AIX Records filming a performance music album - image courtesy of Panasonic Pro AV
There is nothing that can replace the feelings of excitement, envelopment and escape that come from experiencing live music. The energy of the crowd, the feeling of a drum pounding on your chest, and the uncontrollable grin that appears on your face once your favorite artist takes the stage. Live music has the power to heal, the power to motivate and the power to awaken. No matter the race, gender or religious preference, music unites people – it is perhaps man’s greatest discovery.
Though experiencing live entertainment is truly inimitable, modern technologies are capable of providing an all-encompassing and thrilling musical experience in the home. As we age, many of us begin to prefer this private alternative to mainstream concerts. We get to control the volume at which music is played, we get to decide how long the experience lasts, and we don’t have to spend the 90 minutes post concert battling our way out of the parking lot. These benefits make us more apt to purchase higher quality audio and video equipment to enjoy high quality content in our living room or dedicated home theater.
Acoustic reproduction equipment is no longer the major limiting factor in the performance of a home audio experience. Rather it is the content which prohibits the experience of ultra-high quality music at home. There are few music recording studios which specialize in direct to digital HD recordings. For those of us seeking a music experience in our homes, finding content recorded live but without the extraneous noise of an audience, is no easy task.
AIX Records
Fortunately, companies such as AIX Records in Los Angeles not only produce unaltered HD audio content available on Blu-ray and for download, but they make it accessible in multiple recording formats which include HD-Video. AIX records artists in stereo and two multi-channel surround formats with mixes that put the listener in the best seat in the house – or better yet, on stage with the artist. Unless you’re one of an elite few, the sensation of being front and center with the artist is something utterly unrealistic and absolutely spectacular. These stereo and multiple 5.1 mixes allow listeners to choose exactly how they experience music. Though it won’t replace a live show, a high-quality home experience can be just as rewarding. And with the on-stage 5.1 mix and full HD video, listeners can enjoy something truly remarkable and unique.
AIX Records is a pioneer in modern content creation involving music performances, using the latest technologies to create industry leading products. Many of AIX’s new releases contain THX Media Director technology. THX Media Director enables CE devices to select the most appropriate audio and video playback settings, based on creative intent helping to ensure an authentic and simplified user experience. Once you have a THX Media Director enabled Blu-ray player and AVR, playing THX Media Director content eliminates you from having to manually reconfigure your AVR for different listening modes and makes certain you’re not missing surround content if your AVR was previously set to a different mode (i.e. stereo).
Current THX Media Director Enabled Releases from AIX
Bryan Pezzone – Piano Pieces from Mozart, Elgar, Schubert and PezzoneBryan Pezzone is an exceedingly talented pianist that is equally comfortable performing some of the most difficult music composed by the world¹s great composers and by Hollywood¹s elite film composers. Among his considerable talents is his ability to improvise on virtually any musical material and in virtually any style. This solo project brings those abilities in to focus. He alternates movements from a variety of Mozart piano pieces with improvisations of his own. Following a section of the Schubert Impromptu, he explores the tune “We Shall Overcome” in a wide variety of variations and styles. This is an AIX 3D Music Album™.
Ernest Ranglin – Order of DistinctionErnest Ranglin is the “most important jazz musician to come from Jamaica,” according to Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, who discovered Ernest back in the early 1960s and used him on the first international “Ska” commercial hit with “My Boy Lollipop” by Mille Small. This production brings together Ernest and a bunch of his friends and admirers for some great reggae flavored jazz. Among the duet partners are Monty Alexander, Elan Atias, Richard Bailey, Phil Chen, Alana Davis, Elliot Easton of The Cars, Laurence Juber and Adrian Young from No Doubt, Robbie Krieger of The Doors, and Jeff Lorber.
Mozart – The Old City String QuartetThe Mozart project featuring the 2010 Gold Medal Winners of the prestigious Fischoff International Chamber Music prize is another 3D Music Album™ from AIX Records. Joined by Clarinetist Ruokai Chen and French Horn Player Corey Klein, the ensemble performed the Clarinet Quintet K. 581, the Horn Quintet K 407 and String Quartet K 169.
Mars in 3DThis Blu-ray 3D disc contains a 32 minute 3D film compiled from stereoscopic images beamed back from the Viking 1 & 2 missions from the late 1970s written and produced by the late Elliot Levinthall of Stanford University. The score is comprised of two computer music compositions created by Michael McNabb and William Schottstaedt who were students of John Chowning, the head of the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics. There is a 45 minute interview with the creative team behind this project.
Albert Lee – Tearing It Up Albert Lee is a rare talent in the world of guitar players. A native of the UK, Albert came to America and changed the way country music was played on the electric guitar. Albert performed for The Everly Brothers, Emmylou Harris and the Hot Band, Joe Cocker and spent five years in Eric Clapton’s band. This Blu-ray puts Albert out in front of his own band as he sings and plays some of his favorite tunes.