Raizes brings us the soft, lyrical music of Latin America with a Bossa Nova flavor featuring Breno Viricimo, Daniel de Moraes, Wiboud Burkes, Marijn van der Lindem, and Udo Demandt with singers Laura Polence and Lilian Viera.

This recording in Stereo and 5 Channel Surround Sound Pure DSD 256 by Jared Sacks captures the soft vocals of Laura Polence and Lilian Vieira and the delicate percussion and playing of Breno Viricimo and his ensemble.

All the tracks were recorded in one take to Stereo and 5 Channel Surround Sound Pure DSD 256. No editing or post-production filtering or mixing is done. This creates a concert-like performance within the recording studio, with the musicians playing together live and all balancing happening in real time at the recording studio.

Breno Viricimo first appeared on 2 tracks in the debut album from Just Listen – 8 Ensembles In 1 Bit. The reaction to his music was very positive and plans were made to create a full album featuring some of his compositions. Raizes features Viricimo’s earthy and flowing double bass with singers Laura Polence and Lillian Vieira treating you to the warm and mellow music of Brazil. The album also features a variety of unique and subtle percussion and an inviting atmosphere.

Listener Comments

Bob Attiyeh from Yarlung Artists says “The sound is superb, with bass (of which there is plenty) descending effortlessly into the floor without dampening anything in the upper frequencies. Beautifully balanced all around.”

Tayo Adegun adds “I have really enjoyed listening to Raizes. It has been a great experience. The quality, the soundstage and the depth of the recording is so exceptional. The vocals and the various instruments are so clear.

I have my favorite tracks and it’s easy to get immersed in the sound. They sound like I’m right there listening to the live performance. Raizes is easily one of the best albums I’ve listened to recently and I look forward to more of such releases from you. Congrats to everyone involved.”

How this came about

I met Breno in 2014 in a bar around the corner of my house in Amsterdam (the Netherlands). He plays double bass in jazz trios there on Saturday nights. We became friends and started talking about recording a few songs. A while later he brought in 5 guys and a bunch of instruments and recorded with us on ‘8 Ensembles in 1 Bit’ in March 2015.  Quickly after this project, some plans on a complete album came about, with music from composers that he grew up listening to, and some of his own compositions.

In November of 2015, two days were picked, and we rolled back into the stage at MCO in Hilversum, The Netherlands, with a Merging HAPI and analog mixing boards, carbon fiber cables and top-notch mics. Today we are proud to present you ‘Raízes’. Roots in Portuguese. Not only does this title reflect the content of the works but it is also a symbol of the sound of Breno’s earthy and flowing double bass. Together with singers like Laura Polence and Lillian Vieira this makes a great listen for a laid-back summer evening with the vibes and colors of the Brazilian landscapes in mind. Enjoy!

Jonas Sacks, NativeDSD Technical Director

Technical approach

Just like the previous Just Listen recording the main microphones (for Stereo) were a pair of Bruel and Kjaer (B&K) 4006 which have been rebuilt to accept 75 volt Phantom Powering directly from the stage. In between this pair of microphones, we had a Sennheiser MK8 and a B&K 4006 coupled together to give us sound recorded using the M/S technique. The M/S Omni output from the front pair of B&K 4006 microphones was also being used as the center channel for the multichannel tracks. The support microphone for the vocals was the Sonodore MPM-91. The center and surround microphones (also B&K 4006) completed the microphone set.

All tracks (Stereo and 5 Channel Surround Sound) went through custom made analog and battery powered pre amplifiers, (Custom made by Rens Heijnis) which were then connected to the Merging Technologies HAPI Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) running at DSD 256fs with 3T carbon cable made by Van den Hul in Holland.

Jared Sacks, Native DSD Managing Director

Breno Viricimo, Double Bass, Guitar, Pandeiro, Vocals, Composer
Daniel de Moraes, Guitar, Rebolo, Composer
Wiboud Burkes, Keyboards, Composer
Marijn van der Linden, Cavaquinho, Guitar, Composer
Udo Demandt, Drums, Percussion, Conga, Composer
Laura Polence, Vocals, Composer
Lilian Viera, Vocals, Composer
Jonas Sacks, Mosquito Sounds