What happened to the SOUL?
Posted by Sole Intent on 03 Jan 2009 at 1:33 pm |
Category: 4. Soul Sounds
In today’s current climate of manufactured bands and genetically modified music I find myself constantly disgruntled and wondering “Whatever happened to the SOUL?” Whatever happened to the goose bumps, the prickles on the back of your neck and the urge to shout out loud “sing it sister/brother…I feel you”, when that certain song would play? When you would close your eyes with arms extended outright into the air absorbing the sensations emitted by soulful vibrations. Remember soul?
I do.
Genetically modified music
Nowadays it seems that music lacks a certain depth, substance and longevity… The essence that touches your energy and makes you want to soar… fly without wings and transcend earthly strains. Now that’s what I call music… anything that moves you (not just in the physical sense).
If you look back upon on all the artists that are remembered today and still continuously listened to globally, they were all artists that did more than just please the ears; they pleased the senses. They spoke to your heart and whispered to your soul, moved your spirit in some way and even changed your life or way of thinking. Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, Al Green, John Lennon, Rolling Stones, Queen, Bob Dylan; they were ALL evolutional revolutionaries of their time regardless of the difference in genre. Pushing the boundaries and providing food for thought.
I remember being in my early teens sat next to the record player with my mum playing Marvin Gaye’s album “what’s going on”. I can recall listening to the words of the songs and being overwhelmed with a combination of empathy, anger, sadness and love… they made me aware of my emotions and I felt alive because of it. I can listen to the same album 10 years later and it is still relevant today. Even now, inner city blues still makes me want to holler and Shape of my Heart still makes me want to shed a tear! The words have the same effect as they did the day I first heard them and that, to me, is great music and music with Soul. Don’t get me wrong, I know that there are artists like Jill Scott, Zero 7 and David Gray… all artists that scratch beyond the surface and explore life, yet they still seem far and few between in contrast to the vast choice of refuse which currently flows through the veins of the industry.
They spoke to your heart and whispered to your soul, moved your spirit in some way and even changed your life or way of thinking
Does it matter?
Great music is dormant in so many people nowadays, in the lives of the youth especially, and it is easy to buy into the bleak society of music that currently dominates the industry, never asking for anything more. Personally speaking, it is hollow and echoes an emptiness that only serves to satisfy the superficial and I firmly believe that there is an ever growing army of soul starved people that want their spirit fed in terms of musical content now more than ever.
In a world that grows ever colder and darker by the day, music which holds the light is indeed a necessity. But as days grow more sinister, sinister music also grows stronger because in the same way that there is a demand for light the demand for darkness is just as strong.
I was born in the 70’s… the golden era. It was all about flower power, building bridges and drawing closer to your fellow neighbours. It was in the 70’s that important steps and political changes had begun to really manifest and would lead nations to take on a collective responsibility to say NO to racial hatred, prejudice and injustice. People all over the world began to understand that they did have a voice that could be heard and used to change the path of history and the 70’s was a time of transition and turmoil.
There were changes in Women’s liberation and the first female Episcopal priest was ordained in 1976, the first black admiral was recruited to the Navy in 1971 and apartheid and segregation laws were shifting and changing when Steve Biko died in Police Custody in 77, the surrender of Biafra in 1970 ended a 30 month succession of war that wiped out thousands of children in Nigeria, China launched their first satellite, Vietnam was in full swing with President Nixon at the reigns, India tested its first nuclear bomb in 74 and Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister!!! It was an eventful decade with major advances also taking place in technology and software. The first test tube baby was made in 1978, the floppy disk was invented in 1971, the VHS tape and recorder were introduced in 76, Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates in 75 and Sony Walkmans hit the streets in 1979…the year of my birth!
While all of this was unfolding the soundtrack to our lives was that of ground-breaking artists like Led Zeplin, Sly Johnson, Diana Ross, Elvis, Al Green, The Temptations, Earth Wind and Fire, Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Cliff, the Carpenters, Isaac Hayes and the Staple Singers to name but a few. Whether the music was inspired by events or whether the changes in events were inspired by music is an interesting enigma, but one thing I can say for sure is that the music back then did have the power to move mountains.
It was during the 1970’s that the Temptations went to meet the Arch Bishop of Canterbury in London to discuss race relations because even then seniors of the church realised the potential in spreading a message through music. John Lennon held a Peace festival in Toronto giving a percentage of the gross earnings to charity to promote world unity and this was attended by thousands. It was also in 1978 that Bob Marley and The Wailers performed at the One Love Peace concert in Kingston’s National Arena in an attempt to link Jamaica’s feuding political parties; Marley symbolically joined the hands of bitter rivals Michael Manley and Edward Seaga on stage and an almighty clap of thunder and flash of lightening could be heard and seen overhead…coincidence or divine intervention, whatever it was it was powerful stuff.
