Innehållsförteckning för July 2023 från Hi-Fi Choice

hifichoice.com Issue No. 503 July 2023 You could be a crate digger with a player in need of some sweet TLC. You could be a RSD-er on the look out for a debut deck. You could have just hauled your Eighties record collection down from the attic, but the ancient Dansette just won’t do. You could be a completist with a cataloguing brain and the yen to upgrade. Whatever your role in the great vinyl revival, you could do worse than take a gander at this month’s Group Test where we spin half a dozen top-notch, high-output carts across a wide range of musical genres to discover which might just be the playing partner of your dreams. Elsewhere we have lots of new product, much of which was previewed at…

PRICE: £900-£1,000 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: BANG-OLUFSEN.COM BANG & OLUFSEN has launched a new Sixties-influenced portable speaker, the Beosound A5. Designed in collaboration with Danish-Italian design duo GamFratesi, it comes in two colourways – natural aluminium with a woven paper fibre front incorporating a light oak handle and a black anthracite aluminium version paired with a dark oak wood speaker cover and handle. Boasting more than 12 hours of playtime and a wireless phone charger integrated into the top panel of the cabinet, B&O says the Beosound A5 is its most versatile and powerful speaker to date, controlled by either a user-interface or directly from the Bang & Olufsen App. It incorporates a four-way driver setup with four digital amplifiers providing a combined 280W of power via a 133mm bass driver,…

PRICE: £2,350-£4,100 AVAILABLE: SUMMER 2023 WEB: MUSICALFIDELITY.COM HENLEYAUDIO.CO.UK MUSICAL FIDELITY IS launching two new standmount speakers in the Summer – the LS3/5A and LS5/9. The two-way LS3/5A was originally designed for listening places where space is limited and the goal was a linear frequency response down to 100Hz. It boasts a closed-type cabinet and the company claims: “the midrange is extremely detailed and realistic… the soundstage and imaging of vocals and instruments is truly extraordinary”. Designed to work best in a near/ mid-field listening distance between 2m and 4m away from the listener, it features a 110mm cone mid/bass driver, a 19mm dome tweeter and claimed sensitivity of 82.5dB (15ohm). The 12mm birch plywood cabinet measures 190 x 305 x 165mm (WxHxD), weighs 4.9kg per speaker and is priced at…

► DETAILS PRODUCT Grado Timbre Sonata3 ORIGIN High-output, moving-iron cartridge TYPE USA WEIGHT 9g FEATURES ● Australian jarrah wood body ● Stylus tip: nude elliptical diamond ● Tracking force: 1.6g-1.9g DISTRIBUTOR Analogue Seduction Originally a watchmaker, Joseph Grado first turned his hand to making phono cartridges in Brooklyn, New York in the early Fifties. When he discovered hi-fi, he visited the legendary Saul Marantz to get help to improve the sound of his audio system. In 1953, when hand-built cartridge production had exceeded the limits of his kitchen table, he founded Grado Laboratories. Initially, he also produced speakers, turntables and wooden tonearms. However, by 1963, all of his resources were dedicated to creating phono cartridges. Grado claims to have invented the stereo moving-coil cartridge and holds more than 48 patents.…

►DETAILS PRODUCT Sumiko Amethyst ORIGIN High-output, moving-magnet cartridge TYPE Japan WEIGHT 6.5g FEATURES ● Low resonance body and enhanced generator system ● Stylus tip: nude line-contact ● Tracking force: 1.8g-2.2g DISTRIBUTOR Henley Audio Ltd. Sumiko produced its first cartridge in 1982 and all of its offerings are hand-built in Japan. The company’s focus has always been to create needles that combine state-ofthe-art technical performance with the practical requirements of superb tracking and a musical and nonfatiguing, sonic presentation. The company is particularly known for its budget-friendly Oyster cartridge, but its range of moving magnets, which are rather confusingly all part of the series, extends right up to the premium Amethyst before us. Being the flagship of the Oyster series, the Amethyst is considered by Sumiko to be its most ambitious…

