Many people complain these days that CDs are being mastered in such a way that they sound louder, allegedly so that they 'punch out' when played on the radio, and grab listeners' attention — it probably makes them sound better when played on iPod headphones on a noisy bus or on a busy street, because the music blocks out the irritating people around you rather than vice-versa. Hence this report from The Guardian,
Tim Young masters albums at the Metropolis Studios in London. He has impeccable credentials, having worked with bands from the Clash and the Smiths back in the 1970s to Madonna, Iron Maiden and the Sugababes today. "Everyone's chasing immediate impact," he explains. "What happens is all the loud parts of the album have to be as loud as the opening track. So you get a fatiguing effect. There's no light and shade in it."
Then again, there's Late Junction, Radio 3's late night programme, which exists as a kind of antithesis to this trend. You will get the occasional energetic jig and reel there, but mostly what's on offer is generally quiet with masses of light and shade. Hence lots of ECM records, Hildegard von Bingen, a bit of gamelan or Penguin Cafe Orchestra, some David Sylvian. And a good dose of tracks from Mark Hollis's solitary solo album.
The songs on this album are frequently very, very quiet indeed. When it starts, you can't hear anything for 20 seconds. Then the instrumentation, all acoustic, is recorded very sparse and dry. When Hollis's voice comes in at the start of each line, it's quite startling. This is one of the first albums the Boy ever heard, as I got it ten days after he was born (I happened to notice that it was absurdly cheap on Amazon, £2.98, at which price it would have been a crime to overlook it). Back then he was almost alarmed each time the vocal came in, turning his head to the speakers as if to ask, "who said that?! where did he come from?" Nowadays he's increasingly discerning: I mentioned his response to Nanci Griffith, and he also pricked up his ears when Mozart introduced a new motif. No degree of perspicacity protects him from being a little spooked by Mark Hollis, though… whereas he probably wouldn't bat an eyelid at Hüsker Dü or AC/DC.
All of which, I think, shows the power of anti-loudness, of retaining dynamics and the balance of light and shade.
I can't think of any other albums that sound like this one. David Sylvian perhaps comes close. I first heard it only through Late Junction and Last.fm, but that was like looking at the album cover postage-stamp-size on screen: it looks pleasantly abstract at that scale; but full size and up close, it's unsettling. I've yet to absorb it fully.
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Fortunately some people did listen to Bob Katz
Posted by: HR Mastering | 28 May 2013 at 11:48 AM