[daniel0407]

Hi All,
 
Thanks to Head-Fi and HDTracks for the information and for the music.
 
Just wondering when are coming out new Jazz binaural albums? I would like to have more of them.
 
Best Regards,
 
Daniel

 

[immersifi]

@ hedphonz:
 
Again, thanks for the kind words. That Junkies show was pretty cool - but a nightmare logistically (last-minute technical issues...the bane of every recording session); I'm glad that you're digging it though...
 
As far as the stuff on Soundcloud, I'm very partial to the Jan Van der Roost piece - "Puszta - Four Gypsy Dances".
 
(flac version): https://soundcloud.com/immersifi/puszta-four-gypsy-dances
 
Binaural is a strange beast (just like live two-microphone / non-overdub-able stereo) in that when all the elements are 'working' (venue, crowd behavior, mic placement, dynamics, etc) the result can be something really special, and greater than the sum of its parts. I was really pleased when I heard from the Composer because not only did he really like the recording (he did in fact listen with headphones), but he had high praise for the musicians and Conductor as well - he really liked their interpretation of the piece. Considering that these are high school kids (but don't let that turn you off from downloading the track), they did a remarkable job with the piece.
 
One of the intangibles about doing live recording is that of providing positive feedback about the actual (live) performance; it was great to be able to pass along his e-mail compliments to the Conductor and students, and reading the Composer's words made me feel great because I felt I had served well the aesthetics of the piece, as well as showcased the talent performing the composition.
 
Very, very rewarding.
 
Oh, I'm pretty sure that you can download it in flac or 320 kbps mp3 formats as I think I posted both up on soundcloud.
 
I'll be posting more soon...some interesting A Cappella stuff...that should be up there in a week or so, depending upon what's on my plate, and a nice binaural treat as well.
 
Mark

 

[immersifi]

  Hi All,
 
Thanks to Head-Fi and HDTracks for the information and for the music.
 
Just wondering when are coming out new Jazz binaural albums? I would like to have more of them.
 
Best Regards,
 
Daniel

 
Well, there are two Jazz / Boogie tracks that I have posted up on soundcloud that you might enjoy; the cat's name is Philippe LeJeune ( http://www.philippelejeune.com/ ), he's a pianist. I recorded this show back in (I think) 2009 at Baker's Keyboard Lounge in Detroit, MI. Maybe one of these days I will find a way to get more of that material 'out there'; after I recorded Philippe, I recorded three nights' recordings in the same venue as part of their 75th Anniversary event. Some great live jazz stuff there...
 
Anyway, if you look up immersifi on soundcloud, look for "Six Keys Boogie" and "Hip Boogie Woogie". I think they do a great job of making you feel like you're actually in the club. However, as I mention often, don't stream them as the player on s.c. transcodes stuff down to 128 kbps, but if you download them, you won't have that issue. I think they are up there in both flac and 320 kbps mp3.
 
Check 'em out.
 
Mark
PS: Here are the links to the flac versions:
https://soundcloud.com/immersifi/01-hip-boogie-woogie-live-1
https://soundcloud.com/immersifi/02-six-keys-boogie-live-1

 

[immersifi]

And Now For Something Completely Different..."I Am Ganesha"
 
I had kind of forgotten about this one, but it's a pretty cool track. We recorded this one on a Saturday morning (very, very early) in a church in Ypsilanti, Michigan. This tune is an original written by a very cool cat, and a really nice human being, Jesse Thomas Morgan. This track also features Drue Gray (vocals), Ken Kozora (flute/cornet), Graham Lapp (bass) & John Churchville (tablas). I dig the piece, as well as its mood...plus I love the reverb tail of the church in which we recorded. Check it out: 
 
https://soundcloud.com/jesse-thomas-morgan/i-am-ganesha-optimized-for
 
'Hope you like it...
 
