>> Soul Jazz
bio: Here?s our life story ! We?ve been going strong for 16 years now, running shops, labels and club nights. There?s 12 of us who work here full ?time and quite a few more part time and the whole shebang is owned by Stuart Baker - we remain totally independent.
THE SHOP Soul Jazz Records started in Camden, North London in 1988 selling 2nd hand soul, jazz, Latin and funk records bought during frequent trips to the U.S. In 1991 we moved to larger and more central premises in Soho, London. The shop was by now a focal point for DJs, producers and music lovers and in 1998 the name changed to ?Sounds of the Universe? to reflect the diversity of music being sold. In 2002 we moved again to a bigger shop just round the corner from the old shop at 7 Broadwick Street, London. We sell reggae, house, soul, hip hop, disco, electronica, dancehall, R ?n?B, funk, Latin, techno, jazz, African, punk, Brazillian, jungle.and more. We also still stock plenty of long since deleted second hand vinyl. We humbly reckon it?s the best record shop in the world !
THE LABELS In 1991 we started the Soul Jazz and Universal Sound labels. We also have 2 labels devoted to putting out new music ? Microsolutions and Yoruba. We?ve put out over 200 releases of both old and new music. Here?s a bit about a few of them?.
Nu Yorica. (Vols. 1 & 2) and Nu Yorica Roots Culture clash in New York City. Two very popular compilations of genre ? busting experiments in Latin music from NYC?s finest ? Eddie Palmieri, Fania All Stars, Joe Bataan, Candido, Irakere, Ray Barretto, Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente and many more besides.
Batucada & Capoeira The samba schools of Rio meet on disc with the martial art of Capoeira.
Barrio Nuevo Latin funk, soul and disco for the dancefloor. Barrio block party monsters from the likes of War, Patti Labelle, Mandrill and Chakachas.
100, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600% Dynamite Incredibly popular series of big tunes from our long running ?100% Dynamite? club night. These compilations, like our others, have hopefully succeeded in bringing a genre of music to a new audience as well as satisfying existing fans. All the tracks are stone ? cold killers and the artists and producers that appear on each record form a who?s who of reggae ? Coxsone Dodd, Duke Reid, Lee Perry, Joe Gibbs, Bounty Killer, Red Rat, Prince Buster, The Skatalites, John Holt, Tenor Saw, Augustus Pablo, Dennis Brown, Sister Nancy, Jonny Osbourne, Toots and the Maytals, Jackie Mittoo, Ms Thing, Barrington Levy, Morgan Heritage, Freddie McGregor, Yabby You, Jacob Miller, U Roy, Mr Vegas and many many more.
Jackie Mittoo ? The Keyboard King at Studio 1 and Jackie Mittoo and the Soul Brothers We?re big fans of Jackie Mittoo and have put out 2 compilations of his music ? he was the funkiest pianist / writer / arranger of all time and quite simply the most important person in the development of reggae music !
Voodoo Drums Drummers of the Societe Absolument Guininplaying the sacred rhythms of Voodoo. Recorded in Port Au Prince, Haiti.
ESG ? A South Bronx Story / Step Off ESG have a unique place in three musical histories ? house, hip hop and punk. They?re 4 sisters from the Bronx and one neighbourhood friend playing the funkiest, rawest stripped down grooves you?ve ever heard. Includes New York dance classics such as ?Moody?, ?UFO? and ?You?re No Good?. A new album, Step Off was released in 2002 and it also rocks !
Studio 1 Rockers Studio 1 is the most important label in the history of reggae. Huge hits from The Skatalites, Dawn Penn, Horace Andy, Marcia Griffiths and more will get you moving. We?re releasing loads of quality Studio 1 stuff ? Studio 1 Soul, Studio 1 Roots, Studio 1 DJs, Studio 1 Scorcher, Studio 1 Ska, Studio 1 Dub, Burning Spear, Studio 1 Funk ? the amount of music this label put out was phenomenal and most of it has never been available outside of Jamaica until now.
New Orleans Funk (volumes 1 & 2) The original sound of funk, 1960 ? 1975, from where it all began. Super heavyweight tracks from The Meters, Eddie Bo, Professor Longhair, Lee Dorsey, Betty Harris, Dr. John, The Wild Magnolias and more.
