The Ever-Changing Sound of British Urban Music

To me one of the most appealing aspect of Urban/Soul/Electronic music is the fact that it is constantly evolving ,never staying still. There are so many genres/sub-genres and sub-sub-genres it is almost impossible to keep.
 I've never been a fan of rock/indie music - as far as I'm concerned there's only so much you can do with bass drums guitar and skinny jeans and it's all been done already.
 I'm a fan of all types of Urban ( my broad definition of all the different styles ) I've recently bought Art Department's amazing new electronic/dance album and Boxcutter's new album The Dissolve which is an incredible collection of great tracks of many styles...a couple remind me of the Mizell Brothers productions and some are brilliant dubstep/bass collisions.
However one of the latest styles of music which I'm really enjoying is what I'm calling Urban Folk ....people like Ed Sheeran,Maverick Sabre and Noah Francis . All three sing great Soul with a sense of integrity and honesty that is so refreshing.They also all collaborate with the best of the new MC's but unlike a lot of collaborations where some talentless artist tries to gain so street cred by paying the latest flavour of the month to perform some witless rap ......you know the ones.
Ed Sheeran's " Number 5 Collaborations " album is brilliant - great songs and each MC performs superbly ,adding grit and energy to each track .
Maverick Sabre's " Travelling Man " mixtape is brilliant too - you can download it for free from his website....I love his voice and his subject matter
Noah Francis has collaborated with legends like Prodigal Sunn and Shyheim ,his beautiful Soul songs blending perfectly with their rhymes to create emotional and powerful music.
I know that someone somewhere somehow is in the process of creating the next new sound to excite us.....long may it continue x

What Is Soul ?

Back in about 1967 I bought an album called " What Is Soul " - a fantastic Atlantic compilation featuring Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett ,Otis Redding and many more Soul greats ......I played it to death while my sister played Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band .
 As I grew up I fell more and more in love with Soul Music - Marvin ( still The Greatest ) , The Temptations ,Four Tops , The Supremes etc etc - at age 13 I decided I would only buy records on Tamla Motown and I still have them to this day.
 Then I got into the Hi Sound of Willie Mitchell ( Al Green especially ) and then Stax -Isaac Hayes " Shaft " drove my Dad mad as I played it endlessly on our record player with the arm back so it kept repeating .
 From there it was Philly ,Earth Wind & Fire ,The Isleys and so on
Soul Music has been a huge part of my life for almost all my life...I feel truly blessed to have been able to enjoy such a wide range of brilliant music ,music that has heavily influenced my career .
 Over the years as I spent more and more time in clubs my taste evolved and I started to appreciate electronic music more ( thanks to Heaven 17 largely ) ,hip-hop,reggae,drum and bass and all the myriad forms of dance music .
 Then through signing Loose Ends ,Soul II Soul,Maxi Priest etc  I played a big part in the evolution of British Black Music
 As regular readers of this blog will know I'm just as passionately interested in " new " music as ever and always will be . I love dubstep, Maverick Sabre,Ed Sheeran , Kode 9 , Hyperdub etc etc and I get such a kick when I hear a new artist that I like.
 I still love all my Soul favourites ( check my Facebook postings ! ) and still listen to Marvin and Teddy ,The Isleys and so on regularly.....they still sound great !
 So what is Soul ? I guess that is up to each of us ,there's no right or wrong answer....that is what is so wonderful about music
 If I had to define what I think Soul Music is  I would have to say listen To Marvin sing " Wholy Holy " from "What's Going On " to me that is Soul Perfection
 The Soul Guru Loves YOU x

What New Music Is The Soul Guru listening too ?

