Yamina – How Deep Is The Ocean (180g LP)

Label: Opus 3 LP25001, 180g Virgin Vinyl

Yamina’s How Deep Is the Ocan is a conceptual album of soft jazz with colors of Latin rhythms and is based on the Danish author H.C. Andersen’s dramaturgy of the story of “The Little Mermaid”.
It is the first album recorded in 8-channel native DSD128 for Opus 3 Records and, of course, mixed 100% analogue, i.e. it has never been in the PCM domain which is also what ‘native” stands for.
If you love high quality recordings you will now be able to enjoy another new record from OPUS 3. The singer Yamina has chosen to be recorded by this Swedish quality record company, which is usually synonymous with enjoyable listening. Whether it is true in this case you can read in the review below. We suggest that you start by pouring yourself a glass of your favorite wine.
This is a ‘live recording’ with no audience, where everybody played together with no overdubs.

Enjoyable listening – naturally via a high quality stereo system – can really make your day. For many vinyl fans the audiophile records mean something very special and the status in their record collection is high. Jan-Eric Persson, the owner of the record company OPUS 3 since the 70’s (at that time still together with Bo Hansson), is fully aware of this. For him the sound quality has always been vital – and as a consequence also the pure acoustic music – and this is certainly still true today. And this is true when It comes to “How Deep Is The Ocean” – in all respects!

Six Swedish musicians, no doubt unknown here in Germany, show us once again which potential there is in the country of the moose and the blond inhabitants. Yamina, with her dark hair, sings in a way that rather makes you think of an American diva. The material on “How Deep is The Ocean” is in fact partly retrieved from the American music treasure and her own compositions are also very close to this style. Her voice is soft but full of character, enriched by dark tones. She manages to capture magical moments and emphasizes them through the perfect pitch. All the twelve songs are recorded as ballads, elegant and spiced with elements of smooth jazz orchestrated with a little Latino and songwriter music. Yamina also plays piano, accompanied by Björn Jansson on the tenor saxophone and bass clarinet, the cellist Anna Wallgren, Mats Andersson on acoustic guitar, Robert Erlandsson on contrabass and Thomas Wingren on percussion.

Somewhat unexpected, this record has a concept which builds on the fairy tale about “The Little Mermaid” by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. On the album cover you can read the song lyrics as well as Yaminas explanations.

As already mentioned, this LP is exactly what a pretentious vinyl fan could wish for. It offers precise recreation of the different instruments, clean, spatial depth and with the finest timbre. This was, among other things, obtained by having everybody playing simultaneously (as at a live concert) and because the sound technicians Jan-Eric Persson and Erik Nordström did not want to use any musical add-ons. This is not a pure analogue recording, instead the extreme high quality DSD128 8-channel process is employed. Thereafter, however, an analogue mixing was done – so here many listeners will get it right.

“How Deep Is The Ocean” feels like diving down into an ocean of acoustic delight, musically as well as sonically. Yamina has appeared as a new name on the radar and with this LP we have discovered a real gem!

It is the first album recorded in 8-channel native DSD128 for Opus 3 Records and, of course, mixed 100% analogue, i.e. it has never been in the PCM domain which is also what “native” stands for.

Recorded Live in Jarna Kulturhus Concert Hall, August, 2015
Recording and Mixing Equipment:
MICROPHONES: AKG Vacuum tube condenser microphones: AKG C12VR and AKG C-24 (stereo).AKG-D-12, Beyer Dynamic M-160 and Thuresson condenser microphones, CM-402 and CM-504 (stereo-microphone)
MICROPHONE PREAMPLIFIERS: Thuresson 4-channel custom made, and Opus 3 Records Vacuum Tube, custom made by Kjell Malmberg
ANALOGUE AUDIO MIXER: Sony MX-P61
DIGITAL EQUIPMENT: 4 x Tascam DA-3000 used in pure DSD128
MONITOR SPEAKERS: Totem Acoustics, Mani-2 Signature
• Mastered by Thomas Eberger at Stockholm Mastering
• Mixed by Jan-Eric Persson and Erik Nordstrom