Russell Kauffman is the most ‘hands-on’ speaker designer I know. When he drops off the Red 120Se for review he also brings in a dog-eared cardboard box and we spend half an hour listening to a motley collection of drive units simply held in his hand. Kauffman is keen to show me his modus operandi for auditioning drivers sans crossover and the attendant colourations introduced by a baffle and enclosure. It’s laughably easy to hear the qualitative differences. My guess is when you’re as intimately ‘plugged in’ to your product as that, iterative improvement becomes a matter of personal growth. In any event, Kauffman is far from a conventional operator when it comes to speaker design. Despite its neatly orthodox appearance, the Red 120Se goes its own way under the…

Sponsored by: THIS MONTH ED SELLEY EXPERTISE: REVIEWER Active in the industry since 1999, Ed’s first record was Boss Drum by The Shamen. He splits his time between reviewing and protecting hi-fi kit from his son Will. NEVILLE ROBERTS EXPERTISE: ENGINEER Neville has an eclectic taste for classical baroque and jazz. His wife was forced to marry his transmission line speakers in the eighties and he collects BBC test card music. JASON KENNEDY EXPERTISE: REVIEWER Editor of HFC from 1998 to 2001, Jason’s first turntable was Rega’s Planar 3 and Elvis’ 40 Greatest Hits was his first vinyl, so don’t go stepping on his blue suede shoes. DAVID PRICE EXPERTISE: REVIEWER DP two-finger typed his first hi-fi review 25 years ago. Since then he’s edited Hi-Fi World and HFC. He…

CD Wagram HAVING LIVED HER life between Europe and her native Mali, Diawara’s music has long been blessed with a similar duality. There have been albums steeped in traditional Malian roots and albums that have ventured boldly into an expansive kind of avant-garde Afro-futurism, taking in elements of jazz, electro and even hip hop. With the help of Damon Albarn, who co-produced and performs on six tracks, London Ko sits somewhere between tradition and modernity, deftly combining the two in a style that is hard to categorise. The title of one track, Dambe, loosely translates as ‘the value of tradition’ and Diawara never loses sight of it. Yet on songs such as Nsera and Mogokan her grainy voice and driving melodies take African music places it has seldom been before…

CD Alpha Classics MELANCHOLY IN TUDOR times was not seen as an affliction, but a source of inspiration – associated with refinement and intellect. Published in 1604, Dowland’s Lachrimae (Tears) is among the saddest music ever composed. It’s in seven movements, each in the same minor key and lasting around five minutes. Played here by a consort of viols, the result is a dark mournful sound that’s both soothing and relaxing. To lift the gloom, short light pieces by Dowland are interspersed between each Lachrimae. Alpha’s sonorous pungent recording faithfully captures the luminous timbres of bass, tenor and treble viols, plus an eight-course lute. JH…

CD Domino DETROIT FOUR-PIECE PROTOMARTYR have revealed themselves to be one of the more interesting post-punk bands out there. They continue the good work on their sixth long-player, Formal Growth In The Desert. Across 12 tracks they ably demonstrate their craft – the band makes driving, abrasive and sometimes difficult-topenetrate rock. But underneath iconoclast frontman Joe Casey’s half-snarl, half-mumble there’s real feeling and humanity at the heart of each song, which, in characteristic fashion, builds and builds until maximum intensity is reached. Lyrically opaque but always compelling and musically more spacious on this album, Protomartyr aren’t for everyone. But get under the skin of these songs and they will provide a uniquely rewarding experience. PH…

CD Bureau B THE FAR HORIZON is in the sights of all the disparate-yet-deep Krautrock cuts that make up the second instalment of Bureau B’s deliciously curated compilation. From the legendary (Faust; Cluster), to the more obscure (Adelbert Von Deyen; Serge Blenner), these 20 white-line fever dreams cover extensive ground over 10 years. Across the board, there’s twisted invention here in spades: the edits are illuminating, paring the already propulsive compositions to the bone for maximum acceleration and exhilaration. Plus, bonus points for the greatest track title of all: people, it’s time to get your kicks on Moebius & Plank’s Feedback 66. SB…

