_"Absorb the pain and react smoothly... don't become distracted by the white noise of possibilities... experience a flow-like state, even an Ultra Instinct"_ \- **MMA fighter Platinum Mike Perry**
Photographed by Noel Quintela.
[John Carroll Kirby](https://www.instagram.com/johncarrollkirby/), the pianist, producer, and composer has just surprised us with the release of his minimalist LP titled _Conflict_. A perfect complement to the worlds current conditions, at once it is soothing whilst still riddled with potency. A woozy and restrained body of work that has all the calm of flutes, bass, and a light dusting of synths. The punch comes in the violent percussions of his piano playing which emotes and conveys the true sense of conflict. Kirby plays with repetition throughout the album, though switching the time stamp ultimately elongates the sense of yearning and despair. The negative space heard around the piano ultimately creates the deepest impact in cradling us in a sense of meditation. With titles like “Walking Through A House Where A Family Has Lived” and “Who Will Replace Brandon Lee” the thoughts seem to say melancholy can be ok. The collection of work released ahead of his upcoming _My Garden_ LP is the outcome of "trying to accept the duality of the world, and through that find peace," Kirby says.
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