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A friend shared this artist and album with me. It’s not usually my thing but I’m blown away by it and the story.
I’m stealing his commentary completely, " Branko Mataja – Over Fields And Mountains
(Numero Group – 2022)
Branko Mataja was born in 1923 in Bekar, Dalmatia (now Croatia). He built his first guitar at age 10. During World War II he was conscripted for slave labor in Germany. After US forces liberated the concentration camp were he was being held, Mataja went on work for the US army as a cook and a barber, along with some side hustles.
Mataja emigrated to Canada in 1954, then to Detroit in 1964, and finally settled in Los Angeles in 1964. There he focused on making custom guitars for Johnny Cash and Geddy Lee, among others. He passed away in 2000 with little or no notice.
Numero Group reissued his sole album, 1973’s “Traditional and Folk Songs of Yugoslavia,” last year in their typically excellent fashion. It is an amazing collection of guitar instrumentals featuring Mataja’s unique style and sound. Alternating between grand, dramatic sweeps and ghostly runs, it is simply one of the most amazing things I’ve ever heard."
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Off down the cabin to play with the on loan
ND5 XS2 following the demo day yesterday.
I’ll post a full review along with pics in the systems pics thread later.
Think I’ll start with something that I was disappointed with on vinyl and see if the HR stream is better…
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Marshall Crenshaw debut album from 1982
A welcome Hi Res re-release
As a guide Elvis Costello meets Joe Jackson with Nick Lowe
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Why were you disappointed with the vinyl? I thought is was rather good and much prefer it to the original which I thought was a bit dull….
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I thought it sounded fantastic as a hi res file.
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It’s a difficult one to answer.
My very first Pink Floyd experience was Animals. I was about 14/15 years old and it was released some 2-3 years before.
It was Vinyl on a wonderful old Thorens deck (rest of system is long forgotten) at my neighbours house. We’d play chess and listen to great music and Animals was an instant hit with me.
To get back to your question, the familiarity with the Nuances of the original is a key part to the experience. The new one is so clean and pure that it no longer has that 40+ years of familiarity and comfort that I’m so used to.
So saying, it’s been playing for 6 minutes now and I’m really enjoying it.
It’s still not the same, but it is better than my earlier experience with the questionable quality vinyl…
I hope this makes some sort of sense🤔
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Fantastic streamer.Enjoy!
Hatfield and the North - Live 1990
Found this on Qobuz. Good sound and most enjoyable. I’ve done some further research whilst listening to this because it is very good, very jazzy. It seems Dave Stewart couldn’t be persuaded to participate in this one off reunion, but Sophia Domancich stepped in on keyboards instead and what a player she is! Of course, we still get those fine vocals of Richard Sinclair. Recommended.
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Really good, Pics going in to ‘System Pics’ thread now🙂
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