The music captured by 2L features Norwegian composers and performers and an international repertoire reflected in the Nordic atmosphere. These immersive recordings not only transform the entire listening experience, but also — more radically — these innovative recordings overturn some very basic concepts regarding how music is composed and performed. 2L emphasize immersive audio and have garnered no less than 39 American GRAMMY nominations, 31 of these in craft categories Best Engineered Album, Best Surround Sound Album and Producer of the Year. The album LUX won the award for Best Immersive Audio at the 62nd GRAMMY Awards.
MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) draws on recent research in auditory neuroscience, digital coding and in the human perception of high-quality sound. Underlying concepts target the whole system from studio to home, analog-to-analog path and leap beyond a narrow digital-domain view of high-quality sound. The “Music Origami” folding technology creates a single, compact, efficient, streamable file with no playback restrictions, that can be used for download or streaming and enjoyed in many different situations including mobile, in-car, on a PC, with a Hi-Fi and so on. The MQA file can be fully unfolded to recover the exact sound of the studio preview using a decoder. To add convenience, unfolding can proceed step by step, enabling a number of intermediate quality steps, each of which can be previewed in the studio and authenticated by the content creators. MQA will play back on any device to deliver higher than CD-quality. When paired with an MQA decoder, the file reveals the original master recording.
This collection from the 2L catalogue was initiated as a cover mount MQA-CD for the December 2020 edition of AUDIO Magazine. Each track has been "white-glove" treated from its original master source to MQA encoding by Bob Stuart and Morten Lindberg.
Carol of the Bells (Peter J. Wilhousky / Mykola Leontovych)
Det Norske Jentekor & Tord Gustavsen, conducted by Anne Karin Sundal-Ask
From the album «stille grender» (2L-164-SABD)
Magnificat: Et misericordia (Kim André Arnesen)
Nidarosdomens jentekor & TrondheimSolistene, conducted by Anita Brevik
Lise Granden Berg, soprano
From the album «Magnificat» (2L-106-SABD)
Danza Alta sobre «la Spagna» & Hopper Dancz «Routi Bouilli» (Francisco de la Torre & Johann Weck)
Nordic Brass Ensemble
From the album «European Tour» (2L-128-SABD)
Kyrie (Frode Fjellheim)
Cantus & Frode Fjellheim, conducted by Tove Ramlo-Ystad
Snorre Bjerck, percussion
From the album «Spes» (2L-110-SABD)
Le Tombeau de Dupré: Prelude (Trygve Madsen)
Terje Winge, organ
From the album «Organism» (2L-123-SABD)
Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor, BWV 903: Fantasia (Johann Sebastian Bach)
Christian Grøvlen, piano
From the album «BACH — Inside Polyphony» (2L-139-MQA)
Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge: Romance (Benjamin Britten)
TrondheimSolistene (Trondheim Soloists), conducted by Øyvind Gimse
From the album «Reflections» (2L-125-SABD)
Blågutten (Geir Bøhren & Bent Åserud, arr. Jan Gunnar Hoff)
Hoff Ensemble: Mathias Eick (trumpet), Børge Petersen-Øverleir (guitar), Jan Gunnar Hoff (piano), Arild Andersen (bass) and Rune Arnesen (perc)
From the album «Quiet Winter Night — an acoustic jazz project» (2L-087-PABD)
Villanelle (Paul Dukas)
Steinar Granmo Nilsen & Kristin Fossheim
From the album «The Horn in Romanticism» (2L-162-SABD)
Ujamaa: America (Henning Sommerro)
Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ingar Heine Bergby
Lena Willemark, kulning and vocal
John Pål Inderberg, saxophones
Rik De Geyter, bass clarinet
Espen Aalberg, percussion
From the album «Ujamaa & The Iceberg» (2L-146-SABD)
The Elder (Jan Gunnar Hoff)
Hoff Ensemble: Jan Gunnar Hoff (piano), Anders Jormin (bass) and Audun Kleive (drums)
From the album «Polarity» (2L-145-SABD)
Come Away, Death (Gerald Finzi)
Marianne Beate Kielland & Sergej Osadchuk
From the album «Come Away, Death» (2L-064-SACD)
String Quartet No. 3: Animato (Ståle Kleiberg)
Atle Sponberg, Anders Larsen, Ole Wuttudal and Øyvind Gimse
From the album «Do You Believe in Heather?» (2L-152-SACD)
Violin Concerto no. 4 in D major KV 218: Allegro (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
Marianne Thorsen & TrondheimSolistene, conducted by Øyvind Gimse
From the album «MOZART Violin Concertos» (2L-038-MQA2016)
Echoes & Shadows (Kristin Bolstad) Stemmeklang
From the album «Tomba sonora» (2L-155-SABD)
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Album title
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2L - the MQA experience |
|---|---|
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Performer
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Compilation, various artists and composers |
| 2L-MQA-2020 (2L-MQA-CD-2021) | |
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EAN13
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7041888525820 (files) 7041888525868 (CD) |
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ISRC-code
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NOMPP- (original album releases) |
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Disc 1
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MQA-CD (RedBook) in Digisleeve |
| Downloads | MQA stereo and DXD stereo files |
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Release date
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December 2020 (MQA-CD: December 2021) |
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Recording date
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2005-2020 |
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Location
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Various acoustic venues, Norway |
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Original source
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DXD (352.8kHz/24bit) |