New Björk album, Vulnicura, March 2015

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by jsb!, Jan 13, 2015.

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  1. redfloatboat

    redfloatboat Forum Resident

    i'm just not a fan of all the beats that she seems to love so much. personally they don't make the listening experience all that enjoyable for me.
     
  2. amoergosum

    amoergosum Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    Qobuz (24/96 download):

    Analyzed: Björk / Vulnicura (1-9)
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    DR Peak RMS Duration Track
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    DR8 -0.14 dB -11.79 dB 6:49 01-Stonemilker
    DR9 -0.15 dB -12.05 dB 6:09 02-Lionsong
    DR8 -0.88 dB -12.69 dB 3:00 03-History of Touches
    DR7 -0.14 dB -11.97 dB 10:09 04-Black Lake
    DR7 -0.15 dB -11.18 dB 8:02 05-Family
    DR7 -0.14 dB -10.79 dB 6:27 06-Notget
    DR7 -0.09 dB -10.39 dB 8:10 07-Atom Dance
    DR4 -0.10 dB -6.82 dB 6:10 08-Mouth Mantra
    DR5 -0.19 dB -6.77 dB 3:45 09-Quicksand



    Source:
    http://4um.bjork.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=25813&start=20
     
    jfeldt likes this.
  3. crispi

    crispi Vinyl Archaeologist

    Location:
    Berlin
    To reply indirectly, Biophilia was upsampled presumably because the master itself is in 44kHz. That is true for most if not all of her albums. I can confirm that Debut, Post, Homogenic, Vespertine and Volta all stop dead at 22kHz, confirming a 44kHz source. Which is probably what they were recorded at in the first place, let's not forget that at least until Vespertine (2001) high sample rate digital audio wasn't really that widespread.

    I've needledropped most of her limited edition DMM cut vinyl albums and all exhibit that 22kHz cutoff. To further confound things, according to One Little Indian, the masters used for those DMM editions was analog tape. That seems to be confirmed by the fact that there is a band of noise above 22k. The recordings and are digital nonetheless, meaning the final mixes were "upgraded" to analog tape.

    (Please note that I don't have a source for any of this except my own eyes, experience and the spectral viewer, so take it with a grain of salt.)

    However, the heart of the matter is the fact that the DMM pressings all sound excellent and exhibit huge dynamic range compared to the CDs and SACDs. It's not your average dynamic extension you get from putting a brickwalled mastering on vinyl, it's clear that they used masters that were not dynamically limited in any way.

    And by the way, I know that those DMM pressings are very expensive and rare by now, but there still is a hidden one to be found for little money. I just ordered the vinyl edition of Medulla from Björk's site directly and can confirm that even though it doesn't mention DMM anywhere on the package and it's not a numbered limited edition, it does have the DMM matrix in the deadwax. So for those of you who are still on the lookout for those, that is a hidden gem right there. (It always pays off to know your deadwax :cool:)
     
    jfeldt likes this.
  4. I'd like to second that opinion as my copy is identical. "Volta" appears to be DMM too. So why wasn't "Biophilia"? Should we get "Vulnicura" on LP this time as I know many bought "Biophilia" on CD due to poor vinyl experiences with that title?
     
  5. crispi

    crispi Vinyl Archaeologist

    Location:
    Berlin
    Interesting. The DMM copy of Volta that I had was different in that it was missing the atmospheric tidbits between tracks (like the ship sounds). All tracks had cold starts and ends and no crossfades. Your copy is the same?
     
  6. JeffMo

    JeffMo Format Agnostic

    Location:
    New England
    Is it just me, or does this new album sound even better during a massive snow storm?!?

    I will have to put Vespertine on tonite when the temps drop....
     
    Lela likes this.
  7. Indeed it is! That's a curious thing: I'd thought that the inter-song sounds were something exclusive on the CD when my DMM LP falls silent between songs. So, you're saying that the "standard" LP has the same effects as the CD? How odd!
     
  8. Zongadude

    Zongadude Music is the best

    Location:
    France
    I confim this: I have the first edition of Volta on vinyl, and it's like the cd: ship sounds and all.

    As for today, not only Vulnicura is available on Qobuz in 24/96, but it is proposed at the ridiculous price of 8,99 € !!! :goodie:
    I'm going to put it in my Pono now, and start my first listen.
     
  9. Rne

    Rne weltschmerz

    Location:
    Malaver
    I listened to this album yesterday , but unfortunately I can't say I liked it, nor that I disliked it. It just didn't say much to me. That's what's been happening to me since Volta. Maybe it's just me.
     
  10. Bryan

    Bryan Starman Jr.