It seemed that performers back then had a sense of social responsibility to use their talents for the greater good. There was more of a concerted effort to bring about whatever change they could through the power of song and dance and it was because they wanted to; not because a PR Company told them it would be “good for their image”. Artists today who have the clout to affect history and a way of thinking seem reluctant to step up to the plate; favouring influential gain opposed to the reparation of humanity. 50 Cent’s song and new film “Get Rich or Die Trying”, sums this ideology up in one. I recently asked my 5 year old niece who she liked to listen to and she answered “The Pussy Cat Dolls Aunty”. I tried to hide the cringe from my face. What sort of role models do they provide? Women that cavort around half naked in front of the camera singing “don’t you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?” Needless to say, whenever my niece is at my house I try to inflict upon her a balanced diet of good aural food in an attempt to undo the damage the fickle music industry has already done.
I firmly believe that there is an ever growing army of soul starved people that want their spirit fed in terms of musical content now more than ever
There’s a reason
Call me a spiritualist if you like but I believe people are put on this earth for a reason. They have a purpose to fulfil, whether they know this or not, for good or evil. If they didn’t then we would not have an existence of polarization. You can’t have one without the other i.e. ying and yang, sun and moon, good and evil, right and wrong, left and right…you get the picture! Life is just a balance and right now it seems that the weight of good music on the scales of harmony has drastically shifted, but how do we bring it back?
Some people have faith in religious deities or faith in magic, some have faith in fate yet I have more faith in music and its spiritual power to change human nature for the better. We have an innate responsiveness to music that defies belief and it has even been noted in scientific studies that as human beings we remember 10% of what we are told, 40% of what we read but a staggering 90% of what we hear. Now what does that tell you? Sound has the ability to carry meaning that can heal our scars or scar our minds and it is one of the first senses that we, as human beings learnt to use whilst still in our mothers wombs.
Maybe it is this sound; the smooth comforting, muted low frequency of the amniotic sack, coupled with the steady pulse of a mother’s life force that inspires in us the need to listen to music. Just as food nourishes a baby’s growing body, the elements of music; melody, tone and harmony, nourish a baby’s rapidly developing brain. Even before children are born, research shows that music has a beneficial effect on the network of neurons that will be the foundation of their later learning, language development and musical ability.
A plethora of studies over the last decade has revealed that children who listen to classical music have increased mathematical and verbal skills as well as greater emotional maturity than those children who miss out on such music. The benefits are thought to be even greater for children who learn to play an instrument. Classical music is quite mathematical in its structure, which has an effect on the way the brain functions and interprets audio information. I would imagine that this same theory would apply to music with soul.
In a logical world one would imagine that the essence of soulful music would encourage the area of the brain which deals with emotion and empathy to become more active as would be the case for spiritual music. For instance, I am not a religious person passé but I do know that when I listen to Kirk Franklin or Sounds of Blackness I feel uplifted and I know that when I hear an African drumming group I feel within my very being a nostalgia that speaks to me. What then could be said about the effects of Pop music or “urban” grime/eskibeat on the younger generation?!?! Let’s just say that the vital elements of respect, empathy and general positivity are missing from most young people’s domain of music and these are all important factors that make up a responsible, functional human being.
A profound need for music
My mum once told me that whilst we (me and my twin brother) were maturing within her body she would put her stomach near to the speaker so we could hear the rumbling bass of roots dub reggae…maybe this is the reason why me and my brother both went on to become musicians specialising in the drums, steel drums and percussion. Could it be that subconsciously we tried to reproduce that feeling of being safe and protected in a cushion of sound? Whatever the celestial reason, there is no doubt that we have a profound need for music, just like the profound need to find closeness with another human being or entity.
In the same way that priests stand up in holy structures all over the world and have the power to sway the masses, taking them to a spiritual level of euphoria is the same way that people gather together in night clubs and look adoringly to the DJ or performer for a higher level of consciousness. Wanting to be taken on a journey…wanting to believe and to belong to something greater than themselves.
