Sometimes, you listen to a song and immediately fall in love with the artist, even though you may have never heard of them before that moment. One band I've experienced this with is Lunatic Wolf, a six-piece folk band from South Africa. Even though it was completely unknown to me, I listened to one of their songs in an 8-track playlist and was immediately struck by the melody and the layering of the instruments. Their music is a folk-rock mix, and their songs use great instrument production to create songs that still sound gentle and soft. According to their website, the band was originally a duo, but later expanded to a six-member group. However, you can still hear the band's beginnings in their intricate guitar melodies which would have worked beautifully even as a simple two-act. The first song I heard from them was a perfect example of this, and that's why I was so intrigued by the band. The song is called "The Tallest Tree" and it's about getting older and not being able to do all the things you used to do, and not feeling free and innocent anymore. It is one of my favorite recordings for the care with which it is arranged and recorded. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The song's introduction and first chorus feature two acoustic guitars and a backed acoustic piano. However, the instruments are moved almost completely to the sides, with the piano and lead guitar on the left and the other guitar strumming on the right. The effect is a very full sound, which delicately matches the clear voice. The recording of the acoustic guitars still contains the strumming sounds, which makes it feel very organic despite the production. The opening of every song is important because it is the first thing the listener hears, so it must involve them in the song. . It works perfectly in this case, because the instruments all fit together perfectly, despite their intricate melodies and rhythms. Panning the two acoustic guitars on opposite sides of the recording also creates an interesting sound, allowing the two very different guitar parts to play off each other but still sound distinct. The instrumental intro creates all this compelling music, but it's mixed very well to allow the vocals to be the main part of the recording when they come in when the first verse begins without becoming muddy. Before the first chorus arrives, the music calms down a bit before the crescendo to transition to the new instrumentation. The acoustic guitars, which were previously very prominent, are lowered to allow the piano to accompany the vocal melody. However, instead of playing a melody like in the verse, the piano only plays chords during the chorus. The guitars also become muted strummed instead of the strumming that had been more evident during the verse. A synthesizer that plays chords repeatedly is also added to the mix, although it remains in the back of the recording. The transition in the chorus creates a huge contrast between the two sections. When the music calms down, it's almost as if it shows disappointment and fear in following the lyrics: "Why did this happen / How did I grow so tall?" This creates emphasis on this part of the lyrics, which reveals the point the singer was talking about in the first verse. The silent synthesizer creates an almost brilliant quality to the music. Even though there isn't much going on in the chorus, which is the opposite of many songs, it reflects the meaning of the song perfectly and fits its structure well. After the first chorus, others arriveinstruments, bringing the song to the right pace. next level. In the foreground is an electric guitar with a lot of reverb. Percussion is also added, via a drum kit and shaker of some kind, and bass, although the bass is very mixed. The piano is also prominent, and the synthesizer and strummed acoustic guitar are also still audible, although the guitar is pushed all the way to the back. When the vocals return, the electric guitar disappears and the vocals now have multiple harmonic voicings during the important parts of each line of lyrics, adding an extra layer to the performance that emphasizes the words most relevant to the overall meaning. This section of the song is where it really reaches its full emotional power thanks to the full sound and mix of instruments. The sliding notes of the electric guitar, then replaced by the harmonic voice, play on a chorus of apparently independent rhythms but which actually accompany each other perfectly. If you listen carefully to this part of the recording, you will hear the different rhythms, especially compared to the melody played by the electric guitar and the voice, the piano and the synthesizer. The introduction of the percussion in this section also creates a completely different atmosphere to the song, whereas before it was a soft and gentle song, but after the addition of the drums it seems more agitated, and the addition of more voices in the vocal part gives it more complete quality. After the second chorus, which is the same as the first except it also has drums, there is an instrumental interlude, featuring muted guitars, synthesizer, drums and a shaker, but which focuses on a piano melody. In addition to this, though, every now and then there are other piano or guitar notes, mixed in so carefully that you would hardly notice if you weren't listening carefully. There are very high piano notes shifted to the right and guitar notes shifted to the left, making it seem like they are not only in the background, but coming from far away. After the final vocal section, the song partially repeats the instrumental section after the first chorus, and then fades out with only acoustic guitars, piano, and percussion muted, ending with a final piano chord. The second chorus is essentially the same as the first, except for the addition of drums. The drums serve to continue the more agitated feel of the second half of the song that began after the end of the first chorus, and works very well in the chorus by playing short drum beats with the brushes and bass drum. Even though the drums in the second chorus aren't as big as in the previous section, they do their job exactly as they need to, giving it that extra structure and energy. The instrumental bridge and final vocal section are some of the in my opinion, the most deliberate sections of the recording. When it begins, it only adds a new piano melody and percussion from a shaker instrument in addition to the drums, creating a very subtle but noticeable difference from the chorus, which only had piano chords instead of a melody. This is also very different from the last instrumental interlude after the first chorus, which added many different instruments and had a powerful sound – the opposite of this section. Even more subtly, the added piano and guitar notes add a new texture to the music despite it being so soft. Whether they are moved all the way to the left or right emphasizes this added element. Then, the final vocal section is similar to the choruses in that it marks a decrescendo, starting with just the vocals, piano chords, and synthesizer. Finally, he adds a short piano melody and muted acoustic guitars to transition into a repeat of the first instrumental section. The ending with a single chord.