Galerie

Wojciech Pacuła: Could you list 10 must-listen albums for the readers of “High Fidelity”?
Dirk Sommer: As mentioned above, I record and produce vinyl records on my own and that changed my view of the LPs, CDs and downloads in my collection. For me, it's really hard to only concentrate on the audiophile or musical aspects without thinking about the technical side of the recording. That's why I asked Hifistatement's writers to introduce two of their personal favorites to you. Here they are:

Chie Ayado – Prayer

East House Records CNLR 1111 (CD)

Of course, the two albums I want to introduce to you are not the only ones, I would take with me when leaving home to live on a deserted island only accompanied by some hifi-equipment. In this case it had to be a lot more. I like to talk about two albums that have been released not long ago. The first was published in 2011 by East House Records (CNLR 1111). It is one of the great albums from Chie Ayado, the great Japanese singer and piano player. She is accompanied by four musicians playing guitar, percussion or drums, bass and organ. The album is called Prayer and contains well known songs, which we all have heard before in the original version. I very seldom like cover-versions as much or even more then the originals. But the versions from Chie Ayado are very fascinating. If you listen to her, you would never believe what a small person she is: She's really got a great voice. I prefer Prayer to other records of the same genre. The compilation is not only based on the Great American Songbook, but a perfect mixture of gospel and soulful music.
Recommended by Wolfgang Kemper