At first glance, it appears to be a random assemblage of words: a Norwegian synth-pop band, their debut album, a lossless audio codec, and a tiny, unincorporated community in the coastal rainforest of British Columbia, Canada. Yet, for a dedicated subset of audiophiles and 1980s collectors, this phrase represents the Holy Grail.
Produced by Alan Tarney (who worked with Cliff Richard and Barbara Dickson), the album is a masterclass in 1980s studio engineering. The layers of analog synthesizers (Juno-60, Prophet-5), gated reverb drums, and Harket’s ethereal vocals demand high fidelity. aha hunting high and low 1985 flac kitlope
You are no longer in your living room. You are in the Kitlope. It is raining on the ferns. The air is clean, and the sound is infinite. At first glance, it appears to be a
Hunting High and Low: a-ha’s Synth-Pop Masterpiece 40 Years Later released their debut album, Hunting High and Low It is raining on the ferns
From the frantic, time-signature-shifting “The Sun Always Shines on T.V.” to the melancholic title track, the album was a production marvel. Engineered by legendary producer Alan Tarney and mixed by John Ratcliff, the original vinyl and early CD pressings had a dynamic range that later remasters sometimes crushed. This is why collectors hunt specific versions.