Hi Everyone....what a glorious day ,the royal baldie is marrying the fit commoner and all is well with the world - I'm off to a gold old-fashioned street party later to celebrate this glorious union before the big occadsion,tomorrow's vital Brentford v Saints match .....I'm nervous already !
 Anyway enough of this idle talk,this blog is called Music For The Soul - it is not specifically about Soul Music however and this post's new music recommendations have a distinctly eclectic feel to them.
 Before I begin the news that HMV have issued their third profits warning of the year brings the possibility of their soon being no high music retailer a further step closer . For me as a guy who started his working life in Record shops that is a very sad and frightening prospect.......who would have thought that the music business would fall apart so dramatically in the past 10 years ? Me for a start as it was obvious that the internet should have been embraced not treated as a threat...the resulting chaos is a direct result of this .!
OK now what new music am i listening to ?
1) Ed Sheeran - No 5 Collaborations .
 I was only introduced to Ed recently but this album is genius ! Ed is what I term an Urban folk-singer singing songs that are very relevant about the modern Urban life and on this 8-track album he collaborates with the creme of UK grime MC's - Devlin,Wiley, Jme, P Money ,Getts.
 The collaborations work perfectly and make this one of the best albums of the year so far.
2) Kode 9 & The Spaceape - Black Sun
 Kode 9 ( aka Steve Goodman ) is the owner of one of the best labels around ,a label whose name is synonymous with quality electronic music - Hyperdub.
 This latest collaboration with The Spaceape-one of the best MC's around in my opinion - is exceptional dark ,dub and dubstep influenced with heavy heavy bass.
3) London Electricity - Yikes
 Another of my favourite labels is Hospital Records , a label that has been releasing the best drum and bass since the genre began.
 London Electricity have always been slightly left of centre and this new album featuring the cool vocals of Esma Esmerelda continues in that vein - it is very much a new electronic album ,not just banging drum and bass . Highly recommended
 Finally another plug for my album of the year - Butterfly Jam's brilliant " Bohdi " -Melanie Williams and Joe Roberts have made a truly GREAT Soul album ,please please check it out ,you won't be disappointed !
 OK that's it for now ....I'm off to put my Union Jack suit on and Lambeth Walk to the street party.......God Bless You All on this Happy Day !
The Soul Guru Loves YOU x

Heard You Missed Me...well I'm Back !

Apologies one and all for the silence ,it has been a time of change in The Soul Guru's life - very positive and uplifting but change creates upheaval.
 The best news I've heard in years is that one of the finest British Soul Albums Ever is now available . The album is by Butterfly Jam - otherwise known as Melanie " Sub Sub " Williams and Joe " The Best UK Soul Voice Ever " Roberts and is called Bodhi . It is quite simply an album that every lover of Soul Music or just Great Music should download now from CD Baby .
 Self-written and produced at home albums this brilliant are rare indeed . I will admit my interest as I have known Mel and Joe for 20 years and have always believed that one day they will get the success and acclaim they deserve .........now hopefully they will.
 To hear Joe on the incredible " Yourside " IS the definition of SOUL , Mel is equally brilliant on " Junkie " and " Chemistry " but the album's highlights are the 2 duets " Like We Used To " ( originally by Temper Temper and a potential worldwide smash in my opinion ) and the incredible " Feed My Soul " which is one of my all-timt Top 10 tracks EVER...it is that good !
 I write this blog to try to give artists who I believe are good enough some help because I know all my readers have taste,class and style ........like me ...and will heed my recommendations . So please buy the Butterfly Jam album ,you WILL love it.
 I've been listening to a lot of different stuff - the amazing new Burial EP " Street Halo " shows that the master is still doin it and Noah Francis's " Immortal " is a really powerful piece of music from another artist I signed about 15 years ago who was way ahead of his time .
 Beverly Knight's version of Soul II Soul's " Fairplay " ( with an introduction from the man Jazzie B himself ) is really good to but the best cover I've heard recently is James Vincent McMorrow's cover of " Whip My Hair " .....you must check it out !
 I will be blogging regularly again from now on folks ......and remember the Soul Guru loves YOU !

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Have a pint of the Black Stuff for me ,bet on a winner at Cheltenham Festival ,dance a jig,play a penny whistle whist singing " Come On Eileen " ( not easy ),wear green from Head to Toe and generally Be Up For The Craic !

No More Negativity

Hi Everyone ,Soul Guru here in an apologetic mood ......
 I started this blog to write about Music For The Soul but recently is has become a series of anti-music biz rants ! Although criticism where due will always be a feature of my blog negativity is what is killing the business and I want this blog to go back to music so from now on NO MORE NEGATIVITY ! !
 I want to draw your attention to some great artists ,not all " new " whose music is floating my boat right now :
1) Georgia Ann Muldrow ,especially the totally awesome Kings Ballad album ...think Afro-centric Paliament/.Funkadelic crossed with Ursula Rucker and you may get close ...just listen to the title track ,a lament for Michael Jackson and you will get the picture
2) Photek: one of the GREAT pioneers of drum and bass and electronic music in general ,new EP "Avalanche " is amazing ,particularly " Sunburst "
3) Kassandra " King Of The Dancehall " : write it down and remember
4) Morgan Zarate : Head Honcho of my favourite label ,Hyperdub ,had Hookit EP out - if you liked Spacek or like Hyperdub then this is for you
5) Cassius " I  Love You So ( Skream remix ) .....OMfuckingG ! !
6) " Let The Children Techno " comp featuring Skream ,Mr.Oizo and Cassius on the BEST electronic/club/etc label Because
7) Wayne Giddens ; the new Curtis Mayfield /Bobby Womack ,remember and write down
8) Patrina : The Samba sade ?
9) Talib Kweli : Ghetto Rainbows album ...incredible new conscious hip-hop
10 ) John Legend & The Roots Live i-tunes gig CD ...utterly brilliant

