[Audiophile test discs] Anette Askvik

After using it intensively for a few years I decided to fill the gap and tell you something about the debut album by Anette Askvik, entitled “Liberty”. Released in 2011, it has gradually earned worldwide appreciation not only for its musical qualities but also for its extremely high recording quality. Many years later, and not by chance, Anette Askvik will be the brand ambassador of the next HiFi Show in Munich (the official news here). The reason? Because this recording - and subsequent ones that I will discuss in other articles - has an incredibly high technical level, equal if not superior to the recordings of the best audiophile record labels. But let's go in order.

Anette Askvik is a young Norwegian artist who does everything herself: composes, performs, arranges and produces her records. Her label is Bird Records, with which she publishes her works. For her music, she draws inspiration from nature, which she narrates thanks to a wise balance between acoustic and electronic instruments, wonderfully blended together. Raised in Stavanger, Anette took inspiration from the ocean and the nature that surrounds her. Describing her musical genre is difficult, fortunately it is enough to listen to a few songs to understand (they can also be found on her YouTube channel) so I will limit myself to talking about the quality of the recording.

Anette Askvik's debut album, Liberty, has slowly become a global standard for demonstrating and testing HiFi equipment. You may have heard it at some show abroad. You are unlikely to have heard it in Italy, where it is difficult to go beyond De André and Pink Floyd, as we all know.

Since the audio quality of Liberty is very high, and the demand from the audiophile market is increasingly high, the initial CD was followed by a double 180-gram 45 rpm vinyl pressing in 2020, further improved in 2025.

Right from the opening track you understand that you are in front of a record of absolute level. Few typically audiophile recordings have the realism, the cleanliness, the energy and the 3D image of Liberty. You will have a hard time not jumping out of your seat after the first few seconds of hearing Anette Askvik's voice, it will feel like she's standing in your room. If that doesn't happen, your system has serious flaws, because I've listened to this album even on modest systems and it has literally transformed them.

The tracks, starting from the title track that opens the album, are full of a mysterious sound alchemy, where ambient sounds, acoustic instruments and electronics blend together in a spectacular way. Don't think of fireworks, here the sound quality is at the exclusive service of the musical message. The low frequencies, for example, are very deep, but not to impress the listener, but to create the right atmosphere. Listening with small speakers clips the wings of the possibilities of this recording a little, but fortunately there is the rest of the audio range to fascinate and leave you breathless. The dynamics are those of acoustic instruments, no more and no less, no emphasis but also no compression of sort.

The recreated 3D image is wide, multi-layered, stable and in focus. If there is some unsuitable component in your system, it is very easy to identify it. “Liberty” is a must for all the HiFi components I review. Warning: after listening to this record, it will be a cold shower to switch to a normal record, it will seem like your system is...broken.

This record is the proof that you don't need great means to make a great recording: a few good technicians, a great artist, and a small record label that doesn't want to follow the line of modern recordings at all costs, which all sound loud, flat and without dynamics.

Who is behind this technical masterpiece? The album was recorded at Musikloftet, by Vidar Lunden and Øystein Sevåg at Siddhartha Studio, while the mastering was done by Morten Lund. Produced and mixed by Vidar Lunden. The new 180 gram vinyl version was re-edited by Scott Hull at the famous Masterdisc in New York, and pressed by T-time vinyl. Don't worry, you don't need the audiophile double vinyl version to be literally amazed by this recording.

At the moment the album can only be purchased (even in a bundle with her other albums) at her website. However, it can be found in different streaming/download formats at the usual channels. Buying from the official site may include a small customs duty, it happened to me.

Recommended? No, simply mandatory. I will tell you about the follow-on albums another time.

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Anette Askvik “Liberty”

An amazing album or a breathtaking audiophile recording?