From Scratch + - A Tribute to Michael Jackson & Stevie Wonder / Berliner Meister Schallplatten

Michael Jackson? Stevie Wonder? Quincy Jones? Helge Adam (piano/Rhodes) and Simon Becker-Foss (saxophone) from “From Scratch” are big fans of these soul and pop legends, whose music still sounds as

if it had just been written! Adam and Becker-Foss have long been keen to open up a new perspective on the songs of these composers and performers. What medium could be more suitable than jazz? It offers the

perfect space to bathe the past in new colours. The band colleagues from From Scratch, Dieter “Zipper” Schmigelok (drums) and Peter Schwebs (double bass), were immediately hooked on the concept! And because

big ideas need big sounds, the band was expanded: the Hanoverians brought Sonja Bittner (vocals), Marvin Zimmermann (trumpet/flugelhorn), Georg Weisbrodt (trombone) and Andi Greiter (percussion), all of them top-class

and internationally experienced musicians, on board and with “Tribute” they created a wonderful homage to soul - powerful, with loving arrangements, fresh grooves, crisp brass and direct live energy!

The collaboration between From Scratch and the Emil Berliner Studios began with a tribute to the legendary Antonio Carlos Jobim. Two albums – “Quiet Nights (Full Stage Stereo)” and “Quiet Nights (One Point – Blumlein)” – attracted

a lot of attention, even outside the audiophile scene. The two LPs, on which the same musicians play the same tracks but in different room arrangements with modified microphone placement, not only provide a unique insight into the

world of recording technology: although the musicians and track list are identical, different performances as well as different emotional and sound worlds were created. For “Tribute”, the BMS team, led by managing directors, producers

and sound engineers Rainer Maillard and Stephan Flock, once again relied on the most consistent of all recording methods: Direct-to-Disc Mastering. The soulful vocals, the jazzy subtleties and beats that reach out to hip-hop, the fat brass

sections and rousing solos... all of this was recorded directly onto vinyl – without digital smoothing, a safety net or a double floor. This is the only way to capture the pure energy and vibrancy of the music as it is created in the moment.

“Tribute”, the new sonic highlight from Berliner Meister Schallplatten, was recorded at the Emil Berliner Studios (Studio 1), cut at 33 RPM and, of course, pressed on extremely high-quality 180-gram vinyl by Optimal Media.

Equipment:
-    Recording Equipment: DGG custom made microphone preamplifiers, ADT Faderbox, EMT 140 Reverberation Plate
-    Microphones: Neumann KMS 104 (vocals), Neumann TLM 170 (trumpet/flugelhorn, saxophone, trombone), Shure Beta 181-BI / piezo pick-up (double-bass), Sennheiser MKH 800 (piano), Sennheiser MKH 30 (percussion), Sennheiser MKH 30 / AKG C414 / Audix D6 (drums)
-    Lathe: Neumann VMS 80
-    Cutting Head: Neumann SX 74
-    Cutting Amp: Ortofon Amp GO 741

Title

Side A
1.    As (Stevie Wonder, 1976)
2.    Human Nature (Steve Porcaro, 1982)
3.    Overjoyed (Stevie Wonder, 1985)

Side B
1.    Man In The Mirror (Glenn Ballard, 1987)
2.    Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing (Stevie Wonder, 1973)
3.    I Can’t Help It (Susaye Green / Stevie Wonder, 1979)