From 1993 (?) and very much in the Tonex mode, in that it's kinda wonderful (worth it for the production and Kenny Turner alone) and yet sort of flawed...
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Monday, 16 April 2012
Full Crate & Jessie Boykins III
itunes
Sunday, 15 April 2012
Thursday, 5 April 2012
Wednesday, 4 April 2012
Sleepy and Frank
Sleepy Brown is a super talent, he's got that soul voice going on, he's the real deal. Dress Up is instant vintage, a track with real stones, a modern soul gem. It's not about the club but the party in the kitchen before the club. It's a sex soundtrack, and sounds like a warped 45, all over the place and yet knowing.... He followed up the CD which featured Dress Up with a real gem.... erm....... alas he didn't...After (apparently) toting round a complete CD for well over 12 months he could find anyone willing to release it (or he didn't accept any offers). Such is the stuff of internet speculation. Still he's got his own label now (?), and here is his first single (which may or may not be from the ill fated CD). It speaks volumes to say that this was first heard on e music (WTF), and has met with a muted reception on the modern soul scene. My only compliant about it is that it isn't Dress Up, and we seemed to have moved from the kitchen to the club. Then again it's not too bad a club, it's a Zo! styled post Prestwitch super plodder, welcome respite from modern soul event jolly tempo fodder. As the weeks go on it is gaining a bit of momentum, and I'd like to think someone might play this out to a dance floor where the average age is over 40 (these things happen).
Much as Sleepy Brown's "Nights" seems like a nice compromise, Frank Ocean seems to have driven in (well his girlfriend seems to do the driving) and given me a track to play over and over. I've been waiting on this, Franks the man, best ever free download mixtape, probably the best song of 2011, and then...... not a great deal if I'm being honest. However this track (a possible extra on the proper Sony version of his mixtape)- delivers. It's just special.
Much as Sleepy Brown's "Nights" seems like a nice compromise, Frank Ocean seems to have driven in (well his girlfriend seems to do the driving) and given me a track to play over and over. I've been waiting on this, Franks the man, best ever free download mixtape, probably the best song of 2011, and then...... not a great deal if I'm being honest. However this track (a possible extra on the proper Sony version of his mixtape)- delivers. It's just special.
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
Moovmnt of the day- Pomrad
Typical of the Moovmnt collective, another rather ordinary, yet extra ordinary instrumental. This time out of Antwerp the talented producer Pomrad.
Steve Jackson
About a week ago I learned of the death of UK Soul DJ Steve Jackson. I've mentioned Steve a couple of times in this blog and he was an infrequent visitor to these pages. A few weeks ago he contacted me about a Computer problem which I resolved for him through a long (2hr) phone conversation. We talked of many things soul music wise, about the scene in the UK, his part in it, and of where it was heading.
I first heard Steve DJ via the Real Love Internet Radio station. What first drew me to his show was his accent. When you are of a certain age and from the North West of England, Northern Soul simply percolates through everything. Northern Soul cannot be ignored nor it's influence negated once you've been touched by it. Steve wasn't from the North West and his take on Soul old and new reflected an unsullied approach. He wasn't the first southern based DJ I was listening too at the time, I was influenced by Bigger and by the new shows called podcasts, especially those of the Sour Mash Collective. Steve drew a line through the more Urban influences of say the Sour Mash podcasts, and kept to a more traditional old soul vibe. Steve was a Soul nerd, what he didn't know wasn't worth knowing, and what he did know seemed limitless. As a semi regular listener to Real Love I contacted him and in my pure vanity began to send him stuff to play. I then began to send him links to places on the net where I was sourcing material such as Soundclick, My Space, and the like. When I began to send him links to blogs of 90t's material I quickly realised that he already owned most of what was on offer (and a great deal more of what wasn't).
