Photo: Sela Shiloni

LA based producer, composer and keyboardist John Carroll Kirby is gearing up to release a new album later this month. Entitled Blowout, the album germinated during his stay in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica in 2021, where he was filming an episode of his travelog Kirby’s Gold with the Kawe Calypso Band. Hermeto Pascoal’s legendary performance of ‘Música Da Lagoa’ is cited as a key influence, and Kirby added he was also inspired by “failed utopias” like the Heaven’s Gate cult and Fyre Festival, and the myths that followed. He comments:

“I’m trying to use imagination in music to create my own myths, and keep things playful and funny and not too sanctimonious.”

Blowout arrives on June 30th through Stones Throw but we can already hear the joyous and shimmering ‘Sun Goes Down’. It comes with an accompanying video directed by Zach Sulak and you can watch it now.

LA based producer, composer and keyboardist John Carroll Kirby may only be about to release his debut solo album, Travel, but he has been involved in many other projects for years. He has performed and collaborated with artists like Solange, Shabazz Palaces’, Blood Orange and Kirin J Callinan, to name but a few. The upcoming Travel features ten tracks, each one taking its name and mood from a different place. One of them is ‘Poroy Station’, a tropical track setting us on a journey to Machu Picchu. Take a listen now.

Travel is out on October 27th through Outside Insight.