Congratulations to Rob Ickes for Winning the United States Artists Fellowship!

Congratulations to Blue Coast Artist, Rob Ickes! United States Artists, an organization dedicated to supporting America's finest artists working across diverse disciplines, announced the selection of Rob Ickes as the 2010 United States Artists Cummings Fellow at a ceremony tonight at the Lincoln Center. The USA Fellows program awards a $50,000 grant to fifty artists each year in the disciplines of music, theater arts, visual arts, dance, literature, media, crafts/traditional arts, and architecture/ design. United States Artists was formed by the Ford Foundation in 2005 with $22 million in seed funding from The Ford, Rockefeller, Rasmuson and Prudential Foundations, with a mission "to invest in America's finest artists and illuminate the value of artists to society." USA Fellowship nominations are made by an anonymous group of arts leaders, critics, scholars, and artists chosen by USA. An expert panel for each discipline then chooses the USA Fellows to be recommended for approval by the USA Board.  Previous USA fellows from the field of music include Michael Doucet, Bill Frisell, Ali Akbar Kahn, Terry Allen, Lionel Loueke, violinist Leila Josefowicz, jazz musician Muhal Richard Abrams, and interdisciplinary artist Meredith Monk. Katharine DeShaw, USA Executive Director, described the 2010 recipients as follows:  "Chosen for the caliber and impact of their work, the USA Fellows for 2010 hail from 18 states and Puerto Rico, range in age from 32 to 71, and represent some of the most innovative and diverse creative talents in the country." Ickes is the first artist with roots in bluegrass music to be named a USA Fellow. His work spans multiple genres, and Ickes plans to use his fellowship to continue to explore "the vast musical potential that the dobro has to offer," and to raise the visibility of the instrument.  WATCH THE ANNOUNCEMENT AND CELEBRATION , STREAMING LIVE FROM JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER AT 8pm ET:  The 2010 USA Fellows will be announced tonight at 8:00pm, followed by a celebration with special performances by several Fellows from prior years.  Watch a live stream of the announcement and celebration at www.unitedstatesartists.org (a video will also be archived and available for viewing on USA's website after the event). About Rob Ickes A Northern California native, Rob Ickes moved to Nashville in 1992 and joined Blue Highway, the highly esteemed bluegrass band, as a founding member in 1994. He is recognized as one of the most innovative Dobro players on the scene today, contributing signature technique and greatly expanding the boundaries of the instrument's sonic and stylistic territory. He won the International Bluegrass Music Association's Dobro Player of the Year award for a record-setting twelfth time in 2010, and is the most awarded instrumentalist in the history of the IBMA awards. An active session player and touring musician, he has collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Merle Haggard, Earl Scruggs, Tony Rice, Charlie Haden, David Grisman, Alison Krauss, Willie Nelson, David Lee Roth, Dolly Parton, Patty Loveless, Peter Rowan, Claire Lynch, andMary Chapin Carpenter. His most recent release is Road Song (ResoRevolution), a dobro-piano jazz album. He has also released four acclaimed solo albums on Rounder, nine albums with Blue Highway (Rounder, Ceili, Rebel) and a CD with Three Ring Circle (Rob, Andy Leftwich & Dave Pomeroy). The youngest dobro player on The Great Dobro Sessions (Jerry Douglas & Tut Taylor, producers), which won the 1994 Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album, he was also on the Alison Krauss & The Cox Family album, I Know Who Holds Tomorrow, which won the 1994 Grammy for Best Southern Gospel. Rob is also a gifted resonator guitar teacher; in 2007, he founded ResoSummit, a three-day annual instructional event in Nashville, featuring leading Dobro players and luthiers as faculty.

To schedule an interview or for more information:publicity@resorevolution.com      615-656-5306 www.unitedstatesartists.com     |    www.resorevolution.com CD Quality and High Resolution versions of his song are available on his Downloads NOW! page. http://robickes.downloadsnow.net/ Recorded by Cookie Marenco, Producer and Founder, Blue Coast Records

New DSD Title from Blue Coast World -- Vijay Iyer "Solo" -- ACT Music

As Thanksgiving approaches, we are compelled to thank all of your for your support of our high resolution audio efforts!  We are very, very grateful to you all!

As our way of saying "Thanks!" we wanted to give you the first opportunity to purchase our new DSD Downloads!

From now until Nov, 24, we are offering a 20% rebate or choice of any high resolution album when you purchase our DSD files (see details below or in our backstage area on how to claim your rebate).

