Field Of Sound

Happy Christmas from me on behalf of John & Yoko

2008-12-24T20:38:00.001Z

Happy Christmas to all my readers...

WAR IS OVER! (If You Want It) from Yoko Ono on Vimeo.

Bjork (___Surrounded) - Acquired !!

2008-10-10T12:33:00.003+01:00

Well, it took me long enough to indulge myself but I now finally have the Bjork (___Surrounded) box set ! :o)

To hear all of her work in multi-channel is simply stunning. Her voice is now even more stunning with the 5.1 remasters allowing us to hear the nuances that normally get lost in other recordings. It's really hard to describe but it sounds like she really is there, in front of you, belting the songs out. I guess that's helped by the 96KHz/24bit recordings which give added headroom and reinstate many of the frequencies that get lost when mastering for CD @ 44.1KHz/16bit.

I also bought her most recent album, "Volta", also in the 5.1 format, so now the collection is complete.

My only gripe with "Volta" is the slightly strange and overtly "artistic" nature of the cover.

There is an outer folder, whose flaps are kept closed by a flimsy metalised sticker of Bjork in the "chicken outfit". Then, inside, there is a russion doll style arrangement of sleeves and a small booklet. Whilst I appreciate the uniqueness of this, it really doesn't look like something that could stand the test of time. For a while, I thought there might be a purpose to it, like some kind of clever construction, but if there is, i can't figure it out ! Still, the musical contents are typically superb.

Diatonis - Ambient Music in Stereo & 5.1 Surround

2008-07-30T17:08:00.004+01:00

Just stumbled across this artist who creates ambient music in both stereo & 5.1.

Diatonis Homepage

The blurb says:

"Based in Los Angeles California, Diatonis' music consists of an eclectic mix of ambient, electronic, and world styles. The music ranges from being very dreamlike and ethereal to dark and foreboding and gives you a sense of sanctuary. Powerful, Hypnotic, and Dreamlike. Diatonis also works in 5.1 surround and has a DVD-Audio disc available from his website."

As well as his commercial releases, he (I'm assuming it's a he !) has some free DTS, AC-3 and WMA 5.1 downloads. These should give you a good idea before commiting to a purchase.

I've had a listen and if Ambient is your thing, you will probably like this :o)

Slave To The Rhythm - A Brief Review

2008-07-30T16:48:00.003+01:00

At long last, Trevor Horn's 2004 concert in celebration of his 25 years in the industry, and in aid of The Prince's Trust, is finally available in the UK on DVD. Having been previously available only in Japan (I'm guessing for copyright issues), there is now a Region 0 release and mine arrived today.

I have to say, I'm blown away !!

Ok, so I'm biased inasmuch as I'm a huge fan of Trevor already, and also of many of the artists featured in this concert (Pet Shop Boys, Seal, Grace Jones, Propaganda, Yes, Art Of Noise, Frankie Goes To Hollywood) but the quality of production is outstanding. It certainly adheres to Trevor's quality mark, that's for sure. Allegedly, this was filmed in HD by the BBC (their first proper attempt at doing this) and it's clearly an excellent picture throughout. The concert is also in Dolby Digital 5.1 and on my secondary system, sounds superb. I have great expectations for this on my primary home theatre set up.

Bonus features include a documentary on the concert, featuring many of the artists and Trevor himself, as well as a Jukebox facility that allows you to select the tracks to play in any order you like. There is also a documentary on the reforming of Frankie Goes To Hollywood too.

Here's a couple of tasters found on YouTube (the Grace Jones clip is in B&W, not so on the DVD)...

An absolute steal at £10.99.

Get it.

Get it NOW.

Yazoo - InYour Room

2008-05-30T19:42:00.005+01:00

Arrived today and what a bundle of spartan synth goodness it is !!

Each album is on it's own CD with the third case containing both the remixes/b-sides CD and the DVD that contains the Dolby & DTS 5.1 mixes, promo videos, documentary and BBC footage. The discs and booklet are housed in the box, pictured at the top. The booklet (pictured at the bottom) is quite chunky and full of info, bio and pics.

The remastering is superb, both in stereo and 5.1. The work was carried out by Simon Heyworth (remastering) and Kevin Paul (5.1 mix) who were both responsible for the Depeche Mode Remasters and the quality and execution is just as stunning as those works.

The sparse, arpeggiated nature of Yazoo's music is given some room to breathe and their work sounds as fresh today as it did 25 years ago. Alison has never sounded so good :o)

Add to that the fantastic documentary, promos and clips from the BBC and that wonderful book that goes with it, it's a great package.

Arriving this week.... I hope !

