Wasn’t really sure where to put this but the last thread (now closed) on daily mixes was here.
This is an example of what I suppose would broadly be called Euro Pop. This is one of the big draws of Qobuz for me that has a deep catalogue in this general non-English speaking Western European Pop Traditions. Especially Francophone genres like Chansons, but there are many other non-English speaking genres.
Unfortunately because I had to re-boot roon for another reason (backups are hanging since the last release), I didn’t have time to save it, so I am going on memory. But no doubt it will come up again.
The playlist was dominated by a single Shakira live album:
A couple of Shakira tracks is not actually a bad choice. But it is live with a lot of distracting audience interaction and artist speaking introductions. It is also Latin not Italian. But there are some similarities of style. Ramazzotti is popular in Latin markets for example and has released Spanish versions of albums.
I would expect much more Italian pop and much more variety instead of essentially a shuffle on a single vaguely related stylistic live album with a couple of Eros Ramazzotti tracks thrown in.
Ok, thanks. Glad to hear this general area finally has development attention.
Another long-standing issue with Classical daily mixes (and radio) is playlist tracks with vastly different dynamic ranges. Unfortunately, for the same reason I didn’t have time to save a daily mix for the Classical pianist Stephen Hough:
The issue here is that playlists like this Stephen Hough (going on memory) are constructed with a mixture of solo piano, chamber piano accompaniment (Violin, Lieder, Trios etc. etc.), but also thunderous piano concertos where the piano has to cut through a 120 player orchestra.
It would be better if the mixes, playlists, radio etc. stuck with either chamber or orchestral styles but didn’t mix them and maintained a mood without the listener having to reach for the volume control when deafened like this. The dynamic range is just too high in these cases for volume levelling to really work. It is a similar problem with all sorts of solo instruments like flute, violin, cello etc. and also mixing and matching chamber singing voices, Lieder, for example with thunderous choral or opera pieces.
Roon has actually trained me to avoid Classical daily mixes and radio altogether because of this reason.
I can raise another post if this one is not already on your to do list.
Classical is a special case in mixes so it’s definitely better for it to get its own post. Thanks very much for this - this is exactly the kind of feedback that we need to break off the rough edges.
Ok, so the Eros Ramozzotti and Stephen Hough daily mixes have rotated back in. They are both markedly improved.
The Ramazzotti mix has only one Shakira track and there is generally much more variety to the mix. So I saved it this time.
The Stephen Hough mix has stuck with a concerto theme which will certainly maintain a more even mood. Hopefully the next time Stephen Hough or another Classical pianist turns up in my daily mixes it will be a solo piano or at least chamber theme
The other mixes also seem much more representative of what in my mind I think I listen to. I was pleasantly surprised to see a Johnny Marr mix, for example, which I don’t remember seeing before.
The only miss was a Björk mix. This one was dominated by just three artists: Björk, Portishead and Massive Attack. All good choices in smaller doses. I would prefer more variety. The Eagles (Hotel California) was also in there which doesn’t really fit:
The pattern here is that she is one of these Classical Crossover artists with Classical credits. In general Classical playlists with a single or a few artists seem to work well. Whereas with Pop, a variety of artists works better. Jazz seems to work both ways.
This seems like excellent feedback Tony, i’m sure it’s much appreciated by the crew! (I don’t listen much to playlists, so i can only reap the benefits of your feedback!)
I was listening to hours of the Stephen Hough Piano Concertos mix yesterday so now I have got 4 Classical mixes when with my general listening habits I would expect only 2 (a third). I also feel like I am being spammed with Classical Piano Concertos. The Horacio Gutierrez mix for example is very similar to the Stephen Hough. I can see that it maintains a consistent Concerto style so I am sure it will be great but I am done with Piano Concertos for a while . I would have preferred Valance to be pick up on I like Classical Piano but I am saturated with Concertos and would probably prefer some Solo Piano and/or Piano accompaniment.
Some more specific comments about individual mixes.
The Rebecca Pidgeon is nicely varied now. There have been several posts that it tended to be dominated by Diana Krall. There are now only 4 Diana Krall tracks. Probably still too much for some but a vast improvement.
The Paul van Nevel mix looks nicely varied and balanced and I look forward to listening to that one.
The Ray Baretto mix is a miss. There are no less than 12 Stan Getz tracks from the same box set. I have posted it in the repetitious thread.
The Lisa Batiashvili mix is great. I am listening to it now. It is predominantly Concerto style but there is also Chamber. The thing is it works. There are selections from Nonets and Octets which have a big enough sound to match the orchestral tracks. There are a few Violin/Piano sonatas as well but they are a big sounding Rondo and Vivace that can hold their own against the Orchestral pieces. I don’t know what is going on under the hood or whether this is just happenchance but I am impressed.
Edit: I can see that as I am getting towards the final 3rd the playlist is mainly drawing on two albums. A Prokofiev and a Deutsche Grammophon compilation. It has still been a thoroughly enjoyable mix:
. I would have preferred Valance to be pick up on I like Classical Piano but I am saturated with Concertos and would probably prefer some Solo Piano and/or Piano accompaniment.