ACOUSTIC TRIANGLE
RECORDINGS
Acoustic Triangle has released four albums on the Audio-B label. The
first - Interactions (2001) - featured Malcolm Creese (double bass),
John Horler (piano) and Tim Garland (saxophones and bass clarinet). For
the second - Catalyst (2003) - Gwilym Simcock was introduced on piano,
and the line-up is the same for the third - Resonance (2005), with
Gwilym playing French horn on one track as well as piano. The first two
albums were recorded in the fine acoustic of St. George's, Bristol, and
Resonance was recorded live during concerts in two magnificent churches
- Romsey and Dorchester Abbeys.
On the fourth CD - 3 Dimensions (2008) the trio is joined by six world-class string players - The Sacconi
Strings - who are featured as soloists and fully integrated members of
the group. The album features brand new compositions by Tim Garland and
Gwilym Simcock which were performed during Acoustic Triangle's
major tour of Cathedrals and Abbeys in 2008.
Interactions is available in two formats: regular CD and Hybrid Super
Audio CD. Catalyst is just issued as a Hybrid Super Audio CD, which will
play on all CD and SACD players. Resonance and 3 Dimensions are available in regular CD
format only. Please see below for more information on SACD.
AUDIO-B AND SACD
Early in 2000, Audio-B shared a stand with several other independent
British jazz labels at MIDEM, the huge industry trade fair in Cannes,
France. British jazz had never been represented at MIDEM before, and the
trip proved extremely beneficial. A chance meeting between Audio-B's
Malcolm Creese and David Walstra, head of research and development at
Sony Europe, resulted in a very special partnership.
Two industry giants, Sony and Philips, were jointly developing the new
SACD recorded-music format (Super Audio Compact Disc). David Walstra
wanted to help independent 'audiophile' labels to adopt the new
technology. Having studied Audio-B's existing recordings, and following
further meetings in London, David invited us to work with Sony on the
pioneering project because of the 'wonderful sound and attention to
detail' on our CDs. We were delighted, as one of the smallest record
labels, to be picked to work in partnership with one of the very largest
music companies in the world.
The technology is called DSD (Direct Stream Digital), and it allows a
warmth and accuracy previously impossible with digital recording. The
sound has been likened to the best analogue records, but without any of
the background noise and distortion problems associated with them. You
do need a new disc-player to appreciate it, but the difference is
astonishing! Our first SACD release was Acoustic Triangle's
Interactions. Sony sent over its prototype equipment and one of its top
engineers from Holland to supervise the recording. The company then
assigned its top sound engineer in London, Bob Whitney, to mix and
master the recording. Bob and Malcolm Creese worked on it for two weeks,
at Sony's London studios. It then went off to Holland for the final
'authoring' process before being manufactured in the first SACD pressing
plant - in Austria.
The album has been released in regular CD form, as well as the new
'hybrid Super Audio CD' format, which includes a six-channel
surround-sound mix. In fact the 'hybrid' SACD disc contains three
different versions of the album - regular stereo CD, stereo DSD and
multi-channel DSD. This means that it can be played on any CD or SACD
player. Interactions was the first jazz release of this kind in Britain.
Our second SACD release was Catalyst in 2004, and again Audio-B decided
to employ the SACD system. This album is only available as a hybrid
SACD, but at the regular CD price - a real bonus. Again, it plays on all
disc players.
Audio-B is dedicated to great sound. We are keen to be ahead of our
competitors when it comes to new technology, and the Interactions and
Catalyst SACDs are proof. Both albums have collected numerous awards and
received extensive praise in the music and hi-fi press.
For more technical information about SACD please visit
SACD at Sony.
Acoustic Triangle
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