PS: We actually opted to leave-in some of the HVAC noise in this track; Jesse liked the 'truth' of "Trinity Session" by Cowboy Junkies, and the fact that they elected to leave-in some of the LF background noise (to represent the space in which the recording was made) was part of the impetus to release the track as we did. I did scrub a little bit of it out, but you may want to experiment with some very selective LF equalization to see if you prefer it with or without the background noise.
 
PPS: Here's a link to a hybrid (binaural + 2-channel stereo) modern a cappella piece that I recorded just the other night:
 
https://soundcloud.com/immersifi/bellas-final-madness-320-kbps-mp3-when-downloaded
 
I'll try to post a flac version of this sometime soon. Incidentally, if you listen closely, you can hear - for better or worse - the difference between the non-amplified (those vocal parts used without the benefit of the house P.A.) and amplified parts, but also how important microphone technique can be for any singer. Still, it was fun - I'll be posting two more tracks from the same show shortly (Katy Perry's "Dark Horse" and Billy Joel's "The Longest Time"), albeit performed by a different a cappella group.
 
PPPS: As promised, here's that version of Katy Perry's "Dark Horse"; this one is also a hybrid mix, as is the other - a modern a cappella version of the Billy Joel tune "The Longest Time:
 
https://soundcloud.com/immersifi/dark-horse-320-kbps-mp3-when-downloaded
https://soundcloud.com/immersifi/the-longest-time-320-kbps-mp3-when-downloaded

 

[ogodei]

I downloaded this today to do some amp v. amp testing and I'm amazed at what I'm hearing.  This compilation is utterly fantastic as a test CD. Except for test tones, I may be able to throw away all the other tracks I use for testing purposes.   Just the first track alone give you most everything you need (dynamics, depth, timber, etc.).  Just fantastic.
 
Quote:

It is amazing but have you noticed a hiss in Whippoorwill track ? Is like a noise floor in the quietest passages that is not in other tracks or i am imagining things ?

 
You are not imagining things. There is a noticeable noise floor on several tracks (05-Las Perlas de tu Boca, 06-Ben's Farm in Vermont) but it is loudest on Whip-poor-will.

 

[manzano804]

You are not imagining things. There is a noticeable noise floor on several tracks (05-Las Perlas de tu Boca, 06-Ben's Farm in Vermont) but it is loudest on Whip-poor-will.

Good to know. I had also noticed the noise in the other tracks too , but wasn't sure. Thanks for your appreciation.

 

[daltonlanny]

Does anyone know if there will ever be an optical disc [cd or blu ray] of this demonstration disc?
Just curious.
Thanks

 

[kraken2109]

  Does anyone know if there will ever be an optical disc [cd or blu ray] of this demonstration disc?
Just curious.
Thanks

You could burn one yourself.

 

[Makiah S]

ooh some accappela stuff sounds nice  

 

[tan1415]

Can you use binaural recordings with every headphone?

 

[Makiah S]

  Can you use binaural recordings with every headphone?

yeap, but ofc the better the headphone the better the effect 

 

[immersifi]

@ tan1415
 
Yeah...pretty much...well...kind of.
 
What you experience though depends a great deal on the acoustic boundary conditions at your ears; some people say they prefer listening to binaural content with open-back phones as compared to closed back or in-ear etc. However, there are many factors that determine what your experience will be, and whether open or closed is but one element. I mean, open-back phones make sense from a boundry condition standpoint, but if you were using open-back headphones with some really uneven frequency response, I don't think that would present as well as using closed back phones that have more controlled / uniform frequency response.
 
Note though...some headphones out there actually blend a small amount from left-to-right and vice versa (yes, they introduce cross-talk in an attempt to make the headphone experience more 'speaker-like'). However, for binaural to work best, you really do need to minimize the cross-talk; your right ear should only hear what the right ear of the mannequin microphone 'heard', and thus, the same would apply to the left.
 
