Original recording format DXD - 352kHz available at www.soundliaison.com

"You gotta mean it, and you gotta treat it gentle." - Sidney Bechet

Chemistry between musicians is a magical thing. Michael Moore and Paul Berner have that kind of magic. When they play, the music seems to flow in a natural unhindered stream, each note being an obvious continuation of what was played before. It was a thrill to be in the producer's seat at this session, witnessing these two masters going about their craft. How they would feed off each other and pass the ball at just the right moment. Observing how they would shape a song into a whole by polishing, simplifying or embellishing where needed, yet all the time being aware of the freshness and immediacy of creating in the moment.

The album starts out with I Never Knew, written by Gus Kahn and Ted FioRito in 1925, ends with You’ll Never Walk Alone from 1945 and along the way includes Night Ride Home, a late 80’ Joni Mitchell song, as well as Emptier and Amulet, two recently composed Michael Moore originals. That's almost 100 years of song writing right there, yet it all sounds as if each song was composed especially for the Amulet album.
In order for musicians to function at this level, the environment has to be right. Engineer Frans de Rond deserves credit for designing a sound stage upon which Michael and Paul could thrive and create. Frans experimented with various microphone set ups before deciding to keep it as simple as possible by using only the Josephson C700S to record the duo. When Frans was satisfied with the balance of the musicians and the ambient sound of the hall, we invited Michael and Paul up to the control room, hoping they would agree that this was the sound with which we were going to proceed. "This is us, this is how we sound, this is so real" was Michael's reaction upon listening. Paul just smiled at Frans and said: "Let's play!"
Listening to Amulet as I am writing these notes, marvel at the completeness of the album, how each song sounds as if it could not have been played in any other way. And it is all the more remarkable knowing that Michael and Paul were improvising, making up the framework of each song right there on the spot. And I marvel at the vivid naturalness of the sound, it’s as if I am there, standing at the sweet spot where Frans placed the microphone.
Peter Bjørnild