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What unknown musical artist would you like to share with your fellow audiophiles?

When it comes to music, about half of my friends are "collectors" and the other half are true audiophiles. It seems the collectors are so obsessed with the size of their collections, that they leave no room in their budget for quality audio equipment. I think the audiophiles, with their focus on quality over quantity, are the ones with their priorities straight. So, unless you are on an unlimited budget, I'm guessing that audiophiles are more selective in their musical purchases. That being the case, I'm curious about what "buried treasures" have you been able to find? Thanks for responding and I look forward to discovering some good music, based on your suggestions.

I'll lead off with the band Crack The Sky, most notably their first two albums: "Crack The Sky" (1975) and "Animal Notes" (1976). I would describe them as a cross between Be Bop Deluxe and Frank Zappa. Their music is unique and totally unmistakable with anyone else. Choice cuts from the debut album are: "Ice;" She's a Dancer;" "Mind Baby" & "Sleep." Choice cuts from Animal Notes are: "Animal Skins;" "Wet Teenager;" Virgin....No" & "Maybe I Can Fool Everybody."
mitchagain
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three_easy_payments
211 posts
 
Although 90% of the time I listen to jazz these days, my interests remain quite diverse.  I recently discovered the Japanese psychedelic rock band Kikagaku Moyo that I've been listening quite a bit lately.  They blend rock, psych, prog, and shoegaze together nicely with their eastern influence.  I think they only have 4 studio albums but it's pretty cool stuff.

By the way @mitchagain, I recall Crack the Sky well!  Growing up in Maryland in the 70s and 80s they were a local fav for sure.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
4,908 posts
 

One man’s unknown artist is another’s very well known one. Audiogon members are unusually aware of cult-level artists, unheard of by the great unwashed.

But I must take issue with your opening premise @mitchagain, that audiophile’s "are the ones with their priorities straight". I was a music lover long before an audiophile, and my hi-fi is nothing more than a conduit to the music I love. Excellent sound is nice, but the music comes first. A fair percentage of my favorite music is of marginal sound quality; I’m not going to not listen to it because of that.

"Audiophiles are more selective in their musical purchases"? Because their systems are better than non-audiophiles, they are more selective? In terms of sound quality, sure. But I know a lot of non-audiophiles whose musical tastes are at least as "selective" as that of many audiophiles, if not more so. Ah, the audiophile bubble!

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hifiman5
1,611 posts
 
@bdp24   Well put!
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almarg
8,673 posts
 
Ted Russell Kamp. An example of his music, which is mostly in the country, Southern rock, and Americana genres:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nvUoT0HnPM

One wouldn’t necessarily guess from his music that he grew up in an affluent suburb of New York City.

Regards,
-- Al

mitchagain OP
36 posts
 
My meaning of being "selective" when it comes to music is purely about your personal music budget. We all have our own ideas on what the proper balance is between our equipment budget versus our music budget. 

Having been a former "collector" myself, I got cured from that because I was tired of the "comepletist syndrome." Once cured from that, I had more to budget towards the equipment, which I think is almost as important as the music (because it enhances the musical experience).

I realize that audiophiles are often stereotyped as being elitist or narrow minded; so, I'm hoping that some of these posts about your rare musical finds will prove that theory to be wrong.
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