in time.



With Bedless Bones it’s different, the songs are already written and there, but performing my own songs is a special, ritualistic experience, regardless of the place or circumstance.

We have a speaking voice and a singing voice. Do these feel like they are natural extensions of each other, ends on a spectrum or different in kind?

It varies, and can be varied. Some singers' speaking voices are very different from their singing voices. Not to mention vocal techniques of extreme music like death growls, vocal fry, screaming. Or throat singing. It depends on the intent of the vocalist.

The ones I just mentioned are focused on making the voice sound different, unhuman, alien. The opposite examples are vocalists who use spoken word type vocals and musical poetry. Anne Clark’s voice is the same regardless of music playing in the background or not.



Perhaps music just adds elevation to the intensity. Context is key.

From whispers to screams, from different colours to dynamics, what are the potentials and limits of your voice? How much of your vocal performance can and do you want to control?

I’m not much of a screamer, and my music isn’t very aggressive, so I’m looking for unity with the music. I adjust my voice’s explorations to the guidance of the music. I do tend to be louder and more assertive with the voice during live shows, as the loud volumes on stage and the crowd’s energy ignite my performance.

I keep control in the sense that there is intention in what I do, but there are moments where something unplanned can happen. I thrive in the chaotic environment that is born on stage and when I get an unexpected idea, I’m likely to go for it.

When you're writing song lyrics, do you sense or see a connection between your voice and the text? Does it need to feel and sound “good” or “right” to sing certain words? What's your perspective in this regard of singing someone else's songs versus your own?

A lot of the time, I write lyrics in accordance to musical ideas, coming up with a melody or a certain rhythm of a phrase, and then I find the words. This can be an arduous process, as I’m not a native English speaker, but I sing in English.

I’m also defiant towards certain tropes and clichés; I don’t like lazy writing. Sometimes you come across lyrics by others that just fully connect with you, as though you’ve written them yourself. There’s so much incredible poetry out there.

At the same time, singing your own words feels more honest and meaningful, and that’s why I mostly do that.

Strain is a particularly serious issue for many vocalists. How do you take care of your voice? Are the recipes or techniques to get a damaged voice back in shape?

Rest is the only 100% effective way. I’ve only lost my voice once, and it was not due to vocal damage, but after a night out chatting in smoking rooms. I quit smoking after that and haven’t picked it up again.

Screaming to talk to people over loud music in clubs is a big no. In times of trouble, GeloRevoice lozenges have helped me out as well.

How has technology, such as autotune or effect processing, impacted singing? Has it been a concrete influence on your own approach?

I’m not a fan of that highly altered autotune-voice. I do use subtle pitch correction here and there, but not always.

However, adding harmonies with tuned down vocals is something I do and rediscover now and again with enthusiasm, it’s like adding a male voice to mine and grounding it with more gravitas. People, including my own mother, sometimes think there’s someone else singing with me on my records, but it’s always just me.

For recording engineers, the human voice remains a tricky element to capture. What, from your perspective, makes voices sound great on record and in a live setting?

The voice should have a place and purpose. They can be upfront, or mixed to blend into the background, but everything has to come together and be whole to be credible.

Motherese may have been the origin of music, and singing is possibly the earliest form of musical expression, and culture in general. How connected is the human voice to your own sense of wellbeing, your creativity, and society as a whole?

Can there be anything more soothing than the voice of a loved one? The reverberant low frequencies in my lover’s voice fill me with peace and calm, and can make me so content, I get sleepy.

I almost exclusively use motherese when talking to my cats because of the positive way they react. While being often unresponsive to my normal voice, motherese always instigates communication.

Using a soft, resonant tone works on humans too.