2008-05-26T22:38:00.003+01:00

As mentioned in an earlier post, Yazoo's "In Your Room" was released today. I pre ordered my copy some weeks ago from Mute's own store, MuteBank, with the hope that I might also get one of the limited 50 copies that have been signed by Alison and Vince.

Sadly, all of us impatient pre-orderers got this email from MuteBank last week...

Dear Customer,
Thank you for placing a pre-order for Yazoo : In Your Room - 4 disc Remastered Box Set, which is scheduled for release next Monday.
Unfortunately, due to a slight delay from our supplier, we may not receive stock until early next week. This delay is also affecting all the other UK shops. As soon as we receive our stock we will rush your order out as soon as possible.
Please rest assured that this delay will not affect your chance of receiving 1 of 50 copies signed by Vince and Alison – good luck!
Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience that this may have caused.

So, it won't be with me tomorrow morning as I'd hoped, ready for a few days away on business, but hopefully it'll be something for me to look forward to coming home to (as well as my darling family ;o) !!)

Here's the final confirmed tracklist...

Disc 1 (CD): Upstairs at Eric's (Remastered)

1. Don't Go
2. Too Pieces
3. Bad Connection
4. I Before E Except After C
5. Midnight
6. In My Room
7. Only You
8. Goodbye '70s
9. Tuesday
10. Winter Kills
11. Bring Your Love Down (Didn't I)

Disc 2 (CD): You And Me Both (Remastered)

1. Nobody's Diary
2. Softly Over
3. Sweet Thing
4. Mr Blue
5. Good Times
6. Walk Away From Love
7. Ode To Boy
8. Unmarked
9. Anyone
10. Happy People
11. And On

Disc 3 (CD): B-Sides and Remixes

1. Situation
2. Situation (Extended Version)
3. Don't Go (Re-mix)
4. Don't Go (Re-re-mix)
5. Situation (US 12" Mix)
6. Situation (US 12" Dub)
7. The Other Side Of Love
8. The Other Side Of Love (12" Remix)
9. State Farm
10. Nobody's Diary (Extended)
11. State Farm (Extended)
12. Situation (Re-recorded)

Disc 4 (DVD): 2 albums, 4 singles and that was it... (NTSC - Region Free)

A short film featuring new interviews with Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet, and exclusive archive footage.

Promotional Videos

1. Don't Go
2. The Other Side Of Love
3. Nobody's Diary
4. Situation (1990)
5. Situation - Alternative Version (1990)
6. Only You (1999)

Yazoo At The BBC

1. Only You (Top Of The Pops) 29 Apr 1982
2. Only You (Cheggers Plays Pop) 24 May 1982
3. Don't Go (Top Of The Pops) 15 Jul 1982
4. Don't Go (Saturday Live) 24 Jul 1982
5. Don't Go (Top Of The Pops) 12 Aug 1982
6. The Other Side Of Love (Top Of The Pops) 25 Nov 1982
7. The Other Side Of Love (Top Of The Pops) 09 Dec 1982
8. Nobody's Diary (Top Of The Pops) 19 May 1983
9. Nobody's Diary (Top Of The Pops) 02 Jun 1983

5:1 And Stereo Mixes (Presumably Dolby Digital and DTS - No mention of an SACD)

1. Upstairs At Erics
2. You and Me Both

Bjork - Surrounded

2008-04-26T22:01:00.004+01:00

I have always liked Bjork. For one, she's cute. Secondly, and most importantly, she is an incredible talent. Her music, her performances, her personality, are all so incredibly unique. Her music spans so many emotions and genres, evoking a myriad emotions and requiring in depth listening and a level of intelligence not normally required in pop music.

She is also no stranger to the world of 5.1, having released Vespertine, Medulla and Volta in various surround formats. Vespertine & Medulla were released in DVD-A & SACD as well as featuring Dolby/DTS mixes. Volta was just Dolby/DTS mixes. It would appear that Bjork has also seen the impending demise of DVD-A & SACD and tailored her output accordingly.

However, it is only these three albums so far that have received 5.1 mixes, until now. Surrounded is a luscious and sumptuous box set that contains her first seven studio albums, all featuring the original CD masters on one side of a DualDisc, with the other side containing remastered 5.1 versions in Dolby & DTS 96/24 along with all the accompanying promo videos for the singles. So now we can enjoy not only Vespertine and Medulla, but also Debut, Post, Homogenic, SelmaSongs and Drawing Restraint 9 in our favoured format (Volta is not included as this box set pre dates its release).

This box set has been out for some while but slipped under my radar. You can pick it up for as little as £49.99 from places like Play.Com.

I'm saving already :)

Latest SACD purchase: Propaganda - A Secret Wish

2008-03-17T20:12:00.003Z

This arrived today, and whilst I have yet to listen to the whole album, I did listen to "Duel" and "Dr Mabuse" which both sounded awesome and really work well in DSD & 5.1. Another Horn & Lipson masterpiece :o)

The SACD can be bought from Amazon UK HERE

I had also forgotten how attracted to Claudia Brucken I was (and still am !)

