![][logo] ![][logo2] ![][logo3] ![][logo4] ![][logo5] ![][logo6] [logo]: https://i.imgur.com/3tsddtI.png "" [logo2]: https://i.imgur.com/NvqAqdI.png "" [logo3]: https://i.imgur.com/o2801YS.png "" [logo4]: https://i.imgur.com/cOLeRe6.png "" [logo5]: https://i.imgur.com/1iFj5FM.png "" [logo6]: https://i.imgur.com/d3kHOez.png "" Nujabes' main discography on digital has been cursed for the longest time, as there hasn't been a good-sounding release of any of his major projects. The CD releases of *First Collection*, *Metaphorical Music*, *Modal Soul*, and *Second Collection* all range from mediocre to downright nasty with way too much compression, muddled vocals/treble, and boomy bass. That is until recently when I guess Hydeout themselves decided to release some of Nujabes' old singles on iTunes. These new iTunes releases sound very close to the original vinyl releases, which is to say much, much better than the CDs. (They might be sourced from files used for the vinyl, but don't take my word for it, as I have no way of confirming that.) So if you want better audio quality, but don't like the minus sides of vinyl rips such as varying quality depending on the grade of the vinyl and the ripping gear used, these are the perfect solution. Because some of these singles were also included in the album releases, one can start to piece together better-sounding versions of the albums from them. Not an ideal situation in the slightest, but at least it's something after all these years of poor digital audio quality. I remember Shing02 saying in an interview on IG that the CD releases were an afterthought by Nujabes. He was apparently at first hesitant to release anything on CD because of his old-school mentality but caved in after seeing the potential of the sales numbers. If the vinyl were supposed to be the "real deal" and the CDs were meant to only make money, it's no wonder if they didn't give them the same amount of care in the mastering process. The biggest reason why the CDs are all very loud and compressed (save for a few tracks), is likely because they wanted them to sound "impactful" when played back in cars, clubs, on the radio, in public places and what have you. Sadly a common practice during this seemingly never-ending loudness war. Now we just have to hope they someday release everything by Hydeout in this higher quality. I've also included additional vinyl artwork for It's About Time, Asteroid Love, and F.I.L.O, courtesy of u/2muchrubik on r/nujabes. Note that these aren't all of the new digital releases, only the ones I personally liked the best. I left out 3 or 4 other singles. Enjoy!