Smoke & Mirrors Percussion Ensemble—Yarlung Records Reissue (2025)

Percussion recordings push systems to their limits, revealing every nuance of dynamics, tone, and spatial detail. When done right, they are both challenging and thrilling to listen to. Smoke & Mirrors Percussion Ensemble, originally released in 2012 and now reissued by Yarlung Records, exemplifies that rare alignment of inspired performance and meticulous audiophile recording.

Although I had known Yarlung Records by name, it wasn’t until this reissue that I fully appreciated the level of sonic realism the label delivers.

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Yarlung Records

Yarlung Records, founded by producer Bob Attiyeh, is a boutique audiophile label with a purist, performance-first philosophy. The label favors minimal microphone techniques, ideal acoustic spaces, and a “nothing added, nothing taken away” approach, prioritizing tone, spatial realism, and musical flow over studio manipulation. Many Yarlung releases, including this one, are recorded direct to analog tape with a single microphone, capturing the performance with extraordinary fidelity and presence.

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My interest in percussion recordings spans decades, from landmark contemporary classical releases such as Pulse by The New Music Consort (New World), Wuorinen’s Percussion Symphony New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, (Nonesuch), and Music for Percussion, Vol. 1 Tristan Fry Percussion Ensemble (Gale), among many others. I approached this release eager to hear how a modern audiophile label captures percussion with both musical intent and sonic integrity.

The album was recorded at Zipper Hall, Los Angeles (June 2011 & June 2012) using an AKG C24 tube microphone routed directly to a custom-built Yarlung Audio tube preamplifier. Production and engineering were by Bob Attiyeh, with mastering by Steve Hoffman, Arian Jansen, and Attiyeh, and vinyl mastering by Bernie Grundman. Lacquers were cut at 45 RPM; pressing was at Pallas, Germany. Louis Desjardins is the Executive Producer of this project.

The Smoke & Mirrors Percussion Ensemble performs with the precision, control, and musical sensitivity of a top-tier contemporary ensemble. The program includes five compositions: two by ensemble member Derek Tywoniuk, and works by Avner Dorman, Diego Schissi, and Maurice Ravel.

Smoke & Mirrors Percussion Ensemble

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Music – Side One

Side One opens with Avner Dorman’s Udacrep Acubrad, featuring two marimbas played with mallets and fingers, accompanied by two batteries of drums and two batteries of coffee cans! The dynamic range is remarkable, from delicate touches to intense impact. The variety of tonal colors and woody resonance is captivating. The piece carries a vaguely Middle Eastern character, giving it an exotic, ritualistic feel.

Diego Schissi’s Juego de Relojes (Game of Clocks) follows. Jewel-like tones suggest ticking clockwork, with other passages evoking a dreamlike music-box atmosphere. Vibraphone, wood blocks, xylophone, triangles, cowbell, gongs, and drums are employed with precision and imagination. Both tracks—subtle and introspective, glittering and kinetic—are impeccably performed and musically compelling.

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Music – Side Two

Side Two opens with Derek Tywoniuk’s Vanish, blending acoustic piano, glockenspiel, cymbals, drums, and cowbell. The combination of pitched and non-pitched percussion creates a reflective, atmospheric mood.

Happenstance, performed solely on marimba, flows gracefully, highlighting the ensemble’s command of dynamics and touch.

The album concludes with a transcription of Maurice Ravel’s Sonatine for percussion ensemble, featuring xylophone and gong. The effect is dazzling, bringing the program to a close with color, motion, and refinement. Side Two confirms this is a virtuoso ensemble, captured with exceptional care in pure analog sound.

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Sound

This recording prioritizes music above all. The sound unfolds naturally, with subtle audiophile virtues: mallets on the marimba, jewel-like vibraphone tones, hall decay, and drum strikes with authority. Image placement is precise yet unforced, conveying the sense of listening from an ideal seat. It feels less like a studio production and more like a live event.

Smoke & Mirrors Percussion Ensemble is not mastered traditionally—no EQ, compression, limiting, or post-production manipulation. Bob Attiyeh and Steve Hoffman optimize microphone placement and adjust the recording space to effectively “EQ” the sound as it is recorded.

Bernie Grundman cuts the lacquer without tonal alteration, assisted by Attiyeh, who controls groove spacing by following the score. All dynamic expression is in the performers’ hands. The direct-to-tape recording, with no overdubs, yields extraordinary coherence, dynamic integrity, and realism.

Even the most complex passages remain clear and distortion-free. Each instrument’s timbre is lifelike, and the overall sound quality is among the finest I’ve heard on a percussion record.

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Pressing Quality

Pressing quality is excellent, with mostly quiet surfaces and minimal groove noise. Careful cleaning allows the full dynamic range and subtle detail to emerge. This pressing rewards attention to setup, providing the quiet background needed for a recording of this sensitivity.

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Conclusion

Recordings of this caliber are rare. Smoke & Mirrors Percussion Ensemble will have audiophiles reveling in its sonic splendor and is a natural choice for high-end system demonstration. Equally important, it is musically rich and satisfying. Inventive compositions, superb performances, and reference-quality sound align perfectly. Knowing the performance was captured direct to tape, with a single microphone and no traditional mastering, deepens the respect for what has been achieved here. Highly recommended.