Producing Songs I’ve Never Heard: I Saw the Mountains by Noah Cyrus [EPISODE 07]
I feel like a phoenix, risen from the ashes
Welcome back! This week I’m working on a track for Noah Cyrus’s latest single, I Saw the Mountains. I can’t say I’ve listened to a ton of her music in the past, but I know she’s explored a lot of genres. Just from the title alone, I was expecting something a little folk-y, maybe even Bon Iver-esque.
After last week’s 5/4 time signature chaos (thanks again, Lorde), I was ready for something more straightforward.
Did I get that? Not quite.
But this track was still a breath of fresh air to work with.
First Impressions
Even just looking at the waveform, I could tell this vocal was going to be sparse, with big chunks of space between phrases. That’s always a little daunting. On the one hand, it gives the production room to breathe. On the other hand, it means the arrangement has to do a lot of emotional lifting.
On first listen, I could hear the folk/country influence right away. The vocals were rich with layered harmonies, especially in the verses, and I knew immediately I wanted to build something atmospheric to support those stacks. The focus was going to be synths, not drums.
🎤 Here’s the acapella if you want to hear what I heard first:
I decided to reuse the Noise Requiem: a KAVARI moment pack from last week’s episode (via Moment on Splice). I barely scratched the surface of it before, so I wanted to give it a proper second chance.
Rather than starting with drums, I kicked things off with a moody, organ-like pad and bassline to lay down the chord progression. To add texture, I brought in a pluck sample that mostly functioned as a pedal tone.
Eventually, I knew I wanted drums to enter in the chorus, but I wanted them to build gradually, not dominate. That’s when I realized the song is actually in 6/8.
Another week, another non-4/4 time signature 🎉
Luckily, 6/8 is more familiar territory, and I was able to work with it inside a 4/4 grid without too much trouble.
The final drum pattern isn’t super flashy, but that’s intentional. I didn’t want them to overpower the track. In the end, the vibe landed somewhere between Noah Cyrus and Lana Del Rey — and I’m not mad about it.
🎧 Listen to the Original:
Hearing the original after finishing my version was a really satisfying moment. Theirs leans more acoustic and organic, with an acoustic guitar carrying most of the arrangement and strings providing lift.
Where I built gradual movement with synths and soft percussion, their version goes from no drums in the verse to a full kit in the chorus. That shift from intimate to anthemic really landed.
There were a few synth choices that felt a bit unexpected to me in their version — almost like a subtle attempt to pull in more alt-pop energy. Overall, though, it was a great contrast to my version, and I loved how it made space for the vocal to shine.
💭 Your Turn:
What did you think of Noah’s latest single? How does my version compare?
Let me know in the comments — and as always, if you have a song suggestion for a future episode, drop it below!
🆕 New Music Alert:
I’m so excited to share my next single “lay low” — out this Friday, March 30 🎧
If you’re into dark, moody, electronic pop, this one’s for you.
Pre-save it here → https://bit.ly/3SrD5hE
Want to catch up on the rest of the series?
You can find all past episodes right here :)