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Glorious Leader, The Analog Cabin Mystery Album Art


Artist Name: Green Mountain Sun   Title: Glorious Leader   Genre: Indie-Folk   Rating:

Equipment

Logic Pro X, Universal Audio Apollo Twin, Shure SM58, Shure SM81, Resident Audio NF80, Audio Technica ATH-M50x, Plugins include UAD LA-2A, and 1176, Valhalla reverb, and Soundtoys Decapitator.

Music

“Green Mountain Sun” is an indie-folk song written, arranged, recorded and mixed by Kyle Woolard in a 14×20’ log cabin. Kyle played guitar, banjo, keys and sang the vocals. Karl Pestka (of Ólafur Arnalds) played violin, Gunnar Jakobsson played the viola. Ragnar Ólafsson and Micah McCaw sang background vocals. Bly Wallentine played a trumpet formant-shifted down to sound like a French Horn, and Clay White played another trumpet. Roy MacNeil performed the ending fiddle reprise.

Reviewed By Marty Peters

This month’s Spotlight is an organic folksy recording with superb spatial management and a wonderful arrangement complimenting its excellent performances. Kyle and company have fashioned a very likable track with a Lumineers type vibe based primarily around acoustic instrumentation. 
The intro features a plaintive and well-recorded banjo part quickly joined by Kyle’s intimate lead vocal, sung at not much more than a whisper. To our surprise, Kyle sang them all through a Shure SM58 dynamic microphone (more on this later). At the half-minute mark, the mild crescendo leads into some very cool wide panned bell sounds that create a fantastic ping-pong energy. From there, the track begins to fill out with additional sound sources, including acoustic guitar, bass and backing vocals, all well recorded and equally well presented in the busying sound field. We love the unexpected use of the horns in the track. One rarely hears a folk-style banjo paired with a trumpet but darned if it doesn’t fit hand and glove in Kyle’s top-notch arrangement. Lastly, the outro vocal “anthem” creates a sense of completeness, leaving us with a smile!

Suggestions

There is so much to admire here, friends, starting off with the reaffirmation that quality recordings can be achieved with the most basic gear. “Green Mountain Sun” is a fine example of making the most of the tools at hand. Kyle laid down some fantastic vocals through the ubiquitous Shure SM58, a legendary workhorse that is well within the financial reach of even the most modest home studio. We must also congratulate Kyle for his creative arrangement and his willingness to allow for dynamics and breath throughout the track. The rise and fall of energy throughout the song kept us engaged and involved in the best of ways!

Summary

Bravo to all involved!

Contact

Kyle Woolard, [email protected]

 

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