If the source isn’t good enough, I won’t be doing it. I’m not here to try to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. I want to make sure that everything I’ve got is good. So… if there’s no high quality source to work from, there’s not a lot of point.” Recorded at the Sound Techniques Studio in Chelsea during 1972, John Martyn’s seminal album Solid Air was released in February 1973. Free ‘Fire and Water’ – Cut from digital transfers from the original ¼” tapes, recently prepared by Free remastering engineers Andy Pearce and Matt Wortham

Air Vinyl Skin - Etsy UK Macbook Air Vinyl Skin - Etsy UK

Of course, it is not as simple as running everything at half rate. There is an EQ curve applied to all vinyl records and by running the lathe at half speed, all the frequencies are wrong. However, the technical staff at Abbey Road have had new custom built filters installed which allow Miles to practice half speed cutting to the full on a modified Neumann VMS-80 lathe. The vinyl L.P. is an analogue sound carrier. Therefore the size and shape of the groove carrying the music is directly related to whatever the music is doing at any particular point. By reducing the speed by a factor of two the recording stylus has twice as long to carve the intricate groove into the master lacquer. Also, any difficult to cut high-frequency information becomes fairly easy to cut mid-range. The result is a record that is capable of extremely clean and un-forced high-frequency response as well as a detailed and solid stereo image. Unlike previous re-issues the album was cut at half-speed at Abbey Road Studios. This technique results in the very highest quality sound reproduction. Thoughtful, tranquil and minimal in the utmost the French band AIR (which by the way, is just called AIR, they merely happen to be French) has created one of the greatest albums within the downtempo and minimal fields, perhaps only bested by some of the more obscure Japanese works like Anomaly. Once in a while you hear a song that finds its way deep into your memory, and you find yourself humming along. This album has more than its share of fine songs like that, but noticeably Go Down Easy and May You Never.” (Pippin)Released by Universal Music on 6 May 2016 (delayed from 15 April 2016) on high quality audiophile vinyl. Unlike previous reissues the album was cut at half-speed at Abbey Road Studios. This technique results in the very highest quality sound reproduction.

Air Vinyl – Juno

With mellow jazzy flourishes and warm acoustic sounds, Solid Air is the musical equivalent of a reassuring hug…the man Beth Orton calls The Guv’nor achieved the impossible: he made a quiveringly sexy folk record.”– (Q, 1999 voting Solid Air as one of the best chill-out albums of all time) Go Down Easy and Don’t Want To Know proved to be chill-out masterpieces decades before the phrase had ever been invented. I’d Rather Be The Devil is viciously wild with echo drenched guitar, however Martyn will always be remembered for May You Never, a delightful song of kindhearted advice that he recorded in one take at two in the morning accompanied only by his acoustic guitar.Six iconic albums have been exclusively Half Speed Mastered for vinyl at the world’s most famous studio Abbey Road, to bring a superior listening experience with a new level of depth and clarity. Released by Universal Music on 6 May 2016 (delayed from 15 April 2016) on high quality audiophile vinyl. A great album…as a single overall expression ‘Solid Air’ flows beautifully and shows the entire spectrum of music that John Martyn has at his fingertips.” (Sounds 7/4/73) Cut by Miles Showell, one of the world’s leading exponents of half speed cutting, these are among the very finest vinyl pressings that these albums have ever received. Half speed mastering has resulted in “superior high frequency response (treble) and very solid and stable stereo images”, and pressed to a very high standard in Germany, ensuring top notch sound quality. Solid Air…if I had to decide, would probably rank as my favourite of the whole lot.” (Andy Childs, ZigZag No.41)

Air (2023, Pink [Neon Pink], Vinyl) - Discogs Romy – Mid Air (2023, Pink [Neon Pink], Vinyl) - Discogs

The translucent green Solid Air must have sold well for HMV and so they decided to have another go, this time on blue vinyl! The exclusive HMV store release of Solid Air on translucent blue vinyl was released 13 October 2018. With mellow jazzy flourishes and warm acoustic sounds, Solid Air is the musical equivalent of a reassuring hug… a quiveringly sexy folk record.” (Q, 1999 voting Solid Air as one of the best chill-out albums of all time) Further details are provided in the press release kit (below) which includes a detailed explanation of the mastering process. Simple Minds ‘New Gold Dream’ – Cut from a high-resolution digital transfer from the original ½” analogue mastersHMV Press release, “LIMITED EDITION GREEN VINYL LP, 500 ONLY, HMV EXCLUSIVE AVAILABLE FOR ONE DAY ONLY ON 18TH JUNE 2016. Vocals are often absent on the album, and ethereal and haunting when present. Light synthetic drum lines and soft pulses and waves define the basis of the composition, with transient, bleeding songs that mix and mesh with each other despite clearly and easily distinguishable as their own. Masterful in the utmost. Abbey Road’s engineers have been cutting grooves into discs since the studios first opened their doors in 1931. In 2013, award-winning engineer Miles Showell joined their existing mastering team, bringing a wealth of disc-cutting experience with him. Added to the seductive, intimate, almost teasing and whispering nature of the vocals as though sharing in some great secret; And a downtempo, lounging and relaxed atmosphere makes a tone of intimacy and pleasurable evening listening.