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Friday, February 28, 2014

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

R.I.P. Dept. - Paco de Lucia passed away in Cancun, Mexico...




R.I.P. Paco de Lucia 
(21 December 1947 – 26 February 2014) 

"I have to confess that I still do not read music at all. When I look at all the artists today I think they are doing the right thing to learn as much as possible about music. When I was young I simply had no choice but to learn by ear. Some people say that this might be a reason why my music comes more from inspiration than from intellect."
- Paco de Lucía






Thanking my friend Fabio... I wasn't going to write about this sad event for laziness... yet, the above mentioned words he found and hinted to me are so sincere and inspiring.

R.I.P. Paco... 






ECM's Manfred Eicher and audio





I've been asking myself about this for years... decades, now: which kind of music system uses/owns ECM's boss, Manfred Eicher?

His recordings are among THE very best, his sonic vision is flawless and crystal-clear: wide soundstage, beautifully layered, variety of timbres... he created, since first ECM's discs, back in 1969, a new kind of music... ECM!

NOT jazz, not ethnic, not new-age or rock or folk or classical... it's free music, it's a little of all these!

The venues where these wonderful recordings have been created are an handful, considering the decades involved: Talent Studios in Oslo, Tonstudio Bauer in Ludwigsburg, some live recordings (the most beloved held at America Haus in Munchen) and sone NYC selected studio, BUT always edited at Bauer's, some Austrian churches and recently, ArteSuono Studio near Udine, Italy...





Manfred Eicher "conducting" in the studio... B&W speakers in the background...




Arvo Part and Manfred Eicher




Manfred Eicher and Jan Erik Kongshaug



The decades long producing and attention to his HIGH sonic aesthetic and vision made ECM a masterpiece of consistency and quality.

... so, again: which music system used Manfred Eicher at his old Gleichmannstrasse, 10 in Munchen's headquarter or uses these days at the new premises or at home?

Apparently, El Cheapos Marantz integrated amp and SONY DAT and bookshelf speakers... so, maybe his listening while at the desk is only for pleasure, as he listened to the real thing, in the studio, direcly from musicians, so, like many musicians (and Manfred Eicher definitely IS a musician...) he doesn't need a true audiophile audio system... his aural memory is so well worn and his skill so refined that's enough... yet...




Manfred Eicher in his ECM office






... a truly motorik view from Mr. Eicher's window... 



Does him only use the above system or also an home audio system for evaluating or simply enjoying?

I'd REALLY like to know his home music-room size, speakers, turntable (if any), disk player, arm, cartridge... everything!

... not for gossip-sake, BUT to have the (almost unnecessary) confirmation that nothing is by chance... and that Manfred Eicher can hear!

Anyone?





Monday, February 24, 2014

John Fahey's 75 years birthday tribute concert, at The Chapel, San Francisco, March 5th, 2014







Well, on next February 28th, John Fahey would have been 75... the Tribute concert will be held a few days after...







Truly great musicians will be there...



Tele-transportation... mumble, mumble...











Klaus' turntable... the Free Thinking Man from the Hills hits again!






Delrin, aluminium, stainless steel, brass... and a lot of originality... Klaus' turntable and wall-mounted arm.

Truly unique one-of-a-kind player.






Thanks to Reinhard for sharing...



Sheerwind's Invelox - a horn hinting "thing"?




Only a VERY efficient alternative to wind fans, as found almost everywhere around the world...  or, a giant version of Voigt horn - i.e. a cool efficiency multiplier speaker?









Something to think about... scaled down, of course... 







Thursday, February 20, 2014

IKEA - Save Expedit!!!







Ikea will be possibly deleting from their catalog the beloved Expedit vinyl discs shelving system...




Please, NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!


Ikeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa... don't do it... if the case give Expedit a back to avoid LPs slipping!

... but deleting will be unwise and silly!

Definitely!






Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Derek Jarman (January 31, 1942 - February 19, 1994)




I loved his craft... his 1989 °War Requiem° with Laurence Oliver and Benjamin Britten's superb music is in my DNA... a movie which should be shot in primary schools... worldwide.




Deeply missing him...












FolkTek's Vinyl lathing for the Third Millennium... and more




I'm enchanted by this site, gears, approach and overall cottage-like feeling... but this lathing is soooo cute... makes me IMMEDIATELY wishing to cut my very own vinyl demos...









The workshop, created by Arius Blaze and Ben Houston, both from Poetland, Orgone (cool quote, folks...) is a goldmine where to find some man-made nuggets.



... a much worth browsing site, folks.






Monday, February 17, 2014

Disc of the Month - Piers Faccini - Between Dogs and Wolves vinyl package





Thanking Silvia Boschero and her "Moby Dick" radio program on (italian) Radio RAI 2's waves,  on air every evening at 9 p.m., I was cocooned in bed, with last Mojo magazine, just got in my mailbox and... pure perfection after daily job.

... and something happened several times - I was caught by a song, a voice, an acoustic guitar coming from by B&O red Beolit radio... at first seconds I guessed it was some obscure Nick Drake's outtakes or newly found recordings or something...

The song ended and I heard for the very first time the name of the artist... Piers Faccini... English-born, but apparently an italian family name, singing in straight English, living in France and singing randomly in French.

I got a pen and quickly took a reminder of this name...



The day after, I Googled about him and... ordered a limited edition vinyl disc (and complimentary disk) from his cool french site - he happily lives in France since 10 years - coming with an elegant clothbound cover red book and a CD with some classy covers by Bert Jansch/Anne Briggs, Bruce Springsteen, Martin Carthy, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, June Tabor, Pino Daniele et al.

The title? Songs I love, of course.

Piers, son of italian parents, sings like an angel, with a burnished, woolly, confident, smooth voice and his acoustic guitar playing sure well digested the above masters, Nick Drake in primis.

Both discs, the cover and original tunes',  are a nice discovery and a nice addition to my discotheque.

I strongly invite everyone loving intimate, late evening listening to give a try to Piers' effort.

It's a sincere voice and, hey! The recording is, REALLY is, to die for!

2DIE4!

Enjoy!




Sunday, February 16, 2014

The Hallicrafters'.... U.S. Rhode-Schwartz!










Let's beware!




Thanks, Lucy:-)









It's NOT real life... it's a part of it, BUT not THE one and only...


Let's have a walk in the countryside... it's Sunday morning!











Tuesday, February 11, 2014

The Electric Recording Co. from UK - Sean Davis' full analog mastering and cutting facility




WOW!!!







Stereo lathing and superb quality pressings at State of the Art with a full Lyrec rig: the best of the best!

Thanking Mark Donen.