Fireflies by Owl City: studio, gear and credits

Fireflies by Owl City: recorded at Sky Harbor Studios (Adam Young's home basement studio, Owatonna, Minnesota)), produced by Adam Young, engineered by Adam Young. See the credits and gear, then recreate the sound in your DAW.

Details

Song: Fireflies
Artist: Owl City
Genre / Style: Synth-pop / Synthwave / Electronica / Indie Pop
Date(s) Recorded: Late 2008 – Early 2009
Original Record Company & Catalog #: Universal Republic Records / Universal Music Group, Catalog #: B0013180-02
Release Date: July 14, 2009 (Single) / July 28, 2009 (*Ocean Eyes* album)
YouTube Search: Listen on YouTube

Personnel and session credits

Producer(s): Adam Young
Chief Recording Engineer(s): Adam Young
Mastering Engineer(s): Ted Jensen
Musicians & Session Performers:

Adam Young - Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Keyboards, Synthesizers, Drum Programming, Bass Synthesizer, Glockenspiel/Percussion Processing
Matt Thiessen - Guest Backing Vocals ("Please take me away from here" counter-melody and chorus backing), Vocal Co-Producer

Studio and recording technology

Tracking Studio & Room: Sky Harbor Studios (Adam Young's home basement studio, Owatonna, Minnesota))

Reported gear and setup (not independently verified)

Mixing / Overdub Studio: Studio at the Palms (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Mixing Console / Desk: Solid State Logic (SSL) 9000 K Series Console (at Studio at the Palms for mixdown); Tracking performed entirely in-the-box via Apple Logic Pro
Multitrack Tape Machine & Format: Native Digital Audio Workstation (Apple Logic Pro 8/9 operating at 24-bit / 44.1 kHz)
Studio Monitors: Behringer Truth B2031A active studio monitors (Tracking at Sky Harbor); Yamaha NS-10M Studio & Genelec 1031A (Mixing at Studio at the Palms)
Key Outboard Processors & Hardware Units:

PreSonus TubePRE / FireStudio Preamp Interface
SSL G-Master Bus Compressor (Console module)
Lexicon 480L Digital Reverb
Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor

Signal chains covered in the full track sheet

Instrument-by-instrument recording pathways, including: Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals (Matt Thiessen & Vocal Layers), Main Synth Pluck / Arpeggio (Intro Hook), Lead Synthesizer (Bridge Solo), Bass Synthesizer & Sub-Bass, Drums & Electronic Percussion.

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