Fink - Studio Live Session

Publisher: LITTLE BIG BEAT STUDIOS

Playing time: 36 min

Specifications: half track ¼", stereo, RTM SM911, CCIR, 510 nWb/m, 38 cm/s

Reel(s):               1 high quality metal reel

Packaging:        1 special cardboard box, printed, with spine labeling

Inserts:               1 booklet with 20 pages

Homepage: https://www.littlebigbeat.com/shop

Translation of the German review:

“Hanging out at LITTLE BIG BEAT STUDIOS was lovely - the atmosphere is dense - and knowing that the people in the audience will be getting the control room feed live in real time - into these really nice Sennheiser headphones - is really cool - it’s like sharing the studio experience that the artist has with other people in such a unique way - you can really lean into the sound knowing that nothing will be left behind - and that everyone is hearing exactly what you hear - every detail….definitely a unique experience for all of us…” is how artist Fink describes the recording situation.

In the center of the large studio room is the stage for the musician(s). Around them sit up to 120 listeners, all of whom wear headphones; at this concert there were 60 guests due to the pandemic. Thus, a concert is not recorded in the conventional sense in the control room and simultaneously played back over loudspeakers or presented (semi-)acoustically, but the audience and musicians are integrated into the recording and mastering process and practically hear the signal that will later be available for purchase on the recordings. The recording is made on several tape machines. If corrections have to be made to the recording afterwards at the request of the musicians, this is done on the digital level.

The musician Fink, born in Cornwall in 1972 with the civil name Finian Paul Greenall, is a singer and guitarist and works as a singer-songwriter, disc jockey and music producer. His touring trio with bassist Guy Whittaker and drummer Tim Thornton is also named Fink. The artist serves the musical styles of folk, indie rock, blues and triphop. He was always attached to the acoustic guitar, however, in the meantime he turned to the electro and trip-hop scene. There were releases under the sub-label N-TONE of the independent label NINJA TUNE. From 2001, Fink struck rhythm-and-blues notes. In 2006, he returned to the guitar and found favor with a wider audience with his album "Biscuits For Breakfast" (review in analog 2/2017, page 63). This was followed by a studio or live album every one to two years on average. His interest in live concerts grew steadily. One highlight is certainly the performance at LITTLE BIG BEAT STUDIOS, where Fink (without his band) plays songs from three albums released between 2009 and 2012.

For this review, I received one of those packages, which one opens with awe. After talking on the phone with Little Konzett, the owner of LITTLE BIG BEAT STUDIOS, I could already surmise that his products are made with great ingenuity and passionate dedication. My wife describes the experience of opening it as follows: "On the outside, the tape is a total work of art including a built-in story of its creation. First, one holds the ochre folding box with the title stamped in blue and the name of the performer. Opening it reveals the accompanying booklet with perfectly arranged black and white photos documenting the making of the production. Then, behind the accompanying booklet, the black tape reel, also printed in black, beams at you like a high-quality and expensive piece of jewelry."

The songs are dominated by a tightly woven guitar tapestry, sometimes enriched with sparingly used feedback effects, which can be followed through the very precise recording as if with a magnifying glass. When the singer/songwriter's voice kicks in, goosebump feeling comes up. Fink is completely with himself, dives deep into the sphere of his songs and celebrates his musical affairs devotedly. The performance is of tangible closeness and pushes me deep into the chair. With a volume equal to that of the live performance, the concert takes on a compelling character where I want nothing more than to listen intently. In addition to the extremely lively recording, the sequences between the songs and the applause bring the unique dynamics to the point: The light bars of my RTW "PPM 1206 D" studio level meter move up to 50 dB below the maximum level, and yet everything can still be heard crystal clear and free of interference. This tape offers a bulging package! This is extremely freaky stuff! With this tape the live performance of the artist Fink and at the same time the recording atmosphere of the LITTLE BIG BEAT STUDIOS come to your home listening paradise!

A few days after the tape arrived, our vinyl quartet took place at my place as a matter of rotation. Sven Fandrich writes the following about it: "When Claus announced the Fink Master Tape of the Studio Live Session of the LITTLE BIG BEAT STUDIOS for our quartet evening, I was very excited, since Fink has long been one of the musicians I hold in high esteem. However, at the beginning of our evening, the LP, which was also available and limited to 500 copies, was put on first. It already sounded very good. The voice was reproduced very vividly and the guitar playing beaded clearly and dynamically from the speakers. This confirmed me to have ordered the LP recently. However, what Claus then played from the tape with the STUDER "A807" had nothing in common with the LP for me. In the round I expressed the impression that it could be different takes, since the difference was so exorbitant. That is certainly not the case. The quality of the tape can hardly be put into words. The voice sovereign, powerful and spacious, the guitar playing in dynamics and bass imaging by lengths more powerful and clearly differentiated than from record. The disc is now spinning on my ROKSAN "TMS" under the SOUNDSMITH, which is very good - and yet I mourn the performance of the tape. This was one of those experiences that make you check your bank account balance to see if you shouldn't invest in a good tape recorder if you're a late adopter."

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)