Oxygene Update

2008-02-29T11:59:00.005Z

Ok, here's an update on the JMJ Oxygene New Master debacle.

After doing a little research, it appears that these are the main differences between the CD version, the 2D CD & DVD version and the 3D CD & DVD version...

Version 1 is a regular Redbook audio CD in stereo, of the studio version of the New Master.

Version 2 is a regular Redbook audio CD in stereo (not SACD as claimed on the website) of the studio version of the New Master and a DVD that comes with the regular 2D version of the "Live In Your Living Room" concert with 5.1 Dolby & PCM stereo audio. It also comes with the studio version of the New Master in 5.1 DD/DTS & PCM stereo on the DVD.

Version 3 comes with the regular Redbook audio CD, in stereo, of the studio version of the New Master and a DVD that contains both the 2D and 3D versions of the "Live In Your Living Room" concert with 5.1 Dolby and PCM stereo audio but no version of the studio recording of the New Master in 5.1 DD/DTS or PCM stereo.

So this claim about the 2D version on the Oxygene 3D website is clearly false....

New Master Recording of 'Oxygene'.
Re-recorded, mixed and mastered in High Definition 24bit/96KHz.
Presented on Super Audio Compact Disc (SACD).

As is this claim about the 3D version....

New Original Master in 5.1 Surround Sound & PCM Stereo & Animated Visual.

Add that to the fact that to own a 5.1 recording of the studio album and the 3D version of the film, you have to buy two different products, it seems that EMI and/or JMJ are keen to exploit fans in the most cynical fashion. Surely the 3D DVD set shouold include everything on the 2D version plus the Stereoscopic version of the film ?

Your comments on this would be welcome. I am certainly considering raising the SACD claim with someone in a position to take action.

What also annoys me is the constant reference on the website and on the CD/DVD liner notes to the film being "High Definition". Sure, it may have been recorded in an HD format, but it is presented on regular DVD, with 576 lines of resolution, not on HD-DVD or BluRay with the minimum 720 lines for HD compatibility.

Another cynical ploy to gain sales by quoting all the latest HD buzzwords.

I have always admired JMJ for his adoption and support of new and emerging technologies. His Aero album was a great example of this. Sadly, whether it is his own doing or not, Oxygene - The New Master is a shambolic and shameful marketing exercise.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly....

2008-02-22T11:29:00.004Z

Three more titles entered my surround music collection this week and the difference in quality and presentation couldn't be more obvious.

First up we have the Good....

Their eponymously titled 12th album, containing the classic tracks, Mama, That's All, Home By The Sea and Illegal Alien, is part of the Genesis Remastered catalogue that is seeing the light of day at the moment. Two sets have already been released, spanning 1976 to 1998. The final chapter, 70-75, will be available in September.

Presented in a similar way to the Depeche Mode remasters, these albums each have two discs. One is SACD/CD and the other a DVD Video. Both feature the entire album in 5.1. The DVD Video version offers either Dolby Digital or DTS 96/24 soundtracks as well as photo galleries and a short film of interviews with the band on how the album was made.

The packaging isn't as sumptuous as the Depeche Mode albums, but sufficient nonetheless.

As for audio quality, it is superb as expected, with a rich and full soundscape. Phil's vocals tend to be focused on the centre channel more than some other surround albums I have heard. 5.1 mixers vary between those that favour the front centre for vocals or those that like to spread the vocals around the soundfield. I tend to prefer the latter, but either way, this works.

I am now seriously tempted to acquire the rest of the collection.

Now for the Bad....

I was eagerly anticipating this title. I had scoured the web and the shops for this and eventually found it and it arrived promptly last week. This package contains not only the New Master of Oxygene, but also the "LIve In Your Living Room" performance of the entire piece by JMJ and friends in 2D and 3D !

Well, in 2D, this is an impressive piece, especially watching JMJ jumping on and off classic synths and the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio gives it great depth, but the 3D version is poor to the point of being unwatchable ! I've tried numerous screens and glasses but it still looks very poor.

But the real mystery is the audio CD. On the Oxygene website, it states that there are 3 versions of this title. Version one is a single audio CD. No frills, just the album. Version two is a two disc affair, with the 2D film and what they claim to be a 5.1 multichannel SACD version of the studio recording. Version three is the same as version two but with the added bonus of the Stereoscopic film.

Well, my 3D version has just a regular Redbook audio CD. No mention of SACD anywhere.

