Pono, the high end digital audio project by Neil Young, was discontinued in 2017, but he is not giving up. A new book, To Feel the Music, tells the back story and hits the shops in September. Co-author Phil Baker posted a statement on his website:
Neil Young and I coauthored this story about Neil’s single most passionate pursuit: Bringing high-quality audio back to music lovers, who have been forced to settle for compressed, digital files that rob songs of their original warmth. It’s also the story of our efforts to design and market the Pono music player, a low cost product that delivers high quality audio at an affordable price. It’s a book that will find a receptive audience among music fans as well as business people and those interested in product development.
The book was heavily influenced by my friendship with Neil beginning in 2012 and my continuing work with him on many technology-based projects. The other influence was a book I read early in my career, Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder, the story of the development of one of the early computers.
(thru Neil Young News)