    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    Maybe someone else can confirm, but weren't the DMM versions all done at 45rpm? As opposed to the original/standard versions, which were 33rpm. If that's the case, I would assume they didn't have room in the grooves for all of the "extraneous" stuff.
     
  11. Bryan

    Bryan Starman Jr.

    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    I'm seeing conflicting info on different sites: does the CD/LP of this album come out in the US March 3 or 10?
     
  12. crispi

    crispi Vinyl Archaeologist

    Location:
    Berlin
    Yes, the standard LP has them.
     
  13. crispi

    crispi Vinyl Archaeologist

    Location:
    Berlin
    I don't think that would be the answer. It was a 2xLP set, meaning that you could fit up to 15 minutes per side at 45 RPM. The full album including the song transitions is around 52 minutes long, so it would have all fit. I guess they either used the wrong master or they wanted to surprise people.
     
  14. Bryan

    Bryan Starman Jr.

    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    I'd put the limit per side for 45rpm at about 13 minutes, actually.
     
  15. crispi

    crispi Vinyl Archaeologist

    Location:
    Berlin
    There are quite a few 45 rpms that have 15 minutes per side. One example: Kenny Dorham's Una Mas on Music Matters, side A has 15:19. It's a sweat job putting a quarter of an hour on one side (you can read about that very session on this forum), but it can be done. Bernie Grundman is also a specialist at that. His Gladiator Soundtrack on ORG has over 15 on each side, cut at 45.
     
  16. TokenGesture

    TokenGesture Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    How is the 24bit version of this?
     
  17. ryno

    ryno Forum Resident

    I think that Bjork must have been listening to 50 Words For Snow, the cold sparse feel, the long tracks, the unconventional song structures, they're all on this album.
     
    marblesmike likes this.
  18. Some songs on first listen do appear to be a little too long. I hope it gets better with repeat playing. I can't help wondering if she's put the most playable song first to kick the album off? Nothing after that song quite gels for me in the same way.
     
  19. Zongadude

    Zongadude Music is the best

    Location:
    France
    Absolutely stunning !

    I am a HD freak, but honestly, sometimes there isn't that much an improvement from the CD versions.
    Here with "Vulnicura", I was under the impression I was listening to REAL HD audio for the first time ! The strings sounds incredibly realistic, like they are with you in the room. And on top of that you have the beats the sounds fantastic too. A recommended listening.

    This album is now my demo-album for my Pono ;)
     
    JeffMo and TokenGesture like this.
  20. Bryan

    Bryan Starman Jr.

    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    Cool, I hope the vinyl is equally as good. Sounds like maybe she didn't record this one on an iPad, like she did with Biophilia.
     
  21. Or do what Bruce Springsteen did when somebody posted a stolen board tape (identifying himself in the process) the day after a benefit concert - have your very large security man knock on the guy's door and take him for a ride, let him shake in his boots for awhile and then have a friendly but firm conversation during which the guy is made to clearly understand that doing that again would not be a very good idea . . .
     
  22. Bryan

    Bryan Starman Jr.

    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    Or just release the album via legitimate channels like Bjork did. It's 2015, this shouldn't be rocket science anymore. :shrug:

    The album was done in December, apparently. Not a good idea to try to sit on it for 3 months, just so they can do some goofy, drawn-out marketing campaign. This isn't 1995.
     
    sunspot42 likes this.
  23. johnnyyen

    johnnyyen Senior Member

    Location:
    Scotland
    I thought this myself. Certainly the use of strings feels like a nod in that direction, as well as a couple of the lengthier orchestral pieces. Mightily impressed with the album so far.
     
  24. Bryan

    Bryan Starman Jr.

    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    Bjork's back catalog is being re-issued on colored vinyl, limited to 5,000 copies per album (after which black vinyl will be available)! I hope these make it to stores, as I'd like to pick some of them up.

    From One Little Indian:

    In celebration of Björk’s mid-career retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the release of the Björk: Archives book, One Little Indian is reissuing the Björk vinyl back catalogue, and for an exclusive period the vinyl will be colored to the hue that personifies that album character. After 5000 copies all albums will revert back to black vinyl. Released on March 9th 2015 and available to pre-order now!

    Available here.
     
  25. BeardedSteven

    BeardedSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern Indiana
    And I just bought a bunch of her LPs from her shop and Amazon UK....

    I hope these make it to stores somehow as well. Hopefully at 5,000 each for albums most of her fans own already they won't sell out immediately? International shipping from OLI is too much for me. Basically half of the price of the LPs. I'd love the colored versions. But I won't allow myself to pay that much postage...
     
    Last edited: Jan 30, 2015
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