Sadly, as these are quite rare in shops, I have not been able to find a 2D version which is claimed to be an SACD, so I can confirm it. If it is indeed SACD, it would appear that EMI/JMJ have hatched a cynical marketing ploy to get you to buy the album twice if you want the 3D movie as well as the SACD studio recording.

I am currently investigating and will report back as soon as I find anything out.

Finally, we have the Ugly....

I saw this for £6 in Zavvi and thought "why not". It's an unofficial yet legitimate release and I found out afterwards that Gary has disowned this release, saying he has nothing to do with it and didn't approve it. I then found some reviews that said the quality was poor and indeed, it's not the best in the world. If you're going to release a sub-standard collection of recordings, you're probably best not to release it on DVD-A, whose massive headroom will be unforgiving and show up any problems with consumate ease.

However, it's nice to have something from Gaz in surround. Maybe it's a potential project for him in the future. He has just re-released the 1979 Tubeway Army classic, "Replicas" to coincide with his tour this year (which I have tickets for next month !) and whilst this album is remastered and contains bonus tracks, it isn't in surround. Can you imagine "Down In The Park" or "Are Friends Electric?" in 5.1 ?? :o)

So, whilst many attach a quality label to SACD & DVD-A, some of these releases clearly show that the badge means chuff all.

Play.com withdraw SACD & DVD-A pages

2008-02-15T16:57:00.005Z

A sad, yet inevitable, day for those of us who buy and enjoy SACD & DVD-A discs. Online retailer Play.com have decided to remove their SACD & DVD-A pages. This decision coincides with their new download shop being launched this week. There's no doubting the business decision behind this, with downloads being a far more profitable marketplace. However, had Play stocked all the discs they had listed, I'd have certainly bought more.

It has been noted that typing in SACD or DVDA into Play's search engine will still yield results and you will still be able to buy these. Maybe they will have a clearance promotion soon ??

So, that leaves places like Amazon to cater for our online needs, and of course the artists themselves.

So I guess that MP3 Surround and other new 5.1 digital file formats will now have to carry the mantle of surround sound music.

The Final Five....

2008-02-09T12:53:00.001Z

At last !! The final five Depeche Mode Remastered albums turned up today. A tad delayed due to the fact that Songs Of Faith & Devotion was out of stock, but well worth the wait. Sadly, as I am an impatient man, and Mutebank weren't sure until this week that they were going to get SOFAD in anytime soon, I ordered the five albums again from a shop on eBay. Fingers crossed they will turn up ok and I guess I will just have to find buyers for them. So, if anyone wants them at £12 per album with a nominal P+P charge, just drop me a line. First come, first served. I'll do all 5 for £60 with free shipping. [UK ONLY - Any overseas, contact me first]

Anyway, here are Music For The Masses, Violator, Songs Of Faith & Devotion, Ultra & Exciter with the first five that I got last month, Speak & Spell, A Broken Frame, Construction Time Again, Some Great Reward & Black Celebration. Along with Playing the Angel (SACD/DVD) and 101 (SACD), I now have the entire DM 5.1 catalogue. Will they ever do the SOFAD Live album in 5.1 ?? That would be the icing on the cake :o)

EDIT: Albums sold ! :o)

My current set up

2008-02-08T23:08:00.001Z

Well, I always like to look at other people's pictures of their surround set up, so I'll start with mine. Feel free to mail me yours and I will be happy to post :o)

I have just re-installed this set up after a few years of child enforced retirement. It's now back and running again, with plenty of ideas to make some changes.

BTW, the blue curtains are temporary, I swear !! ;o)

Click the images for larger versions.

The Ariston MSX04 rear centre is a temporary fix and the Kenwood front centre is stuck behind the screen due to it's size. I need to find something with similar or better punch and clarity but with a smaller footprint. The amp is going to be replaced with an Onkyo TXSR505 or 605, the Pioneer 575-S DVD will be replaced with another Pioneer all rounder, the DV600 and the remaining Kenwood & Gale speakers may get replaced by a complete matching set. The Eltax sub is still good enough though. Eventually, the Sky+ box will make way for a SkyHD box.

Genesis Regenesis !

2008-02-08T12:20:00.000Z

Following in the footsteps of Depeche Mode and their back catalogue conversion to 5.1 (although the work probably started sooner on this project) is the issue of Genesis' back catalogue of studio albums in 5.1 and stereo SACD/CD/DVD Remasters. 14 of their 15 albums (Their 1969 debut "From Genesis to Revelation" is not included and one can only speculate that it has something to do with the fact that convicted peadophile, former music impressario and producer of the album, Jonathan King, owns the rights to this album) have been given the treatment and are the culmination of a project started back in 2003.