180g vinyl Craft Latino CELEBRATING THE CENTENNIAL of the legendary Puerto Rican percussionist, band leader, songwriter and producer par excellence, this all-analogue re-mastering of the acclaimed 1985 album has been carried out by Kevin Gray at Coherant Audio using the original tapes, and is also available as a 24-bit/192kHz download for the first time. For Puente fans the majesty of the title track and China are reason enough to add this glorious cut to your collection, while for newcomers his reworking of classics Lush Life, Lullaby Of Birdland and Take Five serve as a hip-shaking introduction to his unique latin rhythms. Exceptional stuff! JDW…

CD BMG WITH A CHILDHOOD spent backstage at folk festivals, a covers album such as this feels inevitable. There’s strong support from John Legend, David Byrne and Chaka Khan among many luminaries, and it’s all beautifully produced by Mitchell Froom. There’s a cracking down-on-the-farm take on Neil Young’s Harvest, while Hush Little Baby is an acoustic confection that unites Rufus with various siblings. Perhaps the highlight is the only original, Going To A Town, which includes the other-worldly vocals of Anohni. This is a treat from start to finish, a special collection from a very special artist. PSH…

CD New West Records FOLDS MAINTAINS HIS consistently strong output in what is now over a 30-year career. But Wait There’s More opens with an intricate music box melody before a barbershop of Folds harmonise as drums and brass bounce in. It sets out the album’s stall well as a fun and unpredictable ride. Clouds With Ellipses and Fragile are as good as anything this maestro of pop melodies has made. There’s wry humour and heart-breaking detail combined in the waltz Kristine From The 7th Grade showing Folds is not just on top form, he’s somehow soared to new heights. PSH…

CD BR Klassic HARDING’S EXPANSIVE DIGNIFIED account of The Planets must be the broadest ever recorded. He reveals the work’s profound spiritual qualities and makes you appreciate how good Holst is. It’s a serious performance that stands in stark contrast to the shallow superficial virtuoso accounts that proliferate. The spacious live recording is atmospheric but detailed, successfully recreating the impression of sitting well back from the orchestra in a large hall. Dynamic range is wide, so it sounds best played at a higher-than-usual volume level. No floor-shaking organ bass pedals, alas. But the bass drum is impressively weighty and powerful. JH…

ESTABLISHED IN 1975 in Japan by audiophile Makoto Maki, Melco (Maki Engineering Laboratory Company) originally designed and manufactured high-quality audio components. The company has since broadened its range to include computer peripherals including NAS drives. Now, bringing together the two, it offers audiophile-quality network audio products. As a replacement of the company’s first C1AE Ethernet cable, the C100 incorporates upgrades to reduce noise and improve networked audio sound quality. It incorporates asymmetric drain wire earthing, where one end is the earthing point. The idea is that unwanted noise – either external or from connected devices – travels in one direction to the single earth end, which is indicated by a Melco logo. The non-earthed end has a floating shield, which is not attached to the connector plug, to prevent noise…

Edward Lodewijk Van Halen is crying. He’s crying, and his hands are scabbed and bleeding. He looks up and the first thing he says is: “I hit walls when I get mad”. He looks back down at his battered fists and mutters: “no knuckles.” This situation is a mite concerning considering Eddie is currently the most famous guitarist in the world. I should also mention that he is slurring and appears to be drunk. “My wife Valerie talked me into using my feet,” he confides. “I broke three toes so I went back to my hand… at least until my foot heals. I get… frustrated,” he adds, talking to himself. “Not mad really, it’s just like… yeaaargh!” He stares at the floor for a moment and then whispers: “They all…

PRICE: £20,000-£22,000 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: KERRACOUSTIC.COM UK company Kerr Acoustic has launched its new K200 three-way standmount loudspeaker. Built exclusively from 24mm Baltic birch plywood, it features the company’s unique transmission line loading and a combination of drivers including a brand new 254mm Radial bass driver from Dorset-based Volt, which is married with a 76mm, low-distortion domed fabric midrange driver and 60mm true ribbon tweeter. Sensitivity is quoted as 91dB (8ohm) and a pair of 4mm copper five-way binding posts are located on the rear panel. The cabinets measure 310 x 755 x 460mm (WxHxD), weigh 43kg each and come in a range of real-wood veneer finishes, including Oak, Walnut and Rosenut, as well as either satin or high-gloss lacquer in any RAL colour, all with magnetic grilles. Custom stands…

