Stop press! I was just finishing off my review of International Phonograph Inc (IPI)’s Ravi Shankar Live in Luxembourg when an email from IPI landed in my inbox with an irresistible offer… a rare tape of great musicians that few will ever hear, and at a very reasonable price. Here are the details. Jimmy Smith … More New from International Phonograph Inc: Jimmy Smith Trio live in 1964
It’s been a real joy to watch the market for, and the availability of, music on tape expanding in recent years. The drivers of this expansion, as already discussed at length elsewhere on this blog, tend to fall into two main camps. First, there are the labels who are acquiring licences to issue master copies … More Hidden gems: Ravi Shankar Live in In Luxembourg from International Phonograph Inc
You may be way ahead of me here, but I just made a very cool discovery – purely by accident while watching a couple of YouTube videos! The first one was the livestream event hosted by Analog Planet below, in which Michael Fremer and Mike Esposito duke it out on the subject of vinyl, specifically lacquer longevity. … More New from Analogue Productions: John Coltrane’s ‘Love Supreme’ and ‘Ballads’ on tape
You might be wondering why there hasn’t been a review of anything from The Tape Project here so far, given that they were arguably the first label to start issuing classic albums on tape and should probably be credited with playing a key role in the R2R revival. Well, it’s not for want of being … More Another tape vs. vinyl experiment: in which I enlist the ears of a friend to see if she’s as bowled over as I am by The Band’s ‘Stage Fright’ from The Tape Project
There’s a history lesson in music, sociology and economics in open-reel tape. Ken Kessler takes us on a tour. Musing about reel-to-reel users of the Golden Age of Pre-Recorded Tapes, based on the evidence provided by the 2,200+ tapes I’ve acquired, I stand confused. The dichotomy between skilled enthusiasts and clumsy oafs is, I suppose, … More Back in the day: Ken Kessler continues to mull over the history of pre-recorded tapes
As part of my recent virtual visit to Smart Audio Recording Lab in Kirov, Russia, I also ‘met’ (virtually) with Dmitry Alexandrov who blogs for the Russian website http://www.stereo.ru. Dmitry, who in ‘normal life’ (as he puts it) is an architect, wanted to put a few R2R questions my way and of course I was … More The price of decks, Dark Side of the Moon and pirates: talking tape with Russia’s Stereo.ru
One of the first master tape copies I ever bought was Bert Kaempfert’s A Swingin’ Safari from Horch House, which I blogged about way back in December 2015. “The album was known in America by the title of the second track, ‘That Happy Feeling’ – which is precisely what it delivers,” I wrote. The other … More New titles from Horch House – and a special offer on shipping (but be quick!)
Smart Audio Recording Lab is a custom-designed recording studio that also operates as a tape label, releasing its own recordings as master tape copies. It’s run by father and son team Mikhail Mamonov and Artem Suntsov, who designed and built the studio from scratch in 2018. These guys are clearly passionate about what they do, … More A virtual visit to Smart Audio Recording Lab in Kirov, Russia
Just released (30th July) is an exciting limited deluxe edition double tape recording from Canadian label 2xHD: legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans’ Some Other Time: The Lost Session From The Black Forest. Fans of jazz will no doubt know Evans through his association with Miles Davis, notably on the iconic album Kind of Blue (me … More New limited deluxe edition double tape from 2xHD: Bill Evans’ ‘Some Other Time: The Lost Session From The Black Forest’
Back in January 2020 (that’s BC – before Covid) I discovered the Hungarian band Djabe and was hugely excited to learn that they were (a) working with ex-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett, and (b) releasing albums on tape (if you missed that blog, it’s here: Discovering Djabe). Since then I’ve become a confirmed fan so here … More Djabe & Steve Hackett: The Journey Continues Tour on tape
Dave Denyer: The Reel-to-Reel Rambler 