Mega Bass (One Microphone Recording)

Frederic Alarie follows up his initial release at NativeDSD Music - In The Spirit of Legends: Chet Baker & Scott LaFaro with his new album titled Mega Bass. With Mega Bass, Frederic Alarie and 2xHD seek to challenge your sound system in the low register, capturing the warmth of the second harmonics in pristine clarity. It is rare to find an album that truly emphasizes the Bass instrument. This release seeks to fully recognize the versatility of that instrument! Tracks 2-9 of the album were recorded off-the-floor at St-Jean Baptiste Chapel in Montreal, Canada.  This Analog Recording was made on a quarter inch Nagra IV-S analog recorder in master eq curve, with no overdubs or editing. A single Fidelio stereo Tube microphone RL-1 was used in the Pure Blumlein microphone technique. It has been transferred to Stereo DXD and DSD by 2xHD Mastering. Track 1, which features the legendary Octobass, was recorded at la Maison Symphonique de Montreal in the same fashion. The Octobass is the lowest-pitched and largest-sized instruments of the string family. At a height of almost 11.5 feet, this instrument produces extreme low bass extension harmonics: down to 20 Hz with a peak of 28 Hz. Frédéric Alarie amazes by the color, depth, and audacity he puts forward in his work. As a musician, composer, or soloist, he constantly pushes the limits of both his own expression and of Jazz itself. A member of the Lorraine Desmarais trio since 1993, he has recorded on 34 albums as an accompanist and soloist.  He has played on hundreds of other albums as a guest artist with several of these albums having received awards.

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Frédéric Alarie, Bass – All Tracks Eric Chapel, Octobass – Track 1 Michel Donato, Bass – Tracks 3 & 9 Normand Guilbault, Bass – Tracks 3 & 9 Norman Lachapelle, Bass – Tracks 3 & 9 Sylvain Provost, Guitar – Track 1 Cegep Marie-Victorin Choir directed by Yves-G. Préfontaine – Track 2 Mohammad Abdul Al-Khbyr, Trombone – Track 5 Andrew Homzy, Tuba – Track 5 Louis-Daniel Joly, Percussion – Track 5 Michel Lambert, Percussion – Track 8