Free DVD-A/V "Teaser" for forthcoming album

[neil wilkes]

I don't know if this is a first or not, but new surround speciality label Luminary Records will shortly be making available a special 2-track "teaser" available for free download & redistribution as a promotion to raise awareness of the soon to be released debut album by Rwandan songstress Dorothee Munyaneza.
The teaser will be available as an ISO image - complete with artwork - and will feature 2 tracks from the full album in 24/96 5.1 & Stereo, plus DTS 96/24, DD 5.1 & LPCM stereo - and if that was not enough there will also be a ROM section with pre-diced streams for portable players as well as hotlinks to a specially designed website

Enjoy!

DM_Taster_Artwork&.jpg

[Chris Gerhard]

Pretty cool. I will see if I can download it and write it to DVD-R.

Chris

[Old Quad Guy]

Thanks for the info Neil, looking forward to hearing this. This is the way to go if one is a new or unheard of group, free DVD-A sampler - online. Then put out a CD / DVD-Audio disc package for sale at as many places as possible. It's also a good idea if you're a famous artist too!

[holland123]

hey thanks, don't know who the heck she is but it's hi rez surround I'll check her out

[rusinurbe]

I think this music will be enjoyed by most on the forum.
What i like about buying DVDAs is that it has opened my eyes to a whole lot of new music in the last 8 to 10 years that I would not normally have bought.

I Look forward to buying this.

[neil wilkes]

Well, the teaser is being authored today, and will be available (hopefully) from Monday.
I'll post the location(s) as soon as we have it safely uploaded - the download will be an ISO image file ready to be burned to disc.
There will also be artwork included in the ROM section too.

[Desmo888]

Awesome! I love these little sampler/teaser releases!

[neil wilkes]

It's finally available to download now from http://www.luminary-records.com/
We will be getting the full version off to the factory next week as well.

It's an ISO image with ROM content - should be straightforward enough to burn and please feel free to give copies wherever and to whoever you want to.

[elmer]

Thanks for the heads up Neil. Easy download and burn (I use ImageBurn). The 2 tracks are exellent - definitely something you would hear on Gabriel's Real World imprint. Very strong backing tracks and excellent hi -rez mix. I'm not sure if I could handle a full album worth of vocals sung in an African dialect but just after 2 tracks I was groovin - so who knows - definitely worth supporting when the full release becomes available.

[jdmack]

Thanks, Neil! Now downloading, though my half speed DSL estimates 2 hours to go. Probably won't listen until tomorrow night.

J. D.

[filper]

Very interesting music. Thanks for the head's up Neil.

FYI gang. You can burn the image disc in Nero if you switch to Express... you'll figure it out.

I think I have a new disc to seek out.

[rusinurbe]

I like what I here a nice mix of African and western music. Great surround mix.

[Chris Gerhard]

I downloaded the file and wrote it a DVD-R using Active ISO Burner. The DVD-A section plays flawlessly, good recording and mix. I tried three different DVD-R's and never got a good DVD-V section, the DTS stops at 2:49 of "One Minute" but I think the song is about 4 minutes long. There is no option to access lyrics or other menu options when playing it as a DVD-V. I am using an Oppo BDP-80 for both DVD-A and DVD-V playback. I don't know if my download was bad or writing bad or if the file itself was bad resulting in a bad DVD-V section. Has anyone else played it as a DVD-V?

Chris

[Halloway]

Chris,

no problems here, either with the DVD-A or the DVD-V portions of the disc. I have a Pioneer DV-757Ai. If it's any help I burned the ISO with imgburn ( http://www.imgburn.com/ ) which I've found to be reliable free ISO burner, although if it's not a player issue then I'd suspect a dodgy download.

It's really good. I confess to not being a natural lover of world music but the arrangements coupled with her excellent voice makes this a really good taster. I'm looking forward to the full release.

[martin russell]

- definitely something you would hear on Gabriel's Real World imprint.

Interesting ... as the producer and co-writer of this album I thought so too, and in fact offered Real World first refusal on it in a licensing context. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, they were put off by the surround element - as were the distributors I initially approached.

Because I was determined to treat the surround version as being at least of equal (if not greater) importance as the stereo CD, and wasn't willing to regard the DVD-A as a "bonus" or "limited edition" side-deal to get the album into the marketplace I decided to start a small label myself rather than be defeated by the disinterest I encountered. It remains to be seen whether that was a wise or foolish move! Hopefully it's a "build it and they will come" situation. I'm fully aware that musically this product is an obscure branch of an obscure tree, but I'm also told that it's a female-friendly album (!!) which might be a slight advantage in the surround arena, which appears to be largely "boys music"!

