Seriously horny 😳

 

Shindo: Sound Create Producer 💫

 

This cute Japlish statement always amused me… 

🤭

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Quad 33/303 💫

 

One of most iconic and sleek combos, ever.

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Köln Concert on 4 tracks reel to reel 🍀💫💫🍀

 

A rare bird, indeed!

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Have a sort-of deja-vu 😳

 

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AKG C12 mikes pair 💫

 

This gorgeous pair of AKG’s mikes from CBS Columbia studios is for sale.

Nothing new, underwear…

 

“His” obsession for nipples, pubic hairs and other anatomical details dates earlier, much earlier than FB’s birth… for example, look at Hughes Merle’s “Hebe after the fall” presented here below: the French artist was born on April, 28 1822.

I find asexuality funny. 

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Braun LE-1, the Quad ESL as per Dieter Rams 💫

 

It was a better world!

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The Garrard 301 as per Japanese audio lovers 😳

 

These HUGE laminated wooden platters/mats were a must for most of Japanese audiophiles, as I appreciated myself when in Japan, in 2017.

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I’m Ghosted… 😳

 

… in Oren Ambarchi-mode, indeed!

Ghosted I/II & III

These three vinyl-discs are wonderful.

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Chess for obsessed, only 😉

 

Sixty years ago, Nick Drake 💫

 

On this day in 1966: Nick purchases his first ‘serious’ guitar, a 1964 Levin LS-18, which he bought for £53 11s from Chas. E. Foote, Ltd. in London.

About the same guitar as played by John James (here a frame from a Welsh TV broadcast).

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Analogtechnik’s DST 15 “IceAge” on Stereophile 💫🙌💫

 

So glad for Daniel Kim and his Analogtechnik 🥇

Tools of the trade - Bill Monroe’s F5

 

Bill Monroe's 1923 Gibson F-5M signed by Lloyd Loar, Well worn by decades on the road.

An instrumental tool to bluegrass music, like a Stradivarius violin for Paganini!

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A very Sonar/David Torn kind of Sunday morning 💫

 

Not easy finding such a disks batch out in the wild.

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Joe Boyd’s World… which became ours, too 💫

 

Joe Boyd 

Between 1965 and 1985 he shaped a world of unique beauty.

1965 - The Incredible String Band - The Incredible String Band (Elektra)

1966 - Alasdair Clayre - Alasdair Clayre (Elektra)

1966 - Various Artists - A Cold Wind Blows (Elektra)

1967 - Shirley Collins - The Power Of The True Love Knot (Polydor)

1967 - The Incredible String Band - The 5000 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion (Elektra)

1967 - Dave Swarbrick, Martin Carthy & Diz Disley - Rags Reels & Airs (Bounty)

1968 - Fairport Convention - Fairport Convention (Polydor)

1968 - The Incredible String Band - The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter (Elektra)

1968 - The Incredible String Band - Wee Tam & Big Huge (Elektra)

1968 - Chris McGregor Group - Very Urgent (Polydor)

1968 - Various Artists - Kalpana (Nonesuch)

1968 - Various Artists - Tonite Lets All Make Love In London (Instant)

1969 - Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left (Island)

1969 - Fairport Convention - What We Did On Our Holidays (Island)

1969 - Fairport Convention - Unhalfbricking (Island)

1969 - Fairport Convention - Liege & Lief (Island)

1969 - The Incredible String Band - Changing Horses (Elektra)

1969 - Dr Strangely Strange - Kip Of The Serenes (Island)

1970 - Vashti Bunyan - Just Another Diamond Day (Phillips)

1970 - Nick Drake - Bryter Layter (Island)

1970 - Fairport Convention - Full House (Island)

1970 - Fotheringay - Fotheringay (Island)

1970 - The Incredible String Band - I Looked Up (Elektra)

1970 - The Incredible String Band - 'U' (Elektra)

1970 - The Incredible String Band - Be Glad For The Song Has No Ending (Island)

1970 - Chris McGregor's Brotherhood Of Breath - Brotherhood Of Breath (RCA Neon)

1970 - John & Beverley Martyn - Stormbringer! (Island)

1970 - Geoff & Maria Muldaur - Pottery Pie (Reprise)

1971 - Mike Heron - Smiling Men With Bad Reputations (Island)

1971 - John & Beverley Martyn - The Road To Ruin (Island)

1971 - Nico - Desertshore (Reprise)

1971 - Dr Strangely Strange - Heavy Petting (Vertigo)

1973 - Jimi Hendrix - Hendrix Soundtrack (Reprise)

1973 - Maria Muldaur - Maria Muldaur (Reprise)

1974 - Maria Muldaur - Waitress In A Donut Shop (Reprise)

1974 - Muleskinner - Muleskinner (Warner Bros)

1975 - Kate & Anna McGarrigle - Kate & Anna McGarrigle (Warner Bros)

