Singers, storytellers and rappers from the Upper Midwest have another place to get their creative works polished and ready for bigger audiences.
Grey Willow ADR/Music Studios expanded to Aberdeen earlier this year, and the response continues to impress the family who operates it, along with a headquarters studio in Fort Yates, North Dakota.
Xavier Archambault, Chad Voight and Alex Maunu are in the studio of xx in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
“Our work is a passion, and I get supreme joy when I help someone process their music or art and share it with others,” said Xavier Archambault, who serves as chief engineer and partner of the Aberdeen studio of Grey Willow Music & Production.
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While you might not know of Grey Willow, Hollywood does. They’ve worked with the folks at Disney, Marvel and Skywalker Sound. They already sat next to Doc Kaine, a legend in filmmaking sound design, when he shared expertise. The top-shelf work of this small team from the Midwest shows in movies like “The Avengers” or “Twister 2.”
“We’re so grateful to have these opportunities with big-name projects. We love those chances,” said Lawrence “Larz” Archambault, founder and owner of Grey Willow. “Yet deep down we started this business to get more kids with guitars or microphones to the studio. Opening in Aberdeen was a big part of that plan.”
It was March 2025 when the long-planned Aberdeen addition to Grey Willow took place. While Xavier Archambault leads the work there, he’s one of three production/audio engineers who help recording artists get their songs or voice-over work refined and completed.
“I learned a lot about sound production on my own, but my dad, and his dad before him – our whole family has music in its blood,” Xavier Archambault said. “Anyone who wants to record gets a consultation first, and then we consider how the studio can help them.”
Recording voice-overs, ADR, which is automated dialogue replacement, music from punk rock to Lakota traditional – this is just one part of Grey Willow’s work. The team also handles many events, ensuring connections can occur across many miles of the Midwestern plains. They organized the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Inauguration of leaders. Both father and son are enrolled members of the tribe.
“We had a team of six for the event, and we recorded it for later use, broadcast it for radio, had remote video feeds set up for the governor and senators, as well as the event’s video walls and all the live sound on the ground,” said Lawrence Archambault. “It was a big success, and it felt good to be able to make sure everyone who could not attend could see and hear what occurred.”
Xavier Archambault said business has been brisk at the new studio in Aberdeen, with more than a half-dozen artists and bands seeking help and getting tracks laid down in a professional setting. As a member of two bands, Xavier Archambault said he truly understands the learning process.
“Guiding people through producing their art is so rewarding,” he said. “Having worked with engineers who have much more experience than I do, it’s great to be the mentor to others who are just starting. I’m always happy to explain things and offer my knowledge.”
Grey Willow Studios got started officially in 2017, and its roots lie in aiding recording artists. The younger Archambault plays in the bands Low Embers and Lost Bears, mostly in the Aberdeen area.
“I got started because I saw there was a need, a place was needed for these kids with good voices or guitars, so we opened a studio in the old school building in Fort Yates,” Lawrence Archambault said. “When we did that, we also opened a music shop, so kids could try out instruments or rent them and explore their creative sides.”
He said, in time, many of the local schools brought back music and band programs that had fallen to the wayside.
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“It all clicked,” he said. “It has been an amazing journey so far.”
Big names became part of the business almost a decade ago when actor Mark Ruffalo reached out to Grey Willow. In 2024, the studio was part of the team that brought The Avengers movie with Lakota dialogue to Disney+. It was the first time any Hollywood film had the original cast take part in this ADR work.
“Mark (Ruffalo) learned Lakota so he could do it right,” said Lawrence Archambeault.
In addition, they have helped award-winning musicians record albums, helped local authors voice their work and deep down, advanced their passion while helping those in need.
“We’re a reservation-based business, and we’re proud of that,” Lawrence Archambault said. “There are a lot of projects on our radar, and now with our Aberdeen studio, we can do much more.”
This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Grey Willow ADR/Music Studios expands to Aberdeen, South Dakota
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