What's Going On ?

First of all thank you for all the " Likes " yesterday…I really appreciate every one of them .
So " What's Going on ? "…the greatest album ever made by Marvin ..my hero..my idol…my inspiration……
Also a  question I find myself asking more and more when I ponder the state of the music business…a business I love so much that has been reduced to a parody of what it once was … idiotic manufactured "stars " making music by numbers that no-one cares about ….have you seen the sales recently ?
It's easy to blame the internet…I was A&R Director of Columbia  - the label not the country ;-) - in the mid-nineties when Napster first appeared and every one was panicking about how to " deal " with this new-fangled internet but to me it was obvious…the customer is always right  …..before I joined Virgin in 1981 I worked in record shops so I'm  one of the few people in the industry who actually knows what makes someone part with their hard-earned money for  …if more people knew then the industry wouldn't be in Intensive Care on life-support .
So what makes someone want to buy an album ?
In my opinion it's a combination…..obviously the music has to be GREAT…but I also think that people want their favourite to be STARS….like Marvin,Stevie,Bowie etc…not boring charisma-free people….Hi Emile Sande and Sam Smith..with no personality just boring boring boring !
I'm 58 and my life has been music…I still love it and BUY loads of it..sadly mostly from i-tunes ….I love electronic music,Soul,Hip-Hop,House,Dance ( NOT that EDM shit ) ….I spend a long time reading about music and checking it out…..then,if I like what I hear I will buy it .
I'm not " anti " the music business , in fact it the exact opposite,I LOVE the music business…..but sadly I think that too many people put the BUSINESS before the MUSIC….hence we find ourselves in the situation we are today
The Soul Guru is not a grumpy old man …..those of you who know me know I'm a cheerful,happy and optimistic Soul…….who loves SOUL music .
My next post will be all about the best 10 albums I've bought this year…..this SO much good music out there if you look hard enough
Love to you all

I AM The Soul Guru x

Heard you missed me….well I'm back…what ever happened to BRITISH Black Music

So after a long sabbatical The Soul Guru is back…why did I go quiet ? It's a long story…..but as the state of British " Urban/Soul/Black Music " sank to lower depths I found it hard to summon the enthusiasm to continue…….
Now British Black/Urban whatever has sunk so low that Ed Sheeran has just been named the most important artist in British Black and Urban by 1xtra ( as if they have any taste ) it's time for some to stand up and be counted and ask this question …….what the FUCK is going on with music in this country .
I have nothing against Ed Sheeran…being ginger and from Suffolk apart ...that's a joke ok .
When I fell in LOVE with SOUL in the 70's I loved Boz Scaggs, Average White Band,Frankie Miller,Kokomo,Hall & Oates etc..they were called " Blue-Eyed Soul "….their colour was irrelevant..they made great SOUL music .
 So what's my problem ?
My problem is that apart from a very few artists such as Laura Mvulu no-one is making SOUL music here anymore..maybe Michael Kiwanuka
 Without wishing to sound arrogant and boring ( I'm both incidentally ) I signed Soul II Soul, Maxi Priest ,Loose Ends ,I-Level so I'm qualified to comment…to anyone who say " who is this old  fart " ? I've got a simple answer….I sold 30 million albums…what have you sold ?
 I'm weary of A&R guys  who work for major labels telling me how hard their jobs are…my Dad worked in a factory all his life…THAT'S hard work so stop complaining and do something about it .
 Re Ed Sheeran…guess who's on his first single ? Pharrell of course …cut to major label A&R meeting :
A&R Man " artist X isn't really any good "
MD " call Pharrell then you moron and pay him $ 200,000 for a verse of mind-numbing stupidity

Trust me ,it's true

SOUL music has been my life since 1974….I'm NOT going down without a fight…it's too important to me ……
Marvin Gaye is my hero…my idol…my inspiration…….
So how about this ?
For me it's always been about the artist NOT the Songwriters….I NEVER signed an artist that didn't write their own songs ( apart from MN8 and they were great )
If you keep using the same Producers ( all ALL A&R guys do ) guess what the tracks will sound like ?

I've just started a new indie label dedicated to great BRITISH SOUL music…I promise you great music because I AM The Soul Guru

July 2014