WHEN CONSIDERING HIGH-END cartridges, people instinctively gravitate towards moving-coil designs. However, some phono stages can only accept the higher output and impedance input provided by moving-magnet or moving-iron cartridges, and a moving-coil transformer or preamp would also have to be purchased in order to use an MC model. Another issue is that some users prefer a removable stylus assembly for easy replacement. Having said that, many high-performance MMs don’t have customer-replaceable stylus assemblies. What we have for you this month is six of the very best high-output cartridges that money can buy, which should all be an excellent match for your turntable and at home in some of the finest tonearms. Apart from some moving-magnet designs, there are a couple of other types that are intended to work with MM…

► DETAILS PRODUCT MoFi MasterTracker ORIGIN High-output, moving-magnet cartridge TYPE USA WEIGHT 9.7g FEATURES ● Aluminium body ● Stylus tip: Micro-Line ● Tracking force: 1.8g-2.2g DISTRIBUTOR Karma AV Drawing on over 40 years of making records at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, the MoFi Electronics division is focused on improving the sonic integrity of audio reproduction in the home. The American company’s products are the result of decades of experience in the studio and multiple collaborations with some of the world’s best audio designers. The design of all MoFi cartridges begins with looking at where record production starts, ie: at the cutting lathe. The cutting head of a typical lathe consists of two coils positioned at 45° from horizontal (and therefore at 90° with respect to each other). Incidentally, the cutting…

CD Rosed Out Records ARTSON’S DEBUT HAS a cosmopolitan feel, but it’s not just the music that feels as though it’s floating in space – Artson himself delights in otherworldly personas, and his David Bowieapproach to presenting and inhabiting different characters also gives his art-pop a transcendent atmosphere. He describes his music style as: “tear dripping autotune” and that’s a good description – there are plenty of Frank Oceanesque pure-pop moments, but there are also glitchy textures and dreamy interludes. In all, Transformia is a good debut and one that ushers in a new talent that’s worth keeping a close eye on. PH…

CD Blue Note MAKING HER BLUE Note debut, Ndegeocello is not rationing the good stuff with an album of sparkling, sparse contemporary jazz. Gatsby is a beautiful, billowy ballad featuring the distinctive backing vocals of Joan As Policewoman and a gentle piano echoing Stevie’s All In Love Is Fair. The wafting, spare ballad direction continues with Perceptions – all other-worldly keyboard swirls and dreamy vocals. The tempo picks up on Towers, a simple late-night soul smooch with a strong Sade tang and the funky instrumental Omnipussa designed to agitate body parts. It’s a varied and thrilling selection showcasing her talents. PSH…

CD NoMadMusic BORN IN 1990, Pépin is a tone poet, effortlessly adept at creating atmosphere. Her unusual soundscapes hold your attention with music that is deceptively simple yet distinctive and listenable. Despite titles like Edge Of The Storm and Before Dawn Breaks, her music is not derivative or ‘new age’. There’s a hint of Ligeti’s cosmic mysticism, a dash of Steve Reich’s minimalism, topped off by fanciful evocative titles. All the same, her individual voice as a composer remains clear and unmistakable. The performances are idiomatic and definitive – and very well recorded too. Definitely worth a listen. JH…

3x CD Deutsche Grammophon TRIFONOV’S SET OF Rachmaninov’s music for piano and orchestra offers fast, nervy and exciting accounts of these popular works. However, this new three-disc boxed edition unaccountably offers less than the original three discs. Missing are the Chopin and Corelli Variations, Trifonov’s own Rachmaniana suite for solo piano, plus the solo fillers originally included with the concertos. CD 3 plays for just 30 minutes. Why? A Blu-ray Audio disc reinstates the missing concerto fillers and offers hi-res stereo sound, plus 5.1 surround and Dolby Atmos mixes, but for some reason excludes the Paganini Rhapsody. How strange... JH…

