Aristotle Jones Premieres His Youthful Album ‘Mountain Doo-Wop & the Streets of Osage’

You can just hear it in an artist’s sound when their setting and surroundings play heavily into the writing of their music, which is the case with Aristotle Jones. As you take a debut listen to his new record Mountain Doo-Wop & the Streets of Osage today, you’ll hear the culture, you’ll hear the spirit, and you’ll certainly hear the unique influence of the Appalachian region of West Virginia.

As you might expect, Jones grew up on a lot of traditional Black music, which he has infused into the recording of these eight new songs. There are moments of exuberance on this record, but also a place for more soulful ballads, representative of Jones’ experience growing up in West Virginia, and how it affected him as a musician and as an individual.

Describing his new record as he only could, Jones tells us:

“If you don’t know where you come from, its hard to see where you are heading. For me, the music on this album serves as an ever growing reflection of images from the past bouncing from the glass ceiling, moments before it shatters. The sounds and styles are timeless, the sonics are fresh, and the concept of genre blending, and storytelling through song is traditional.

“Like many rural black families in my neck of the woods, the roots of soul music in Appalachia are woven directly through my family tree. All it took were the right conditions for a modern branch of Soulful Folk music to bud and spout new life in the hills of West Virginia. Mountain Doo-Wop & Street of Osage serves as an addition to the almost lost musical history of Gospel, Soul, R&B, Rock N’ Roll, Blues, and Folk music that were once found in many rural black communities in the mountains and aims to inspire the next chapter of this living legacy.”

Mountain Doo-Wop is actually the name of the main character that Jones has crafted for this record. Story-like in nature, the songs are told through his perspective as a singer who picks up from the small town in which he grew up to pursue success, merely to discover that what he was looking for was right there in front of him all along. The album is a tribute to Jones’ family and a sort of tribute to his parent’s old record collection, on which he grew up.

It is also centred around the will and the perseverance of living in rural Appalachia, from the days of Jim Crow laws, through the Civil Rights Movement, into the current social climate. Jones has found so much value, positivity, and love within his own culture and surroundings, and he feels strongly that he has been catapulted forward by the power and security of love. Mountain Doo-Wop & the Streets of Osage shines with optimism and the will to carry on, important values that represent who Aristotle Jones is, and where he came from.

Mountain Doo-Wop & the Streets of Osage Track Listing:

1. Straight To You
2. Breathe
3. YOU
4. The Best Nest
5. I’ll Fly Away feat. Robert Jones
6. The Streets Of Osage
7. The Outside
8. The Moment Before
9. Streets of Osage – Acoustic

Aristotle Jones ‘Mountain Doo-Wop & the Streets of Osage’ album artwork