Morten Lindberg, the founder and owner of Norway’s 2L Records, got some very good news a couple of weeks ago when the 2009 Grammy nominations were announced. One of his productions, Divertimenti by the TrondheimSolistene Orchestra, scored nominations in the Best Surround Album, Best Engineering - Classical and Best Small Ensemble Performance. Congratulations to Morten, 2L and the TrondheimSolistene Orchestra!

Morten and I have been corresponding for some months about the possibility of bringing his HD Music projects to iTrax.com. As a fellow high-definition audio advocate, Morten is one of the few individuals currently producing music that truly understands that it is necessary to make new recordings using state-of-the-art equipment and purist recording techniques to show the true potential of HD Music.

In a recent interview at the website www.bigpicturebigsound.com last summer, Morten summarized his approach this way, “Making an ambient and beautiful recording is the way of least resistance. Searching the fine edge between direct contact and openness; that’s the real challenge. A really good recording should be able to bodily move the listener. This core quality of audio production is made by choosing the right venue for the repertoire, and balancing the image in the placement of microphones and musicians relative to each other in that venue. Planning and discussions with the musicians create trust and a sense of occasion and excitement that translates onto the recordings.
What we insist upon in the recording phase is time. We usually spend from four to six days of recording on a 60-minute repertoire. In credit of the musicians I need to say that this is not in need of getting the score right, but in order to bring forward the right mood and dimensions. At most projects the entire first day is spent bringing the dimensions down from a 1500-people hall to the proximity encountered on a home-visit to your living room. The challenge of this process is to get the volume down, keeping the intensity and energy up, without being intrusive. There is no method available today to reproduce the exact perception of attending a live performance. That leaves us with the art of illusion when it comes to recording music. As recording engineers and producers we need to do exactly the same as any good musician; interpret the music and the composer's intentions and adapt to the media where we perform.”

You can fine the whole interview at http://www.bigpicturebigsound.com/2L-Founder-blu-ray-audio-future-1652.shtml

I’m extremely pleased that 2L has opted to allow iTrax.com to offer their recordings in the best possible format...uncompressed, high definition PCM at 96 kHz/24-bit. And we’re very pleased to be the exclusive online distributor in this country to offer the surround mixes in the same uncompressed format. Check out the amazing recordings from 2L. The Divertimenti is available immediately and we’ll soon have the rest of his HD catalog online as well.

Rocky Mountain Audio Fest Part I

Last weekend, another installment of the annual Rocky Mountain Audio Fest was held in Denver, Colorado. This event has become a haven for die-hard audiophiles curious about the latest esoteric and exotic audio equipment, interested about new and old audio formats and wishing to secure some hard-to-find recordings. Vendors from all over the world set up shop in Denver at the Tech Center Marriot Hotel (and the nearby Hyatt...required because of the continuing expansion of the show) to show their wares. This year was very well attended in spite of the weather and the economic meltdown.  

A year ago, AIX Records/iTrax.com didn't exhibit at the show. I wasn't sure if the show was the right place for a company that specializes in multichannel HD music production and downloading. The RMAF generally caters to music fans that cherish vinyl, tubes and stereo playback above digital equipment and software. Mention the word digital and most of them go running for the closest exit. I knew the RMAF was going to be a tough place for AIX Records/iTrax, but we opted in anyway largely due to the encouraging words of one of the organizers, Al Stiefel. In May I had lunch with Al and gave him a copy of our sampler disc. Much to my surprise, Al called me a few days later and told how much he enjoyed the disc. He asked, “This is music at a whole new level, isn't it?” I, of course, agreed. And it is.

This year AIX/iTrax.com had two demonstration rooms. Thanks to a personal recommendation, I spent most of my time playing HD Surround music in Room 423 with Chris Sommovigo of The Signal Collection and Holger Mueller of German Physiks speakers. Chris had booked two rooms. Across the hall was the analog room with a turntable and lots of tubes and vinyl. In the other room, we set up 5 German Physiks omni directional speakers, solid state Vitus and Bel Canto amplification and 3 DAC-1s by Benchmark (running at 96 kHz/24-bits). The source was our new Mozart Model 1750 HD Multichannel server. This was definitely the room to beat...at least according to James Darby of Stereomojo.com. His posted the following on his first RMAF show report, “Dr. Mark Waldrep of AIX makes the best high-resolution audio & video surround sound discs in the world.” Thanks James! That’s pretty high praise from a guy that focuses on the world of 2-channel music. Many visitors to the room came to a new level of appreciation for digitally recorded and reproduced music.

Upstairs AIX/iTrax.com had our own room. Thanks to the generosity of B&W, Classé, Audience and Benchmark, we had a more traditional HD Surround setup. My engineer Dominic Robelotto played lots of tracks and my wife sold HD Music to many that were experiencing it for the first time. The HD Music was played in multichannel from our new Mozart Model 1750 HD Surround Music server, the first of its kind. I'll talk more about our new venture into HD music hardware in another article.