Each album will be available individually as a dual disc package, or you can buy chronologically ordered box sets. Currently available are the 76-82 (A Trick of the Tail, Wind and Wuthering, And Then There Were Three, Duke & Abacab) and 83-98 (Genesis, Invisible Touch, We Can't Dance, Calling All Stations) albums. The final set of albums will be released in September 2008. These include the 70-74 albums (Trespass, Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England by the Pound, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway)

Whilst I'm an admirer of Genesis' work, I'm not a huge fan, certainly not in the same way I am a fan of Depeche Mode, so I may buy these either one by one when I can, or wait till the price is reduced in some offer.

Either way, it is very welcome to see such influential artists releasing their material this way. It's just a shame that Peter Gabriel only saw fit to re-release his solo work in stereo SACD, not 5.1 (Except "Up")

EDIT: An interesting article on Peter Gabriel and his favourable attitudes towards 5.1, sent my way by Yuri of PS3SACD.COM

Have Sony lost it ? PS3 & SACD

2008-02-08T10:39:00.000Z

When trying to convince people of the benefits and wonders of surround sound when it comes to music, I'm often told that it would be more accepted and embraced if people didn't have to go out and buy new hardware to play the damned discs, and I can do nothing but agree. True, you can buy a combined multi format player, like the Pioneer DV600 (I have a slightly older DV-575) which plays every CD/DVD format known to man except HD derivatives. I am sure that there are also HD capable players that do similar jobs too. But many people already have good DVD players and/or games consoles, so why buy another box ?

One solution is to get the software released in as many formats as possible. Releasing the material in regualr Dolby Digital and DTS is one way, with both of these formats being playable on regular DVD Video players but at lower qulaity levels than those used by DVD-A or SACD. This isn't a problem because to be perfectly honest, not many people would notice. This way, the hundreds of thousands of households that already have a home cinema system with 5.1 speaker configurations can experience surround sound music. Looking through my collection of surround sound albums, I can see only 2 that are exclusively SACD when it comes to multi channel. All the others include a DVD-V version as well as a a DVD-A or SACD version.

But ultimately, it's about getting a hardware user base installed, and Sony recently had the most ideal opportunity to do this with the release of the PlayStation3. Original models were capable of playing back not only PS3 games, DVD and regualr CD but also BluRay with the HD versions of Dolby Digital and DTS and SACD !!

With the obvious mass acceptance and buy in of the PS3, SACD looked to have finally got the opening it needed to gain a foothold.

But no.

Bizarrely, Sony released a range of "updated" PS3's, obviously in a bid to attract more sales and to justify the lower cost, they dropped certain features such as PS2 compatibility and, amazingly, SACD support ! How dropping SACD support saved money I'll never know, but what were Sony thinking ??? Being one of the SACD partners (Philips being the other), surely they stood to benefit from the increase in SACD sales that surely would've come from the PS3 user base ? With over 10.5 million units sold, that's a massive potential market. Many of those 10.5 million will have hooked their PS3's up to their surround sound set ups and been able to benefit from the SACD system.

I find it quite incredulous that Sony dropped the ball on this one. One hopes that they will re-introduce it to newer variants, but I'm not holding my breath.

For more info on PS3 and SACD, visit PS3SACD.COM

An interesting article that shares me sentiment can be found HERE

A little something in Surround

2008-02-02T13:09:00.000Z

Created by Alesis Fusion user Mastropiero, this is a quite superb and accurate cover of Oxygene IV, performed, mixed and recorded entirely on the Alesis Fusion using only it's internal VA synth and stock sounds. No external samples or FX were used.

DOWNLOAD HERE

I think you'll agree that it's a damned fine cover and certainly shows the Fusion off well.

Fusion owners can download the SONG & PATTERN files, along with Mastropiero's tweaked settings for the internal sounds HERE.

Well done Mastro :o)

So, being inspired by JMJ's recent foray into surround sound, I have managed to make a surround sound mix of this cover version using Fraunhofer IIS's MP3 Surround encoder. You can download the MP3 Surround Player and other bits of surround software, free of charge, HERE. There are versions for Windows, Mac & Linux. To get the full effect, you need a computer with 5.1 surround sound and the necessary speakers or you can use the included Ensonido headphone surround built in to the player and listen to it in surround using regular stereo headphones.

DOWNLOAD SURROUND MIX HERE

Latest Surround Sound purchase

2008-02-01T23:59:00.001Z

The first Depeche Mode studio album to receive the 5.1 treatment was Playing The Angel, released as a double disc SACD/DVD package in 2005. Disc 1 is a Hybrid SACD with stereo and 5.1 layers. Disc 2 contains a DD & DTS 96/24 5.1 mix plus a "Making Of" Documentary, photo gallery and a couple of promo video's.

As with all their other 5.1 releases, this is a fine example of the medium.

