2L
About 2L
The music captured by 2L features Norwegian composers and
performers and an international repertoire reflected in the Nordic atmosphere.
The Surround sound recordings of Lindberg Lyd not only transform the entire
listening experience, but also – more radically – these innovative recordings
overturn some very basic concepts regarding how music is played and even
composed. 2L emphasize Surround sound with Pure Audio Blu-ray and HiRes file
distribution. For more information, please visit www.2L.no
Owner of the renowned record label 2L, Associate Professor
at the Westerdals Oslo ACT (former Nordic Institute of Stage And Studio) and
producer of 17 GRAMMY-nominated albums, Morten Lindberg shares his experiences
on recording in Auro-3D®. “The expansion to 3D has been our playground.” says
the Norwegian recording producer and engineer.
How did you get to know Auro-3D®?
I have recorded music in 5.1 Surround sound since 2004. Then
I met with Wilfried Van Baelen at the Nordic Sound Symposium three years ago.
He challenged me to explore the height dimension. Two weeks later we set out
for a remote medieval church with TrondheimSolistene (a group of classical musicians
from Norway) and recorded our first album in the Auro 9.1 configuration. I
believe this was the first ever commercial album produced in Auro 9.1 which was
released on Pure Audio Blu-Ray.
How did it go?
360 orchestraIt was probably the best recording we have ever
made. The energy from each and every player in the orchestra came together in a
magic concentration at the same time as all the small details fell perfectly
into place. The beauty of Tchaikovsky is so masterfully brought to life by
TrondheimSolistene guided by Øyvind Gimse and Geir Inge Lotsberg.
Can you describe the process of recording in Auro-3D?
I could rave on forever about microphone technique and how
we create the “mix” there and then by placing the musicians in the hall. The
5.1 Surround sound is still our main commercial product. The expansion to Auro
9.1 has been our playground. The development of the Pure Audio Blu-ray
screen-less navigation makes it possible to reach out to a large home
entertainment audience with our music recordings. Now, with the release of our
new album MAGNIFICAT it’s all about immersive audio, which means the addition
of Height all around the audience.
How do you approach recording music?
There is no method available today to reproduce the exact
perception of attending a live performance. That leaves us with the art of
illusion when it comes to recording music. As recording engineers and producers
we need to do exactly the same as any good musician: interpret the music and
the composer’s intentions and adapt to the media where we perform.
Surround sound is a completely new conception of the musical
experience. Recorded music is no longer a matter of a fixed one-dimensional
setting, but rather a multi-dimensional enveloping situation, particularly when
you add the third dimension of height. Stereo can be described as a flat
canvas, while using Auro-3D is like a sculpture that you can literally move
around and relate to spatially; surrounded by music you can move about in the
aural space and choose angles, vantage points and positions. Recording in
Auro-3D gives me the chance to give the listener the most natural, emotional
experience possible. The beauty of the recording arts is that there is no fixed
formula and no blueprint. It all comes out of the music. Every project starts
out by digging into the score and talking with the composer, if contemporary,
and the musicians. It is not our task as producers and engineers to try to
re-create a concert situation with all its commercial limitations. On the
contrary; we should make the ideal out of the recording medium and create the
strongest illusion, the sonic experience that emotionally moves the listener to
a better place. Our approach is that a good 3D sound is not created in the mix.
It is made in the recording with dedicated microphone techniques. The composers
and musicians should perform to the extended multi-dimensional sonic sculpture,
allowing more details and broader strokes. Then it is just a matter of opening
up the faders. When the music is created, performed and recorded in Auro-3D
format then stereo is our most time-consuming challenge; figuring out how to
preserve the total impact and level of details from this sculpture into a flat
canvas.
The lack of support for classical recording from major
record labels is nothing new but more than ever, recordings are being made by
the orchestras or the venues themselves. In addition, some enterprising
independents; some old and some new; have made it their mission to record new
and innovative music employing ground-breaking techniques. 2L is certainly one
of those companies and Morten Lindberg has not been shy in employing a very
different approach to any other balance engineer and producer. Recording in
Digital eXtreme Definition (DXD) on Pyramix has been an essential ingredient to
achieving outstanding sonic quality and Lindberg Lyd (2L’s recording arm) has
constantly been upgrading its systems as Merging has introduced new technology.
Now fully equipped with Horus and switching to 64bit with Pyramix 9.1, 2L is
taking full advantage of the additional performance and simplicity offered by
RAVENNA networking.
The music captured by 2L features Norwegian composers and
performers and an international repertoire reflected in the Nordic atmosphere.
The surround sound recordings of Lindberg Lyd not only transform the entire
listening experience, but also - more radically - these innovative recordings
overturn some very basic concepts regarding how music is played and even
composed. 2L emphasize surround sound with Pure Audio Blu-ray and Hi-Res file
distribution, and have garnered no less than 17 American GRAMMY® nominations
since 2006. Eleven of these were in the categories "Best Engineered
Album" and "Best Surround Sound Album".
2L records in spacious acoustic venues: large concert halls,
churches and cathedrals. This is actually where they can make the most intimate
recordings. The qualities sought in large rooms are not necessarily a big
reverb, but openness due to the absence of close reflecting walls. Making an
ambient and beautiful recording is the way of least resistance. The philosophy
is to search for the fine line between direct contact and openness - that’s the
real challenge! A really good recording should be able to bodily move the
listener. This core quality of audio production is made by choosing the right
venue for the repertoire and by balancing the image in the placement of
microphones and musicians relative to each other in that venue.