When a note in the diatonical scale resonates with your very being… you smile and know you have found it
Unraveling the tapestry of the cosmos
I’ve often stood on a crowded dance floor and looked around me at the hundreds and sometimes thousands of people all with their hands in the air, faces transformed into various expressions of joy and contentment, all as though they are awaiting the arrival of something…a spaceship to spirit them away maybe? There is something ancestral, and almost tribal about the ritual of it all. I try to imagine what we might have been wearing or listening to had we been on the planet thousands of years beforehand. Were there such things as “raves” or “parties” in the Stone Age and if there were, did they know the reason they had gathered in such a way or was there a cave man looking around thinking the same thing that I do now? After all, we are all threads in the fabric of the universe, intertwined and interrelated. If, as threads, we all stood alone, then the tapestry of the cosmos would become unraveled and what then?
I think once we can realise that we are all connected by an invisible force, all compelled to reach out and touch someone or something, all wanting to experience that one single emotion….LOVE, then the veil of illusion shall be lifted from eyes and peace would eventually prevail. Love is what we are all are looking for whether we believe it or not and is the driving force behind life itself. It’s the search for this elusive and misunderstood ideology that brings people together and also tears people apart…a strange paradox.It takes people down different paths in life.
Some paths lead to religion, some to food, some to self destruction, some to distrust, some to obsession and some to fear. There are many other places that the quest for love can take us but I am happy that my pursuit of love has taken me down a path of music. I continually look for it in the music that I listen to, and for those who are like me, you know when you’ve felt that spark of something in a chord, when a note in the diatonical scale resonates with your very being…you smile and know you have found it.
So where was I?…yes that’s it…the power to sway the masses whether it is done by a Vicar, Victor Duplaix or Vivian Green. The ability to control a mood or way of thinking through the manipulation of the senses, promoting a positive or a negative outcome depending on the listener and their mental susceptibility. If only more artists and performers would realise that they do have the key to a brighter day and harness that potential within themselves.
As a DJ, musician and songwriter I try to make a conscious effort to bring out the best in people, to relate to that I go through what you go through and that when it rains it does not rain on one mans head alone. I hope that more DJ’s, writers, performers, producers and anyone in a position to have someone listen will spread the word….the word is LOVE!!!
If only more artists and performers would realise that they do have the key to a brighter day and harness that potential within themselves
“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our minds
Have no fear for atomic energy
Cause none of them can stop the time
How long shall they kill our prophets
While we stand aside and look
Some say it’s just a part of it
We’ve got to fulfil the book”
Bob Nesta Marley
Celestial Blessings
Sole Intent
(6 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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I think it’s sad that you forgot to mention Michael Jackson (as well as the Jackson 5 and the Jacksons), amongst the musical revolutionaries. His revolutionary contributions to music are often overlooked nowadays due to his recent infamy and the scandal surrounding his personal life. But his contributions to popular music (pop, funk, soul, rock) cannot be denied–absolutely every thing he does, he puts every ounce of his soul and spirit into it. He is truly an inspiration for every musician who is serious about music. He is emulated and imitated by virtually every young artist out today(from his singing style to his dance moves)–to no avail. They just don’t have the soul, drive, and passion that he does. His music truly moves people. He has always been a global superstar, able to bring people of every single race, age, creed, and nationality together. He is a humanitarian and a true musician–he is often thought of as just this great “entertainer”–but what people don’t often realize is that he is a songwriter…as well as a visionary, as well as a film director, and a story teller. A true renaissance man and revolutionary.
God bless Michael, may you rest in peace.
Hi
As a composer, I came across a take on this situation that interested me. A film director in Memphis had noticed there were very few resources left in the former region of Sun Studios and the Muscle Shoals Horns et al for her soundtrack. Economics, Urban Renewal…
I’m a pretty average guy but I’ve loved soulful music for years so I stepped up to the plate to write her some soundtrack. So far its an instrumental suite for soprano sax and concert band and it debuts in a gig on the 24th October at All Saints’ Church, West Dulwich from 7.30pm. I hope its a kind of affirming contemporary gumbo for 30-odd musicians including 4 percussionists, and all kinds of horns. The movie is in production now and is called Up/Down Eve. Information closer to release; the soundtrack mixing starts next January. The director is the very cool survivor Kendra Boaz-Zentando from whom I’ve enjoyed some insightful words down the line from her home city to downtown Finsbury Park. And Cheers to Roger Cawkwell (sax), John Holland (MD) and the Lambeth Wind Orchestra for getting into the project so stylishly.
Hi,
I truly agree with everything that you’ve said. This is why I am searching on the internet for some answers on “where the real music has gone to”. For years now, I have searched the internet to try and find artists out there that stay true to their feelings and artistry but I have minimal luck.
