Gare du Nord were formed in The Netherlands in 2001 by Ferdi Lancee and Barend Fransen. The band's lineup has changed somewhat over time, as detailed on their wikipedia page, but a long time contributor has been French trumpet player Erik Truffaz - who immediately makes his presence felt on the opening film-noir-esque number of the 2012 album Rendezvous 8:02 - Tom's Song. This piece certainly channels the mood of Miles Davis' music for the 1958 Louis Malle film Ascenseur Pour L'Échafaud.
The numbers on this album were inspired by and conceived in Paris - "where urban life twinkles in a million shades of blue", as the sleeve tells us. Following on from Tom's Song, are What's Up!, Somethin' Like That, and Pablo's Blues 2012 (Tarantino Mix). This last number was submitted for the Quentin Tarantino movie Django Unchained.
This video is the first outing my new Garrard 301 turntable - or to be more precise a CTC Classic 301. Ray Clark from the Classic Turntable Company produces a new CNC'd aluminium chassis, and combines this with a new bearing, idler wheel and oversize platter, new linkages and a refurbished Garrard 401 motor to produce a 301 that Garrard would have probably done given modern technology and fewer cost constraints. As I'm using the CTC power supply that provides speed adjustment electronically, the electro-mechanical eddy brake on the motor spindle has been removed for smoother running. The turntable unit sits in a massive 40kg granite plinth from SMD Acoustics, supplied and installed by Shaun from Peak HiFi, and the SME M2-12-R tonearm has been moved from the PTP Audio Solid 12 I had previously.
Cartridge: Shelter 5000
Phono amp: Graham Slee Accession MC with Enigma power supply
Turntable: CTC Classic 301 / SME M2-12-R
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