late 80s/early 90s uk streetsoul (bass and breakbeats and r&b vocals)

through the wonder of Youtube and its recommendations algorithm this is all I seem to ever listen to these days. Everybody knows Soul II Soul and Massive Attack but it was this recent reissue of Bovel's "Check 4 U" that really switched me on to this stuff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qyi2pqXDp30

there's a whole ocean out there of stuff like this: thick house basslines, slowed-down breakbeat grooves, unpolished soul divas with the sweetness of lovers rock reggae. Some of it is cheap and easy to find through the usual channels, some of it seems rare and prohibitively expensive. It's the story of Smith & Mighty and The Wild Bunch, but also all the anonymous and forgotten 12" singles and overpriced Discogs compilations that were bigger in Manchester than in London. This stuff was being released when I was barely a toddler so I have no sense of it as a "scene" or how it figured in club culture but I know that I like a lot of it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhETbyU8wo0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzsrBaRoiL8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgPkq1780vo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWqp3C0hFg0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppKK42zKRo0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVfenMeCTR0

thinking of it as a reaction to US r&b, not so much an imitation but a distinctly British take on styles, and seemingly undergoing a resurgence if you're reading the same articles and listening to the same radio shows as I am

so, this is a thread to post your own recommendations and so forth

garden of life is GOAT

Hard to find 12"s in this genre have been getting reissued a lot lately, which is likely where the chatter / airplay is coming from. Be With records maybe?

This has a big overlap with what was labeled ‘acid jazz’, no?

Yeah, does Jhelisa count? Friendly Pressure sounds like these songs to me.

https://youtu.be/YAMtlnvJeo4

Deluxe - I've got a feeling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHBPpDfojg0

I love this sound. Check:

Alison Williams - I Need Your Lovin'

Fresh Four - Wishing on a Star

The Chimes - 1-2-3 (UK Raw Mix) / Heaven / I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

Beats International - Dub Be Good To Me (Smith & Mighty Remix)

Diana Brown & Barrie K Sharpe – Blind Faith (Brixton Bass Mix)

There's also a lot of stuff that feels like it fits even though it's not from the UK, such as The Family Stand's "Ghetto Heaven" (which also and appropriately got an amazing remix from Soul II Soul).

i like this stuff too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUpP_a8vAjA

i guess i know more about the acid jazzier end of the spectrum, which tends toward a more polished sound

i'd never heard that bovel track, it is pretty incredible and i'd love to hear more stripped down tracks like that

Innocence - Natural thing?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHSPzry7cH8

Fresh 4 feat. Lizz-E • Wishing On A Star

Smith & Mighty DJ Kicks is U&K

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UCIxA2qpKg

Ah, Tim F already mentioned the Fresh 4 track. (Alyson Williams was/is a US singer, btw)

Love the Bô’vel track, don’t remember ever having heard it before. Is there an actual Dennis Bovell connection or is the name a homage to “Silly Games”/UK lovers rock?

Yeah I should have specified with the Williams that I meant the extended version produced by Soul II Soul.

I manage to seperate this stuff from acid jazz in my mind purely by how this stuff uses minimalism and bottom-end - to me, acid jazz is radio-friendly and home-listening whereas this is much more club-functioning. There is a lot of crossover and I can imagine this stuff was played alongside acid jazz and post-disco 80s boogie but there's a distinct sonic framework to this stuff that excites me more.

I have no idea about who Bovel is or where the name comes from, I'm not sure I even want or need to, really

Loafs of good recs here though! I didnt know S&M had done a DJ Kicks.

In terms of US stuff that fits I have a huge soft spot for Chante Moore's "Love's Taken Over"

https://youtu.be/wH39-zajFtE

A lot of this stuff, other than the obvious, seems to have been written out of history a bit, perhaps because there was so much else going on at the time, so this is a real blind spot for me. Looking forward to digging through this thread.

People quickly realized the instrumentals were better than the vocals and Trip Hop got the fame.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG8BVCCjTOw

Jill Francis - Make Love To Me (Gangster Mix)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1-GrHZSCbo

Irini ‎– 24/7 Love

Love that Jill Francis!

People quickly realized the instrumentals were better than the vocals and Trip Hop got the fame

This is probably true except for me the vocals are what take a lot of this stuff from enjoyable to excellent.

https://www.discogs.com/Various-Choice-FMs-UK-Pressure-Vol-1/master/359554

This compilation I snagged for cheap recently is good, has both of NickB's selections, but everything on it has been edited down from a full-length mix.

oh i didn't know about that comp, looks like a good launchpad for further investigations

i knew about the bovel cos they've been hammering it on nts

sorry that the sound on that irini YT is so fucked, it's a good one though

maybe a precursor for this sort of thing is mantronix's productions for joyce sims?

that stuff was 1987-ish i think

or Sly & Robbie producing Gwen Guthrie with Seventh Heaven, which came up in a mix I was listening to earlier, would be another good precursor

just an excuse to post that fantastic track really

ok lol turns out the one i posted is american too

I would be remiss in not mentioning Carlton's album 'The Call Is Strong' from 1990, produced by Smith & Mighty, which I consider the overlooked pinnacle of this sound. One of my great music tragedies is losing my copy of this.