On a side note, I'm currently awaiting delivery of the remaining five DM remasters but apparantly, Songs Of Faith & Devotion is currently out of stock so Mutebank tell me that the rest cannot be shipped to me until it arrives :o(

I have sourced an alternative supplier and hope to rectify this situation very soon.

Surround Video ???

2008-02-01T23:41:00.000Z

Via BBC Internet Blog

Yes, you read right. Surround video ! Ok, I know it's not surround sound, but it's related :o)

Currently being studied at the BBC Research and Innovation dept., Surround Video is one of many possibilities we may see in the future. I'll let the blurb speak for itself....

Graham Thomas of BBC R&I says:

"Surround Video is a means of visually immersing the viewer into a TV programme.

It is like surround sound, an optional extra that enhances viewing on a normal display. The idea is to use a wide angle (or fisheye) camera fixed rigidly alongside the normal camera shooting the programme, and project the image onto the walls, ceiling and floor of the viewer's room.

The image is scaled and positioned to ensure that it aligns up with the existing TV, and warped to compensate for the distortion effects that come from the wide-angle lens and projection system. Although the projected image will be dimmer and of lower resolution than the main image, it nevertheless gives a strong feeling of immersion, particularly with motion cues being visible in the viewer's peripheral vision.

The effect is enhanced if the walls are light-coloured and relatively uncluttered, but it still works even if there are bookshelves and pictures. Currently the system is just a research prototype, but it shows one way that TV viewing could develop in the future."

Thanks to Sarah Mines for the picture.

Surround video is mentioned in this recent article about the work of BBC R&I from the Independent.

I'm not utterly convinced by this, although I haven't seen it in action. Philips Ambilight TV's use an illuminated border whose colour matches that of the picture being displayed. I've seen these working and they're novel, but I'd probably get very annoyed with it after a while.

Still, I'm all for innovation. Nice to see my licence fee being spent this way ;o)

Yazoo reform for tour and release the back catalogue in 5.1 !!

2008-01-26T16:17:00.000Z

From Mute Records:

Yazoo (Vince Clarke & Alison Moyet) have announced that they will reunite for the first time in over 25 years for Reconnected, a UK tour in June, starting in Glasgow on the 4th and culminating in a headline show at London's Hammersmith Apollo on the 18th.

Tickets are available from 1st February direct from the venue or online at ticketmaster.co.uk, gigsandtours.com, livenation.co.uk.

Exclusive ticket pre-sale available 25th January from alisonmoyet.com.

(and now for the most exciting part....)

The tour is preceded by In Your Room, a 4 disc box set which includes:

Remasters and 5.1 mixes of both Yazoo's classic albums Upstairs At Eric's and You And Me Both
B-sides and remixes
DVD featuring a new short film containing exclusive new interviews with Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet and the promo videos for Don't Go, The Other Side Of Love, Nobody's Diary, Situation (1990) and Only You (1999)
The joyous, unlikely coming together of Vince Clarke, who had just left Depeche Mode, and Alison Moyet lasted for only 2 albums, saw them performing only 24 concerts worldwide, but left an indelible mark on pop.

Yazoo released Upstairs At Eric's in July 1982 then parted company just 12 months later on release of the second album You And Me Both, which reached Number 1 in the UK.

Vince and Alison have since gone on to have their own successful careers, Vince with Erasure and Alison as a solo performer, both releasing Top 30 critically acclaimed hit albums in 2007 - Erasure with Light At The End Of The World and Alison Moyet with The Turn.

The Reconnected Tour will also see Yazoo perform material from You And Me Both for the very first time as well as pop classics Only You and Don't Go.

Yazoo Reconnected: Live

Wed 04 June - Glasgow Clyde Auditorium
Sat 07 June - Manchester Apollo
Thu 12 June - Wolverhampton Civic Hall
Sun 15 June - Brighton Centre
Wed 18 June - London Hammersmith Apollo

"It's been really good going back to these songs after such a long while. Many of them have never been played live. I'm looking forward to performing them with Alison for all the fans who've enjoyed our music through the years but never had a chance to see Yazoo in concert." Vince Clarke

"Playing this material live is not about revision for me, it is about finishing something we started - writing, recording, performing. Three parts of a whole. A salmon cycle. It’s like going home." Alison Moyet

EDIT: Tickets went on general sale today at the extortionate price of £45 each !! Hammersmith Apollo also has certain seats at £40 & £35, but you know they'll be up in the gods. I'm sorry, but there's no way I'm paying £45 to see a band who haven't played live in 25 years, only released 2 albums worth of material and are only doing 5 gigs ! I can understand people paying £125 to see Led Zeppelin, but having paid only £31.21 to see Prince at the O2, £12 to see Scritti Politti at The Luminaire and £17 to see Gary Numan (all in the last few months), Yazoo are much less an influential 80's retro comeback band and in no way worth £45 a ticket. Sorry guys, looks like all you'll get out of me is the price of the 4 disc boxset in May.

