John Carroll Kirby

John Carroll Kirby is an American pianist, record producer and composer based in Los Angeles, California, United States. As a musician, Kirby has collaborated with artists including Solange, Frank Ocean, Miley Cyrus, Norah Jones, Bat for Lashes, Connan Mockasin, Sébastien Tellier, Harry Styles, and others.

John Carroll Kirby
BornFebruary 26, 1983
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
Instrument(s)Keyboards
Years active2014–present
Labels
Websitejohncarrollkirby.com

Career

2007–2017: Early years, collaborations, Grammy Awards

Growing up in California, Kirby was encouraged by his mom to take piano lessons, which led to a lengthy immersion in jazz. He studied jazz orchestration and composing with John Clayton at the University of Southern California[1] before touring with other artists and making a name for himself as a collaborator. In 2007, Kirby contributed to will.i.am's Songs About Girls, Jully Black's Revival, and Raya Yarbrough's self-titled LP before going on to work on albums by Mike Doughty, Norah Jones, David Holmes, and Madeleine Peyroux. In the same year, Kirby was credited with electric piano on a few tracks for Sébastien Tellier and went on to co-arrange and co-produce Sébastien Betbeder's Marie et les Naufragés.

In 2015, Kirby partnered with Cara Stricker under the alias Drool for a self-titled album of moody avant-pop released by Terrible Records. Shortly after, Kirby was on keys for Blood Orange's Freetown Sound and co-produced three tracks on Solange's Billboard 200-topping A Seat at the Table,[2] where he also played synths on Cranes in the Sky, the track which earned Solange her first Grammy for Best R&B Performance at the 59th Grammy Awards in 2016. After collaborations with INGA, Sébastien Tellier, Midnight Juggernauts' Daniel Stricker and Shabazz Palaces, Kirby issued his first solo album, Travel, on OUTSIDE INSIGHT and Meditations in Music on Leaving Records in 2017. He was also extensively involved in Boys Like Girls' Martin Johnson's side project The Night Game's self-titled album that year.

2019–present: Collaborations, studio albums

In 2019, Kirby was featured on Solange's When I Get Home, Bat for Lashes' Lost Girls, Mark Ronson's Late Night Feelings, as well as Frank Ocean's DHL and Harry Styles' Canyon Moon. In the same year, he signed to Stones Throw Records and issued Lazzara before releasing Tuscany, on Patience. The following year, Kirby played on The Avalanches' Blood Orange collaboration We Will Always Love You before releasing Conflict, an ambient album created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, on Stones Throw. Shortly after, he debuted his full-length album, My Garden, on the label. Pitchfork described Kirby as a musician who "crafts melodies with a neat geometric precision".[3]

In April 2021, Kirby announced his second studio album for Stones Throw Records, Septet. An electronic jazz album, Septet was made with a live seven-piece band and was released on June 2, 2021. The music video for the album's first single, Rainmaker, features musicians from Kirby's ensemble, along with special guests Mac DeMarco, Eddie Chacon, Cola Boyy and comedian Kerwin Frost. Kirby also wrote and produced the original soundtrack to the animated film Cryptozoo, which won the Innovator Award at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.[4] The original soundtrack was released separately by Stones Throw Records in August 2021.[5] That same year, My Garden was nominated for Best Jazz Album for the 2021 A2IM Libera Awards. He also worked closely with American singer-songwriter Kacy Hill for her album, Simple, Sweet, and Smiling, which Paper said drew "on the magnetic ambiance of Kirby's music".[6]

In March 2022, Kirby announced his album Dance Ancestral with the first single Dawn of New Day featuring ambient pioneer Laraaji. The track was included in Uncut's "The 2nd Uncut New Music Playlist Of 2022".[7] Dance Ancestral was made in collaboration with Canadian artist Yu Su and was released on Stones Throw Records on April 8, 2022.[8]

Discography

Albums

List of albums
Title Year
Travel 2017
Meditations in Music 2018
Tuscany 2019
Conflict 2020
My Garden 2020
Septet 2021
Dance Ancestral 2022
Blowout 2023

