Heh what an awesome review!
I noticed the voices at the end getting muddier when I went to listen again with fresh ears. It's funny how much your own ears get used to things when listening to the mix, and having a set of fresh ears.
Yes indeed, everything was 100% live instrumentation - there was not a single virtual instrument in the mix. The closest things to that were how I modified the output of my cello and frame drum. The frame drum I changed the formant and pitched down, as well as pitched to the track. The cello I pitched down an octave to play as a double bass. Out of all the things you can pitch down, I am always surprised at how well the cello becomes like a double bass, compared to the human voice, which starts to sound awkward and muddy.
Thanks for a thoughtful, thorough review in real time as you listened to it! :)