A history of Stone Island would be incomplete without mention of music. From Italy’s 1980s Paninaro movement – known for its love of pop music and an early Stone Island adopter – to 1990s Acid House ravers, Britpop’s protagonists and Grime rappers, the brand’s subcultural cachet has always been won through its ubiquity within music movements and their followers.
Now, a new project formalises this connection: titled ‘Stone Island Sound’, it sees the brand announce a series of playlists and live events with the theme ‘sound as a form of research’ (a nod to Stone Island’s approach to creating clothing, which largely begins with experiments on fabrics and the way they hold dyes). It is also a reference to a recent campaign featuring friends and longtime wearers of the brand – including Oasis’ Liam Gallagher – which ran with the tagline ‘community as a form of research’, a recognition of how devoted Stone Island fans have shaped its trajectory.
Stone Island Sound
As it stands, the ‘evolving’ project unfolds over three categories: ‘_Stone Island_Factory’ (a series of four playlists named after the seasons in Italian and released quarterly), Stone Island Sound_Curated By (further playlists curated by members of the Stone Island community), and ‘_Stone Island Sound_Live’ (a series of recordings from a previous edition of Stone Island Sound, and another project, Stone Island Presents, featuring performances from Space Afrika, Tiga and more).
The first edition of ‘_Stone Island Sound_Curated By’ will feature playlists from Hackney-based producer, poet and rapper John Glacier and Yaeji, an American musician and DJ. After that, playlists will follow monthly, dropped on Apple Music and Spotify.
The announcement coincides with the arrival of C2C, an ‘avant pop’ music festival which takes place yearly in Turin (31 October–3 November 2024). Stone Island will sponsor a stage at the event (aptly titled the ‘Stone Island Stage’) which features an eclectic line-up from Mica Levi and A.G. Cook, to Yaeji and John Glacier. Though not confirmed, one can hope that their performances will feature on upcoming editions of ‘_Stone Island Sound_Live’. Stay tuned.
Listen to John Glacier and Yaeji’s playlists below, and discover more on Apple Music and Spotify.
