The band told Wax Poetics that “Our first two releases were very focused on capturing Ikebe’s live sound. Stone by Stone is more focused on developing rich textures and layers that we could achieve in the studio including putting a lot more keyboards on the tracks. Still, we’ve always been committed to tracking everything to tape. Being at Daptone gave us the freedom to explore creatively while keeping us tied to the traditional recording techniques that make the House of Soul [studio] unique.”.
“We recorded our first releases, the EP Hard Steppin’ and some tracks off our self-titled LP with Tom Brenneck at Dunham Studios,” percussionist Dave Bourla recalls. “Off of that, a few of us started to play in the touring bands of Charles Bradley and Sharon Jones, while other guys were playing with Lee Fields [their guitarist Vince Jones was part of Lee Fields' band for recent Oz/NZ shows]. As a result, a bunch of us had gotten to know the tape engineer at Daptone, Wayne Gordon, whose talents we greatly respect. When he had a couple of days at the studio free, we jumped on the chance to record in a place that’s inspired all of us.”
