Search - Martin Stephens :: Down to the Woods

A wonderful outdoor recording in binaural sound, made at Shining Cliff Woods, Ambergate in The Peak District, Derbyshire, this release is all about spirit and essence. The location was not merely the backdrop to the performance, it is intrinsically wrapped up with it inspiring the performances heard here. Part One recorded in the woods, with contributions from buzzing flies and singing birds, Part Two at the stream with the rushing, gurgling waters and Martin and Jim in a musical conversation with the environment. Jim and Martin play a wonderful selection of material from originals like Testing Time and Home through Jim's superb tribute to his hero Chet Atkins Jim's Mellow Blue to traditional ragtime like Black Mountain Rag and Cannonball Rag and the North Carolina Ramblers Hungry Hash House. Produced by Dallas Simpson, one of the pioneers of binaural recording, that is a recording made using tiny microphones inserted into his ears !!. In this way it is possible to capture a performance exactly how the person who was there heard it, with the sound wavefront wrapping around the head and ears, with each ear perceives a different sound - a combination of pure sound and acoustic interference.