Singles

List of singles
Title Year
"Lazzara" 2019
"Blueberry Beads" 2020
"By the Sea" 2020
"Wind" 2020
"High" 2020
"Blueberry Beads" (live at Blue Whale Club) 2020
"Rainmaker" 2021
"Sensing Not Seeing" 2021
"Phoebe's Theme" 2021
"Tenderfoot Pegasus" 2021
"I Consult You Before Everything" (Amazon original) 2021
"Dawn of New Day" (featuring Laraaji) 2022

Collaborations

List of collaborations
Lead artist Release Label Year Credits
Keyboards Production Composition
Sébastien Tellier L'aventura Record Makers 2014 Yes
Cara Stricker x John Carroll Kirby Drool Terrible Records 2015 Yes Yes Yes
Blood Orange Freetown Sound Domino Recording Co Ltd. 2016 Yes
Solange A Seat at the Table Columbia 2016 Yes Yes Yes
Shabazz Palaces Quazars Sub Pop 2017 Yes
INGA x John Carroll Kirby The Shrek Orchid Terrible Records 2017 Yes Yes Yes
Kirin J. Callinan Bravado Universal Music Australia 2017 Yes Yes
Mind Gamers Power of Power Terrible Records 2017 Yes Yes Yes
Alex Cameron Forced Witness Secretly Canadian 2017 Yes
Jonathan Wilson Rare Birds Bella Union 2018 Yes
Dita Von Teese x Sébastien Tellier Porcelaine Record Makers 2018 Yes Yes Yes
Loren Kramar Maybe 3H Artists 2018 Yes Yes
Solange Metatronia Columbia Records 2018 Yes Yes Yes
Cola Boyy Black Boogie Neon Record Makers 2018 Yes
Kali Uchis Dead To Me (Acoustic) Virgin EMI / Interscope 2018 Yes
Connan Mockasin Live Mexican Summer LLC 2019 Yes Yes
Solange When I Get Home Columbia 2019 Yes Yes Yes
Yellow Days It's Real Love Sony Music Entertainment UK 2019 Yes Yes Yes
Bat for Lashes Lost Girls Bat For Lashes, AWAL 2019 Yes
Frank Ocean DHL Blonded 2019 Yes
Harry Styles Canyon Moon Columbia Records 2019 Yes
The Avalanches We Will Always Love You Modular 2020 Yes
Sébastien Tellier Domestic Tasks Record Makers 2020 Yes
Remi Wolf Photo ID Island Records 2020 Yes Yes Yes
Okay Kaya Watch This Liquid Pour Itself Jagjaguwar 2020 Yes
Yellow Days Treat You Right Sony Music Entertainment UK 2020 Yes Yes
Eddie Chacon Pleasure Joy & Happiness Day End Records 2020 Yes Yes Yes
Miley Cyrus Never Be Me ft. Joan Jett RCA Records 2020 Yes Yes
Miley Cyrus Bad Karma RCA Records 2020 Yes Yes
Kacy Hill Simple, Sweet, and Smiling Self-released 2021 Yes Yes
Eddie Chacon Sundown Stones Throw Records 2023 Yes Yes

References

  1. "Sundance 2021 Composer Spotlight: John Carroll Kirby". ASCAP. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  2. "Solange Scores Her First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'A Seat at the Table'". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  3. Pemberton, Nathan Taylor. "John Carroll Kirby - My Garden". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  4. "2021 Sundance Film Festival Awards Announced". Sundance Institute. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  5. Rojas, Morgan. "John Carroll Kirby Releases Soundtrack to 'Cryptozoo'". Cinemacy. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  6. D'Souza, Shaad. "Kacy Hill Gets Nostalgic for 'Easy Going' Music Video". Paper Magazine. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  7. Richards, Sam. "The 2nd Uncut New Music Playlist Of 2022". Uncut. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  8. "John Carroll Kirby Debuts Dance Ancestral at Pico Union Project Release Show". We Write About Music. April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
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