Stones Throw Us レコード& CD

Review: The superb Shades of Yesterday is an all-new covers album by the triple Grammy Award-nominated producer, musician, and songwriter, DJ Harrison. With almost every instrument played and produced by the man himself, the album is a deeply personal homage to the musical influences that have defined his work. It also draws from his upbringing in Richmond and his journey to musical prominence with re-imagined tracks by beloved artists such as The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Ohio Players, Donald Fagen, and more. Each song is a reflection of Harrison's fondest memories and a testament to his evolution as a musician and adds up to a fantastically nostalgic trip with a new school edge.

Review: Stone's Throw has never really made any wrong moves in our opinion, and here the label puts its full force behind a deceptively powerful album. Taking us to places that are deeper than perhaps what the imprint is best known for, this is immersive, hypnotic, otherworldly stuff made from a variety of plugged in machines, analogue and otherwise, including a semi-modular synth. The result is a journey-style collection packed with atmosphere but one that's also painstakingly detailed and textured. Sound waves are rendered almost visible by the movements, drones, tracks and other pieces here, drum and effects machines producing the kind of noises that mesmerise and suck you in further as time passes. Tunes to get lost in, the only remaining question is whether anyone will ever want to return.

Review: Kiefer Shackleford is back on Stones Throw with more of his elevated beatdowns and dextrous piano flex. The LA-based artist first cropped up on Leaving Records back in 2017 and now he comfortably slides into his fifth album in a lean, sun-soaked dream of drums slung way down low and right to the back, leaving more room for his illustrious keys and synths to pirouette over the top. It's a simple recipe, but the secret is in the ingredients. The drums shuffle and slide with crooked flair, and the melodies burst skywards whether it's classic piano, woozy Rhodes or fluttering modulations Shackleford chooses to sing through.

Review: Having recently unfurled one synth-laden future jazz-funk classic (John Carroll Kirby's superb Blowout), Stones Throw delivers another fabulous album informed by the intersection between jazz, funk and synth sounds. Of course, Kiefer Shackleford's work has always been far more informed by hip-hop than Kirby's, and that remains a key point of difference on It's OK B U. While Shackleford loves showcasing his own piano and synth work (and it's those elements that frequently catch the ear), the accompanying beats - a mixture of head-nodding, Guru and Dilla style grooves, Flying Lotus style experiments, chopped-up breaks, wayward Dam Funk style affairs and slipped jazz rhythms - are equally as potent.

Review: There's a definite sense of "time and place" throughout John Carrol Kirby's latest album, Blowout. He recorded it all during a recent trip to Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, "between 5am wake-up calls from orpopendola birds and psychedelic sunsets", drawing inspiration from the people, music and nature that surrounded him. It's certainly a joyful and colourful affair - despite his insistence that it's about "enjoying yourself even though life is tough, before the candle blows out" - with Kirby mixing sparkling, often kaleidoscopic 1980s electrofunk synth sounds with warming grooves, pastoral woodwind instrumentation, and musical motifs that draw on his love of jazz-funk and fusion. It's basically a sensationally summery affair whose mostly subtly nods to Costa Rican musical culture only enhance the album.

Review: The ever-prolific John Carroll Kirby is back on Stones Throw barely a minute after releasing no less than two albums last year. Of course, no one is complaining when the quantity is matched with the quality Kirby brings, and Blowout is bursting with the laid back musicality and inherent joy Kirby is so well-loved for. The album was recorded during a recent stay in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, and you can sense the surroundings feeding into the music, from the 5am wake up call from the oropendola birds to the blissful sunsets. This is smooth as silk jazz funk with a mission: to help you enjoy life. Consider this mission accomplished.

Review: Mndsgn is back with a third installment in the Snax Records series which started back in 2019 with the eponymous first album, then took in Rare Pleasures back in June of 2021 and now reverts back to the original title for a trilogy outing. The prolific LA-based musician and producer cuts a little more loose and gets more free on this long player though retains all of the signature elements of his much-loved sound. It is full of rhythmic invention and plenty of bright melodic flair though it also has a whimsical sense of humour across its many bitesize but brilliant tracks.

Review: Pearl & The Oysters, made up of duo Juliette Pearl and Joachim Polack, have been described as "Florida's best kept secret," owing to their sweetly unforgettable style of psychedelic indie. With dreamy vocals, catchy melodies, and experimental instrumentation, the duo have been said to channel the influence of classic French composers like Serge Gainsbourg and Michel Legrand into their work, nailing a filmic atmosphere that is otherwise lent to a Mario Kart-esque bedroom pop.