Music with crystal clear highs

[Ttvetjanu]

Well, I'm on a journey searching for new music. Through this forum I've found myself listing to a lot more music, but I still feel that I need more to fill my collection. I've recently started enjoying electronic music with high female vocals such as Collide and Bjork. I especially like songs that are a combination of deep lows and clear highs.

I hope to find more similar (or completely different) music that would allow me to enjoy life

I also found myself liking some classical music, such as Mozart and Carl Orff. Also some older Apocalyptica.

Please recommend if you know any similar music, or just music you feel you should contribute for this thread.


I also started this thread because I want to hear something that would really test my ER-6i's ability to produce highs.

 

[Jahn]

Billie Jean. No joke. Ignore the farty bass, the highs are complex and crystal clear, and will pierce an inferior rig, or be muddied and muted. Great track for fine tuning, some brit mag i read rated it as the #1 treble reference track lol.

 

[Mark from HFR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ttvetjanu Well, I'm on a journey searching for new music. Through this forum I've found myself listing to a lot more music, but I still feel that I need more to fill my collection. I've recently started enjoying electronic music with high female vocals such as Collide and Bjork. I especially like songs that are a combination of deep lows and clear highs. I hope to find more similar (or completely different) music that would allow me to enjoy life I also found myself liking some classical music, such as Mozart and Carl Orff. Also some older Apocalyptica. Please recommend if you know any similar music, or just music you feel you should contribute for this thread. I also started this thread because I want to hear something that would really test my ER-6i's ability to produce highs.

One classical piece that might serve your purpose (at least at the end) is "Common Tones in Simple Time" by John Adams, available on a Nonesuch CD. The piece is fast, but only changes slowly over the course of twenty minutes, so you kind of trance out like you're zooming along high up in the atmosphere. At the very end, the activity slows down and the high instruments drift higher and the low instruments drift lower. The high strings play patterns of overtones that give a crystalline, shimmering effect, while the low instruments hold out long, low notes underneath. Gorgeous and unearthly!

Mark

 

[DarkAngel]

Collide buy list (kaRin told me)

-Kidney Thieves
-Delerium (Karma & Semantic Space)
-Snake River Conspiracy
-Faith & the Muse
-Dead Can Dance
-Switchblade Symphony (Serpentine Gallery)
-Love Spirals Downwards
-Hooverphonic

 

[Asr]

Your thread title made me instantly think of Orbital. Specifically their "Middle of Nowhere" CD. The opening 2 tracks are excellent high-frequency tests.

 

[saint.panda]

Miroslav Vitous - Universal Syncopation (ECM)

It's a modern jazz quintet centered around bassist Miroslav Vitous. The album is excellently recorded with full-bodied solo bass lines and always accompanied by cristall-clear hi-hats/cymbals on drums (Jack De Johnette). Jan Garbarek's sopran sax goes up pretty high as well.

I like this recording to test my equipment for its ability to convey treble extension and an even-handed frequency response in the highs. For instance, for cymbal crashes to sound realistic, they must have the appropriate amount of intial impact (usually too much on bright and too little on dull-sounding equipment) but also a long decay that sounds natural without any distinct frequency bands sticking out too much. If the decay is too short, the hi-hats will sound like distinct splashes but with the proper decay, it will sound like a sea of airy treble. Further, without the required delicacy, Jan Garbarek's soprane sax will sound harsh and fatiguing.

Miroslav Vitous' bass needs to sound defined and fast but also full-bodied and intimate when needed, which apparently is quite a difficualt task for most gear because it has to reproduce microdetails in the bass. Most of the time, the bass sounds sloppy and simply not fast enough. Bass-deficient gear, on the other hand, will not convey the intimacy of his playing sufficiently. Nevertheless, Miroslav Vitous is often dubbed the "singing bass" so you won't hear the lowest registers from this Cd. It's really the treble that makes this CD great.

Combine all that and you have some pretty good music as well -if you like contemporary jazz from a star ensemble (Chick Corea and John McLaughlin on piano and guitar)

 

[Sleestack]

If you really want to test your setup for highs and detail, I say pick up somethin by Paco De Lucia or Mark O'Connor.

 

[redshifter]

brian eno - shutov assembly

shimmering notes that will make your dog howl.

 

[wakeride74]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkAngel Collide buy list (kaRin told me) -Kidney Thieves -Delerium (Karma & Semantic Space) -Snake River Conspiracy -Faith & the Muse -Dead Can Dance -Switchblade Symphony (Serpentine Gallery) -Love Spirals Downwards -Hooverphonic

KT at the top of that listen for a reason, I'll second that vote (the first cd is the best IMO)

I'm always plugging Melissa Kaplan from Splashdown and Universal Hall Pass, she is my fav. You can download free MP3's from Splashdown here and you can check out a couple tracks from her most recent band and order the CD if you like here . Esthero is also pretty awesome and they have a new CD due out 6/28/05. Jem is another artist I am pretty fond of and she does an incredible job of mixing electronic with strings and a bit of rock. There are really a lot out there but everyone will find different voices pleasing... I tend to lean more towards sopranos over altos but that's just me. Hope this helps!

 

[Rempert]

If you are looking to push the envelope of high-pitched female vocals, then you should consider Mariah Carey: something like the "Bliss" track from Rainbow, which features electric bass, bird chirps, bell/chime tones, and Mariah singing the chorus about 2 octaves higher than the law should allow. Although her normal vocal range has kind of an American pop/country edge to it, not at all like Bjork's tonal quality.

 

[Ttvetjanu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wakeride74 KT at the top of that listen for a reason, I'll second that vote (the first cd is the best IMO) I'm always plugging Melissa Kaplan from Splashdown and Universal Hall Pass, she is my fav. You can download free MP3's from Splashdown here and you can check out a couple tracks from her most recent band and order the CD if you like here .

I will order a few CD's thanks to this post

I downloaded all Splashdown songs, I didnt like the older ones as much, gave me a feeling of Cranberries, which I'm tried of at the moment.

Really interesting, I preferred the 'wierder' songs.

I'm listening to zerospace from kindeythieves now, pretty cool.

A bit more metallish, but I dont mind that.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn Billie Jean. No joke. Ignore the farty bass, the highs are complex and crystal clear, and will pierce an inferior rig, or be muddied and muted. Great track for fine tuning, some brit mag i read rated it as the #1 treble reference track lol.

You mean Michael Jackson's? Which CD was that on?


Thanks for all the recommendations. They all seem great.

 

[craiglester]

Thriller - I can understand someone not knowing that.. Didn't sell very well aparrently

 

[Ttvetjanu]

I need to make a new "to order" list,
BUMP.

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by craiglester Thriller - I can understand someone not knowing that.. Didn't sell very well aparrently

and thriller itself is a great song for stereo panning...

 

[Enverxis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkAngel Collide buy list (kaRin told me) -Kidney Thieves -Delerium (Karma & Semantic Space) -Snake River Conspiracy -Faith & the Muse -Dead Can Dance -Switchblade Symphony (Serpentine Gallery) -Love Spirals Downwards -Hooverphonic

LOL all of those are on my to buy list