Philadelphia Roots Volumes 1 and 2 Funk, soul and the roots of disco. Killers from People?s Choice, Brenda and the Tabulations, Bunny Sigler, Gamble and Huff and a host of others who went on to create disco.
In The Beginning There Was Rhythm Early ?dance? music from UK post punk bands. Tracks from A Certain Ratio, The Slits, Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, 23 Skidoo and many more.
Mantronix ? That?s My Beat NY dance pioneer and DJ Kurtis Mantronix selects his favourite old skool hip hop, electro and disco cuts from back in the day.
Hustle Disco inna reggae stylee. Killer versions of tracks like Ring My Bell, Upside Down, Rapper?s Delight and Don?t Stop Til You Get Enough
Studio 1 Story Our most ambitious project to date - a 3 hour DVD + double album + a 100 page book telling, for the first time ever, the story of Studio 1, the greatest reggae label of all time and it?s founder and owner, Mr.Coxsone Dodd.
Impact ! Reggae and Jamaican funk and soul from the vaults of the legendary Impact and Randys record labels.
Miami Sound Funk and soul from Miami, Florida, 1968 ? 1975. There was a wealth of quality music coming out the sunshine state round this time as tracks from Gwen and George McCrae, Timmy Thomas, Helene Smith and others testify.
Nice Up The Dance This is awesome ! New and newish dancehall with some serious ragga infected hip hop ? Masters At Work, Ward 21, Shaggy, Sean Paul, Chaka Demus and Pliers, J ? Live, Dawn Penn and more. You will love this album !
New York Noise Dance music from the New York underground, late 70s to early 80s ? a golden era in NYC ! Includes tracks from Liquid Liquid, Konk, ESG, The Contortions, Dinosaur L and many others.
The World Of Arthur Russell Compilation of material from prolific New York music maker and friends Larry Levan, Francois Kervorkian, Walter Gibbons and many other NY club legends
Chicago Soul Detroit had Motown, New York had Atlantic and Chigago had Chess. Electric Blues, Funk and Soul from Howlin? Wolf, Bo Diddley, Etta James, Ramsey Lewis, Fontella Bass, Muddy Waters and a whole heap of other towering greats
The Gallery Legendary early / mid 70s New York club run by DJ / producer and promoter Nicky Siano. This was the disco club of the early to mid 70s ? before anyone had started calling the music disco ! All the guys who went on to create house music say this is where they discovered they wanted to make and play music. This compilation offers a fascinating insight in to this unique slice of club history.
As well as all the comps we put out loads of new stuff too ? Osunlade, Sutekh, Kit Clayton, Ammon Contact, Bell, Sand, Add N to X, Djinji Brown, Daedulus, John Beltran, Telefon Tel Aviv, Hu Vibrational, Todd Terje and Secondo have all made records and remixes for us and there?s loads more new releases in the pipeline
CLUBS
We run the 100% Dynamite club which spawned the Dynamite albums and has been running every other Saturday for over 6 years now, packed to it?s 500 capacity every time with people going mad to reggae, soul, funk, dancehall, old skool jungle and hip hop.
The DJs are us lot, the Soul Jazz Sound System (Stuart Baker, Scott Bethell, Karen Tate, Abi Clarke, Karl Shale, Dean Atkins, Jon Burnip, Kris Jones and Pete Reilly) and the MCs are Dub Vendor?s Oxman, the wonderful MC Marshmello and new singing sensation Mis Skief.
We?ve also had a whole host of guest DJs, MCs and singers from the reggae and dance arenas ? Roots Manuva, Gilles Peterson, Andrew Weatherall, Horace Andy, David Holmes, Alton Ellis, Ashley Beedle, Lone Ranger, Grant (Massive Attack), Dennis Alcapone, Jerry Dammers, Blood & Fire, I.G. Culture, 4 Hero and Pressure Sounds. The night takes place at every other Saturday at Electrowerkz, 7 Torrens Street, London EC1.
Every now and then we run other, bigger nights in various venues around London. These are a culture clash of musical styles - bands, DJs, films, visuals and performance all collide on the night. There?s usually 3 rooms of fun, the music a mix of electro, reggae, punk, acid house, disco and hip hop. ESG, Mantronix, A Certain Ratio, Andrew Weatherall, Norman Jay, Richard H Kirk, Tayo and loads of others have all played here.
We?re also lucky enough to DJ all over the place ? there are usually at least 3 of us away at any one time. Our DJ sets are about dancing and having a party !
