Sneak peek at my upcoming album "Meridian Eclipse" (releasing February 2014). 


ABOUT THE ALBUM:


The music in “Meridian Eclipse” was recorded at the historic Brick Chapel of 1667 during an autumn weekend in 2013. The album comprises my very first compositions as a guitarist. At the time I wrote the music, I was a struggling undergraduate, frustrated and scared by my life’s aimlessness and lack of direction. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life; I graduated as a pretty clueless English major.


Now, as a full-time musician, and I can’t see myself doing anything but music! For my sophomore album, I felt compelled to revisit my earliest solo guitar efforts given half a decade of growth as a performer, composer, and arranger. Following a summer 2013 performance at my alma matter (coincidentally, for a writer’s conference put on by the school’s English department), I decided to record “Meridian Eclipse” at the acoustically vibrant Brick Chapel of 1667 in the historic city adjacent to my former college and home.


“Meridian Eclipse” reconciles my past aimlessness with my present passions and convictions.


ABOUT THE RECORDING SPOT:

“Meridian Eclipse” was recorded at the Brick Chapel of 1667 in the birthplace of religious freedom in America, St. Mary’s City, Maryland. In addition to its emotional significance to me as well as the phenomenal acoustics, the chapel has a storied history that I feel was worth telling as I hit the road to promote the record. For example, I played to an eternally silent audience of more than 500 of Maryland’s first settlers; they are buried underneath and around the chapel. And yes, it got really creepy when recording went late into the night!

Other fun facts:
- Originally built in 1634 by Jesuit priests
- Burned to the ground during an attack against Lord Baltimore in 1645
- Rebuilt by the Calvert family in 1667
- Locked by order of the royal governor in 1704, never to be used again for religious purposes
- Dismantled in 1734. The former church and cemetery were converted to agricultural fields
- Reconstructed between 2002 and 2009 directly on the original then-335-year old foundation.
- Reconstructed using historically faithful methods down to its wood-fire bricks (using clay extracted from an artifact-free zone near the chapel site), mortar (made by using lime gathered from oyster shells), and a lock and key hand-forged by a blacksmith


DORKY STUFF: 

Guitar: Voyage Air VAOM-1C
Strings: D’Addario EJ16

The album was recorded using exclusively microphones (nine total) which were mixed to create the sound you hear in the tracks.

-       Stereo pair at the long end of the chapel
-       Stereo pair capturing the two wings of the chapel
-       12th fret mic
-       Sound hole mic
-       Over-the-shoulder mic
-       Two mics inside the guitar: one at the sound hole, the other under the bridge


CREDITS:

Composed & Performed by Sheltered Turtle (Henry Nam)
Recorded, Mixed, & Engineered by Daniel Drago
Produced by Henry Nam & Daniel Drago
Mastered by David Drago, 1809 Studios (http://1809studios.com/)

Ithaca ... In America!

Chasing Muse

"Autodidactism" is self-learning/teaching and one of the few true methods of discovery we have in today's world. "Pedagogy" is the art and study of learning. In a sense, "autodidactic pedagogy" means "the art and study of learning to teach oneself." 

It's also a mouthful to say as well as an affectionate nod to the awesome English department at my alma mater.

--

This is a track from my debut solo album, "Runaway Sketchbook." It was recorded at the Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia, PA on a Martin GPCPA4.

Mixed and engineered by Dan Drago.

Mastered by Dave Drago at 1809 Studios in Macedon, NY.

- -
"Runaway Sketchbook" will be released on May 15, 2013 and will be made available through all the major online distributors. For the best deal, physical copies, and tabs, visit http://shelteredturtle.bandcamp.com/album/runaway-sketchbook.

For more, please visit me at:

shelteredturtle.com
facebook.com/shelteredturtlemusic
twitter.com/shelteredturtle
youtube.com/shelteredturtlemusic

Thanks for listening!

Autodidactic Pedagogy

We all want to feel like we belong, like we're a part of a community. "Yearning" was written during a time of my life where I was living alone and far away from friends, family, my girlfriend at the time, school, and work. The isolation was terrible but was an essential part of growing as a human being, and I truly yearned to once again be near a place I could call home. 

As one of the first things I ever composed on the guitar, I'm very proud of how it's held-up over the years. It has a sweet, gentle melody, a simple but fitting percussive groove, and resolves from minor to major, sad to happy. 

--

This is a track from my debut solo album, "Runaway Sketchbook." It was recorded using a Martin GPCPA4 in my home in Downingtown, PA.

Mixed and engineered by Dan Drago.

Mastered by Dave Drago at 1809 Studios in Macedon, NY.

- -
"Runaway Sketchbook" will be released on May 15, 2013 and will be made available through all the major online distributors. For the best deal, physical copies, and tabs, visit http://shelteredturtle.bandcamp.com/album/runaway-sketchbook.

For more, please visit me at:

shelteredturtle.com
facebook.com/shelteredturtlemusic
twitter.com/shelteredturtle
youtube.com/shelteredturtlemusic

Thanks for listening!

Yearning

Sheltered Turtle is an exuberant, autobiographical, acoustic-percussive fingerstyle guitar solo act following in the footsteps of Michael Hedges, Preston Reed, and Leo Kottke. 

His debut LP, "Runaway Sketchbook" (2013) is the first volume of an ambitious, year-long project to record a backlog of four years of original material exclusively in locations that enhance natural acoustics.

ShelteredTurtle