What i like about buying DVDAs is that it has opened my eyes to a whole lot of new music in the last 8 to 10 years that I would not normally have bought.

Me too! I don't think I'd have discovered Porcupine Tree as easily if it hadn't been for the outstanding "In Absentia" and "Deadwing" DVD-A's which were my first exposure to the work of Steven Wilson. I've been a lurker on this forum for several years now and quite a few of my surround music purchases have come about because of reading from the abundance of wonderful pooled knowledge which you guys have assembled. The general open-ness to exploring other areas of music purely because it is in surround is inspiring and does you all great credit!

My working with Neil Wilkes, which has been an utter privelege, as well as being highly educational, also only came about because of this forum. I can assure everyone that the authoring experience fully endorsed my perception of him as "the surround guru" which I gained here, and I thank him for his brilliance and generosity.

I'll resume lurking at this point! Many thanks for this great resource.

Martin

[The Rang]

Martin,

Please let us know how and when to buy this disc.

I'm sure many of us will buy it to support your venture, especially since the music sounds fantastic.
Perhaps you can sell direct to ensure more of the money goes to you and the artist.

[martin russell]

Thank you for your interest! The discs are currently being manufactured and we'll have to check and approve them before being in a position to sell anything. Not having much desire to lick envelopes I plan to do the majority of this via Amazon but will also have a store on the Luminary site for direct sales which will go live when we have discs in stock. I'm also researching the possibilities of a US licensing deal....

I decided to preview the ISO download here to get an early indication of how a world music album would be received by the surround community. I'll post again when the release date becomes a known quantity. There is a (100% benign) mailing list facility at the site if anyone would like to be personally notified of this or of further releases a bit further down the line.

All the best!

[elshagon]

I really like the mix and music! Will this be available with amazon in the US as well? I'm looking forward to purchasing the full album, and thanks for the sampler. Without the sampler I wouldn't have purchased this. ISO format was perfect for download.

[hafquark]

I really like this DVD-A sampler, too. It's a very slick and layered recording, and I'm impressed by Munyaneza's singing on this pair of tunes. Will be watching Amazon for the release. Thank you for bringing this title out as a hi-res surround release!

[Halloway]

Greetings from Luminary Records.

We are contacting you because you requested to be notified regarding the availability of the Dorothee Munyaneza CD/DVD-A.

We finally have discs and are are pleased to report that in a few days time the Luminary online shop will go live. The album will be priced at 13.50 GBP including free worldwide packing and postage.

The album will also be available (at a slightly higher price) from amazon.co.uk from June 21st. This is the link to the page :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dorothee-Mun...5988093&sr=1-1

We find amazon reviews to be illuminating and informative - if you enjoy the Dorothee Munyaneza CD/DVD-A please consider submitting a review and helping to spread the word!

Very best wishes and thank you again for your interest in what we are doing!

The Luminary Team

Excellent news, I'm looking forward to this.

[Almen]

Sounds really good! A little in the style of Rokia Traoré (I am probably showing my ignorance here) but with a totally different voice. It worked perfectly to burn with ImgBurn, no problem with the disc in my Denon 2910.

Wonderful sound in the rythm section (very "in the room" feeling) with the other instruments layered on top and around. Slightly hard sound in the voices, I would have preferred a little more "natural" sound there, but that's only my personal taste. Very nice dynamics!

I will definitely buy the disc!

PS Some typos on dorotheemunyaneza.com: "DTS 94/24" (should be DTS 96/24), "256kbps" (should be 320 kbps (I guess))

[JonUrban]

It's nice to hear about people like Martin who put their money where their mouth is, so to speak. It's pretty impressive to go ahead and "start your own label"! WOW.

I just added this title to the HiRez poll, and will add it to the official QQ DVD-A release list. Anyone who goes the extra mile deserves the support of QQ and it's members, be it a label like Rhino, artists like Steve Wilson and Tom Petty, or folks like Martin.

We're happy to help all of them!

Welcome (belatedly) to the forum, Martin.

[woody]

I downloaded this last night and burnt (was surprised how easy it was), and had a quick listen and was really impressed with the fidelity of the mix. I too will likely purchase if the prices quoted are accurate- especially if it's free international shipping (this is a big statement as this type of music is totally out of context compared to the rest of my surround and cd collection.) But there is truth in the prior comment that any surround venture these days should be supported, and I am not saying this out of pure loyalty. I actually enjoyed what i listened to. Well done.

[rusinurbe]

It can be ordered on Amazon.co.uk right now not sure when Luminary will have this on their web site.

[Robert van Diggele]

It is on their website, for GBP13,50.