On New Year's Eve 2020 (it was officially announced on New Year's Day...), MF DOOM, an intelligent masked rapper/producer, passed away. MADVILLAIN is a unit of MF DOOM, an intelligence masked rapper/producer, and MADLIB, a collector and vinyl junkie who creates cinematic, dusty, bizarre, fresh, and cool tracks with sample choices based on his rich ...Read more (Original Japanese text by AYAM)knowledge. MADVILLAIN's first album. If you have the impression that they are too stoic, too strange, too hardcore, please start with melodic sample tracks such as A5 (sample_2) and "Great Day" with label mates M.E.D. and Medaphoar. We recommend them for life. (Original Japanese text by AYAM)

JOHN CARROLL KIRBY recorded the 2021 album "Septet" in band style. The first pressing sold out immediately despite the considerable volume of shipments, but additional pressings have finally arrived! The album opens with "Rainmaker," a slow-rising dubby groove and synthesizer explosion. This double-pack, analog, includes three additional dub versions of songs not included on the digital album. (Original Japanese text by Saito)

He has won a Grammy (producing music for Anderson Park), released collaborative music with many key artists such as Kaytranada and SiR, and is also a live band member of Terrace Martin and Mind Design. He is a musician with a wide fan base here in Japan through streaming and performances in Japan.
As a pianist, Kiefer's original worldview is me ...Read morelodious and groovy, combining jazz, hip-hop, and a variety of beat music, and he has successfully completed a work that can be considered the culmination of his work! The innovative and diverse beats derived from hip-hop, the cool and universal jazz sound, and the magnificent soundscape created by Kiefer's keyboard tone that adds a brilliant flourish to the whole album! Along with the previously released Mind Design album, another masterpiece from the ever-evolving LA scene has been born!

This is the final installment in Kiefer's trilogy, following the cassette-only "Bridges" in 2019 and "Superbloom" the same year. 'It was born out of a jam that my friend and I were playing as background music when we were asked to play at a fancy event. I made some chord changes and had a great time that night. I then added a lot of new ideas on to ...Read more (Original Japanese text by Saito)p of those chords and this song was born. The feeling this song will evoke for me is "Gratitude." "Friends" called, "was born from an idea I recorded in 2018, but materialized in 2020. Listening to this song, I feel like a fuckin' superhero. The piano is my cape and I can almost hear it fluttering in the wind." The "Superhero" called, "Superhero," eight songs, including some short ones. The last song is a cover of ROY AYERS' "Everybody Love The Sunshine" featuring Theo Croker. 45rpm MLP on black vinyl. Slow and wonderful. We also have the full album When There's Love Around 2LP, limited edition and black vinyl in stock. (Original Japanese text by Saito)

This is the fifth album by LA-based producer/pianist JOHN CARROLL KIRBY, who made a big splash on his first Japan tour in May this year. The album was produced with Canadian artist Yu Su as a production partner, and expresses more electronic elements and melancholy than his previous albums. The theme of this album is "intuitive dance," which is a c ...Read more (Original Japanese text by AYAM)hange from the jazz and new age style of the past albums. Don't miss the music video for the preceding single A1 "Dawn of New Day" featuring ambient music pioneer LARAAJI (Mecha Smile). Please listen to the tracklist as well. highly recommended! (Original Japanese text by AYAM)

This follow-up to the 2018 debut Exotic Worlds and Masterful Treasures, which includes the hit single "Soon Never Comes," a favorite of even Billy Irish, shows a personal and vulnerable side, and the lyrics and chronic pain are touched on in the lyrics, as well as his resurgence from a battle with depression and chronic pain. The album features 11 ...Read more (Original Japanese text by AYAM)gems, including mellow and smooth R&B (A1, A2, A4, B2, B3, B5), the G-funk track B4 "Talk To You" with FAT TONY rapping, and the title and funk number, which also pays homage to Prince, one of his musical heroes. If you liked this season's hit 〈PPU〉 SPACE GHOST FEAT. TEDDY BRYANT "HEAVEN SENT", this is also a good choice! Too good to be true! (Original Japanese text by AYAM)

Paak's album "Ventura" for which he won a Grammy for Best R&B Album, the revitalization of the jazz and improvised music communities in LA such as Carrtoons and Theo Croker, and his collaboration with Terrace Martin, another artist bridging the jazz and beat scenes. After the jazz/performance approach of his previous trilogy, Kiefer returns to his ...Read more (Original Japanese text by AYAM)roots of creating beats while playing the keyboard. The drum break dripping with deep delay and the use of cosmic synths are very fresh in Kiefer's work, "Doomed" (sample_1), the soothing "Forgetting U," which is like an ear massage with fragments of electronic and piano sounds that pan from side to side, and the last "I Mean That" ( sample_3) is sung like Keith Jarrett, as if he had been unleashed. There is a side of him that he has not shown so much in the past, and I like the feeling that something has been blown out of the water. This is a piece where you can hear free keyboard playing not bound by jazz. (Original Japanese text by AYAM)

Kendrick Lamar - California beatmaker KNX aka KNXWLEDGE, known for his participation in the '14 masterpiece "To Pimp a Butterfly" and as one half of the duo NxWORRIES with the genius ANDERSON .PAAK at the same time. KNXWLEDGE a.k.a. KNX, whose creativity and quest for unknown beats remain as strong as when he was releasing a lot of music on bandcam ...Read morep, and is credited as NxWORRIES, and has a secret track where ANDERSON PAAK. sings. and as usual, this album is full of pure sampling skills and modern hip-hop HQ tracks packaged with a total of 22 beat work. The last track, "Mindin My Business" featuring fresh singers DURAND BERNARR and ROSE GOLD from LA, is also a treat. Highly recommended!