1975 - Geoff Muldaur - Is Having A Wonderful Time (Warner Bros)

1976 - James Booker - Junco Partner (Island)

1976 - Fairport Convention - Live At The L.A. Troubadour (Island)

1976 - Maria Muldaur - Sweet Harmony (Reprise)

1976 - Toots & The Maytals - Reggae Got Soul (Island)

1977 - Kate & Anna McGarrigle - Dancer With Bruised Knees (Warner Bros)

1978 - The Albion Band - Rise Up Like The Sun (Harvest)

1978 - Julie Covington - Julie Covington (Virgin)

1981 - The Act - Too Late At Twenty (Hannibal)

1981 - Geoff Muldaur - I Ain't Drunk (Hannibal)

1982 - Richard and Linda Thompson - Shoot Out the Lights (Hannibal)

1982 - Defunkt - Thermonuclear Sweat (Hannibal)

1982 - Cool It Reba - Money Fall Out the Sky (Hannibal)

1983 - Richard Thompson - Hand of Kindness (Hannibal)

1983 - Original Cast Recording - Poppie Nongena (Hannibal)

1984 - Richard Thompson - Small Town Romance (Hannibal)

1985 - Richard Thompson - Across a Crowded Room (Polydor)

1985 - R.E.M. - Fables of the Reconstruction (I.R.S.)

1985 - 10,000 Maniacs - The Wishing Chair (Elektra)

Thanks to Roberto Banchini for the above 🖖🙏🖖

A 1926 Martin 000-45💫

 

When you hear such a guitar (well) played, you’re hooked for life! 

I know this personally.

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Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was a Saint?

 

Search for this video on YouTube… lyrics are by Rumi 💫

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Anselm Adams 💫🥇💫

 

Why Ansel Adams’s Three Books Remain the Bible of Photography (Even in the Digital Age)

If you think Ansel Adams’s *The Camera*, *The Negative*, and *The Print* are merely nostalgic relics of the analog era, you are missing out on the most important lesson in modern photography.

These are not simply three technical manuals for film; they represent a true school of visual thought. For anyone wishing to pursue fine art photography—especially in black and white—these volumes shouldn't just be read; they must be studied.

The Heart of the Method: The Zone System

At the core of Adams’s teaching lies a concept that remains crucial and unsurpassed, even with today’s mirrorless and DSLR sensors: the Zone System.

Technically, the Zone System is a scientific method for correlating scene reflectance, exposure, negative density (or RAW values), and the tonality of the final print. Adams divided the luminance scale (from the deepest discernible shadow to the brightest highlight) into 11 discrete zones, identified by Roman numerals from 0 to X:

- Zone 0: Pure black, devoid of detail.

- Zone V (five): Middle gray at 18% reflectance (the nominal value used to calibrate spot meters).

- Zone X: Pure paper white or pixel at clipping point, devoid of detail.

The Usable Zones (I–IX): These represent the discernible dynamic range, with Zones II–VIII containing all the essential textures and tonal details.

Why is it still fundamental in the digital age?

Camera light meters (even on the most modern models) tend to render any metered point as Zone V (middle gray). Applying the Zone System means previsualizing the result: measuring a key shadow area, deciding to "place" it in Zone III to preserve its texture, and calculating the necessary over- or under-exposure relative to a spot meter reading.

In the digital realm, this concept translates directly into ETTR (Expose To The Right) and the informed management of the histogram, allowing you to master the sensor's dynamic range and avoid highlight clipping or shadow detail loss.

A fundamental trilogy for the conscious photographer:

1. The Camera: Not a manual on buttons, but a lesson on managing perspective, the plane of focus (Scheimpflug principle), and controlling light before the shot.

2. The Negative: The bible of previsualization and exposure. Today, the "negative" is your RAW file; understanding its exposure latitude radically changes the way you photograph.

3. The Print: The final chapter of the Fine Art vision. The dodging and burning techniques born in the darkroom are the exact conceptual equivalent of the layer masks and adjustment brushes used in Lightroom today.

If you want to make the leap from "impulse shooters" to conscious photographers, treat yourself to this trilogy. You will look at your digital sensor with entirely new eyes!

Arvo Pärt 💫

 

Arvo Pärt did not need volume to change the world of music. He needed silence.

Now he has received Germany's Goethe Medal, honouring a body of work that has crossed borders, languages and generations.

Photo by Birgit Püve.

Presenting the medal in Weimar, Goethe-Institut president Gesche Joost said Part's tintinnabuli music had touched and connected people around the world, creating "a space for humanity".

His son, Michael Pärt, accepted the honour on his behalf and offered a sentence that could stand beside his father's entire oeuvre:

"First comes the music and then - perhaps - understanding."

Which Part work would you play to mark this moment?

Happy 91st birthday, Maestro 🥂

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