Christian Willisohn, pianist and singer from Munich, goes back to the roots of the blues, taking his listeners on a trip from the basics to the myriad facets of the music.
In the midst of ScotlandÂ’s West Highlands, hidden between the Atlantic and the green hills, there is a very special kind of concert hall. Art-loving people have transformed a former farmhouse into a meeting place for musicians, dancers, painters and poets. A Scottish secret? Well, not enough of a secret, for ingenious bluesman Christian Willisohn came to know of that place via a friend.
Without much planning Christian set up his dream team of staff and equipment. On the road and over the sea, five NAUTILUS 801 speakers, a whole range of CLASSE amps together with a SADIE DSD8 (1-bit) recording device made their way from Stockfisch-Records to the Scottish Isles.
Here, the unique acoustic environment let impressive recordings find their way onto “tape”. It was just THE very thing for a 5.1 surround-sound recording on a Direct-Cut-SACD: On this SACD purists will find a stereo and a 5.1 layer in DSD quality.
The surprising thing on this Hybrid-SACD is the CD version. Christian Willisohn has invited six fellow musicians to the studio who add drums, bass, guitar, saxophone and cor anglais to his original recording from Scotland.
What is a DIRECT-CUT-SUPER-AUDIO-CD?
On the Super Audio CD (SACD) the sound is recorded in DSD (Direct Stream Digital) format. The sampling frequency (2.8224 MHz) is 64 times that of a traditional CD. Furthermore, DSD uses 1-bit quantization. With the aid of this technology an even broader frequency range (up to 100 kHz) and even greater dynamics (120 dB) can be achieved over the entire useful audio range.
Until now it was practically impossible to maintain the DSD format throughout the entire edit/mix/mastering sequence during production. This was because no system is yet available which permitted the necessary processing in the 1-bit format after a DSD recording. This meant that the unavoidable editing procedures such as gain leveling, mixing, cross-fades or even additional EQing or dynamics processing could be achieved only by downconverting to PCM format (i.e. the Pulse Code Modulation format of the traditional CD).
Stockfisch used a SADiE DSD8 system for the recording, processing and mastering of this DIRECT-CUT-SUPER-AUDIO-CD: a brand-new system that allows simultaneous recording of 8 channels. The analogue signal from the microphone is converted at the input to DSD and is also maintained in DSD-Wide format with 2,8224 MHz throughout the processing stages already mentioned. The end result is then obtained in the SADiE DSD8 – the "cutting master" (AIT tape) – which is then transferred directly to an SACD glass master in the pressing plant.
This DIRECT-CUT-SUPER-AUDIO-CD will enable you to hear a 5.1 DSD surround mix (if available) as well as a DSD stereo mix on the SACD layer, and the 16-bit PCM stereo program on the hybrid layer which guarantees downward compatibility. So this gives you the first ever opportunity of comparing a real(!) DSD recording with the conventional CD format.
Features:
• Super Audio CD
• SACD Multi-Channel SACD Layer
• SACD Stereo SACD Layer
• This Hybrid SACD contains a 'Red Book' Stereo CD Layer which is playable on most conventional CD Players!
• Direct Cut SACD
Musicians:
Christian Willisohn, vocal & piano
Additional studio musicians:
Thilo Kreitmeier, saxophone
Titus Vollmer, guitar
Christian Struck, cor anglais
Matthias Engelhardt, electric bass
Hans-Jorg Maucksch, fretless bass
Richard Hollander, drums
Total playing time 47:43
In the midst of ScotlandÂ’s West Highlands, hidden between the Atlantic and the green hills, there is a very special kind of concert hall. Art-loving people have transformed a former farmhouse into a meeting place for musicians, dancers, painters and poets. A Scottish secret? Well, not enough of a secret, for ingenious bluesman Christian Willisohn came to know of that place via a friend.
Without much planning Christian set up his dream team of staff and equipment. On the road and over the sea, five NAUTILUS 801 speakers, a whole range of CLASSE amps together with a SADIE DSD8 (1-bit) recording device made their way from Stockfisch-Records to the Scottish Isles.
Here, the unique acoustic environment let impressive recordings find their way onto “tape”. It was just THE very thing for a 5.1 surround-sound recording on a Direct-Cut-SACD: On this SACD purists will find a stereo and a 5.1 layer in DSD quality.
The surprising thing on this Hybrid-SACD is the CD version. Christian Willisohn has invited six fellow musicians to the studio who add drums, bass, guitar, saxophone and cor anglais to his original recording from Scotland.
What is a DIRECT-CUT-SUPER-AUDIO-CD?
On the Super Audio CD (SACD) the sound is recorded in DSD (Direct Stream Digital) format. The sampling frequency (2.8224 MHz) is 64 times that of a traditional CD. Furthermore, DSD uses 1-bit quantization. With the aid of this technology an even broader frequency range (up to 100 kHz) and even greater dynamics (120 dB) can be achieved over the entire useful audio range.
Until now it was practically impossible to maintain the DSD format throughout the entire edit/mix/mastering sequence during production. This was because no system is yet available which permitted the necessary processing in the 1-bit format after a DSD recording. This meant that the unavoidable editing procedures such as gain leveling, mixing, cross-fades or even additional EQing or dynamics processing could be achieved only by downconverting to PCM format (i.e. the Pulse Code Modulation format of the traditional CD).
Stockfisch used a SADiE DSD8 system for the recording, processing and mastering of this DIRECT-CUT-SUPER-AUDIO-CD: a brand-new system that allows simultaneous recording of 8 channels. The analogue signal from the microphone is converted at the input to DSD and is also maintained in DSD-Wide format with 2,8224 MHz throughout the processing stages already mentioned. The end result is then obtained in the SADiE DSD8 – the "cutting master" (AIT tape) – which is then transferred directly to an SACD glass master in the pressing plant.
This DIRECT-CUT-SUPER-AUDIO-CD will enable you to hear a 5.1 DSD surround mix (if available) as well as a DSD stereo mix on the SACD layer, and the 16-bit PCM stereo program on the hybrid layer which guarantees downward compatibility. So this gives you the first ever opportunity of comparing a real(!) DSD recording with the conventional CD format.
Features:
• Super Audio CD
• SACD Multi-Channel SACD Layer
• SACD Stereo SACD Layer
• This Hybrid SACD contains a 'Red Book' Stereo CD Layer which is playable on most conventional CD Players!
• Direct Cut SACD
Musicians:
Christian Willisohn, vocal & piano
Additional studio musicians:
Thilo Kreitmeier, saxophone
Titus Vollmer, guitar
Christian Struck, cor anglais
Matthias Engelhardt, electric bass
Hans-Jorg Maucksch, fretless bass
Richard Hollander, drums
 | 1 Hold On, I'm Waiting For You |
| | 2 Little Angel |
| | 3 No More Tears In Vain |
| | 4 Heartbroken Man |
| | 5 Caruso |
| | 6 Black Day |
| | 7 Blues In My Bottle |
| | 8 Have I Told You Lately |
| | 9 Little Fish |
| | 10 The Man In Your Life |
| | 11 Blues On The World |
Total playing time 47:43
