Human voices are an instrument like no other- the natural instrument. The voice is the easiest instrument to wield, yet sometimes one of the hardest to master. Throughout history, the voice has been a primary and focal method of music-making. However, in recent years, voices have moved further away from their origin point and are being harnessed in extremely non-traditional ways.

Using vocals as a method of experimentation is not a new idea, obviously. Gregorian chanting and experimental choir music have always been sources of innovative ideas of vocal performance. What is striking, however, is how the methods of vocal manipulation have changed and their shift from underground to mainstream music.

Experimental artists have been using vocals outside of tradition for years. One popular method was brought to notoriety in underground music by James Blake around the start of the 2010's. Blake's signature method involved using snippets and samples of vocals, usually his own, and smearing them around the mix the same way he would a synthesizer. This method of texture propelled many of Blake's early tracks.

One of Blake's peers, Bon Iver, most famously adopted this trend in his acappella odyssey, Woods.

One hallmark of this song that would prove a constant in subsequent years is the use of auto-tune and vocoders, a trend once (unfairly) seen by many mainstream music fans as a disgusting mark of pop and rap music, now adopted by the keepers of modern "authenticity".

In recent years, this trend has been adopted by mainstream pop stars in genuinely surprising fashion.

Even though I had heard plenty of similar songs, I was still caught off guard upon hearing the song Gold, by Kiiara, in which the main instrumental consists of a chopped apart vocal sample of her own singing.

However, no mainstream artist has taken to this trend the way Justin Bieber has. In the past several years of his career renaissance, Bieber has settled into a comfortable pattern for his songs- verse, bridge and an instrumental hook that involves his voice being absolutely mangled. From Where Are Ü Now and Sorry to Let Me Love You, Bieber has allowed mega producers like Diplo, Skrillex, Blood, and DJ Snake to use his vocal stems as just another piece of the smash-hit puzzle.

All in all, the trend of warped vocal stabs does not seem to be slowing down in either underground or mainstream music. But who knows? This could turn out to be another extremely quick fad that will simply make every song with the characteristic extremely dated. Only time will tell.

There was far too much music to cover in this article, and I did not have the time to cover all I could have. I've created a helpful (small) playlist if this is the sort of thing you're interested in.

Bon Iver- Heavenly Father

Eola- No Getting

Animal Collective- Brothersport

Kiiara- Gold

James Blake- I Only Know (What I Know Now)

Justin Bieber- Sorry