JOHN CARROLL KIRBY DROPS NEW SONG; LP OUT THIS FRIDAY

JOHN CARROLL KIRBY’S “MATES” OUT NOW FROM NEW ALBUM BLOWOUT, OUT THIS FRIDAY JUNE 30TH ON STONES THROW NEW TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED

Photo credit: Sela Shiloni.    Listen to “Mates”: https://sthrow.com/mates   Today, John Carroll Kirby releases the song “Mates”, taken from his new solo album Blowout, out this coming Friday, June 30th. The album was inspired by a period in Costa Rica spent playing with local musicians and imagining “failed utopias”. Blowout teeters between two definitions of its title – a moment of destruction and one big party. In Costa Rica, Kirby contemplated episodes of collective madness or delusion, such as Fyre Festival and the Heaven's Gate cult, imagining “a festival where everyone gets beamed up to utopia or heaven instead of starving or dying unfulfilled.” “Mates” is the ecstatic soundtrack to Kirby and friends rolling deep to the festival, and follows singles “Oropendola”and “Sun Go Down”.    Like charisma, a signature sound can’t be faked. Over six solo albums and dozens of collaborations, Kirby has finessed one recognisably his own, no matter what genre he’s working in. Once a dutiful student of ‘50s and ‘60s piano jazz, Kirby found a sound that felt true to him when he allowed spontaneity, improvisation and error into his playing: “I love a good ‘miss’ in music. Reverence is good for building a foundation, but you have to miss a bit for it to be truly your own.” With a stripped-down band accompanying him on Blowout, Kirby gives himself permission to miss, and so taps into something glorious and ineffable.    John Carroll Kirby on Tour:   June 28           San Francisco, CA     The Chapel † July 30            Niigata, JP                  Fuji Rock † Aug 5              Shanghai                     YongFoo Elite †           Aug 18            Los Angeles, CA         Lodge Room Aug 24            New York, NY             Bowery Ballroom  Aug 26            Port Townsend, WA   Thing Festival Sep 13            Chicago, IL                 Sleeping Village Sep 15            St Paul, MN                Turf Club   † with Eddie Chacon

High-res artwork here. 1. Oropendola 2. Mates 3. The Takedown 4. Hotel Jonny Chingas 5. Vertigo 6. So So So 7. Sun Go Down 8. Gecko Sound 9. Flying Cat 10. Mates (Dub) 11. So So So (Dub) 12. Hotel Jonny Chingas (Dub)   About John Carroll Kirby    John Carroll Kirby is an artist, producer and composer from Los Angeles. Though Kirby's background is steeped in jazz, his signature sound and keyboard playing blends genres and styles. An in-demand collaborator for artists ranging from superstars Solange, Frank Ocean and Harry Styles to indie musicians Yves Tumor, Connan Mockasin, Liv.e, and many more, Kirby has lately focused on his own solo output, releasing five LPs on Stones Throw in three years.    My Garden (2020), a blend of jazz and exotica, was praised by The Fader, LA Times, Q, and Mojo. The same year, Kirby released Conflict, a calming piano album in response to the year’s chaos. Following his first film score for the animated feature Cryptozoo, Kirby’s 2021 jazz-fusion release Septet marked a return to ensemble playing, while Dance Ancestral (2022), with additional production from Canadian artist YuSu, took a more electronic-forward approach.   Alongside these records, Kirby has released episodes of Kirby’s Gold, a web series inspired by Huell Howser’s California Gold. In the series, Kirby chats and improvises with artists ranging from painter Ariana Papademetropoulos to an Eastern European choir. Kirby recently received a Grammy nod for his work on Steve Lacy’s hit “Bad Habit”, and in March 2023, Stones Throw released Sundown, his album-length collaboration with “lowkey R&B legend” Eddie Chacon.   Connect with John Carroll Kirby: Instagram | YouTube