Depeche Mode - 101

2008-01-25T14:11:00.000Z

My latest surround sound music acquisition is 101, the live album by Depeche Mode. The 101 project was primarily a documentary of the band's For The Masses tour in 1988 and called 101 because the tour ended with their 101st gig of the run at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in front of 75,000 fans.

The film was recently re-released on 2 disc DVD with the film on one disc and concert footage and interviews on disc 2. The soundtrack album, also called 101, was originally released in 1989 and was a top 10 hit. This has been a fans favourite for many years.

In 2004, Mute decided to release a multi channel version on SACD. This included a remastered PCM stereo mix, a remastered SACD stereo mix and a 5.1 remastered SACD mix. Sadly, after a few weeks it became apparent that Disc 1 had authoring faults that made the multi channel layer unplayable. Mute responded by replacing all faulty discs at their own cost.

Trying to find a new copy of this album is quite hard. I decided to go straight to the source and bought my copy from Mutebank, the Mute Records online store, but even they were out of stock. I eventually tracked one down via an Amazon 3rd party seller and it arrived today. The first thing I checked was for the fault that appears at about 1:21 on track 4 and makes the rest of the disc unplayable. Thankfully, mine was ok :o)

Due to kids and stuff, I haven't had time to listen fully, but I know the original album well, and this should be nothing short of awesome in 5.1 :o)

I also managed to track down the 2 disc DVD release in HMV this week for £7 !! (albeit the plastic cased version, not the "luxury" card sleeve). Bargain !

Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon DVD-A. Could this be what surround sound music needs ?

2008-01-25T12:12:00.000Z

I have always been a big fan of surround sound. My father had a Quadraphonic HiFi back in the 70's (A lovely Dynatron affair) and I was hooked from that moment onwards. The concept of being surrounded by sound, having an audio image created all about me seemed natural and right. Stereo seemed restrictive.

It is only recently, since the mass acceptance of DVD and the 5.1 format into home theatres that the possibility of music in surround has been resurrected. Sadly though, it's not much of a resurrection yet. It's taking time. I'm sure it will get there, but there is confusion and animosity over the various formats and of course, you need to get consumer buy in for it to really take off. DVD-Audio & SACD are the two hardware formats that cater for high fidelity multichannel mixes at 24bit/96KHz. SACD is Sony's baby, therefore titles available rely on industry affiliations and we all know where that can lead. For example, Jeff Wayne's "Musical Version of The War Of The Worlds" is only available on regular Redbook CD and SACD, not DVD-A. Queen's "A Night At The Opera" is only available in DVD-Audio, As is The Beatles "Love" album. However, The Beatles & Queen (as do many other releases) also have a DVD Video version available, utilising Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 found in all home DVD systems, so the user base is now much bigger, but the bug hasn't bitten and the message still needs to be emphasised.

So what's it going to take ? How are we going to convince people that multichannel music is the way forward ? Well, releasing classic albums in the format might help. Depeche Mode have recently released their entire studio catalogue in SACD/DVD remasters (see my post HERE), and of course "Love" and "Night At The Opera" are classics too. Fleetwood Mac's album, "Rumours" (the 4th biggest selling album off all time) is available in DVD-A and there are some other classics there too. Current artists like Jean Michel Jarre & Bjork are big proponents of multichannel music but we need a landmark release to get people into it. And we also need a way of getting software involved in the playback process. There is now an MP3 Surround format, ratified by the AES and being adopted by many of the big name hardware & software manufacturers so this could be the push we need.

One classic album that got the multichannel treatment recently was Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" on SACD, released to celebrate it's 30th anniversary. But what some people don't realise is that this album was a surround sound pioneer at it's creation, and not just 30 years later. Alan Parsons was the engineer on the original project and remixed the entire album for Quadraphonic sound. Sadly, the band (or the label) decided not to release this version, maybe because production costs were too high back then, and the multiple variations on the quadraphonic format meant that sales would be minimal. So, naturally, these quadraphonic mixes soon became the stuff of legend and folklore and various versions appeared as bootlegs. But recently, the orginal 1/2" masters were transferred to the digital format and subsequently released (albeit unofficially) as the definitive quad mix. Here are the notes that come with the release...