There you go ,that's your homework.........God it feels GOOD to be POSITIVE again
TSG loves YOU X

The BRITS ( British Record Industry Travesties )...Shame On You

Last week's BRITS were a spectacular demonstartion of most things that are responsible for the decline in the Major Labels .....sorry but it's true
 It showcased some real talent - Adele was fab as was Rhianna - but was undermined by witless presentation ,an excess of pyrotechnics and an absence of any charismatic artists .......to be blunt , if Take That are the Best Group then I'm Pixie Lott !
 In a complete Major Label carve-up of " Awards " the failure of Sony to " win " anything was a particularly sorry show for a once-great label ......Shame on You ! If I couldn't sign an artist good enough to win a BRIT I would stand on my head on the 4th plinth for a day ...Jesus wept !
  A lot of people tell me Mumford and Sons are " Great " ...yeah ,I'm Cheryl Cole too !
 In a year when UK Black Music dominated the charts it was disgusting to see Tinie Tempah be the " token RnB " winner .....Shame On You !
 I like Laura Marling but again if she's the Best Female then I'm Justin Bieber
 I could go on but I won't ....except to say that more people watched " My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding " on the night than the BRITS , Shame On You
 Meanwhile the orchestra played on as The Titanic sunk a little further and the deckchairs were rfearranged one final time !
 Shame On You All 

Where have all the visionary A&R men gone ?

It gives me no pleasure watching the industry I love(d) dying slowly and painfully ....well that's not quite true I must admit to a touch of schadenfreud ( look it up ! ) and smugness as it crashes and burns 

 As I write this I'm listening to Tom Waits " The Heart Of Saturday Night " and it makes me wonder....where did all the great,original artists go ? They haven't stopped making music I'm sure !

Perhaps the question should be where have all the visionary A&R men gone ...people like Simon Draper,Muff Winwood,Daniel Miller and me ? We changed the face of British music by signing great bands who dared to be different and didn't give a fuck about convention . 

  I feel sorry for current A&R men ,sitting in their offices like a row of " smoking beagles " only in this case they are killing them selves slowly by listening to  shit and trying to convince an increasingly sceptical public that look ...the king IS wearing a beautiful set of clothes ! ! 

  Instead of cigarettes they wear headphones and a beleagured expression as they try to persuade the current Producer or writer flavour of-the-month that their latest anorexic dimwit is the next Pixie/Cheryl or Ellie !

 Now I know just how much pressure these guys are under believe me but surely if a once-great business is dying through lack of interest of it's customers isn't it time to do something different ,sign GOOD music instead of rubbish ,sign artists whose strength is their individuality rather than some painter and decorator who can sing kareoke ?

 Of course noone in the business would be brave enough to employ me now coz I 'm, too opinionated and quite hard work - OK very hard work : ) - but great artist need great people to handle them and I was an expert at that 

 I'm going to tell you all the secret to great A&R .......it is persuading an artist to do what you want them to but have them think it is their idea ! 

 Sounds simple but you should try it ........I'm good at it ,it's my strtength . I can't sing or play or produce or m ix - believe me I've tried - but I can encourage artists to believe in themselves ,question them as to are they being the best they can be.

 Now if the music business IS dying - and sadly that is the case - then surely you A&R guys out there shouldn't die wondering ......the recent success of Plan B the new Chase & Status ( or nu-Pendulum ) and James Blake show that there IS a demand for excellent ,confrontational stimulating new music 

 So come on you smoking A&R men ,cast off your headphones and join us in the search for a brand-new bright tomorrow ! !

PS all  label MD's form an orderly queue for my services : ) )  

Managers/artists...friends or foes ?

