The music was created by Herren alone, with some tracks featuring guest vocals from MCs Mikah 9, MF Doom and Aesop Rock as well as vocalist Sam Prekop from The Sea and Cake.

After working with various local hip hop artists making what he described as "very boring rap beats", Herren was inspired to take his music in a more left-field direction.

[2] While working at the studio, Herren met Joshua Kay and Romulo del Castillo, two Miami-based producers who had founded Schematic Records, a label known for IDM.

[3] For Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives, Herren sampled more famous hip hop records by artists including Nas, Ol' Dirty Bastard and Erykah Badu.

[2] Herren stated that he used some of his favorite MCs instead of the musicians he worked with, as he felt these artists were "saying totally relevant stuff, but I guess it was just my excitement to make it happen.

[2] To create the glitch sounds through the MPC, Herren switched between different sample sources by instantaneously silencing groups of audio channels at the same time.

"[13] Fact expanded on the description of the two genres, stating that "the sonic cut-ups that characterize Vocal Studies have often been linked to the IDM scene, but they can just as well be understood within the context of scratching and turntablism, where snatching small elements of records and re-contextualizing them was key.

"[7] During promotion of his next album One Word Extinguisher, Herren stated that Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives did not have a particular theme as he was primarily focusing on and developing an editing style.

[14] Prior to the release of Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives, Herren performed at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival at Camber Sands in April 2001.

"[2] John Bush of AllMusic described the album as "one of the most enjoyable works of experimental techno heard in several years, a combination of tough, underground hip hop and the fractured neo-electro of Warp favorites Autechre and Plaid.

[13] Tedd Kessler of the NME called the album "teeth-clattering but exhilarating", writing that "behind every wall of hip hop noise ... there lurks a heart-bursting tune and that's what makes it alluring.

"[25] Reviewing the album alongside two other Warp releases (Plaid's Double Figure and Squarepusher's Go Plastic), Uncut described Vocal Studies as "the pick of this crop" and concluded that it "genuinely seems like a next step for a genre in perpetual need of reinvention.

Herren began acting as A&R member for the label, which had a reputation only for IDM, by introducing it to artists including Anti-Pop Consortium, Battles, and Flying Lotus.

[2] Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives was an influential album for contemporary musicians Amon Tobin and Nick Sanborn of Sylvan Esso.