I got the chance to speak on a panel at the Hyatt as part of the Digital Pavilion. Kurt Bauer organized a series of presentations to address the issues confronting audiophiles and equipment manufacturers. I was part of the “New Record Label” panel moderated by attorney Ned Hearn. Other panelists included Cookie Morenco of Blue Coast Records, Paul Temple of White Swan Records and Paul Stubblebine of The Tape Project. I've known Paul for many years and had seen him just a week earlier at the Audio Engineering Society convention in San Francisco.

The panel focused on the challenges faced by new labels including formats, techniques for recording and distribution and artist relations. As I was to learn during the panel, AIX Records/iTrax.com is the only company recording and delivering real HD Music. Blue Coast makes terrific recordings for release on SACD and CD but has chosen to use an analog multitrack deck during their sessions. The coloration and organic nature of analog tape is part of their desired sound. White Swan licenses recordings from a range of New Age artists and releases standard definition CDs...mostly to the Yoga channel.

But the award for most unique label definitely goes to Paul Stubblebine and his partners at the Tape Project. These guys are licensing great music from other labels and delivering analog copies at 15 ips 2 on 10 ½” reel to reel tapes. The tapes are meticulously prepared (Paul is an excellent audio engineer) and come packaged in elegant boxes with a gold seal. I'm impressed that they can make a business selling a technology that's 50 years old AND that they can get subscribers to pony up $200 per album. Apparently, there are a number of people that own or have acquired analog playback machines to experience the quality of studio master tapes. This is definitely an audiophile moment.

I'll have more thoughts on the show in the next installment.

Let me state right up front that I’m crazy about immersive surround mixes when it comes to high definition music…or any music for that matter. I’m not talking about the “extracted” or DSP-processed expansion of stereo to 5.1 channels but the real deal…mixed directly from the source multitrack masters. Mixes that place you smack dab in the center of the musical action. But I acknowledge that music lovers have different tastes and experiences when it comes to listening to music so I’ve tried with my recordings/mixes to offer choices. That’s the reason why there are “Stage” and “Audience” mixes of every track that I’ve produced for the label.  And, of course, stereo mixes for the audiophile that has his/her two-channel system thoroughly dialed in (or can’t expand to a full surround setup for financial reasons or space limitations).

It’s interesting to me that vast majority of HD audio tracks that are downloaded from the iTrax.com site are 2-channel 96 kHz/24-bit versions. Obviously, I’m in the minority when I profess a preference for surround sound. But whenever I demo tracks at a trade show or in my own room, the “stage” mixes are almost always the favorites. I think when it’s done well, multichannel can be very compelling. Why the disconnect?

I know AIX Records was the first to have multiple mixes on their DVD-Audio/Video titles and I believe iTrax.com is the first website to offer the same thing. But why bother…not very many other engineers or labels give you the choice of being on stage with the band or sitting in the best seat in the house.

I’ve been an audio engineer for over 30 years and a musician for a little longer. I remember the age of “quadraphonic” records and dabbled in multichannel presentations of my electro-acoustic compositions while studying at UCLA and Cal Arts. The compositional component of my dissertation was recorded using a Neumann KU-81 “binaural” head. It was first time a composition doctoral student did something that was actually heard by his/her committee members…all listened to the 20-minute piece wearing headphones. I still have my trusty Nagra IV-S portable analog reel to reel machine that I used all those years ago to capture and playback those binaural source tapes.

My goal in creating “stage” perspective surround mixes is not to use technology to transport you to the local rock arena, jazz club or late night rave. I’m not a fan of live recordings. It requires too many sonic compromises…at least for the recording crew (and for the paying audience). After all, the primary purpose of a live performance is to engage or entertain the audience. That means you’ve got to have a PA system to project the sound uniformly to the assembled masses or intimate group of 20 club patrons. The microphones used on stage are usually the venerable Shure Bros. SM-57 dynamic mikes. As good as they are…they’re not generally associated with high end studio recording and are definitely not the mike of choice for most vocal or instrumental tracks. They are used in clubs and on arena stages because they are inexpensive, reliable and virtually indestructible.

My philosophy of recording is to use state-of-the-art recording technology to bring the band to you, the listener. Imagine Willie Nelson or John Gorka and band setting up in your media room to play a private “house concert” for an audience of one…you! The sound can be captured using the very best microphones, preamps, AD converters and high bit rate digital equipment (analog recording…even the best of the best is still standard definition).  If the performances are done in a live acoustically rich performance hall rather than a studio…the musicians can interact with each directly. They can see each other, hear each other and make music the way music is meant to happen. Studios isolate the players, involve lots of machines (to restrict tempo, pitch and dynamics) and can take place over many weeks or months, if not years.

The recordings that I prefer are not attempts to recreate a live concert in your living room. I love tracks that maximize the emotional or intellectual connection inherent in the composition, performance and expression of the artists. Using current state-of-the-art recording and playback technology, it is possible to exceed the reality of a live music performance…at least sonically. The musicians in a surround mix are sitting around you in your space playing for you. For myself, it doesn’t get any better than that.