日本でも人気のカナダ出身、現在はLA拠点のアーティスト: Mocky (モッキー)がStones Throwと契約、最新アルバム『Music Will Explain（Choir Music Vol. 1）』をLPでリリース。

本作はますますデジタル化・人工化が進む現代において、「人間らしさ」の本質を捉えようとする試み。『Music Will Explain』は、人間の声を中心に据えた作品であり、「人間の音」を追い求めるモッキーの執念の結晶。ヴォーカル・ハーモニー、生演奏、アナログ録音が意図的に融合され、彼ならではのソングライティングによって一つにまとめられている。
モッキーは、ロサンゼルスの音楽コミュニティの仲間たちを自宅ガレージに招き入れ、一本のマイクを囲んでアカペラ ...Read moreで歌ってもらう。ビージーズやビーチ・ボーイズ、ブラジルのトリオ・モコトー、さらには70年代の『セサミストリート』のようなレコードに見られるヴォーカルにインスピレーションを得て、モッキーはピアノベンチに腰かけ、すべての声がひとつに溶け合うまで古いテープレコーダーで録音を繰り返した。その後、彼のメイン楽器であるドラムを加え、さらにベースやキーボード、そして他のほとんどすべての楽器を重ねていった。

1stシングルでは、Dusty Springfield (ダスティ・スプリングフィールド)の「Just a Little Lovin’」のカバーをリリースし、それに続いてピーナッツ・バター・ウルフとザ・コリアタウン・オディティによるリミックスもリリース。

モッキーは、これまでフェイスト、ケレラ、モーゼス・サムニー、ヴルフペックへのプロデュース提供、さらにGZA、カニエ・ウェスト、コーデーらによるサンプリングでも彼の楽曲がサンプリングで使用された経歴を持つ。また、日本の渡辺信一郎監督のアニメ『キャロル＆チューズデイ』では、受賞歴のある劇伴音楽も手掛けた。

At the age of 17, he recorded his song "Someone To Spend Time With" in his living room with a 4-track recorder, which was released by Stones Throw in 2019 and became a viral hit worldwide. Now with over 450 million total streaming views and 100 million music video views, and a gold disc in the U.S., he has become known as a leading figure in the Be ...Read moredroom Pop / Lo-Fi Indie Pop scene.
At 25 years of age, he has now completed a full-length album, "Odisea". While maintaining the DIY spirit of playing almost all instruments, composing, and recording by himself, the production environment and sound have evolved greatly. In addition to the American/Latin soft rock and left-field pop of the 70s and 80s that have influenced them since childhood, the album also reflects the strong influences of 80s city pop and jazz fusion from Japan, making it their most sophisticated work to date.
In particular, the album's sound, which is inspired by Japanese fusion sounds such as CASIOPEA, resonates strongly with Japanese listeners.
The album also includes songs featuring Hitomitoi, a singer who represents modern city pop, and Hikari.
The band is scheduled to perform at Coachella, one of the world's largest music festivals, in April 2026, and will make its first visit to Japan in July 2026 (to be announced soon). This is a remarkable work that is expected to make even greater strides in the future.

With sweet vocals and heart-fluttering melodies reminiscent of the ’90s and ’00s, combined with warm ’70s-style funk and soul instrumentation and production, this album richly reflects Blake Rhein’s recent sound. I even think it could be credited as a joint effort with Blake Rhein. Additionally, Paul Cherry—a Chicago-based AOR/pop craftsman and clo ...Read more (Original Japanese text by AYAM)se collaborator of Blake Rhein—handled the production. The slow disco track “Walking Away” (sample_1), with its irresistible strings inspired by Evelyn King’s “I’m In Love,” and the mid-tempo track “If You Want Me” (sample_2)—featuring a mellow synth phrase that’s quintessentially ’90s and a hook that sticks in your head—are absolutely fantastic. The album also features a collaborative track with labelmate Gabriel da Rosa, a melancholic bossa nova track titled “Memmy (Recuerdo),” and closes with “Way I Do” (sample_3), a poignant mid-tempo track with Kiefer. A high-quality album that blends soul and R&B from various eras. This is exactly what I’ve been wanting to hear!! Highly recommended. (Original Japanese text by AYAM)

From collaborations with Frank Ocean and Solange to winning a Grammy for his work on Steve Lacy’s album, producing Eddie Chacón’s album, and making his debut appearance at Fuji Rock this year—there’s no end to the buzz surrounding John Carroll Kirby, the leading keyboardist and producer of Stones Throw. He visited Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, to film ...Read more (Original Japanese text by AYAM)an episode of the web travelogue series "Kirby's Gold" with the Kawe Calypso Band. Inspired by the birdsong, jam sessions with local calypso legends, and magnificent sunsets. This album, his most tropical to date, opens with “Oropendola”—named after the oropendola bird that reportedly woke him up every morning at 5 a.m. during his stay—followed by B2 "Vertigo" (sample_1), and C2 "Gecko Sound" (sample_3), where the sound of water and syncopated synths invite you into a meditative state—these 12 dreamlike tracks make for a truly heartwarming and wonderful album. Be sure to check out the teaser video featuring Kiko Mizuhara playing the ARP Odyssey. (Original Japanese text by AYAM)

STONES THROW, which has been releasing good records, has added a new talent: a singer-songwriter masterpiece that should be heard beyond R&B, AOR, and other genres. Her neutral voice and songs are appealing, and the acoustic and electronic backing tracks are exquisite, making this a wonderful and long-loved album. Please give it a try. (Original Japanese text by Saito)