Ola Onabule & Hazelrigg Brothers - It's Never Over (2025)

When High Fidelity Turns Hostile: The Misguided Experiment of Ola Onabulé

I settle in, headphones on, ready to savor a new session of Ola Onabulé. Only three notes in, and yet my ears flinch at an unexpected discomfort. Known for his brilliant collaborations with the WDR Big Band, Onabulé displays undeniable virtuosity here, but the sound itself seems to fight against the artist. Even forewarned, I can’t help but wonder: what is a singer of this caliber doing in such a sonic experiment?

The recording process chosen is not unprecedented, yet it strays radically from classic jazz studio methods. Inspired by classical recording techniques, the project aimed for direct, untreated capture in Dolby Atmos, using DXD and DSD formats to achieve the highest possible resolution. The musicians play without amplification, without headphones, in a unique acoustic space, fostering natural interaction and balance. Jos Boerland, a renowned Dutch sound engineer specializing in high-resolution immersive audio, oversaw the sessions.

“Basically, we’re playing without a safety net,” explains George Hazelrigg. “No editing, no sound engineering, nobody plugged into anything. Everything is acoustic, drums, vocals, bass, everything. The recording is really…”

The paradox is cruel: the musicianship and vocals are exceptional, yet the chosen technique sabotages the experience. Onabulé’s magnificent voice and the ensemble’s precision are trapped in a sonic space that exhausts the listener. The tracks, though well chosen, lose all clarity and nuance. Even the microphone choices seem questionable, suggesting that even a mediocre sound engineer could have produced a far more enjoyable recording.

TRACKLIST

1. Ola Onabule & Hazelrigg Brothers - Patience Endures
2. Ola Onabule & Hazelrigg Brothers - Alive Tonight
3. Ola Onabule & Hazelrigg Brothers - The Girl That She Was
4. Ola Onabule & Hazelrigg Brothers - 04 - The Voodoo.wav
5. Ola Onabule & Hazelrigg Brothers - Condition Of The Heart
6. Ola Onabule & Hazelrigg Brothers - 06 - Dark Matter.wav
7. Ola Onabule & Hazelrigg Brothers - 07 - It's The Piece That Deafens.wav
8. Ola Onabule & Hazelrigg Brothers - 08 - It's Never Over.wav