Open reel tape Yarlung Records THE INTRIGUINGLY TITLED Dialoghi (Dialogues) takes its name from the last track on the tape. The album itself is from the Grammy Award-winning audiophile recording label Yarlung Records, whose aim is to help young musicians and introduce their talent to the classical music world, while also delivering sound that’s as close to the live performance as possible by using minimalist audiophile recording techniques. Yarlung Records’ engineer Bob Attiyeh produces these albums in concert locations rather than in recording studios. This particular long player, played by cellist Elinor Frey and pianist David Fung, was recorded in the Herbert Zipper Concert Hall of the Colburn School in Los Angeles during 2007. Elinor Frey is an award-winning Canadian-American cellist, gambist, and researcher. She is the artistic director of…

CD Domino IN HER 88TH year, folk song laureate Collins selects some traditional ditties and some from her favourite songsmiths to present a lilting paean to her beloved South Downs. There are banjos, fiddles and plucked acoustic guitars as she traverses songs that are often 200-plus years old. The album – and this style of music – sometimes feels at odds with the combination of our 100mph lifestyle and sometimes soulless music. Which is why Archangel Hill feels so fresh and important. Yes, it harks back to years – and sometimes centuries – past, but that should not deter you. PH…

O fall the wild men of rock legend, Iggy Pop in his delinquent prime was arguably the wildest – aferal and at times self-destructive force of nature, the ‘godfather of punk’ and the very stuff of which rock and roll myth is made. The titles of his best albums over the years tell their own story. Raw Power. Lust For Life. Kill City. Metallic KO. Beat ’Em Up. Skull Ring. Eventually, of course, even wild men come back from the abyss and mature into elder statesmen as punk nihilism is exchanged for making serious artistic statements, even if they retain a penchant for getting their shirt off. Listening to the lugubrious poet reciting Dylan Thomas’ Rage Against The Dying Of The Light over a jazz saxophone accompaniment on 2019’s Free,…

These pages are a must-read if you’re thinking about buying used kit, or if you have hi-fi you want to sell. It’s free – simply submit your ad with no more than 50 words (we reserve the right to edit it if not), remembering to include your email, phone number and county. Simply email your ad to: letters@hifichoice.co.uk. This service is open to private advertisers only. Just one ad per household and please note that images are for illustration only and do not represent what is for sale. FOR SALE REGA Elicit Mk5, only six months old in mint condition with all original packaging and accessories, £1,550: 07572 326426 or email: gwattis70@gmail.com (Sutton Coldfield). QUADRASPIRE hi-fi rack with two beech shelves and silver uprights. Good condition, £35: 07785 724849 (Oxfordshire).…

ALSO: REVIEWS  Airpulse A300Pro active speaker, Sonos Era 300 multi-room speaker, Zorloo ZuperDAC Max headphone amp, Edwards Audio Apprentice phono stage, English Acoustics Stereo 21c power amplifier plus a Group Test of red-hot new turntables. FEATURES Music Legends, Music Reviews, Reasons To Be Cheerful, our comprehensive Buyer’s Guide and sharp-as-nails Opinions pieces, the Flashback interview, Beginner’s Guide all the latest kit release news in Audiofile and your hi-fi queries answered by our experts.…

PRICE: £1,300 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: TEENAGE.ENGINEERING SOUNDTECH.CO.UK GOOD NEWS FOR prospective podcasters and roving reporters, Teenage Engineering has launched the TP-7 field recorder – adedicated recording device with a seven-hour rechargeable battery and 128GB of internal storage. Designed to record music and interviews with: “zero friction in the highest possible quality,” at the centre of the TP-7 is a motorised ‘tape reel’ used to navigate menus, while the rocker on the left allows the user to scrub through audio. The mode button is below and the other side houses the memo and navigation controls. The ergonomic placement of each function is designed to allow for single-handed operation. For the record There is a built-in microphone plus three stereo two-way jacks to connect external mics, headphones, studio monitors or audio equipment.…

