This debut album for Ben Gurton is also the first release for Mir and a demonstration of our commitment to both high resolution recording and surround as standard approaches which enable the capture and delivery of music with a level of realism, subtlety vibrance and spatial dimension not possible until now.

Prelude To A Scene is recorded by some of the most well known and experienced jazz and session musicians in Sydney, Australia. It is led by trombonist and composer Ben Gurton, who has worked behind artists such as The Cinematic Orchestra, Sufjan Stevens, Florence And The Machine and Maria Schneider. This is his first release in a jazz idiom and he has enlisted the help of some of the most influential and admired musicians in Australia; Hamish Stuart on drums, Brendan Clarke on bass, Brendan St Ledger on piano and Julian Gough on saxophone.

The music is inspired by cool jazz, film music and instrumental music from Europe, and is an evocative journey through both composition and improvisation.

The recording technique and technology used perfectly captures the sound of the musicians in one of the most famous recording rooms in Australia; room 1 (270 sq/m), Studio 301. Each piece of music is a live take with all musicians performing together around a main stereo pair of microphones. Spot microphones were placed on each instrument and carefully blended with the main stereo pair to provide an appropriate amount of focus.

Recorded, mixed and mastered in DXD (Digital eXtreme Definition 352kHz/24bit) it is the first album produced in Australia at this resolution. Mastered and converted to the various resolutions by Grammy winner Morten Lindberg of 2L Records in Norway, the technology of the recording perfectly captures the sound and detail of the music played live in the large, rich space to create a ‘you are there’ experience.