MQA Celebrates National Album Day

Events

Six albums from leading independent labels were played in MQA quality, in complete darkness, at a listening event held on National Album Day (13 October). The free event was a collaboration with the  Association of Independent Music (AIM) and Pitchblack Playback, and formed part of a nationwide celebration marking the 70th anniversary of the album format. The playback sessions took place in The Sensorium at Aures, with its state-of-the-art sound system, located in the Banksy tunnel beneath Waterloo train station in London.

The sessions elicited a range of emotions from the expressive, “I feel it was like inhabiting the album for a little while…” to the nostalgic, “That really inspired me…I used to come home from school and lie on my bed in the dark and listen to albums, and I realise I haven’t done that since.”

Shanice Martin, who is responsible for creatively engaging music fans with recordings from the Beggars Group of labels, commented on The Fall album, originally released three decades ago, “Listening to ‘I am Kurious Oranj’ in MQA added a different experience for the ears. With its crystal clear clarity and strong definition, MQA celebrates and champions The Fall’s individualistic and chaotic sounds and dynamics throughout the whole LP. MQA makes the album engaging and colourful.”

The six albums (in order of playback) were:   

Mogwai – Every Country’s Sun (Rock Action Records) 

Gil Scott-Heron – I’m New Here (XL) 

The Fall – I Am Kurious Oranj (30th anniversary edition) (Beggars Banquet) 

Public Service Broadcasting – The Race For Space (Test Card Recordings) 

Young Fathers – Cocoa Sugar (Ninja Tune) 

Sophie – Oil of Every Pearl's Un-insides (Transgressive Records)