Gotan Project in a Paris based group that has introduced something new to the nu jazz scene for the first time in a long time. It is unique because it is a groove mix like St Germain but is based on the rhythms and instrumentation of tango. Now that’s one thing, but on top of that, they do it really well. It has the burning passion and pain that is part of the Argentinian tango.

If you haven’t heard of the Gotan Project, you still may have heard them; if you’ve seen the hot argentine tango performed by Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere in Shall We Dance, then you’ve heard the most popular cut on the album, “Santa Maria (del buen ayre)” which is also on the SACD as track 5.

I’m not going to go on and on trying to describe them because that has already been very well done by Andy Hermann at pop matters. What I do want to do here is tell you how the CD version (XLCD 148) compares to the SACD Hybride (Dual Layer) (981 878-7).

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It’s been a long time coming, but one of my favourite hifi manufactures has finally come out with a player that plays my favourite disc format (SACD of course).

NAD is a Canadian hifi manufacturer that is world famous for making not too expensive hifi equipment that sounds great. When I say great, I mean that it isn’t just well composed, doesn’t offend, I mean it jams! And it does it right with every kind of music; which is mighty hand for me because I have a very wide range of musical tastes. Their most famous product is the NAD 3020 amplifier from the 70’s, designed by Bjørn Erik Edvardsen, who has been back in the lab there recently to bring out the NAD C320BEE (a real gem in affordable hifi).

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