 |
|
mirror, "eye of the storm"
There are a number of reasons I love vinyl and strongly advocate vinyl usage: it actually -does- sound better for louder recordings with the whole signal-to-noise ratio thing; it comes with pretty big pictures if you're lucky; DJs (and those who think they are) can match beats, scrach and mix; and idiot roommates/junkie friends/random thieves rarely steal it as it's too big and heavy and used stores hate to sell used vinyl. However, let me go on record as saying that for quieter, more meditative recordings, I would prefer the usage of vinyl be very limited (if not eliminated). Every time a record is pulled out of its protective sleeve, thousands of microscopic particles collect—this is inevitable. With the more quiet recordings, the buildup of particles in the grooves is audibly evident. Mirror recordings are all lengthy soundscapes, gently combining musical and non-musical sound sources over long periods of time, with startlingly hypnotic effects. The difference in hearing a vinyl recording of the very first Mirror album released on record and the CD which was issued last week is absolutely amazing.Streamline
With the unpreventable crackles and pops gone, the original sounds are now completely all-encompassing, no longer taking a backseat to high pitched nuissances. Gongs play, highway sounds, rustling winds, chimes echo and sustain, and time is fleeting.
Fourteen minutes pass in an instant. I can't tell if I'm hearing the tolls of a boat bell ringing, or chimes from before sped up or slowed down. Thirty minutes have elapsed and I'm even deeper in a trance with rustling water, low tones, trains perhaps? Forty minutes elapse and a low hum has taken over, like a bowed cello or a digeridoo, faded out into what could be a stream, distorted perhaps slighly enough to ambiguity, but intact enough not to sound like any effects are being used. At the end of forty-three minutes, all sounds cease and I'm honestly aching for more.
Sure, I can pull out the records for the other albums but now that I've tasted the pure stuff, it's going to be hard to compete. There's a reason why some of this music fetches high prices on auctions, some of it is simply fantastic. The advantages of this CD is that it's about $140 cheaper than the vinyl right now, it doesn't have to be flipped over halfway through, and it won't jump if you're playing it while on a peaceful train ride (yes there were vinyl-playing boomboxes available at one time!). There aren't individual pieces of artwork included, however, but images of four of Christoph Heemann's favorite ones are. Furthermore, in the time to listen to this start to finish, I'm sure a nice painting can be drawn. 
