Chasing The Dragon

Mike Valentine is an ex-BBC sound engineer and is passionate about high-quality audio recording. His record label is one of very few that make direct-cut vinyl recordings of classical, jazz and big band music.

Chasing The Dragon's releases are so detailed, if you take the time to familiarise yourself with the subtleties of these reference-level recordings, the next time you make any changes, big or small, to your Hi-Fi system, the differences will be notable.

 Inside Track: Recording On Location

"Apart from getting the performance right, the main challenge when making live recordings is to capture and reproduce all the ambience of the environment without letting it detract from the performance. Failing to do this would result in something that might just as well have been done in a studio. Capturing this along with the instruments requires not only considerable skill but also the best in audiophile equipment for the recording chain – including microphones, cables, amplifiers, power supplies, and the recorder itself. This combination of skill and quality equipment should result in a listening experience that's much closer to a live performance and can be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home."
Read the full StereoNET feature

"There can be no question that Mike Valentine really knows what he’s doing as he pursues an “everything matters” philosophy that has consistently produced recordings that will impress the most demanding audiophiles. It’s also apparent that the Valentines’ management style in the studio is extraordinarily effective, destined to get the best from both the artists and recording professionals they work with."
- The Absolute Sound