In Darkness - Andreas Scholl & Edin Karamazov

Edition Specifications

• Artist / Album: Andreas Scholl (countertenor) / Edin Karamazov (lute) In Darkness

• Record Label: LowSwing Records

• Mastering Engineer: Guy Sternberg / Lacquer cut by Sidney Meyer at Emil Berlin Studios

• Pressing Plant: Schallplattenfabrik Pallas GmbH

• Format: 12 inch LP 45 RPM Limited Edition. Gatefold jacket

• Discogs Entry: In Darkness Andreas Scholl & Edin Karamazov

Physical Inspection

• Warp: There is no deformation in the pressing

• Hole Centering: Well executed centering

• Disc Surface: No visible or apparent marks or scratches, good quality and luster

• Surface Noise: Having been previously cleaned, factory clicks or pops were nonexistent

• Packaging Quality: The inner sleeve is paper with a soft paper interior, audiophile grade. The jacket weight is slightly higher than usual, in a Gatefold format with excellent printing and feel. This is a collector's edition limited to 3000 copies

Playback Chain

• Analog Source: Project Xpression Carbon I, Acrylic Platter, Pro project 8.6 inch carbon Evo arm, Sumiko Blue No. 3 Low cartridge

• Amplification: iFi Phono Zen 3 Phono Preamp + Power Supply. McIntosh C504 Preamp and MC502 Amplifier

• Speakers: Axxess L1

• Speaker Cables: Nordost Blue Heaven

• Interconnect Cables: Stager Silver Solids

• Power Treatment: Lampizator Silk

• Power Cables: BAZCO Audio

• Ground Treatment: Gutwire Ground Cable

• Rack: Artesanía Audio Prestige 4 + Artesanía Audio Glass Turntable Platform

• Acoustic Treatment: Sonitus Acoustics Quad 8 absorbent panels

In Darkness marks a milestone in Andreas Scholl's recording career: it is the first time his voice has been released on vinyl as a lead artist. The recording, made at LowSwing Studios in Berlin in early 2025, reunites the famous countertenor with his long time collaborator, lutenist Edin Karamazov, in a repertoire of Renaissance and Baroque songs captured entirely through an analog process.

Producer and engineer Guy Sternberg defined the project as a seventeenth century singer songwriter album. The idea is not metaphorical. The selection of pieces and the interpretive approach place the emphasis on the word, the intimacy of the story, and the expressive nakedness of voice and lute. It is a simple production that, in turn, causes a great impact due to its technical quality and execution.

Andreas Scholl is one of the most recognized countertenors of recent decades. His pure timbre, homogeneous emission, and great breath control have made him a reference within the Baroque repertoire. Throughout his career, he has explored opera, oratorio, and song, always with an approach centered on textual clarity and contained intensity.

Edin Karamazov has developed a unique career as a lutenist, collaborating with figures such as Sting and the Hilliard Ensemble. His mastery of the ancient repertoire is combined with a sensitivity open to different stylistic contexts.

Scholl and Karamazov share more than three decades of collaboration. This long standing relationship translates into precise musical communication based on trust and mutual knowledge.

The album brings together Renaissance and Baroque songs with popular roots, including works by John Dowland, a central figure of the English Renaissance repertoire. The chosen pieces revolve around introspection, melancholy, and contemplation.

Although both performers have approached part of this repertoire in the past, this recording proposes a reading of greater expressive concentration. Each take was recorded live in the studio, directly to master tape, without subsequent editing. The result exposes the performance exactly as it happened, with its dynamic nuances and natural breathing.

Scholl deploys a vocal line of great timbral purity, with contained vibrato and a projection that prioritizes the intelligibility of the text. The emission remains stable throughout the register, with meticulous control of dynamics. Expressivity is built from inflection and articulation rather than external emphasis.

Karamazov sustains the discourse with a lute of warm and defined sound. His touch brings rhythmic clarity and a harmonic base that breathes along with the voice. The instrumental lines are not limited to accompanying but actively dialogue with the singing, generating a sonic fabric of great coherence. The interaction between the two is perceived as organic. The entries, silences, and cadences arise naturally, the fruit of a mature collaboration.

LowSwing Records maintained a completely analog process. The sessions were recorded directly to master tape by Guy Sternberg at LowSwing Studio. The lacquering was done from tape at Emil Berliner Studios by Sidney Claire Meyer, and the pressing was handled by the Pallas Pressing Plant in Germany.

The vinyl edition offers an intimate and tangible soundstage. The voice is placed in the foreground with texture and body, while the lute occupies a defined space that allows one to appreciate the attack of each string and the resonance of the body. The dynamic range is presented naturally, without perceptible compression. The silences preserve depth and contribute to the general atmosphere.

The analog character of the process brings a timbral continuity and a sense of physical presence that reinforce the aesthetic proposal of the album. In Darkness consolidates the artistic alliance between Andreas Scholl and Edin Karamazov in a format that privileges intimacy, precision, and authenticity. The choice of repertoire, the direct to tape capture, and the entirely analog edition configure a sonic object consistent with the spirit of the music performed. The 45 RPM edition allows for better reproduction of the dynamic range, which is impressive in Scholl's voice, and extreme warmth in Karamazov's lute.

Scholl's voice finds in Karamazov's lute an interlocutor of equal depth and expressiveness. The counterpoint is not only pleasant from a musical point of view, but even emotional. The result is a recording that combines tradition, interpretive maturity, and technical realization aligned with the essence of the repertoire.