PRICE: £70,000 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: MONITORAUDIO.COM FOR THE MILLIONAIRES among us, Monitor Audio has launched its most powerful loudspeaker to date: the Hyphn, featuring the company’s ‘M-Array’ single high-frequency transducer surrounded by six 50mm midrange drivers. This adopts a new third-generation Micro Pleated Diaphragm III (MPD III) tweeter, which also appears in the company’s Platinum Series 3G floorstander. The six 50mm midrange drivers feature Monitor Audio’s Rigid Diaphragm Technology III (RDT III) cones, which were first introduced last year. The M-Array is located squarely between Hyphn’s twin pillars, each of which houses a pair of 203mm bass drivers, facing inwards, in a force-cancelling configuration – which Monitor Audio claims results in: “almost no vibration force from the drivers, either within themselves or being passed into the cabinet”. Large diameter under…

►DETAILS PRODUCT Nagaoka JT-80BK ORIGIN High-output, moving-magnet cartridge TYPE Japan WEIGHT 6.7g FEATURES ● ABS resin body ● Stylus tip: 0.4x0.7mil ● Tracking force: 1.3g-1.8g DISTRIBUTOR Sound Design Nagaoka started out as a manufacturer of watch parts and cartridge styli over 80 years ago. With the growing demand for replacement needles for phono cartridges, the company began research into sapphire needles and quickly developed its own polishing technology, resulting in Japan’s first diamond replacement needle. Its MP (Moving Permalloy) range of moving-magnet cartridges has been around for many years, with the MP-300 topping the bill. This has now been redesigned from scratch, resulting in the Nagaoka Jeweltone series. The JT-80BK is the flagship model of the range. The Jeweltone series consists of moving-magnet cartridges, which represents a departure from the…

Most of Sivga’s headphones are more expensive, open-backed models with a chunky – and often rather ornate – build suited to indoor use. In contrast, the Oriole is compact and lightweight and its closed-back design and padded earpieces prevent too much sound from escaping, making it ideal for use out and about. Available in either black or brown, it is sturdily built and includes wooden earpieces with memory foam padding that house 50mm drivers with quoted 20Hz-20kHz frequency response. There’s an adjustable, padded headband with freely rotating hinges and it’s light and comfortable enough to wear for long periods. The Oriole is a wired headphone, with no Bluetooth or noise-cancelling features, and the low cost means that it’s a little light on accessories too. There’s a carrying pouch included along…

DETAILS PRODUCT Perlisten R5m ORIGIN USA/China TYPE 3-way bass reflex standmount loudspeaker WEIGHT 17.5kg DIMENSIONS (WxHxD) 230 x 546 x 336mm FEATURES ● 3x 26mm silk dome tweeter/mid array ● 2x 165mm HPF bass drivers ● Claimed sensitivity: 89.2dB/2.83v/1m (4ohm) DISTRIBUTOR Karma AV WEBSITE perlistenaudio.com karma-av.co.uk There are several things that mark out this loudspeaker as special, not least its physical proportions. The R5m is an imposing standmount that, when on its optional £1,350 stands, is considerably taller than most similarly priced floorstanders. Its other distinguishing feature is the fact that it uses multiple drive units; it’s a three-way design with no less than five drivers – more of which later. It forms part of Perlisten’s middlerange R series, and is described as a ‘monitor’. It certainly has the look…

S ome studies have suggested that listening to classical music can improve your hearing, spatial reasoning skills and intelligence. This has been called ‘The Mozart Effect’ and was first reported in 1993 by scientists at the University of California. One group was asked to listen to Mozart’s Sonata For Two Pianos for 10 minutes, while another group remained in silence. It was found that those who had listened to the music subsequently showed significantly increased spatial reasoning skills for 10-15 minutes. This encouraged some crèches in the US to start playing classical music to children. Shortly after the study came out, the southern state of Georgia even started giving newborn babies a free classical CD! A later test was carried out on two groups of rats – one exposed to…

CD Because HÉLOÏSE LETISSIER’S 2014 debut Chaleuer Humain was released under the name Christine And The Queens. Four years later, the name had been shortened to Chris for an eponymous follow up and then for last year’s Redcar Les Adorables Étoiles, Letissier re-emerged as a man. “Just let me flow” he said recently. “Can’t I use several names, without calling it a “rebrand”? Every name unlocks a truth”. But as he also complained that talking about gender and name changes stops people from paying attention to the music, enough of that. Paranoïa, Angels, True Love is Letissier’s most expansive and ambitious project to date under any name and confirms them as the most original and exciting act to come out of France since Daft Punk. There’s a lot to digest…