We have added Vijay Iyer's critically acclaimed album, "Solo", as our second DSD title.  While it's distributed by ACT Music in Germany, the recording was done in the Extended Sound Environment (E.S.E.) fashion at our studio in the Bay Area.  Cookie Marenco was the engineer and co-producer.  It was recorded to analog 2" tape and mixed to DSD.  The recording has received numerous accolades in the New York Times and other media.

http://actmusic.downloadsnow.net/solo

Our first DSD release, Blue Coast Collection, is available now as DFF or DSF files as well.
http://bluecoastrecords.com/blue-coast-collection

More great news, Korg has announced free downloads of their Audiogate software making DSD easier for most computer systems.

http://www.korguser.net/AudioGate/


Many of you support our venture of higher quality audio through DSD and 96 24 high resolution files.  Blue Coast Records has become the first label in the USA (that we are aware of) to release native DSD files... meaning masters recorded to analog tape or DSD and mixed to DSD. Our files can now be downloaded as DFF or DSF files, depending on the player you have at home.  If you've never tried to hear DSD audio, we suggest joining our Backstage area where we have free DSD downloads for you to try.  These are recordings of our favorite Blue Coast Artists captured in ive performances at CAS.  Unadulterated by effects.  If natural is your preference, this is what a showroom at a convention sounds like!  All recordings were direct to DSD on the Sonoma System.

Thank you and all the best throughout the Holiday season!

The Crew

Blue Coast Records
Blue Coast World
Downloads NOW!

How to get your rebate or free download!
To Register for our Backstage area
Go To 
http://bluecoastrecords.com/dsd-disc-burning
and look under "Member's Chat" for Information!

 Rebates and downloads will come to you before Nov 29.

Blue Coast Records Releases Downloads in High Rez Extreme Format DSD

Blue Coast Records announces the release of the critically acclaimed “Blue Coast Collection” in Direct Stream Digital (DSD) format.  The launch date is expected to be October 14, 2010 and will be announced at the Rocky Mountain Audiofest in Denver Oct 15-17.  Blue Coast Records is one of the first labels to release high resolution music on DSD.  DSD is considered by many to be the highest quality digital audio available to date.

bluecoastrecords.com/blue-coast-collection

"We originally recorded the tracks on analog tape as well as DSD for SACD (Super Audio CD).  After numerous requests from adventurous audiophiles for DSD, we have figured out a relatively easy way to deliver them electronically through the internet.  We had always intended to do this once the broadband and delivery mechanism was in place.  Now it is," says Cookie Marenco, founder and producer of Blue Coast Records.  "Gus Skinas, from Super Audio Center and one of the original members of the DSD development team for Sony, was a great supporter and activist for our releasing DSD."

In August 2010, Skinas joined Marenco at the California Audio Show where they put on live recording demonstrations and burning DSD to Disc for playback in Sony’s Playstation PS3.  The room was packed with eager audiophiles who wanted to hear and learn more.  With free DSD downloads of the live recordings available from Blue Coast Records, the incredible success of the program led to the decision to release the full length Collection.

Blue Coast Records has been challenging the norm for some time, first gaining critical acclaim for its proprietary recording technique, E.S.E. (Extended Sound Environment) and creating what has now become a new sonic standard for acoustic recording.  Manufacturers and audiophiles praise the label for its realistic sound combined with skillful, passionate performances.  Thousands of people around the globe now own the original Blue Coast Collection SACD.  Earlier this year the Collection was released in China as a 24 Karat Gold CD which includes a booklet containing images and stories from the original recording sessions.

In 2008, Blue Coast Records partnered with Downloads NOW! to release CD Quality downloads.  In 2009, the label released the Collection as 96kHz 24bit audio downloads.  "The demand was so great for 96 24 downloads, we started recording live Special Events as the Artists came into town.  We use our E.S.E. recording technique and have been able to post live recording events for fans within 3 hours of the performance and available worldwide," Marenco continues, "Our 96 24 high resolution audio outsells the CD Quality by 20 to 1.  It plays easily using iTunes, Windows Media and other players.  DSD will be more of a challenge for the audiophile.  It requires new players and new thinking, but the end result is worth it!"

DSD is the format created for music released on SACD.  With the slowdown of manufacturing physical discs, Marenco and many other producers felt it was important to keep sound quality at the highest level possible for future generations to hear these artists.  "Speed of the broadband has always been a delivery barrier.  These are huge files.  With broadband and storage more accessible, we are looking into the music recorded and mixed on DSD to be released in that format.  It's a tragedy to give the consumers mp3s. And more a tragedy, for these artists whose legacy will be lost in mp3 sound. Future generations will thank us later."