Dark Side Of The Moon
From the original 1/2" Master Tapes

This is the real deal. not the usual Q8 or SQ versions with all their limitations
(limited bandwidth on the Q8, Matrixed surround on the SQ etc) but a genuine transfer from the original master tapes.
Finally you can hear Alan Parsons mix as it was always intended to be heard in studio quality audio.
The only "liberty" we have taken here is an additional .1 track. You can make up your own mind as to
whether or not it is a worthwhile addition.
It also features all new artwork in both sections specially created for this DVD-Audio release
The disc will play on all DVD players, as it is a DVD-Audio/Video "hybrid" containing the following:

Audio_TS
MLP Lossless at 24/96 Resolution in 4.1

Video_TS
DTS from 24/48 Source files
Dolby Digital from 24/48 Source files

Additionally, it is possible to play both the lossy streams from DVD-Audio players.
Each type has it's own menus. What you can access is dependant entirely on your player.

All Authoring, Encoding, Post Production and design is exclusive to this release.

FEEL FREE TO DISTRIBUTE THIS DISC TO OTHERS, BUT ALWAYS "AS IS" AND IN FULL.
PLEASE DO NOT RIP AND REPOST IN ANY OTHER FORMAT. THERE IS NO NEED AS ALL DVD PLAYERS CAN READ THIS DISC,
AND DOING SO WILL DEPRIVE OTHERS OF THE FULL HIGH RESOLUTION FORMATS USED.
ADDITIONALLY, RIPPING TO DTS-CD WILL INVOLVE QUALITY LOSS DUE TO DOWNSAMPLING, AND WILL
REDUCE THE LISTENING PLEASURE FOR OTHERS.

Of course, this is unofficial, and probably illegal, therefore I won't provide any direct links to places to acquire this. However, it's safe to say that if you Google for it, you will find it. You will also need a BitTorrent client :o)

And how does it sound ? Fuckin' awesome ;o)

Depeche Mode - The Remasters

2008-01-13T14:35:00.000Z

Released last year, and created to celebrate 25 years in the business, the first 10 studio albums by Basildon band, Depeche Mode not only mark a stunning career but also a landmark surround sound music release. Each album is released in various formats (including Vinyl & CD) but the pinnalce is the collectors editions which feature 2 discs. Disc 1 is an SACD hybrid with remastered versions of the album in stereo and 5.1 multichannel at 24bit/96KHz. Disc 2 is a DVD (not DVD-A) that features the album in 5.1 Dolby Digital at 24bit & 5.1 DTS at 24bit/96KHz. This second disc also features b-sides, live tracks, remixes & singles not featured on the albums and a documentary chronicaling the band at the time each album was released. Held in gatefold sleeves with plastic protectors and a booklet with new pictures and sleeve notes, these releases are a must not only for fans, but for lovers of electronic music and surround sound alike.

EDIT: After popping DISC 1 of these albums into my car HiFi, I discovered that they also contain CDText, much to my (pleasant) surprise :o)

With their last studio album, "Playing The Angel" already released in 5.1, along with the live album, "101", Depeche Mode are now undeniably the most prolific 5.1 musicians alive today.

I will be endeavouring to review each pack as time allows, but to be perfectly honest, I'm too busy enjoying listening to them !!

Visit Mute Records online store, Mutebank, for some incredible deals on these albums, including Multipack purchases.

Visit the microsite HERE

Welcome to Fields Of Sound

2008-01-13T13:02:00.000Z

Welcome to Fields Of Sound !

In this, my newest blog, I intend to highlight and promote the wonderful world of surround sound music.

Now, surround sound is no new thing, especially since the advent of DVD with the movies utilising the various 5.1, 6.1 & 7.1 surround formats. But the uptake of surround sound in music has been less prolific. However, I am firmly of the belief that the situation may be about to change. We are seeing more quality titles appearing, more embracing of the form by "conventional" artists rather than the expected protagonists and better quality of mixing, now the format is catching on.

But probably the most exciting thing to happen in the arena of surround sound music is the proliferation of the MP3 Surround format. With only an average of 10% increase in file size over a regular stereo MP3, there is no excuse for this format not to flourish, especially when you consider that the vast majority of PC's are now equipped with 5.1 or better soundcards, many front rooms feature home cinema set ups and car audio head units, with their A2DP streaming and MP3 playback capability coupled with a typical speaker set up can easily give you fulfilling surround sound.

In my opinion, what has stifled the development and proliferation of surround sound in music is the different methods of delivery (DVD-A, MP3S, SACD) and the choice of which of those to release on by the artist/record company. Coupled with the need to buy new hardware, many consumers are shunning it.

Over the coming weeks and months, I intend not only to dispell and allay fears in short articles but also promote the products with which you can enjoy surround sound music, including hardware and software and of course the musical releases themselves.

Feel free to contact me via email or by responding to the various posts. If you are a manufacturer of hardware or software, or distributor of surround sound titles, and wish to receive an unbiased review or wish to alert the world of the impending release of one of your products, please do contact me.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to add us to your favourites. Come back soon !