Audiophiles maintain a not-so hushed reverence for recording engineers, producers, and independent record label owners. Deep down they harbor a desire to lay claim to being one, if not all, of the above.
So, imagine my surprise when I learn that Cameron Jenkins, who is indeed all of the above as well as a classically trained musician and songwriter has taken to opening his very own retail hi-fi shop/service.
This reverse arc intrigued me both as an audiophile, my hobby, and as a strategist, my day-job. Cameron worked with artists such as The Verve, John Cale, The Charlatans, Everything But The Girl, Lemon Jelly, Badly Drawn Boy, Denys Baptiste, Anita Lipnicka and Amaral, as well as recording industry notables Phil Ramone, Rupert Hine, Terry Britten, and Robin Millar.
Working with all these acts and talented colleagues, Cameron has to keep on his toes, at the forefront, on the bleeding edge of the latest recording and playback technology, and open to new platforms, so it should come as no surprise that he has strongly embraced streaming rather than shy away from it.
No doubt, Cameron knows what he’s doing in making music, from every facet, and has a handle on the music consumption and its vagaries, but Hi-Fi? I did not see that one coming from all that I’ve gleaned about his background and history, so much so that I’m prompted to question his sanity among other things. To get to the bottom of this all, to better understand this transition…