Hi-Res Downloads

Jordina MillÀ & Barry Guy
Live In Munich (48kHz/24-bit, WAV)
www.ecmrecords.com; ECM 2827

The opening of this album by Catalan pianist Millà and bassist Guy, both known for their improvisational styles, may be off-putting for those of the ‘it’s all just noises, give me a real tune’ persuasion. However, it’s well worth sticking with, if only for the range of extraordinary sounds the two conjure in this impactful, insightful recording engineered by Zoro Babel for the ECM label. Each of the two seems determined to push their instrument not just to its limits, but way beyond, Millà diving into her piano to elicit rasping tones and harp-like purity, while Guy plucks, bows and weaves his strings around her remarkable performance. The set is split into six parts, but they flow together in a wonderful sense of live presence – there’s bags of space here as well as close focus on their respective performances. Live In Munich is something of an oddity, but one well worth exploring. AE

Sound Quality: 90%

Lab Report

Digital peaks max out at –3dBFs so this 48kHz file, recorded live at Munich’s Schwere Reiter Hall, will not clip any USB- or network-attached DAC. Dynamic range is excellent and a ~24kHz bandwidth is adequate for piano and double bass. PM

OTOOTO
2nd Quake (96kHz/24-bit, WAV)
https://www.otooto.dk; April Publishing ApS n/a cat no.

You know what to expect when the pitch reads an ‘innovative blend of jazz tradition and modern indie-pop’ and ‘homeshake meets the jazz messengers’ (sic), while name-checking Vangelis, Jean-Michel Jarre, 1970s rock and European church music. Yes, this Danish jazz quintet commits all the sins that defined audiophile albums 40 years ago. Be that as it may, OTOOTO is also representative of current Scandinavian jazz, which seems to exist to support Scandi-Noir crime dramas, so those mourning the absence of Windham Hill Records and other mood music makers will welcome 2nd Quake. It’s certainly more secular than, say, similar releases from 2L, the lineup of Jonas Due (trumpet and flugelhorn), Oilly Wallace (alto sax and flute), Calle Brickman (keys), Andreas Svendsen (drums and percussion), and Matthias Petri (bass) delivering cool, relaxing sounds that’ll soothe your ears. KK

Sound Quality: 85%

Lab Report

A quick analysis might suggest this is a 96kHz upsample of a 48kHz file but, no. Instead, this is a 96kHz recording where much of the ‘soundscape’ is derived from 48kHz-centric synths. However, peaks are too high and dynamic range limited. PM

Tomasz Stanko, Tomasz Szukalski, Dave Holland, Edward Vesala
Balladyna (96kHz/24-bit, WAV)
www.ecmrecords.com; ECM 1071

Two Tomaszes for the price of one on this ECM release! Dating back almost 50 years, this has Stanko on trumpet and Szukalski on tenor and soprano saxophones weaving round each other in front of the powerhouse rhythm section of Dave Holland on bass and Edward Vesala’s crisp, precise drumming. It’s a tribute to the skills of the ECM team of engineer Martin Wieland and producer Manfred Eicher that the recording still comes up fresh as a daisy after all this time, opening with the punchy (and appropriate) ‘First Song’, which sets the tone for the set. There’s some stunningly sinuous music-making on this album, with even the more languid tracks having that same motive power from the drum and bass. Throughout the album, there’s much to admire in the way the four musicians work together. AE

Sound Quality: 85%

Lab Report

This 96kHz digital copy of a mid-’70s analogue recording includes signals beyond the ~20kHz bandwidth of the original tape... distortion or clipping perhaps? Otherwise, peaks range from –4.5dBFs (trk4) to –1dBFs (trk1). PM

Maven Grace
Surface With A Smile (48kHz/24-bit, WAV)
www.heliumrecords.co.uk; Helium Records HEDD073-WAV

If ever the worlds of audiophilia and indie meet head on, it’s with this sort of amorphous, substance-free music which sounds more like a soundtrack than a collection of songs. It’s what I would expect to hear in a lift in a store selling futons. This wispy material makes me picture vaguely under-nourished actors – think: Timothée Chalamet and Keira Knightly – in some angst-driven drama about a world shortage of tofu. It took some digging, but I discovered that Maven Grace is part of a genre called ‘dreampop’, which explains the ‘soundscape’ nature. Their collaborators include veterans of Radiohead, Goldfrapp, Portishead, Tears For Fears and other acts from this era. Fortunately, in this context, sound quality is as important as content, so knock yourself out if craving music to match Farrow & Ball-painted walls. The label’s name says it all. KK

Sound Quality: 80%

Lab Report

Dynamic range is sadly below average here with a typical peak-to-RMS range of just 8-9dB while peak levels are pushed up to a punishingly high –0.2dBFs. There are also traces of lower-rate samples in the mix [black spectrum]. PM

Beans On Toast
Wild Goose Chasers (96kHz/24-bit, WAV)
https://beansontoastmusic.com; BOT Music n/a cat no

Living but 16 miles from the Albion Rooms in Margate where this was recorded means a conflict of interest as I’m a Kent rate payer. Just kidding. This grabbed me because of late I’ve been listening to a host of piano-and-vocal-only albums from Dr John and Tom Waits, and this is clearly in that tradition. The website describes the 12 tracks as ‘a collection of new-fangled pagan hymns to coincide with the end of truth’, songs which ‘dig deep into the meaning of life and our purpose on Earth’. That doesn’t bode well if fed up with the current malaise, but the raspy vocals – somewhere between Waits and Dr John – are precisely what I want to hear in a hotel bar. Jolly it is not: be warned if you’re easily triggered by a track called ‘Boring Dystopia’. Er, OK. The keyboards, described as ‘Matt Millership on an ancient piano’, sound crisp and on the right side of a well-worn instrument. KK

Sound Quality: 80%

Lab Report

No information was available about this ‘96kHz’ file but it looks like a 48kHz (or tape) recording, upsampled to DSD, then downsampled again to 96kHz... The master is then lifted into the digital end stops – but dynamic range is okay... PM