Photo Credit: Miles Franz
Ronnie Stone carves a unique path, merging the comforting echoes of the past with the crisp edge of the future. A stalwart of the New York City music scene, Stone showcases his extensive production and musicianship skills from the depths of a hidden studio, surrounded by a collection of quintessential ’80s synthesizers. In this enclave, he produces tracks that balance the energy of dance anthems with the depth of introspective tunes, each a shining example in the realm of dance-pop, resonating with the essence of both the flamboyant and the reflective.
Today he releases a new LP and an intriguing new video for the opening single, and title track Ride Again.
Stone sets the scene for the Rosa Luna-directed lo-fi extravaganza: “A lonely synthesizer enters like sand swirling in the desert. Through the haze of the heat, we hear the deep thumping of a four-on-the-floor kick drum, and Ronnie’s solemn tenor comes into focus. He describes running out of gas on the freeway, leaving behind his motorcycle, and wandering through the desert, a broken man searching for meaning in his life. He finds his way to a strange city, where he seeks guidance from a psychic who tells him he has made a terrible mistake.”
Watch the video for “Ride Again” below:
The Diamond finds Ronnie Stone stripping down to a raw, mechanical core, weaving together jarring bass lines with haunting synths and vocals. The track is a masterclass in minimalist cool, laced with killer hooks. Stone elevates his dark electro-synth game to new heights with this number, channeling the gritty essence of pioneers like Tobacco and Front 242, while nodding to the early, gritty days of Nine Inch Nails’ Pretty Hate Machine. It’s a bold step forward for Stone, one that solidifies his place as a dark wizard of the dance floor.
“I wanted the lyrics to be more conceptual and more graphic novel-esque to fit more in with the sound I was channeling,” says Stone. “The song takes place in a retro-dystopian future inspired by Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84. In a surreal and seedy narrative drawing influence from crime films like Natural Born Killers and Pulp Fiction, it details the thoughts of a woman on a mission to do whatever it takes to survive. She crosses a bridge, seduces a guard, steals some money, and slits the throat of anyone who gets in her way.”
Although nostalgic and light sounding, Riding In The Rain punches you square in the gut. Navigating his hometown’s transformed streets, a man grapples with a deep sense of alienation and despair in the wake of a departure. Familiar places now seem distant, tinged with sorrow. He rides under relentless rain, confronting the pain and change, haunted by memories and a future irrevocably altered. “As I was writing this song, I was thinking about movies such as Taxi Driver, Say Anything,” says Stone. “There is a vivid section of Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance where the narrator (Phaedrus) describes riding his motorcycle straight into a torrential downpour. This imagery was on my mind when writing this song.”
Backstreet Leather Toy (ft. Sedona) has that blue-eyed soul vibe, channeling Wang Chung and Hall & Oates alike, with delicious synth flourishes tinkling throughout. That ‘bad boy’ had better watch his back with a R&B groove this smooth, modernized with an Electropop sheen and a touch of George Michael. The final, eponymous, single was inspired by the worlds and sounds of techno and house.
Trippin’ the light fantastic? Chemicals is a groovy laundry list of hallucinogenic pleasures crafted for club euphoria, channeling the retro funk of Louis Cole and Knower. Calle Loiza follows with the sweet spot of wistful synth cheesiness – we can almost picture Michael McDonald frantically rushing to the studio to sing backup on this path to paradise. Daddy’s Last Night In Town channels that samba beat off your childhood Casio, replete with orchestral hooks and a funky wah-wah bassline. Disappear Here moves solidly into Prince territory, speeding up that funk and fuzzing it out with call-and-response delivery. The album closes out with a much chiller vibe: Return 2 Love, another Hall & Oates-flavoured ballad.
Verdict: all killer, no filler. Blast this one loud for your Valentine and watch the magic happen.*
*Disclaimer: we cannot guarantee WHAT kind of magic, so use this powerful mojo with caution!
Listen to the album below and order here:
Ronnie’s hitting the streets of America with a cross-country tour, kicking off at Trans-Pecos in NYC and snaking though the northeast, midwest, and Pacific coast.
Tour Dates
Follow Ronnie Stone:
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