As We See It

Recently, I found myself in an email correspondence with David Chesky, the musician/composer/entrepreneur behind Chesky Records and HDtracks, which was the world's first hi-rez music-download service. With his brother Norman, David has long run those businesses while engaging with his art. At the time of our correspondence, he was on tour with his jazz trio and busy "writing operas and children's works to keep me out of trouble," as he wrote in an email. Brother Norman, surely, has had much to do with the success of the Chesky ventures—I do not mean to give him short shrift—but it was David I was communicating with, so he is the focus here.

Here's some news I'd missed: Chesky Records was sold last year, to "a Chinese company," David told me. "My brother wanted to retire, but I am forging on and making much better sounding recordings." HDtracks continues on under Chesky management, though, as downloads continue to be pushed aside by streaming, that business is likely slowing down.

I receive a lot of downloadable prerelease music. If it looks interesting, I save it to a folder on my computer's SSD. Then, when time allows, I process the filenames and metadata so that the album will play nice with Roon and the Innuos server I'm using (with much prerelease music, the metadata is a mess), upload it to my network-attached storage device, and—eventually—listen. If I think an album might be appropriate for Stereophile readers, I bring it to the attention of our music reviewers.

A few days before my correspondence with Chesky, I received a prerelease album by an unfamiliar artist, from The Audiophile Society, a label that rung only a distant bell. I was intrigued by the album's title: heroes in the seaweed, all lowercase. But what most caught my attention was that this prerelease album was shared in both DSD and hi-rez PCM formats. I downloaded both.

heroes in the seaweed is a collection of 10 covers, from Laura Nyro, Van Morrison, Lennon/McCartney, Fleetwood Mac, Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen, and others. It's sung by a sweet-voiced vocalist called NOGA. The recorded quality is very fine, transparent enough that it was easy to distinguish between the DSD and PCM versions. I preferred PCM. In comparison, the DSD version, though still excellent, suffered from a slight haze.

A downloads-only label—no streaming—David Chesky's The Audiophile Society has been around since 2022. I recall its launch. The press release emphasized a new technology—Mega-Dimensional Sound—intended to make music seem more spacious: "The new label will focus on bringing even more realistic three-dimensional recordings to market." The first release, a self-titled album by The Funky Buffalos, was released in 2022. The Audiophile Society releases all its music in DSD and hi-rez PCM. At the outset, the label's goal was to showcase "emerging artists working in a multitude of genres."

For 2025—at a time when most audiophile issues feature music made decades ago—The Audiophile Society's focus is more than ever on emerging artists. Every audiophile should listen in whatever way gives them the most enjoyment, but David thinks—and I agree—that there's more pleasure to be gained from broadening our musical horizons than from listening to the same stuff over and over again. He wants to coax those who love great recordings in that direction. Our part is easy: Just listen, not just to The Audiophile Society titles (footnote 1) but to new music broadly. Give new music a chance.

Speaking of: Typically, I work in silence, because music distracts me. Occasionally though, on lighter work days, I listen as I work. To offset the loss in productivity, I try to make the listening professionally useful: I use it as an opportunity to explore new music.

Last week, as I listened via Roon to the latest Qobuz "New Releases" playlist, I found I was enjoying most of the music I heard. That playlist included a sprinkling of jazz, and whatever genre John Zorn's Bagatelles belongs to, but most of the list's music is from popular genres, Americana to Zydeco.

Sure, I hit the forward button on some tracks, but less often than I expected: I enjoyed more tracks than I skipped. I realized as I listened that this has been happening more and more. Is music getting better? Or am I becoming more receptive to today's music? It's probably a bit of both. We all become acculturated by listening—a big argument in favor of broadening our horizons—and musical styles do shift over time. I've noticed a move away from the kind of noisy, symphonic-scale productions that send me running for the exits and toward music that's simpler. That pleases me. Also: Apparently, I was marked forever by the punk revolution, causing me to favor the off beat, whatever the genre. I like edge and attitude in my music (especially in popular genres) and dislike music that's overblown and full of itself. Those are my tastes; they might not be yours. With that caveat, here's some recently released music I enjoyed, straight from the Qobuz New Releases playlist.

The song "Golden Willow Tree" is from Sam Amidon's Salt River. This is literate folky storytelling with minimalist backing and a unique, high, keening voice. A little strange. Not sure what's comparable: Albert Ayler? Neutral Milk Hotel? It sounds like Irish sea ditties, but the album includes covers of Lou Reed and Ornette Coleman. I guess that makes it artsy folk-pop.

Matt Berry's newest music is anything but minimalist, with its processed vocals, synths, and big guitars. And Mellotrons. I'm not sure how to describe this music, either—maybe '70s jazz-funk meets Talking Heads. The song I listened to was "Wedding Photo Stranger." The album is Heard Noises.

"Crime Time" from Charm School's Debt Forever is hooky, noisy, spoken-word punk, or at least punk-adjacent.

"Ain't Nothing But a Party" by The Tribe, from the album Dedication, is pure '70s soul, 50 years later. Shake your booty.

I could keep going, but I'm almost out of space, so I'll end with "Company Culture" by The Lambrini Girls, from Who Let the Dogs Out. This is foul-mouthed UK gurl-band punk with a message. Steer clear if you're easily offended, or if you only listen to music with demo-quality sound. This isn't that, but it's fun, with attitude to spare. See Phil Brett's review in this issue's Record Reviews section.

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Footnote 1: You can download a sampler from The Audiophile Society at theaudiophilesociety.com/pages/sampler.