Morten explains his general approach to recording music in
surround sound: “There is no method available today to reproduce the exact
perception of attending a live performance. That leaves us with the art of
illusion when it comes to recording music. As recording engineers and producers
we need to do exactly the same as any good musician: interpret the music and
the composer’s intentions and adapt to the media where we perform. Surround
sound is a completely new conception of the musical experience. Recorded music
is no longer a matter of a fixed one-dimensional setting, but rather a
multi-dimensional enveloping situation. Stereo can be described as a flat
canvas, while surround sound is a sculpture that you can literally move around
and relate to spatially. Surrounded by music you can move about in the aural
space and choose angles, vantage points and positions. The beauty of the
recording art is that there is no fixed formula and no blueprint. It all comes
out of the music. Every project starts out by digging into the score and
talking with the composer (if contemporary) and the musicians. It is not our
task as producers and engineers to try to re-create a concert situation with
all its commercial limitations. On the contrary; we should make the ideal out
of the recording medium and create the strongest illusion, the sonic experience
that emotionally moves the listener to a better place. Our approach is that a
good surround sound is not created in the mix. It is made in the recording with
dedicated microphone techniques. The composers and musicians should perform to
the extended multi-dimensional sonic sculpture, allowing more details and
broader strokes. Then surround is just a matter of opening up the faders. When
the music is created, performed and recorded for surround sound then stereo is
our most time-consuming challenge; figuring out how to preserve the total
impact and level of details from this sculpture into a flat canvas.”
The dedicated microphone techniques referred to are tailored
to the format offered on disc. Pure Audio on Blu-ray allows for a choice of
audio streams and there is no practical restriction on the size of the audio
files since there is little or no picture data present. A typical 2L release
offers an astounding array of options. The Blu-ray can offer 9.1 Auro 3D, 7.1
96/24, 5.1 192/24 and stereo 192/24. The Pure Audio format also allows the user
to stream FLAC files at 96 kHz or MP3 from the disc using mShuttle. Hi-Res
downloads are available from a number of specialists sites and many of the
titles are also available on SACD with 5.1 DSD and stereo DSD tracks included.
If the decision has been made to make the primary release format 5.1, then a
5.1 microphone array will be used. If it is Auro 3D, then a 9.1 array is
arranged and the musicians are strategically placed around the microphones.
This is extremely different to a multi-mic recording which laid down to
multiple tracks and is then mixed to Auro or 5.1. “The 5.1 surround sound is
our main commercial product. The expansion to 9.1 3D is our playground.
Development of the Pure Audio Blu-ray screen-less navigation makes it possible
to reach out to a large home entertainment audience with our music recordings.”
Regardless of the type of array, Morten Lindberg uses DPA
microphones which do present a challenge because they operate with much higher
voltages than the usual 48 volt phantom power. This usually requires some
custom building because 2L never use the HMA units. “Way back in 1996, John
LaGrue modified our Millennia Media pre-amps to accommodate the high-voltage
DPA microphones directly. First we had the 4-pin 130V and later the 7-pin,
adding 190V for the 4041-S. Last August we started looking into using the
integrated mic-pre of the new Horus. Motivated by the chance of avoiding
amplifying to line and then padding to chip, we approached the head of research
at DPA. The company didn't want to officially develop this kind of product but
they allowed us to engage their chief engineer in out-of-company time. We now
have a 24 channel "black box" feeding 130V and 190V to the
microphones and passing the direct microphone output to the Horus. This unit
does not apply any gain. It only makes an impedance optimization using the
highest quality components available. When we initiated this development I only
expected a minuscule improvement. But I was wrong. The difference is
substantial. The result is silky smooth and soft, yet crystal clear and
brilliant. We have now made 6 projects in the past two months, ranging from
female voices through classical chamber music to full symphony orchestra, and
the DPA High-voltage microphones feeding directly to the Horus sound
consistently astonishing.”
Prior to purchasing their Horus units (and now Hapi),
Lindberg Lyd was a fan of Merging’s Sphynx-2 converters which were top quality
units in their day, but Morten is clear on the Horus advantages. “The tight
integration with Pyramix allows total recall within the projects, the ease of
RAVENNA clock management, the simplicity of connecting via a single Cat6 cable
plus being able to remotely control Horus would be enough but, above all, it is
the sound quality of the converter. The combination of the microphones, the
“black box” and the ultra high frequency response of the Horus finally allows
the potential of DXD to be realised.”
Lindberg Lyd ventured forth from Norway recently to the iconic Watford Colosseum in the UK to record the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy recording Flint Juventino Beppe's REMOTE GALAXY at Watford Colosseum. This project is the sequel to the Grammy nominated album FLUTE MYSTERY. Soloists are Emily Beynon (flute), Mark van de Wiel (clarinet) and Ralph Rousseau Meulenbroeks (viola da gamba). This is a prime candidate for another Grammy nomination in the New Year. As usual this was recorded by Lindberg Lyd A/S to be published by 2L on Pure Audio Blu-ray and as Hi-Res music files. Produced in 9.1 surround at 24/352.8 kHz. Some of the pictures reproduced here are of this session with additional pictures from the spectacular Nidaros Cathedral. Here the performers were the Nidarosdomens jentekor & TrondheimSolistene in the process of recording Kim André Arnesen's MAGNIFICAT. This impressive work features a female voice choir, strings, piano and church organ is also recorded in 9.1 Auro-3D to be released on Pure Audio Blu-ray by 2L in 2014.