180g vinyl ECM KENNY WHEELER’S DEBUT for ECM is one of the label’s series of vinyl re-releases created to celebrate albums that have: “changed perceptions of creative music making”. Gnu High was originally released in 1975 with the trumpet and flugelhorn player sticking with the larger instrument alongside Keith Jarrett, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette. Musicians who have all made significant contributions to ECM’s reputation in the modern jazz world. The album serves as a classic example of label founder Manfred Eicher’s ability to combine musicians in such a way that they create musical alchemy. It was and remains a highly successful formula, an aid to the evolution of jazz in many respects. Gnu High proved to be Wheeler’s making, putting him on the map he inhabited for the rest…

Pop’s most famous egghead theorist, collaborator with U2 and Davids Byrne and Bowie, former member of Roxy Music and “inventor”of ambient music, Brian Peter George St John Le Baptiste De La Salle Eno reveals three of his favourite most influential LPs Dorothy Love Coates The Best Of Dorothy Love Coates & The Original Gospel Harmonettes Speciality (1991) A fiery-voiced gospel singer from Birmingham, Alabama, Coates passed away in 2002. “Gospel is the music I’ve listened to more than any other over the last few years,” His Eno-ness explains. “I particularly like the way the voice is liberated and Dorothy Love Coates is the most liberated of them all.” Fela Kuti & Afro 70 Afrodisiac EMI (1973) Kuti was an infamous Nigerian band leader, saxophonist and political firebrand. is typical…

CD Gondwana PHI-SONICS MAKE RELAXED and beautiful jazz music of the variety that will help you reach a higher plane of consciousness. Made with woodwind, electric piano and drums and led by bassist Seth Ford-Young, this US quartet knows a thing or two about making a mellow vibe with inner depths. The woodwinds bring beauty and the keyboard delivers sparkle, the ensemble creating a fluid sound that’s full of texture and nuance. It’s a refreshing change from the attitude found with most young quartets in this arena and one that encourages full immersion listening in its glorious melodies and grooves. JK…

2x CD Nonesuch THOMAS ADES’ BALLET on Dante’s epic The Divine Comedy (Commedia) has garnered rave notices from critics. It must make quite an impact when staged, though hearing the piece without visuals you may sometimes wonder precisely what the music seeks to portray. Part 1 Inferno is set in hell and depicts its inhabitants suffering various torments for their sins. Part 2 Purgatorio starts with a wailing voice (pure purgatory!), but once the music kicks off we’re taken on a long and eventful journey. The finale Paradisio starts quietly and grows slowly, reaching a glowing celestial climax complete with heavenly choir. Dudamel draws brilliant playing from his LA forces. Such committed advocacy ensures Adès’ music descends to devilish depths and storms heights. The recording is vivid and full-blooded with…

CD Chandos THIS WELL-FILLED CD completes Donohoe’s recording of Mendelssohn’s complete Songs Without Words for Chandos. The playing is meticulous and accomplished; serious and mature without being heavy or joyless. It is delightfully performed with great sensitivity, but no hint of cloying sentimentality. Also included is a piano transcription of the scherzo from A Midsummer Nights’ Dream, plus the technically challenging Variations Serieuses – which Donohoe plays with impressive ease and fluency. The piano sound is tonally very natural – warm, full-bodied and clear. JH…

CD Highway 20/Thirty Tigers “LET’S GET THE band back together,” Williams sings on the opening track of this, back-fromthe-brink album. The song is a celebration of something that looked like it would never happen three years ago when her home was destroyed by a tornado, the world went into lockdown and she suffered a stroke. Although she still can’t play guitar, she got her voice back and the result is a rambunctious set hewn from her trademark Americana mix of roots rock, country, blues and Southern Gothic balladry. Bruce Springsteen is among those singing backing vocals, happy to let her be the boss on this triumphant comeback. NW…