Myles Astor awards audio tape album Nostos PFO Writer’s Award!

Myles Astor from Audio Nirvana gives the analog tape album Nostos Tes Mousikes his prestigious PFO Writer’s Award! 15-ips reel-to-reel Tape (new) of Nostos, Tes Mousikes (The Homecoming of Music), Cal. State Fullerton Singers, Robert Istad (music director), Yarlung Records $500 (three reels)  Undertaking a choral recording is no easy task. For instance, the hall’s acoustics can make or break the recording not to mention having to carefully balance the direct vs. reflected sound. With that in mind Bob Attiyeh (of Yarlung Records) set out to find just the right venue to record Nostos, and in the end chose the recently finished Valley Performing Arts Center at Cal. State Northridge. (Nostos was also the premiere recording at this new hall.) Fans of the old Decca/Argo choral recording will love this new Yarlung recording. Nostos features the likes of Howell’s Requiem, Brahms’ Schaffe in mir, Gott, ein rein Herz (Psalm 51), Martynov’s Zapovedi Continue Reading →

Myles Astor review in PFO of Smoke & Mirrors Percussion Ensemble

HDtracks | iTunes  | Native DSD Volume 1 | Native DSD Volume 2 | SoundCloud | Yarlung Records Myles Astor, New York, writing for PFO, December 11th, 2013 Reel-to-reel Recording of the Year: Smoke & Mirrors Percussion Ensemble, Yarlung Records. Steve Reich: Nagoya Marimbas; Lou Harrison: Canticle No.3; Maurice Ravel: Sonatine. Producer and engineer: Bob Attiyeh. 15-ips/2-track, CCIR, Yarlung Records. In contrast to past years, there was absolutely no shortage of candidates in this category including The Tape Project’s Lee Morgan Sidewinder, International Phonograph’s Ravi Shankar in Luxembourg, 1980 and Opus 3’s One, Vol. 2 Sampler tape. When push came to shove, however, Yarlung Records newly recorded and released Smoke & Mirrors walked away with this year’s top prize! This single, roughly 31 minute reel, features a potpourri of percussion music from a trio of 20th century composers ranging from the likes of Steve Reich to Lou Harrison to Maurice Ravel. Each track is a musical and sonic spectacular with Continue Reading →