That's just a back-of-the-envelope statement though - tons of research has been done (and continues) on this very subject (the work of Moeller, Hammershoi, et al...many others). If you are technically-minded (and if you're in this forum, you probably are), a good place to start is the Monograph published by the Audio Engineering Society (written by Mme. Rozenn Nicol of Orange Labs):
 
http://www.aes.org/publications/monographs/
 
My best advice to you though is to experiment with different types of headphones and see what differences you note as you listen. After all, what you experience is all that matters, and you may find that one particular set / style of phones are most to your liking. Who knows?

 

[ferday]

 
 
 
You can also check out (and download) a Cowboy Junkies show I recorded back in 2009 at The Ark in Ann Arbor:
 
https://archive.org/details/cj2009-10-05.ku100_at37
 
 
 
So...grab those 'phones and check out the various tracks. I hope you guys and gals dig my work.
 
Mark

 
you recorded live at the Ark?  I absolutely love that recording, both musically and the binaural content.  just want to give props, it's really beautiful work!

 

[tan1415]

  @ tan1415
 
Yeah...pretty much...well...kind of.
 
What you experience though depends a great deal on the acoustic boundary conditions at your ears; some people say they prefer listening to binaural content with open-back phones as compared to closed back or in-ear etc. However, there are many factors that determine what your experience will be, and whether open or closed is but one element. I mean, open-back phones make sense from a boundry condition standpoint, but if you were using open-back headphones with some really uneven frequency response, I don't think that would present as well as using closed back phones that have more controlled / uniform frequency response.
 
Note though...some headphones out there actually blend a small amount from left-to-right and vice versa (yes, they introduce cross-talk in an attempt to make the headphone experience more 'speaker-like'). However, for binaural to work best, you really do need to minimize the cross-talk; your right ear should only hear what the right ear of the mannequin microphone 'heard', and thus, the same would apply to the left.
 
That's just a back-of-the-envelope statement though - tons of research has been done (and continues) on this very subject (the work of Moeller, Hammershoi, et al...many others). If you are technically-minded (and if you're in this forum, you probably are), a good place to start is the Monograph published by the Audio Engineering Society (written by Mme. Rozenn Nicol of Orange Labs):
 
http://www.aes.org/publications/monographs/
 
My best advice to you though is to experiment with different types of headphones and see what differences you note as you listen. After all, what you experience is all that matters, and you may find that one particular set / style of phones are most to your liking. Who knows?

 
Thanks. Is pretty weird though listening. Because the singer and instruments are not right in front of me...but a bit to either left or right.
Love the recordings. Makes me want to update all my music collection.

 

[immersifi]

   
you recorded live at the Ark?  I absolutely love that recording, both musically and the binaural content.  just want to give props, it's really beautiful work!

Wow...thanks for the props - it's always nice to hear. Last-minute technical issues nearly scuttled the whole recording...I was sweating bullets.
 
Yep, recorded right at The Ark on October 5, 2009. I checked the other day and was really shocked to see that it had eclipsed 10,000 downloads. Did you download the flac version?
 
I also recorded a local Indian fusion band (Sumakli) there and mated the binaural to HD video (in conjunction with Michigan Music Monthly, who shot the video and edited the piece). It's an interesting comparison (sonically speaking), because the mannequin head for the Junkies show and for the clip below was in almost the exact same spot, but they sound wildly different. In the case of the Sumkali show, you have many instruments placed on stage in a semi-circle, so you get the acoutic component from each, but also some of the FOH mains. It's pretty wild...if you have not seen it, give this a try:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZIXE6YO-vA
 
The track has a short intro (sounds like a vinyl excerpt) but then the video fades up, and you'll see the immersifi logo etc. The track's dynamics start to cook pretty shortly after the tune starts. Yep...you have to use headphones for this one...
 
ADDED: BTW, if you like this sort of thing (as featured in the youtube link above), or even more traditional Hindustani music, you can check out this link - it's a hybrid binaural + two-channel stereo mix of some pretty well known musicians (Dr. Rajeeb Chakraborty and Pandit Samar Saha) that was recorded at Stamps Auditorium at the University of Michigan. So...here you go:
 
https://soundcloud.com/immersifi/sets/an-evening-of-hindustani