Jazz re:freshed is working with MQA to amplify the reach of its artists’ stunning live performances at the recent successful livestream of The British Music Embassy (BME) Sessions. Beginning with Noya Rao, and with other acts to follow as part of a weekly release schedule – you can now enjoy HD video with MQA audio of the live sets here.
MQA is an award-winning British technology that cleverly ‘folds’ the full sound of the live studio performance into a stream that fits perfectly alongside HD video. Before MQA, only compressed low-quality sound has been streamed with video. Here, for the first time you can enjoy video with original, superior sound.
The BME Sessions will also be available as audio-only tracks on TIDAL. All listeners need is a TIDAL HiFi subscription, as the TIDAL app will unfold the MQA master file to reveal the full sound captured in the studio.
“The artists delivered some extraordinary live performances, and it’s a privilege to work with our partners to make these available in their original quality,” says Mike Jbara, CEO, MQA.
“This was an unmissable opportunity to support some of the U.K.’s most exciting young talent and push the boundaries of what’s possible when you pair HD video with MQA audio.”
The livestream on 18 March was organized to provide some of the official showcasing artists a platform to remotely connect with fans and the international music industry, who would otherwise have converged at the now cancelled South by South West (SXSW) festival.
Despite playing behind closed doors, without an audience of fans and only limited crew in attendance, the musicians put on a very special show. The positivity was perhaps best summed up on the day by Noya Rao’s frontwoman Olivia Bhattacharjee, “It’s so great that we’re not just playing in Austin, but to the whole world!”
Acts who were due to perform as part of Jazz re:freshed’s Outernational line-up at SXSW this year included: Daniel Casimir & Tess Hirst, Noya Rao and Theon Cross. They each performed a 30-minute set from the Mill Studios in London, which was captured in HD video and 24 bit/96kHz audio. Jazz re:freshed Outernational is an Arts Council funded initiative in partnership with British Underground, and exists to create a springboard to international career opportunities for world-class UK jazz artists. Moses Boyd, Nubya Garcia and Shabaka Hutchings – now established names – are just a few of the many artists who have participated and benefited incredibly from this support in previous years.