There are some complications with DSD playback.  For consumers without a DSD setup, like the Sonoma System, Blue Coast Records is making DSF files available as an ISO disc image in the DSD Disc Format, which can be burned to DVD for playback on Sony’s Playstation PS3 and other devices that support the DSD Disc Format, including Korg's Audiogate software.  Single song downloads will be in the DFF format for computer-based playback using the DFF Decoder plugin for the popular free music player software Foobar.  Blue Coast is prepared for the onslaught of enthusiasm and “how to” questions and is offering information at its website.

www.Bluecoastrecords.com

Conspicuously, Blue Coast Records has not released the Collection on mp3.  "Mp3 has a purpose.  It's convenient, accepted by the masses and we use it to stream full length previews at a higher rate than they will allow us to sell.  At best, the mp3 services are a great solution for personalized radio.  We're not ruling out distribution in the future, just like we're not ruling out releasing the Collection on vinyl."

More information on how to listen to DSD data files is available at the Blue Coast Records website.
Or contact 
support(a)bluecoastrecords.com

If you're interested in having your music available in a high resolution format, please visit
downloadsnow.net
for information.

How to Playback your DSD data files on a Sony Playstation

Originally posted July 24, 2010 

Updated Sept 12, 2013
These pages may have broken links due to upgrade of our recent website.

Because of the wider acceptance of DFF and DSF files, Blue Coast Records is no longer selling ISO image discs.  However, if you would like to experiment, we recommend downloading Korg's Free Audiogate software.  Links for the software can be found at http://audiogate.bluecoastrecords.com along with free DSD downloads to test.  With Audiogate, you can create ISO image discs.  

Not all Sony Playstation 3's play DSD ISO files.  We recommend reading the pages at http://ps3sacd.com/ where serial number information might be found as to whether your Playstation works with DSD ISO images.

From these humble beginnings, there are now more than a 100 devices ready for playing DSD audio.  You can find out more information at DSD-Guide about these devices.

Thank you!
The Blue Coast Crew

DSD Disc Burning

We're excited to begin offering our music in the new DSD Disc Format. DSD Disc is an open format and does not require an SACD transport system to hear the full quality of the Blue Coast Recorings. DSD Discs can be played in any Sony Playstation 3 (PS3), Sony's SCD-XA5400ES and their upcoming SCD-XE800. DSD Disc files can also be played using Korg's AudioGate software which accompanies their MR series DSD Recorders. We are hopeful that additional manufacturers will be adding DSD Disc Format capability in future.

If you are already familiar with burning disc images you may not need the instructions below. If you're not we have set-up a step-by-step procedure for the burning the downloaded ISO disc image file to DVD, including a free (and very simple) image-burning application for Windows users. If you need support please contact us.

NOTE: It will not work to simply copy the ISO file to DVD media. The ISO file must be burned to the disc as an image, which contains the formatting and file structure necessary for the PS3 and other units to read the DSD Disc Format.

Burning the ISO file with a Windows PC (XP/Vista/7):

1. Download the ISO image file of the DSD_DISC from our website.
2. Download Free ISO Burner. (freeISOburner.com, download link at bottom of page)
3. Install Free ISO Burner & open the application.
4. Insert a blank DVD-R (DO NOT use a CD-R/RW).
5. Click the [Open] button and select the ISO image file you downloaded.
6. Check the box labeled "Finalize Disc".
7. Click the [Burn] button to start the disk burning.

Burning the ISO file with a Mac:

1. Download the ISO image file of the DSD_DISC from our website.
2. Start Disk Utility (usually found in Applications\Utilities).
3. Insert a blank DVD-R (DO NOT use a CD-R/RW).
4. Click the Burn button with the black & yellow icon.
5. Use the file browser to select the ISO image file you downloaded.
6. Click the [Burn] button.

You can play DSD Discs on any PS3, including those that are not SACD-compatible. DSD Discs also play on Sony's SCD-XA5400ES and their upcoming SCD-XE800.


Resource Links

• Super Audio Center
• PS3/SACD DSD Disc FAQ
• freeISOburner.com

Live Performance Schedule at California Audio Show

Blue Coast Records, Valence Records and OTR Studios are hosting 2 live performances daily with guest artist from our labels.  The doors will close during the shows and we will record 1-3 pieces, demonstrate our recording techniques and upload to the internet.  Later that night, attendees to the performances will be able to download the songs for free at 44.1 or 96. 

