Each month, we are focusing on a record label founded by an active digger. This month, Peanut Butter Wolf, aka Chris Manak, is a man of few words but his works speaks for him! DJ and beatmaker since the mid-80’s, he founded Stones Throw in 1996, originally to release his own works! LP’s, 7’’ or even tapes, Stones Throw became one of the most influential label of the last decades!
When did you start digging records?
I started buying records in the late 70’s. 1979 is when I really started having a “record collection” of mostly funk and soul 45s that were coming out at the time. In around 1986 and 1987, I started buying used records and “digging” as you say.
What Lps did you buy at first? Do you still listen to them?
I couldn’t afford to buy many LPs at first, but I guess Prince-‘Controversy’, Tom Tom Club’s debut album, and Kraftwerk-‘Computer World’ were 3 of the first albums I bought, all in around 1981. For the most part, I was buying 45s and some 12” singles like Kano-“I’m Ready” and all the stuff Sugarhill Records was releasing. When the electro crazy started in 1982, a lot of the songs were only coming out on 12” single and even when there was a version on 45, like “Planet Rock” for example, I preferred having the long version that was only on 12”.
Do you have a particular style or favorite period?
I guess the mid 80’s are still one of my favorite periods. As for style, there’s a lot.
Are you still digging’, buying vinyl, visiting record shops?
For a while, I got really addicted to Discogs, but for now, I’m trying not to buy records because at the moment, I have tens of thousands of records in storage and I’m in a kind of small house so I need to get myself into something bigger!
Madvillain
‘Great Day’
What was your first release on Stones Throw?
Just go to Discogs and it will tell you the answer: ‘My World Premier’ by Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf…
Why did you choose this name : Stones Throw?
Stones Throw was a saying that my mom used and Charizma and I thought it was strange because we hadn’t heard anyone else use that expression. When I thought of the name of the label, I wanted something that had relevance to Charizma since he passed away and the label was kind of a dedication to him and that was the first thing that came to mind.
What could be your editorial/esthetic line?
It’s not quantifiable. It’s art, so I kind of gave up trying to describe it to anyone, but if I had to, I try to only release records that I would wanna buy as a fan of music.
How do you decide on the choice of reissues/issues?
I rarely do reissues. I have to really love something to reissue it because I know that there’s very little chance for a “reissue” to succeed. It’s definitely a labor of love to reissue an old record.
Quasimoto
‘Microphone Mathematics’
Yesterday’s New Quintet
‘Superstition’
Stones Throw digs every format… LP, 7’’, boxset and even tapes! Do you collect all formats yourself?
I do. I just spend $1000 on sealed tapes from the 70’s and 80’s that were $3 each. I couldn’t believe the total ended up that high when the tapes were so cheap each. Tapes are trickier than vinyl because the felt inside wears out after about 20 years and it’s harder to fix them than say a vinyl record that doesn’t “break”. Vinyl just gets static. But I collect a lot of things. Music videos, magazines, 8×10 promo pictures, you name it.
What could be the label’s leitmotif?
Keep it raw.
How do you find brand new talents ?
I find them all different ways. These days, I follow a lot of artists on soundcloud and Facebook. I don’t even know how I find out about stuff. It’s harder to keep up with new artists than it used to be because artists don’t really need money to buy equipment or record in a studio the way they used to have to, so there seems to be way more competition.
Aloe Blacc’s Stones Throw LP was a huge success. Is it easy to manage for an independent label?
When I discovered Aloe, he did everything himself. The first album flopped and after the success of Mayer Hawthorne, he said, “I can do retro soul too” and he did and it was a success, bigger than I personally could have ever predicted. He made a song that for whatever reason, people really identified with and he toured in Europe heavily. And eventually, he was managed by the creator of American Idol so his success just kept building as by that time, he had a team beyond Stones Throw helping him. Aloe is a very smart businessman which is the biggest reason why he is successful.
Matthew Larkin Cassell
‘All I’m Missing Is You’
Mayer Hawthorne
‘Maybe So, Maybe No’
Madlib’s numerous projects are Stones Throw’s trademark! Is there any plans of future releases by Quasimoto, Lootpack or Yesterday’s New Quintet?
I talk to Madlib all the time, but I realized a long time ago that when Madlib is finishes a project and submits it to me, that’s when I can release it. I was very thankful that he did the score for the Stones Throw documentary and he and I are talking about new things, but nothing is currently on the Stones Throw release schedule from Madlib.
Here at Superfly we dig Tuxedo’s first album! what’s the story behind this project?
Mayer Hawthorne and Jake One are both big fans of late 70’s and early 80’s soul/funk/disco/boogie. They’d share these types of songs with each other and eventually tried to make music together and Tuxedo is the result of that relationship. Mayer is a great producer in his own right, but with Tuxedo, I believe Jake One did the majority of the production and Mayer wrote melodies and lyrics over it.
There are more and more reissues of old LPs, and more and more record labels (major or indie) now release their new artists on LP, or EP. Do you think that the LP reissue market could ever reach saturation point?
It’s hard to say. I am actually surprised by how popular it still is but I’m thankful for that. Stones Throw started out in 1996 as a VINYL ONLY label. I didn’t do CDs when I started it, nor did I do digital because there was no such thing as digital at the time. iTunes didn’t start until 2001 and the iTunes store didn’t start until 2003.
Myron & E with The Soul Investigators
‘Broadway’
