"Perfection" is not a test record, but a musical demonstration record. The word demonstration relates to playback quality, manufacturing process and musical content.
Manufacturing Process ...Starting from both digital (real digital and not digitized) and analogue sources, the mastering is done with the DMM system (direct metal mastering) at Teldec's in Berlin. A DMM master is the first and most important step, but would amount to nothing if the following steps were neglected. Pressing was done on a manual press and we chose to opt for a final weight some 50% heavier than normal records, 180 grams in place of 120 grams, this was done to minimize warp during packaging, transport & storage and we wish a real step forward could be made in packaging, we have some ideas, but their use on such a small scale as this demo record is unrealistic, finally extra care with quality control during pressing ensured it would be properly centred etc.
Musical Content ...Some excerps are made with completely new material especially on side 2, most are from already published records, and not unsuccessful ones either, the Bruckner on side 1 and the Mosalini on side 2 were nominated amongst the ten best records of the year by the German Record Critics Association. Others consistently secure top ratings in reviews both in Germany and France. For us it was important to present a selection including the widest possible variety of musical styles on a single record, as well as show what a carefully made analoge record can do.