With Gus Skinas' help, we hope to get at least one song on DSD available for testing.  We hope you all come to listen.  Check the website for where to find the downloads.  Artists will be available for signing CDs or items. 

Here's our current show schedule
Engineered and produced by Cookie Marenco, Sponsored by Blue Coast Records and OTR Studios

Confirmed Live Recording Performances
Friday 11am -- Jane Selkye, Singer / Songwriter, Blue Coast Artist
Friday 4pm -- Gregory James, Contemporary Jazz Guitarist and founder Valence Records

Saturday 11am -- Jason McGuire, Flamenco Guitarist, Blue Coast Artist
Saturday 4pm -- Emily Palen, Solo Violin Improvisations, Valence Records Artist

Sunday 11am -- Joshua and the Juncos / Woodie Guthrie for our times, Blue Coast Artist
Sunday 2pm -- Keith Greeninger and Dayan Kai / Singers, Songwriters, multi skilled instrumentalists, Blue Coast Artists

Reserve your space in advance. 24 seats available, some standing room.
Email support@bluecoastrecords.com please put the Artist name/CAS in the subject. Confirmation will be emailed.
Doors close at beginning of session for 30 minutes.
Questions answered at the end of the session.

Gus Skinas will be available through out to answer your questions about DSD recording and playback at home.

Blue Coast World at the California Audio Show and free passes

Blue Coast World at the California Audio Show will be offering free passes compliments of Blue Coast World.  To receive your free passes, send an email to:
support@bluecoastrecords.com and include in the subject:
Free Passes to Blue Coast World
In the email, include your name and how many passes you'll need.  We will reserve those tickets for you at will call.

We are thrilled to be hosting a music room at the Show. Blue Coast World will be located on the lobby level in a room called the Platinum Dock of the Bay room.  From July 30- Aug1, you can come by and listen to our music selection, purchase 96 24 downloads, buy CDs from many of the Artists who will be in attendance and meet Cookie, founder of Blue Coast Records.

Several labels will be represented as well as legendary Gus Skinas, one of the first people to pioneer SACD and DSD (direct stream recording). Gus will be available to discuss how to use a Sony Playstation as a DSD playback system. We will be using music from our Blue Coast World catalogue to demonstrate.

We look forward to seeing you there!  For updates, check our Blue Coast World page on Facebook.

New High Resolution Downloads from Blue Coast Records Artist, Garett Brennan.

We are thrilled to announce that Little Cottonwood, Garett Brennan's first recording as a solo artist, is now available as a 96khz audio download.  Blue Coast Records founders, Cookie Marenco and Jean Claude Reynaud, recorded Garett in a cabin high in the mountains of Utah, live and without headphones or overdubs.  Many audiophiles will delight in hearing the sound of a real thunderstorm passing through on the song These Knees.

The proprietary recording technique, Extended Sound Environment (E.S.E.) was used through out.  The original recording format was DSD (Direct Stream Digital) which is one bit recording and 2.8 million parts per second.  Cookie Marenco remastered the recording to 96 24 files for the high resolution downloads using her Dynamic Mastering process which eliminates the compression used in mastering. "I have very fond memories of this session with Garett, his band standing by listening, Jean Claude and Nick, our Russian assistant.  Most of these songs were recorded in one or two takes."

This weekend only, June 12 and 13, Little Cottonwood 96kHz audio downloads will be featured and on sale through the Artist Connex module.  Additional CD Quality and High Resolution Downloads can be found rotating in the module.  Blue Coast Records and Blue Coast World is one of the first distributors to have high resolution files available to international fans.

Garett Brennan, a Portland, Oregon resident, has been a favorite of our Blue Coast fans with poignant songs like These Knees and The Dog Songs on the Blue Coast Collection.  You can find more of Garett's recordings in the Artist Connex module.

Blue Coast Collection -- Collector's Edition Gold Available NOW!

Blue Coast Records announces the release of the Blue Coast Collection--Collector's Edition Gold.  This special release has been remastered without compression for full dynamic range.  Also included will be a 16 page booklet with information on the recording sessions and full color pictures from the studio.

