CD & DVD on the same disc

Richard Durrant's DAVD discs arrived today - CD audio on one side, DVD on the other of a single disc. This is a format I've been wanting to promote for years, back when the only option was DualDisc, but manufacturing costs plus licensing and compatibility issues put paid to that.

But all that is history now, and you can get a DAVD pressed up for only 60% more than a normal CD. That's incredible value, compared to a 2-disc CD and DVD package which costs more than twice as much, including the packaging. And as a format it beats Enhanced CDs hands down, if you ask me.

So, what are you waiting for ?!

And, speaking of Richard, here is a video of his single-handed live performance of one of my favourite things, Steve Reich's Electric Counterpoint, a piece for 12 guitars... prepare to boggle.

Next post DIY Mastering #4 - Speakers

Galactic Symphonies - Kaoss Pads and Poetry

So, Richard's session proved to be even more fun than I expected ! The project was a collaboration with unique 60's poet-lyricist Stephen Kalinich, and comprised a fascinating improvised mixture of Kaoss Pad manipulated soundscapes, gentle acoustic guitar numbers and full-on almost-rap sections. Where things got really interesting is that the release is to be a double-sided disc - CD on one side and DVD on the other, so we had a studio recording to master, plus a live performance for the DVD.

Initially Richard had thought of the live version as more of a bonus to the CD release, and anticipated spending less time on a "rough cut" master. However since the recordings were made he had started to enjoy the live performances more and more, and decided to spend more time on them. At the end of mastering the studio version I gave him a brief demo of how the live performance would sound if we converted it to surround-sound using the System 6000's "unwrap" capabilities, and he was hooked. The processing he uses on the live guitars, especially the Kaoss Pad (*), worked fantastically well with the unwrap, creating a really convincing 3D soundscape. So an extra day was booked and now there will be 3 versions on the disc - studio stereo on the CD, and live stereo and surround-sound on the DVD.

(*) Richard uses two of these while performing - "playing" them with his toes !

Where I'm At

So here it is - my first post - written while copying sources for a new Paul Weller box set one of our customers is putting together. Sadly it all comes from 16-bit CDRs rather than hi-res files or original tapes, but it's still a pretty cool project. I probably won't get to master it, unfortunately, since we have some DVDs coming in which need authoring and I'm commited to a large Interactive Whiteboard CD-ROM as of next week, but I know Simon will do a great job. On the other hand, once the sources are compiled in the right order they'll get sent away for approval by Universal, and that will take a while, so perhaps I'll be free by then. I'll have to fight him for it...

Looking forward to Richard Durrant's session on Monday - it sounds very different to the bonkers "Horse" album he produced for John Douglas Clark, which we worked on before Christmas. ( "...half album, half sound installation... described variously as 'Ivor Cutler meets Pink Floyd' and 'John Shuttleworth meets Prof. Stanley Unwin' " ) And, I'm really looking forward to working with Christine Tobin again next month - I was really pleased with the way her fellow artist and partner Phil Robson's album "Six Strings and the Beat" turned out last month, despite both of us struggling with the after-effects of flu. And looking forward to getting copies of the Opeth "Still Life" DVD - progressive Swedish Black Metal wouldn't necessarily normally be my listening material of choice, but Jens at Fascination Street did such a great job on the new 5.1 surround mixes, the band play really well and the menus came out nicely, though I say so myself. Plus I'm sure the packaging will be highly decadent, which should be fun.

So that's "where I'm at" at the moment - I think future posts will have updates on these and other interesting or enjoyable projects, plus ramblings on subjects like Mastering and DVD authoring - for example Blu Ray's so-called victory in the "Format Wars" and what it means for our customers who want to release in hi-def - and indeed if HD on disc is going to be a success at all, or go the way of SACD and DVD Audio...

Currently I am listening to "Seventh Tree" by Goldfrapp and loving it...