Skimming Stones ... twice

The cover star of Skimming Stones, the special issue of Your Heart Out which can be downloaded for free here, is Sylvia Tella and the image is borrowed from the cover of her wonderful debut LP, Spell. It's a little different from other lovers rock recordings of the time, as you can tell by the title track which is somewhat removed from the diy London schoolgirl approach. But then Sylvia's career path was a little different anyway. She may be best known in the pop world for her showstopping collaborations with Dr Robert and the Blow Monkeys (e.g. on the great hit single Choice), but there's a lot more to explore. Sylvia as well as having a great voice over the years has been involved with the production and writing side of music. She, for example, had a number of songwriting credits on Akabu's Warrior Queen LP on On-U Sound. Among the musicians on that LP is Caroline Williams on keyboards. If that name seems familiar, then have a quick look at the credits for Massive Attack's One Love. Caroline is also known as Rhythm Queen, and with Horace Andy she made the fantastic Elementary LP in 1985 for Rough Trade. And anyone who thinks Massive Attack dragged Horace into the digital age needs this record ...