STOCKHOLM — FOUNDED 2009Captured live, to tape, in one unbroken performance. For the listener.
Gert Palmcrantz began recording music in 1959. During the early 1970s, while recording some of the last folk musicians in the forests of Northern Sweden, he realized that dragging heavy equipment into the woods was impractical, so he brought only the essentials: two Neumann U47 microphones and a Nagra IV-S — nothing more. There was no isolating instruments, no separate takes, no fixing it later. Whatever happened there is what went to tape.
What he learned from that limitation was not only a technical lesson — it was a human one. When a recording cannot be edited or repaired, musicians cannot afford to focus only on their own part. They have to listen to one another, adjust to one another, find the compromise that lets the ensemble work in real time. That compromise — not individual perfection — is what gives a performance its life. In 1976, Gert recorded Jazz at the Pawnshop the same way: live, direct to two-track ¼" tape, no second chances. It remains one of the most celebrated live jazz recordings ever made — proof that the discipline was never a limitation. It was the method.
In 2009, his son Eric founded Figaro Music to carry that same discipline forward, by choice rather than necessity. No edits. No overdubs. Every record committed live to ¼" tape, in one unbroken performance — because musicians who cannot hide behind a fix play with more trust, more generosity, and more of themselves.
Audiophile sound can be measured. What happens between musicians in a room cannot.
Figaro exists for the difference.
No multitrack. No automation to fix later. Every fader move on the desk is final the moment it's made — which means it has to be right the first time, made by ear, in the room, while the performance is happening.
A small, handcrafted signal chain — built around two Neumann U47 FET and three Didrik De Geer microphones — feeds a Didrik De Geer 'Octogon' preamplifier direct to tape. Nothing else stands between the room and the reel.
ALL-ANALOG SIGNAL CHAINEvery session is built around a small collection of handcrafted, specialist equipment — chosen for its ability to capture the room as it sounds.
Eight titles. Six on vinyl, two on compact disc. All in print, all carefully made.
Jojje Wadenius and His Band — Gejoma
180g Vinyl · 1000 COPIESRecorded live and unmixed to a Studer A820, 2CH Stereo 1/4" 15 IPS. No edits. No overdubs.
Svenska Löd AB / Hörselmat
180g Vinyl · 1000 COPIESRecorded live to 2CH 1/4" 15 IPS. No edits. No overdubs.
Jan Lundgren Trio
180g Vinyl · 1000 COPIESRecorded live and unmixed to a Studer A807, 2CH 1/4" 15 IPS. No edits. No overdubs.
Filip Ekestubbe Trio + Karl Olandersson
180g Vinyl · 300 copiesRecorded live and mixed to a Studer A807, 2CH 1/4" 15 IPS. No edits. No overdubs.
Backlura
180g Vinyl · 300Recorded live to [tape format / speed to be confirmed]. No edits. No overdubs.
Sthlm Bossanova Quartet
180g Vinyl · 1000 COPIESVarious Artists
Compact DiscRecorded live to [tape format / speed to be confirmed]. No edits. No overdubs.
S:t Petersburg Hermitage Academy Orchestra
Compact DiscWhether you wish to enquire about a release, propose a session, or join the Maison Circle — we read every letter, and we reply by hand.
FIGARO MUSIC & MEDIA GROUP AB