This week ,after spending 8 months working very hard with a new  artist called Rahma I was politely informed that ,now I had got to the point of getting her a deal ,my services as a manager would not be required ,but she would be happy for me to do some synch licensing for her ... I'm sure you can imagine my reaction......that's right I told her exactly what I thought of her and we are no longer working together .
 She said that she wants to run her own business ,make all the decisions  and have a coterie of " advisers " at her beck and call. This is just about the stupidest idea I've ever heard - and I've heard plenty of stupid ideas from artists AND managers !
 I told her that " a little knowledge is a dangerous thing ...and she certainly has a little knowledge "
 However as well as being ,justifiably ,angry I was also very hurt that a young artist with great potential should ruin whatever chance she may have had of success by believing she can make every decision ! I'm not saying that I should be the manager ,I don't have a problem if there is someone better or we don't get along ,but the idea of any artist running their own business and making every decision whilst be the artist is utterly nonsensical ! !
 However it has made me think about the nature of the artist/manager relationship in the " new " music business and I've concluded that now with the onus more than ever on the artist to do so much of the work themselves ,and with decreasing importance of even having a deal with any of the dinosaur labels, a good manager is ESSENTIAL to a band or artists chances of success
 However that is easier said than done and I know that for every good manager there are at least 20 idiots and almost every artist has horror stories to tell about being exploited ,ripped-off or worse
 Do I think I'm a good manager ? I'm a " work in progress " but with my experience of A&R ,labels ,ad agencies,brands,PR and synch I think I'm on the right track
 As the business changes  people who really love music know that there is more to life than major-label rubbish and i-tunes ...there will always be a horde of us curious to hear new,exciting music that lifts our hearts and minds,Music For The Soul ........and this is where good managers can really help their artists .
 You need to have more than great music now to make you stand out from the crowd...the internet is a wonderful place to find music but it's not democratic and there is so much shit to wade through before you get to the Promised Land .......
 A good manager should  work WITH the artist to makes things happen.....and therein is the crux of the matter ....too many artist think a manger should work FOR them not WITH them....as long as they think like that they are doomed
 Every artist I've known has shared the same view...if they afre successful it's coz they are brilliant - if they fail it's because the label/manager/plugger etc were shit . It was ever thus and will probably remain so.........but at least I tried
 You know I genuinely hope Rahma goes on to achieve the success she deserves but unless she has a reality check she will end up like so many others before her....thinking of what might have been
 On a happier note I have heard some truly brilliant music recently from Because records - the new Errol Alkan track featuring Jarvis Cocker "Avalanche " is absoluely brilliant as is the new Django Django album . In fact all their new music is so amamzing Because Records will be the subject of my next blog
 The Soul Guru Loves YOU x

The State Of The Union

Welcome to the first post of 2011 ,the blog will now be posted weekly every Monday as I want to make it as good as possible and not find myself repeating myself .

 The New Year is always a good time to reassess things with a view to trying to improve ....and God knows the state of the music business needs improving.

 If you didn't see it last week HMV reported a sales drop of 13% year on year and their shares lost 21% of their value as a result .....all the majors - or should that be both as you can't count Warners and EMI nowadays - are losing money like a drunk in a casino ( hello Andy Carroll of Newcastle United ). 

 Sad but in life you get what you deserve........and the " major " music business deserves nothing ergo they get nothing. I saw the new C-Lo green album being advertised for sale on TV for a fiver in Tescos......there's nothing like treating you artists with respect ,and that's nothing like treating you artist with respect ! 

 The decline has been so predictable - when i worked at Sony we had countless meeting discussing the internet but while we talked about it how we could control it rather than embrace it the world turned and there we were ,selling horse-drawn carriages just as the internal combustion engine was invented .This was the point that the music biz started to unravel.

 Combine this with the labels doing a deal with 1 retailer ( i-tunes ) who control 85 % of the market , a whole generation of kids who have never paid for music and a complete absdence of anyone decent A&R guys what do you get ? Oblivion,extinction , death .

 The "majors " will take around 5 years to die but as they lay twitching and gasping for breath something beautiful is happening reminiscent of the rise of Punk in 1977........people are startuing to make music by themselves ,for themselves ...not worrying about "getting a deal ".......THIS IS A VERY GOOD THING !

 Of course shit like X-Factor will continue and brainless sheep with no sense or taste will continue to watch pasty-faced painter and  decorators murder a selection of kareoke favourites and buy their single before instantly forgetting them .....

 I started out in a record shop ,had no presumptions to be an A&R man but when I  started it was obvious that I was great at it ,mainly because I cared about music and never cared at all about the labels .

 As my career progressed I became known a s a " maverick " or worse and as the music business became increasingly bland and predictable it was inevitable that we would go our separate ways . Fuck them ,it was their loss...

 Despite everything I never lost my passion for music and now it burns brighter than ever inside me  - I love writing this ,listening to new music and working with great new artists.

 There is so much great music out there if you are prepared to look for it ,I spend a lot of time and money on music because it is a passion - I buy every album I write about here and always will . You can tell by the way I write I hope that I mean every word I say . I'm not bitter about the muisc buisness...it's just irrelevant nowadays

 I believe 2011 will prove to be a tipping point for good music - I'm already looking forward to new albums from Kode 9 & The Spaceape,Breakage,Andreya Triani,Jess Mills ( amazing vocalist who appeared with LeftField  live ) ,Rahma, Patrina and even PLEASE GOD some new music from  " The Greatest Band in the World " ..........LeftField ,and I know that I will hear new music from artists I've never heard before and it will raise my spirits and lift my Soul as great new music always does.

 As far as The Soul Guru is concerned the future has never looked brighter ,our destiny is in our hands......come walk with me to a brave new world 

 X