Hi-Res Downloads

96kHz/24-bit FLAC*, Alchemik Records (supplied by www.highresaudio.com)

As the highly variable sound quality makes clear, this album is a sort of travelogue/travel blog by Polish saxophonist Piotrowski. The essence of the album is inspired by the various musicians Piotrowski has met on his travels while building his One World Orchestra project and ‘leaving their messages on tape’. Trouble is, the whole ‘world music’ thing has rather been done to a turn by now, and what were once startling sounds from unfamiliar parts of the world are now well-known. Frankly, I’m not sure the whole new age ‘sax and ethnic’ concept sounds anything more than rather tired these days. Neither is the sound balance anything to get hi-res audio enthusiasts at all excited, and when you add that to the somewhat predictable performances, the result is more than a little lacklustre, and likely to leave the listener rather jaded. AE

Sound Quality: 65%

Hi-Fi News Lab Report

Although this unusual recording will prompt the 96kHz LED on your USB DAC its content – at best – looks like upsampled 48kHz material. At worst, the bandwidth is comparable to that of an MP3 file [track 1, green trace above]. PM