Chasing the Dragon II Audiophile Demonstration LP Vinyl

Chasing The Dragon II LP

The first album Chasing The Dragon ever released was a collection of audiophile recordings. Many fans have asked when they would be releasing a 2nd album of audiophile recordings. After recording many new tracks, as well as adding a small selection from recent albums, Chasing The Dragon presents to you Chasing The Dragon II. The organ recording has enough bass to rattle not only your speakers, but also your neighbour’s teeth! Also included is a comparison track between a 60-year-old valve microphone, which is used for all CTD recordings, and a modern high-quality transistor mic. The differences which you can clearly hear, are very interesting.

This 180-gram Audiophile Demonstration & Test Disc is a treat to listen to, and also a great way to test and show off your system.

Features:
- Audiophile Demonstration LP
- 180-gram vinyl
- Mastered at Air Studios in London
- Produced/Engineered by Mike Valentine

This audiophile demonstration recording samples classical compositions by Vivaldi, J.S. Bach and Corelli, alongside a drum solo improvisation, a choir performance, microphone comparison of male voice recording, rehearsals, and more.

The recording path has been made as simple as possible, and this will become clear when you play the album. The artists are performing right in front of you, between your loudspeakers.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Swing Band
"Hawaiian War Chant" - Syd Lawrence Orchestra

What better way to start our disc than with a live recording of the Syd Lawrence Orchestra playing Ted Heath's "Hawaiian War Chant"? The sheer jump factor of the orchestra playing this as their opening number was really great. Recorded with just 2 microphones.

2. Drum Kit
Drum Solo Improvisation

The dynamic range of our drum recording should push your speakers to the limit! Producer and engineer Mike Valentine has used relatively few mics on the kit in an effort to present a more natural sound. Your system should sound pretty much as if you were standing in the studio on the day. Enjoy!

3. Piano
"Sonata No 15" - Mozart

There are many different ways of recording a piano. Here, Mike Valentine found the most involving approach was to use the Neumann Binaural Head. Although designed for headphone users, it provides a very natural, full sound of the piano on the loudspeakers as well.

4.Church Organ
"Toccata and Fugue in D" - Bach

This great organ piece is probably one of the world's most loved. This Chasing The Dragon recording was made in Temple Church, London. A spaced pair of valve omnidirectional mics were used to capture the majesty of this performance and placed where you can see the white disc.

5. Interpreti Veneziani
"Cello Concerto RV 419" - Vivaldi

This is the final movement from Chasing The Dragon's live recording of Vivaldi's Cello Concerto in A major. It is performed by the leading Venetian chamber orchestra, Interpreti Veneziani, in the wonderful San Vidal Church. The acoustics here are beautiful, perfectly reflecting Vivaldi's music.

Side B

1. Interpreti Veneziani
"Concerto Grosso Op 6 No 4" - Corelli

Corelli's joyful piece is performed here "con brio", literally meaning "with spirit". It is one of the orchestra's favourite encore pieces and with good reason. Mike Valentine has recorded it here with a very simple microphone technique, which he hopes captures the "brio" of the evening.

2. Lute
Anonymous Piece

Lynda Sayce is one of the UK's leading musical scholars. Here she performs an anonymous piece on the lute. The acoustics of the Temple Church add to the beauty of this instrument and again, just a simple pair of microphones were placed in front of her, in order to capture a natural reproduction of the performance.

3. Theorbo
"Chaconne" - Robert de Visée

What an amazing instrument! This piece was composed over 300 years ago and performed at the court of Louis XIV. Lynda Sayce plays this evocative music beautifully. You might consider it one of the most interesting tracks on the album.

4. Choir
"Nolo Mortem Peccatoris" - Darbourne Ensemble

Jonathan Darbourne is one of the UK's rising stars. He was a choral scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford, and has assembled a wonderful choir here to perform "Nolo Mortem Peccatoris" by Thomas Morley. Written in the 16th century, this piece sounds just as fresh today.

5. Voice
Microphone Comparison

Mike Valentine thought it would be interesting to compare the sound of 2 microphones. Note the subtle differences between the 60-year-old valve-powered AKG C12, and the modern transistor design DPA 4006.

6. Capriccio Espagnol
National Symphony Orchestra

The finale of Rimsky Korsakov's masterpiece is the perfect finale to this album. Mike Valentine, alongside conductor Debbie Wiseman and the National Symphony Orchestra, delivers an amazing experience. 

Chasing The Dragon have become known as one of the leading producers of audiophile recordings. The UK label owned by Mike Valentine offers Direct Cut LPs. Audiophile LPs, CDs, and Master Tapes which will demonstrate the potential of your Hi-Fi system.

Chasing The Dragon's releases are so detailed, if you take the time to familiarise yourself with the subtleties of these reference-level recordings, the next time you make any changes, big or small, to your Hi-Fi system, the differences will be notable.