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The Album

The Moon Leans In

The Moon Leans In

The Artist

Thom LaFond

A musical triumph
If ever there was a more varied and beautifully produced album than Thom LaFond's brilliant The Moon Leans In, we are unaware of it. Just give a listen to track one, New Wildfire, and you'd swear it was the voice of a famous crooner. Then move 180 degrees to the fire of track two, Isolation Hymn, and its pure foot-tapping energy. This is an album to own if ever there was one. LaFond is at his peak, taking us from finger-popping swing to heart-wrenching melodies. The Moon Leans In is a masterpiece recorded in pure DSD. When you hear how these tracks come alive on your system you'll be grinning from ear to ear. A true reference disc of great music.
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About

Thom LaFond

Thom LaFond was born February 4th 1991 in Dallas, Texas. Thom started memorizing songs and playing pots and pans at age 6, picking up the guitar and drums at age 9. An initial obsession with blues and classic rock lead him towards the music of Charles Mingus, Sidney Bechet, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Django Reinhardt, Billie Holiday, & Lester Young. All the while Thom was writing poetry and lyrics to fit the melodies in his head. He spent his twenties touring the country and performing. Over time, his writing became focused around lyrics and melody, and he became obsessed with the recording process. He started working on his piano playing in 2015, and held a solo residency as piano player in a barroom corner in Boulder, CO. The music on “The Moon Leans In” is self-produced and arranged. It is the result of hundreds of hours building a multi-genre presentation of new and recycled material. Some songs were written up to 12 years ago, and some lyrics and melodies were re-written the day of the vocal session. Thom spends his time writing as much as possible, producing music, filming videos, and touring the United States with his band Banshee Tree. His current focus is on forming a laid-back, vocal-forward, conversational style. This album is a composite of Thom leading two different quartets and performing several stripped-down acoustic songs.

01 - Thom LaFond - New Wildfire
02 - Thom LaFond - Isolation Hymn Ft. Zea Stallings
03 - Thom LaFond - Life As A Sigh
04 - Thom LaFond - The Moon Leans In
05 - Thom LaFond - Spare Me
06 - Thom LaFond - To The Moon
07 - Thom LaFond - So Busy In The Wild
08 - Thom LaFond - Almost Anytime
09 - Thom LaFond - End Of Session
10 - Thom LaFond - Beautiful Island

Recording

This amazing recording was expertly captured in pure DSD at Animal Lane Studios in Lyons, Colorado and mixed in analog on Octave Record's Studer console by Octave Records' engineer, Jay Elliott. Mastered by Gus Skinas. Mics Audix D6 Audix D4 Soundelux U195 Beyerdynamic M201 – Telefunken M80 – Beyerdynamic M88 2 Beyerdynamic M160s 2 EV RE20s 2 Coles 4038 AKG C24 modified with Baron Timothy de Paravicini electronics – Stereo Drum OHs Sennheiser 409 Sennheiser 421 Matched pair AKG 414s Matched pair Beesneez Lulu FETs 2 Shure SM7b Neumann KM84 Neumann U87 - vintage ADK Z-MOD Z251 ADK Z-MOD Z67 ADK Hamburg 67 T-FET Neumann U67 - vintage Flea Microphones 47 Next Matched pair Telefunken AR51 – Stereo Piano Preamps: Manley Force Vacuum Tube Fred Forssell SMP-2b Grace Design M108 Rupert Neve Designs 5012 A Designs Reddi Tube DI Recording System: Sonoma 32 track DSD recorder Trident TSM Console Mixed on: Studer 963 Console Great River Harrison 32 500 EQs 3 Millennia NSEQ-2 Stereo Parametric EQs A DESIGNS AUDIO EM-PEQ 500 SERIES EQUALIZER 2 AudioScape Engineering Co. OPTO compressors AudioScape Engineering Co. V3A leveling amplifier AudioScape Engineering Co. Buss Compressor 2 Rupert Neve Designs 535 500 Series Diode Bridge Compressor IGS S-Type stereo Compressor Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor Compressor Drawmer 1968 Mercenary Edition Stereo Compressor

Album Features

  • One pressing Austrian gold-pressed dual-layer SACD
  • Pure DSD + PROMastered CD layers
  • DVD data disc containing DSD64, DSDDirect Mastered 192kHz 24 bit, 96kHz 24 bit, 44.1kHz 16 bit PCM
  • Pure DSD recorded on the Sonoma DSD system
  • Mixed in analog on Octave Record's Studer analog console
  • DSD64, DSDDirect Mastered 192kHz 24 bit, 96kHz 24 bit, 44.1kHz 16 bit PCM download
  • CD layer of SACD playable on any CD player
  • Mastering monitored through the PS Audio DirectStream DAC
  • All tracks hand-curated on the Infinity IRSV in PS Audio's Music Room Two
  • Limited edition one-pressing physical media

Video


Thom LaFond is a brilliant musician and producer. One listen to the color and musical richness in this latest Octave release, The Moon Leans In, and you'll be an instant fan. Your musical journey begins with track one and each subsequent track begins a fresh new musical journey. Recorded in pure DSD this is one masterpiece of an album that deserves a place of honor in your collection of favorites.

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