Hi-Res Downloads

Johannes Hustedt/S. Speidel
Beethoven: Early Works For Flute & Piano (96kHz/24-bit, FLAC)
https://audite.de; Audite 97824

A long way from the more familiar warhorses of his later years, these pieces are by a relatively youthful Beethoven, opening with the Sonata in G minor, drawn from his 1796 String Trio in E-flat major, published when the composer was 26. Also here are two D major Serenades, the Op.8 of 1797, and 1801’s Op.25, and all are played with wonderful clarity by flautist Hustedt, accompanied by pianist Sontraud Speidel. Hustedt acknowledges that his instrument isn’t one immediately associated with the composer, but points out that, in an era before the gramophone, pieces were often arranged and rearranged for performance by the musician and instruments to hand. This recital makes a persuasive case for these pieces as performed, aided in no small part by the quality of the recording, which is intimate and yet has a compelling, vibrant openness. AE

Sound Quality: 90%

Lab Report

Recorded at AZF Studios, Sandhausen, in the native 96kHz format issued here, the ~48kHz bandwidth is ideal to capture the upper harmonics of the flute. Piano does not extend much beyond 12kHz, as expected. Dynamic range is good. PM

Gregory Hutchinson
Kind Of Now (96kHz/24-bit, WAV)
www.instagram.com/gregoryhutchinsonofficial; Warner Music Group, Germany, LC 14666

In time for the jazz icon’s centenary [see p32], and if you’re fed up with the nth audiophile re-release of Kind Of Blue – how many copies does anyone actually need? – I’d suggest this tribute album might just fill a gap in your collection. Drummer Hutchinson has drawn around him a star-studded band, and has a simple philosophy for the project: ‘This isn’t about recreating Miles; it’s about continuing the conversation he started’. If you’re expecting slavish cover versions, you’ll be disappointed, so come to the set with open ears and you’ll find new insights into familiar pieces. Hutchinson may be the driving force behind this project, but he knows when to sit back and give his fellow musicians space, whether they’re playing hard or just allowing the music to flow. It’s an insightful delight. AE

Sound Quality: 90%

Lab Report

Captured at Sear Sound, and mastered at Blue Engine Studios, all tracks except ‘Marley’s Mood’ (trk 5) include spuriae/interference >30kHz [black]. This set is not normalised, though most tracks peak at –0.2dB. Dynamic range is good. PM

Sankt Otten
Hymnen Und Helden (48kHz/24-bit, WAV)
www.denovali.com; Denovali DEN387

More than a decade and a half from their founding, German duo Sankt Otten – Stephan Otten on drums and synths and Oliver Klemm on guitar, synths and bass – released this covers album alongside their 2025 Tote Winkel (Blind Spots) set. The title means ‘Hymns And Heroes’, the set-list firmly rooted in the music of the ’70s and ’80s. While much of the content may be unfamiliar, there’s no mistaking the slowed-down drive of ‘I Feel Love’, opening the album, nor the sweeping version of Bowie’s ‘Heroes’, closing the set with its German lyrics. With elements of everything from punk to Krautrock and a certain bleak charm, the album is served well by a recording able to reveal the internal detail as clearly as it captures the dramatic washes of the production. In practice it’s a strangely compelling listen – disco (slowly) in, and drift (dramatically) out... AE

Sound Quality: 85%

Lab Report

All eight tracks are normalised to –0.5dB and the overall dynamic range is well below average with a mean peak-to-RMS value of just ~8dB. There are mixed-rate samples within this ‘48kHz envelope’ but this is expected with synth content. PM

Hanna Paulsberg Concept/Elin Rosseland
Himmel Over Hav (96kHz/24-bit, WAV)*
www.grappa.no; Grappa GRCD4819

PM’s Lab Report [see below] reveals this album by saxophonist Paulsberg – recently named European Jazz Musician of the Year – and her quartet of 15 years’ standing is something of a technical mixed bag, with native and upsampled tracks. However, it all hangs together pretty well, both sonically and musically. It’s a departure for the band, comprising Trygve Fiske on bass, Hans Hulbækmo on drums and Oscar Grönberg on piano, plus the vocalist Elin Rosseland for this set. The title translates as ‘Sky Over Sea’, the variable source material explained by a mix of live and studio recordings. It has shifting moods and styles, from the smoky, late-night after-hours club opening to the more rhythm-driven ‘Farao’ and the near-frantic playing – and Rosseland’s scat vocals – on the live ‘Homer Wells’. Something of a find, this one. AE

Sound Quality: 80%

Lab Report

This release is a little... mixed. Trks 2 & 7 are upsamples from 48kHz [black] while trks 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 8 are 96kHz files albeit with the music bandlimited (analogue tape?) to ~30kHz. Overall, dynamic range is a little below average. PM

Ingi Bjarni
Hope (48kHz/24-bit, WAV)
https://losenrecords.no; Losen Records LOS 299-2

As Icelandic jazz pianist Ingi Bjarni Skúlason acknowledges in his liner notes for Hope, it was only when he sat down to consider the tracklist that he realised the majority of the pieces were written around the time of his mother’s death in 2021. That explains the album’s tone – no, not mournful, but contemplative and, as the title suggests, hopeful. Moreover, the pianist is aided by some superb musicians here – Hilmar Jensson on guitar, bassist Andrew Jormin and drummer Magnús Trygvason Eliassen. The recording – made in Gothenburg’s Studio Epidemin – has an appealing mix of space and intimacy, with a delicious realism to the instruments and the way they interplay. The delicate bass intro to the opening track, the sanguine ‘Uplift’, the folky ‘Continuation’ and the free-breathing ‘Escaped’ – together they suggest there’s hope for us all here. AE

Sound Quality: 80%

Lab Report

Dynamic range is average – peak-to-RMS levels are about 13dB across the album – but musical peaks are too high (between –0.2dB and 0.0dB) to prevent intersample clipping with some DACs. Note gentle anti-alias filtering here. PM