Also "Any Love", the early Massive Attack single with Carlton on vocals and S&M on co-production, fits in this thread in a way their subsequent work doesn't.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDZM4xXy17I

Rosaline Joyce - I Will Never Be Your Lover

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcQTOQIlKHY

Fresh Cut ft Ann Cain - Don't Rush (Remix)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=25&v=yiWghyFnasU

FM Inc. Call Me Anytime .. Dub is good too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCngWcH0GAg

Joanna Law / Soul 2 Soul connection

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzftzlfi36U

... meant to post another Sarah Winton but the whole LP is top notch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rh2tFYgiIuU

Dazzle - Dazzle You. (Haul & Pull Up mix) 1989

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPMyV7SOgxk

Fifth Of Heaven - Just A Little More

https://youtu.be/KaA7kt5DLLE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zGXKBRT1gk

Carla Thomas - Things Ya Make Me Do (Summer Remix) (1994)

big tune:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVBTrudXcs8

Rick Clarke - Perfect Lady

don't think the importance of these guys can be overstated...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdKdnCSeJwQ
Loose Ends - Slow Down

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5rqP8QTAbU
Loose Ends - Don't Be A Fool

^ when I saw this thread Loose Ends came to mind immediately but I couldn't remember any of their songs so wasn't sure if I was on the right track

I've got a Fresh Four 12", not mentioned yet it's this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIF7HFEYYXY

(nearly, the 12" I've got is the Smith & Mighty remix, not the version in the youtube)

Diane Charlemagne should get a mention. Cool Down Zone ‎– Lonely Hearts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgIZJnMSjqY

when I saw this thread Loose Ends came to mind immediately but I couldn't remember any of their songs so wasn't sure if I was on the right track

Hanging On A String is the obvious one and that exact same drum pattern appears in about half the clips i posted above tbh

thanks for posting these Herb. I started buying UK Soul 12's and comps from 1992 onwards so missed some of the earlier ones. Occaisional trips to Unity and Blackmarket records armed with lists from Blues and Soul magazines and scraps from Kiss FM.

Bygraves - Do the Right Thing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Lwt1qzypBQ

When I first saw this thread the first thing that came to mind was Sweet Harmony by Liquid, but the more I listen to these the more I feel like it marks the end of this subgengre, so not what you're looking for at all. Is that right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo4B8uo55nU

Everis - Love Has Arrived

Sweet Harmony was 1992 so I think was concurrent with the early 90s UK soul scene. It was one of the UK Hardcore chart hits so v. popular whereas I think the UK Soul wasn't covered on most commercial radio stations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX86JQGz7Dc

Projection - Lovestruck

Can this one go in here.. SUAD / heavy on the breaks.. Nicolette - Waking Up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=Tu14joqyqP4

? and then Peter Bouncer - Love is All We Need

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIjouEiwgKI

NickB doing sterling work in this thread, that Everis is divine and he is practically giving away the track in the comments too

https://soundcloud.com/soft-rocks/piers-soft-rocks-promises-high-notes

a mix of this stuff posted at Test Pressing a few days ago, includes some stuff posted here already

really enjoying the new Smith & Mighty compilation of unreleased material, even if one of the tracks is a bass-heavy take on the funeral march

i'm listening to an old Mike Woods Legends warmup mix and it fits this thread to a t!!

Link us up please?

here you go, it was posted on the now defunct cosmicdisco.co.uk blog

https://www.mediafire.com/file/9h2u9nbzjcixzbz/mike_woods_legends_tape_1_classics_march_2011.mp3/file

ty

also ty boxedjoy for the soft rocks mix, missed it first time round

yes this Mike Woods mix is exactly the thing, Pleasure's "Please" near the start is another favourite

Latest Trushmix has definite 90s UK street soul vibes, good times!

https://soundcloud.com/trushmix/trushmix-135-amichay-matyas

this beauty was on nts this morning:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wrl7wD4gojk

Wildcat & Denise Lee - Personal Reasons (Urban Recycle Mix)

also i just remembered that i saved all this from the nts chat cos it looked interesting but i was too busy to read it at the time:

Wed Mar 27, 12:35:19pm

rufdug: this goes out to discogs user "SpareGrooves" who said "Crazy priced obscurity, this would not fill the floor or even warm it up - Many better grooves out there for £2 !"

