As a record label with a vision, Stones Throw know that to thrive they need to go live. The modern artist need to be able to cut the mustard on stage. Much like the old skool artist in fact, but these things have a way of coming full circle.

Throughout the year, Stones Throw have been producing a series of live shows in a recording studio facility in east L.A. The shows are being recorded directly to vinyl with no computers, tape, or digital accessories used in the recording process.

To go Direct To Disk like this speaks volumes of the quality one is likely to expect when catching any of the Stones Throw roster live, which bodes well for artist and label alike.

Dam-Funk and Outrun. 25 years apart yet born of the same time. This is no retro remake folks, as the video is original footage of the game.

The music captures the feel of my memories from playing Outrun in the arcades to tee, thus connecting 25 years of good times. Am I showing my age? Aaah, whateva…

Stones Throw are marketing geniuses. The Stones Throw Video Contest which launched back in April and ends today is proof of that.

Such is the nature of genius that it attracts, well, genius. Enter Samuel Craven with a final day entry that’s already got the attention of Mr Perkins himself.

Sam’s video for Flowers provides all the essential ingredients for a summer video: it’s beautiful, calming and uplifting and works in perfect harmony with the track. Sure I’m biased but it deserves your vote, or at least a play or two.

Super Super8 video for Charizma & Peanut Butter Wolf’s Methods, courtesy of our very own Samuel Craven.

Found during an endless trawl through Sam’s local flea market, the footage is unbelievably untouched and unedited. And that’s where the magic lies.

When heartfelt visuals combine with heartfelt music there’s a synergy for all to see. Spend the next 4 minutes checking out what that magic looks like.

There’s a beautiful story behind the late great J DIlla‘s album cover photography. Video director Andrew Gura tells the full story here, but the long and short of it is that Stones Throw Art Director guru Jeff Jank needed photography for the 2006 Donut’s EP. J Dilla was in no position to provide any due his ailing health, and that’s where Gura’s video-shoot offcuts came in.

Gura provided 3 stills from that shoot for possible inclusion on the cover. In turn, what at first might look like a generic shoot spawned what even J Dilla’s mother considered to be the perfect encapsulation of her son’s spirit.

Behind the smile lies a beautiful story indeed.

Mayer Hawthorne on vocals – singing a Tony Bennett classic with beautifully art-directed video and merchandise to match – can only mean another collabo pack from the niche marketing hit-masters over at Stones Throw.

It’s hard not to disappear into the carefully crafted slowmos, but if that wasn’t enough, the track comes loaded on a heart-shaped USB flash drive, thus ensuring that as my heart leaves for sunnier climbs, my wallet also leaves my pocket.

An image of the past combined with sounds of the future courtesy of music / marketing guru’s Stones Throw and Bruce Haack, who was not only widely considered as one of electronic music’s true pioneers, but was also a man in possession of the most unassuming of faces.

This is a video of simple teenage abandon with not an alcopop in sight – just coke cans on the table.

What to do in an age of ever-decreasing record sales and the impending death of analogue?

Well if you’re Stones Throw, whose founding father Peanut Butter Wolf has a more than vested interest in vinyl culture, you teamed up with Serato and J Dilla Estate for the ultimate analogue digital combo.

For the uninitiated, Serato Scratch Live is a DJ software that allows DJs to use their ever growing MP3 collection while utilising the ancient art of Turntabalism ( or good old fashioned record spinning). J Dilla was a prolific Hip-Hop producer who passed away 2 years ago from Lupus, leaving a legacy of music longer than all our arms put together.

He was also a Momma’s Boy, and this set of 2 discs with six J Dilla tracks (2 sides with Serato Control Tone) and 2 donut slipmats in a package designed by Studio No.1. will be released May 10th, the day after Mother’s day.