Steve had an outsiders take on new material, he wasn't that interested in setting the scene but he was a canny listener. Indeed on several occasions I recall having a gentle pop at him for his crafty acquisitions of an oldies I'd posted on EMS. I'd post up (for example) Heavy on my mind and a week later it would be in his show. Steve dealt with my complaints by gently reminding me that in truth I was posting up classics, and I ought to be grateful for the further exposure of these tracks, moreover Steve never once indicated that I had an ego which was out of control (he had better grace). In truth Steve was pretty ego blind, he didn't really care if his show on Starpoint only had a few people listening live in the chat box, though he always enjoyed my rather blunt wit and faux criticism of old soul. Indeed I'd taken to listening to him quite a bit on a Tuesday evening in recent months, and admired the counterpoint of his text chat with Dave Grimes (another total Soul expert come nerd). Between the two of them they made old soul seem more interesting and fresh, and as the music I like moves ever further away from Soul, the show gave me a grounding, which I will miss. I admit to feeling some frustration regarding the pious declarations of some of his Starpoint colleagues, who never seemed to visit his shows when on the air, however the Starpoint family have rallied round and served his memory well. Indeed I regret my own comments of last week which though in the spirit of my musings while his show was on air, have resulted in me being unable to take part in his main tribute on Starpoint- it's an irony Steve would have appreciated.
In our last conversation I spoke of my own disenfranchisement with modern soul, of its ageing demographic and the dwindling spiral of what constitutes "acceptable" material. Steve pretty much laughed off these comments, he suggested that by finding common ground in defining what modern soul was (i.e.play listing) the future might not be as fragmented as I suggest.
Here is a very rough low quality encode of the first hour of his show broadcast on 13/03/12.
I first heard Steve DJ via the Real Love Internet Radio station. What first drew me to his show was his accent. When you are of a certain age and from the North West of England, Northern Soul simply percolates through everything. Northern Soul cannot be ignored nor it's influence negated once you've been touched by it. Steve wasn't from the North West and his take on Soul old and new reflected an unsullied approach. He wasn't the first southern based DJ I was listening too at the time, I was influenced by Bigger and by the new shows called podcasts, especially those of the Sour Mash Collective. Steve drew a line through the more Urban influences of say the Sour Mash podcasts, and kept to a more traditional old soul vibe. Steve was a Soul nerd, what he didn't know wasn't worth knowing, and what he did know seemed limitless. As a semi regular listener to Real Love I contacted him and in my pure vanity began to send him stuff to play. I then began to send him links to places on the net where I was sourcing material such as Soundclick, My Space, and the like. When I began to send him links to blogs of 90t's material I quickly realised that he already owned most of what was on offer (and a great deal more of what wasn't).
Steve had an outsiders take on new material, he wasn't that interested in setting the scene but he was a canny listener. Indeed on several occasions I recall having a gentle pop at him for his crafty acquisitions of an oldies I'd posted on EMS. I'd post up (for example) Heavy on my mind and a week later it would be in his show. Steve dealt with my complaints by gently reminding me that in truth I was posting up classics, and I ought to be grateful for the further exposure of these tracks, moreover Steve never once indicated that I had an ego which was out of control (he had better grace). In truth Steve was pretty ego blind, he didn't really care if his show on Starpoint only had a few people listening live in the chat box, though he always enjoyed my rather blunt wit and faux criticism of old soul. Indeed I'd taken to listening to him quite a bit on a Tuesday evening in recent months, and admired the counterpoint of his text chat with Dave Grimes (another total Soul expert come nerd). Between the two of them they made old soul seem more interesting and fresh, and as the music I like moves ever further away from Soul, the show gave me a grounding, which I will miss. I admit to feeling some frustration regarding the pious declarations of some of his Starpoint colleagues, who never seemed to visit his shows when on the air, however the Starpoint family have rallied round and served his memory well. Indeed I regret my own comments of last week which though in the spirit of my musings while his show was on air, have resulted in me being unable to take part in his main tribute on Starpoint- it's an irony Steve would have appreciated.
In our last conversation I spoke of my own disenfranchisement with modern soul, of its ageing demographic and the dwindling spiral of what constitutes "acceptable" material. Steve pretty much laughed off these comments, he suggested that by finding common ground in defining what modern soul was (i.e.play listing) the future might not be as fragmented as I suggest.
Here is a very rough low quality encode of the first hour of his show broadcast on 13/03/12.
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