Wed Mar 27, 12:36:17pm

rufdug: Bô'vel - Check 4 U

Wed Mar 27, 12:36:33pm

rufdug: yeah get on the reissue, heavy remaster and nice price

Wed Mar 27, 12:36:37pm

anon8597: on Be With Records

Wed Mar 27, 12:36:52pm

anon8597: Now someone reissue the Harlem Gem stuff please

Wed Mar 27, 12:36:53pm

xJolo: mix

Wed Mar 27, 12:37:09pm

rufdug: I can't lie I did it in ableton this morning eating an omelette

Wed Mar 27, 12:37:19pm

rufdug: dont hate me

Wed Mar 27, 12:38:11pm

dburch: what omelette

Wed Mar 27, 12:38:16pm

rufdug: 2 eggs

Wed Mar 27, 12:38:26pm

rufdug: salt, pepper, chilli oil

Wed Mar 27, 12:38:45pm

dburch: chilli oil with an omelette, might try that

Wed Mar 27, 12:38:49pm

rufdug: yeah u got to

Wed Mar 27, 12:38:53pm

rufdug: sriracha is banging too

Wed Mar 27, 12:39:41pm

bramsan: great

Wed Mar 27, 12:41:34pm

lobotomyweekend: define "street soul"

Wed Mar 27, 12:41:44pm

rufdug: oh mate

Wed Mar 27, 12:42:03pm

rufdug: can I define balearic instead?

Wed Mar 27, 12:42:13pm

lobotomyweekend: i can't fathom it out u just feel it

Wed Mar 27, 12:42:20pm

rufdug: yeah u know

Wed Mar 27, 12:42:35pm

rufdug: well to me it's cheaply made UK RnB from early 90s

Wed Mar 27, 12:42:43pm

bramsan: Relatively cheep instruments?

Wed Mar 27, 12:43:06pm

rufdug: like producers in the UK were hearing early house, hiphop, beginnings of new jack swing and contemporary RnB from the US

Wed Mar 27, 12:43:09pm

rufdug: Boogie and Soul

Wed Mar 27, 12:43:16pm

rufdug: and they were DJing them at parties in the UK

Wed Mar 27, 12:43:17pm

lobotomyweekend: kinda bass driven

Wed Mar 27, 12:43:20pm

thisismyjames: @rufdug can we have the ruf dug definition of balearic too please?

Wed Mar 27, 12:43:31pm

lobotomyweekend: rare helps

Wed Mar 27, 12:43:31pm

rufdug: and so then its inevitable that they're gonna try and make their own tunes

Wed Mar 27, 12:43:33pm

joonis: i need somebody too !

Wed Mar 27, 12:43:38pm

bramsan: Using the rytm composer

Wed Mar 27, 12:43:52pm

rufdug: but maybe they can only afford a drum machine and a sampler and a DAT machine and a microphone

Wed Mar 27, 12:44:06pm

rufdug: but also what you have in the UK sound is the influence of sound sytem culture

Wed Mar 27, 12:44:12pm

rufdug: so big reggae basslines

Wed Mar 27, 12:44:18pm

rufdug: and DJ culture

Wed Mar 27, 12:44:37pm

rufdug: this is like the primordial ooze of streetsoul here:

Wed Mar 27, 12:44:38pm

rufdug:

Wed Mar 27, 12:44:45pm

rufdug: a live recording from moss side in the 90s

Wed Mar 27, 12:44:47pm

rufdug: it's all in here

Wed Mar 27, 12:45:09pm

rufdug: dub sirens, rewinds, echo box, MCs, toasting

Wed Mar 27, 12:45:14pm

joonis: oh nice chat in here ruf

Wed Mar 27, 12:45:15pm

rufdug: over soul music

Wed Mar 27, 12:45:30pm

lobotomyweekend: primordial ooze i luv it

Wed Mar 27, 12:45:52pm

rufdug: don't buy into the rarity though

Wed Mar 27, 12:45:59pm

rufdug: the biggest tunes weren't the rarest

Wed Mar 27, 12:46:07pm

rufdug: PM Dawn - Set Adrift On Memory Bliss

Wed Mar 27, 12:46:18pm

rufdug: Madonna - Justify My Love

Wed Mar 27, 12:46:23pm

rufdug: these were MASSIVE broadway tunes

Wed Mar 27, 12:46:38pm

rufdug: and if you ever pay more than 10p for either of them u have been robbed

Wed Mar 27, 12:46:49pm

anon6220: love this one

Wed Mar 27, 12:46:56pm

anon8597: those are some cracly rips on this mix
@rufdug

Wed Mar 27, 12:47:07pm

rufdug: u bet they are

Wed Mar 27, 12:47:32pm

anon6220: whats the name again? have it somewhere

Wed Mar 27, 12:47:38pm

rufdug: Mary Pearce - Love Away

Wed Mar 27, 12:47:40pm

anon8597: @anon6220 mary pearce, i think?

Wed Mar 27, 12:47:42pm

anon8597: yes

anon8597: toyin agbetu

rufdug: one of the DONS

rufdug: everyone bang his name into discogs and go hunting, its all gold

rufdug: intrigue records

Wed Mar 27, 12:49:03pm

rufdug: OK gotta dash now, time for the rest of the committee to go for it

rufdug: good times

anon8597: thx for the mix, rug

anon8597: *ruf

anon8597: keepin the street soul alive

Ruf Dug is >>>>

sometimes "Joy And Heartbreak" is the greatest song in the world

"Street Soul Brasil (1987-1995)" is probably my compilation of the year