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