We're lucky. There's always an enormous amount of great live music to be enjoyed in New York City, but this week is especially crammed with sound. The CMJ Music Marathon is here. As I type, our very own Mikey Fremer is moderating a discussion titled "Hi Fidelity for the Future." Panelists include NYU professor Jim Anderson; David Chesky of Chesky Records and
HDTracks.com;
D&M Holdings' Jeffrey Cowan; and
the Audiophiliac, Steve Guttenberg.
I hope Mikey is keeping those guys in check. They can be a pretty rowdy bunch, I hear.
I am joking. They're a bunch of sweethearts. I'm sure they're all getting along just fine, talking about the joys of vinyl and the ease of hi-rez downloads. The future of hi-fi is bright, and I like it when hi-fi crosses over into the mainstream, takes a step into the spotlight of events like the CMJ Marathon. It should happen more often. It only makes perfect sense.
Have you heard of
SnowGhost Music? I hadn't until a few days ago. From the SnowGhost site:
SnowGhost is an independent music service that records and distributes new and established artists. We're striving to do something new:
—Offer fans a window into the creative process of their favorite artists
—Offer artists a partnership based on fairness and transparency
—Change the way music is created and appreciated
Here's how a SnowGhost Session works: An artist is invited to come out and record as much as they can handle over a few days in the mountains of Montana. They also get an opportunity to play a show in front of a small-town crowd. We document their performances (and everything else) with video, writing, film, and especially good recordings, and then we showcase (and now let you download!) it all on our site as soon as possible.
Sounds cool, right? When my old band was together, I would have
loved to have flown out to Montana and play for a few days. Artists who have worked with SnowGhost include Brightback Morning Light, Yo La Tengo, Stephen Malkmus, Matmos, Victory Smokes, and The Wartime Blues. What I like most about SnowGhost, however, is that they care about sound. In fact, they call themselves "sound snobs."
We're the kind of guys who obsess over room acoustics, listen for the decay of the snare drum, and debate the merits of recording analog versus digital.
This Saturday, as part of the CMJ Music Marathon, SnowGhost will host an evening of music at the Glasslands Gallery (289 Kent Avenue, Brooklyn), featuring: Cut Off Your Hands; Bad Veins; Wye Oak; The End of the World; Luke Temple; and Laura Gibson. The show goes from 1 to 8pm, and the whole thing will be recorded using Direct Stream Digital technology.