For more than 10 years recordings have been getting increasingly louder while the sound has been degrading in quality.  On the original SACD hybrid disc, only the SACD stereo layer was left uncompressed.  The CD layer had increased volumes which is standard for most discs even today.  The founder of Blue Coast Records, Cookie Marenco (a recording and mastering engineer herself) decided to take a stand on the volume wars by releasing the uncompressed version on Gold CDs.

This graphic representation is the actual comparison of the first song on the Collection, "Looking for a Home", performed by Keith Greeninger and Dayan Kai.  The top representation is from the original disc with increased volume.  You can see in the louder section that compression had "flat topped" the dynamics eliminating natural peaks.  The lower panel is the wave from the new Collector's Gold and is the same song with no compression and no flat tops.

The overall volume has been purposely reduced to avoid creating distorted peaks. While distorted peaks are subtle, the compression to limit those peaks creates an unnatural sound.  Blue Coast Records has felt it is time to take a stand on the loudness wars and believe people know how to use their volume controls. Here's to TURNING UP the volume!


Blue Coast Collection -- Collector's Edition Gold

Blue Coast News .. New Rob Ickes 96 24 Music Downloads, Garett Brennan on the Radio, Forum Finds!

Friends and fans of Blue Coast Records,

Garett Brennan live on the Radio

Garett Brennan (Dog Song) will be featured performing and talking about his music tomorrow, Thursday, at 1pm PST. Garett represents the new generation of Americana performers crossing lines of folk, rock, and hillbilly.

To hear the live show tune in at pdx.am on your internet. Those of you using internet radio for the first time might want to go there early to check out how to listen from your computer or mobile device.

You'll find more information here!
http://betweenthenotes.vox.com/library/post/time-out.html

It's a radio show in Portland that gets about 10,000 listeners worldwide each week.

Little Cottonwood was the recording Garett, Jean Claude and I did in a cabin at 9000 ft.  You'll hear the thunderstorm roll by on These Knees.   Since we recorded this to DSD and mixed to 1/2" tape, we will soon be releasing this as a 96kHz download.  Anyone buying it now at 44.1 until it's official release, will get free delivery of the 96kHz file when it's available in late June.  

Forum Finds of the Week  Thank you Leonid Lozner!  Thanks for the kind words, all!

http://www.psaudio.com/ps/forum/faq.php/viewthread/485/#4086

We welcome your help letting us know about websites and forums that are focused on high resolution downloads and super sonic products!

Rob Ickes, Live Again on Downloads NOW!

In case you missed our last email, we have debuted more songs at 96kHz from Rob's very popular record, Road Songs.  He has an interesting twist combing his style of jazz with his background in bluegrass, pop and folk music. Rob has played the dobro with Dolly Parton, Blue Highway and Alison Krause.

http://robickes.downloadsnow.net/

Thanks, all!  Be sure to let us know what you're listening to and any new gear you might want to tell us about!

Enjoy the music!

Cookie

Happy Valentine's Day -- New Piano Music Weekend at Blue Coast Records

Blue Coast Records and Blue Coast World would like to wish all of our fans, friends, family and followers a very Happy Valentine's Day!  While you're enjoying chocolate, flowers and time with your significant other, we hope our weekend release by solo piano artist, John Hinson, will give you 9 minutes and 20 seconds of time well spent together.  You can listen to the piece in its entirety streaming at 192 kbps at


JohnHinson.downloadsnow.net/

Or purchase the complete song for high resolution play (96kHz) with a special Valentine's Day discount.

We'd like to thank our Discovery and Distribution folks at Downloads NOW! for their incredible help getting this music up so quickly.  The internet is amazing when you think that last week, John and Blue Coast were strangers last week and today he's our featured artist.  We look forward to more spontaneous findings.

Surprise Download Coming this Week!

It's always a treat when you have a young, talented artist, who you've never heard of, suddenly show up at your doorstep unexpectedly.  (And he hadn't heard of us either, by the way)....

Yesterday, John Hinson called our studio, OTR Studios, to book some recording time on the Steinway while he was passing through the Bay Area.  John was moving his family from Seattle to Phoenix and had stopped in Medford, Oregon to call.  He could be there tomorrow, he said.  Typically, we don't book sessions without 3 weeks of advance notice, but we had some time and he seemed like a nice guy...

John arrived and we recorded to tape and DSD.  The music and his playing sounded so good, I asked if we could offer this on Blue Coast for our fans.  We'll send out another email when we have the music posted.

It will be an exclusive to our mailing list fans only.. so JOIN UP NOW!

Thanks, and be on the look out!

Cookie