As you’ve described, I am one of those people who are definitely “Soul Starved” ( I will write a song about that…thank you). I am continously in search for music that will satisfy and feed my soul. Boyz II Men is a very good example of this, MJ, Brian Mcknight (but he’s been changed by record co.), SOLO.
As a Father, I try to inspire my two year old son and sorround him with music and instruments. It’s great that he is being heavily influenced by MJ so this is a great sign that he know great music with soul. I only wish that he will be one of the few people that will preserve soul into music and nothing else coz when there’s soul everything else will come into place such as melody and lyrics. I could write more but unfortunately record co. are the ones that holds the key in order to change the music.
I also agree with much of what has been said here. It is a very long time since I have heard a new recording that moved my emotions or made me think “wow, that is a great vocal performance”.
I recently introduced a feature on my show called “The Chiller”. Every week I play one song that gives that shiver down the spine feeling. So far tracks included have been “I’ve been loving you too long” by Otis Redding, “Go away little boy” by Marlena Shaw, “Something He Can Feel” by Aretha Franklin, “Mystery” by Anita Baker, “Aint No Way” by Jean Carne, “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” by Jennifer Holiday and the most modern recording being “Kissing You” by Keith Washington. For me these are songs that are very special and the vocalist is giving 100%. Of course it is a matter of personal taste, a record that “moves” on person may not affect another, but nowadys it is very hard to find anything where the artist is singing “from the soul”.
So what happened? Is the record industry to blame or is it our culture? It seems that the music industry has gone down the tabloid paper route using sexual images to promote its product with pop videos that are almost pornographic. The current “R&B” scene is dominated by what I call “Gucci music”.. it has become a sexual fashion trend with interchangeable vocalists and formularised production aimed at our youth. It is more about how the artist looks than how they sing. A girl recently came to my DJ booth and asked me to play some “R&B”, I asked her if she knew what “R&B” stands for and she replied “Dunno, is it Rap and Bass?” I think if I had asked her which artist she fancied or which singer was dating who she would have been able to answer!
The Chiller - what a fantastic idea. Known back in the 80s as an “eargasm”. The Keith Washington track was a particularly great choice, that one came out of nowhere in the late 80s and still gets my spine tingling. What a voice, what a song. I caught the Jennifer Holiday track at the weekend, also an inspired selection. If you trace music back like this you can travel back through musical history and experience some truly amazing recordings: from Jennifer Holiday in the 70s we can go back through all the soul groups and singers in the 60s, such as Aretha and Dionne Warwick; they were inspired by the great singers of the 40s and 50s, the likes of Ella, Dina Washington and Peggy Lee. And these were inspired by the big bands, the likes of Goodman, Ellington, Basie and Dorsey, with singers such as Billie Holiday and Helen Forest at the mic.
All of these eras have their “chiller” moments. Peggy Lee’s “The Folks Who Live On The Hill” is a prime example: Nelson Riddle lush arrangement, huge orchestra, Frank Sinatra at the baton.
At the moment the particular “chiller” soul track which I can’t get enough of is The Dukes, Mystery Girl. If I looked through my collection I can think of many such tunes: Billy Griffin, Second Day Love Story; Mercy Mercy, What Are We Going To Do About It; Roy Ayers, No Stranger To Love/Want You; Leon Ware, You Are My Starship; Windjammer, Tossing and Turning; Don Blackman, Since You’ve Been Away (in fact I once witnessed Don’s bass player start to cry during a live performance of this. When I questionned him afterwards, he admitted it is an emotional tune but blamed the smokey atmosphere! No such excuse in today’s smoking free clubs). All these tracks take me to another place. But what can truly achieve this these days?
What is it that all these tracks, old and new, have in common? Quality. Yes, you are absolutely right about “Gucci Music”. Style now wins over substance. We listen with our eyes these days.
One of the Radiocafe team, Glen, was a radio plugger for many years. He tells an excellent story about plugging a recent Lionel Richie album, and working with Lionel’s (then) manager, a woman in her 30s. He embarked on some small talk with her: “I think I preferred Lionel in the Commodores days”, he commented. “What is the Commodores?” came her reply. What made it worse was she even had a piece of paper in front of her with Lionel’s recording biog on it. Glen tells me he entered the music industry as he wanted to work with people who were into their music; and left it because so very people who run this industry have the faintest idea at all.
“Rap and Bass”! Surprised she didn’t say “it’s short for uRBan innit”.
In summary, Soul had its biggest blow with the rise of disco and hip hop in the late 70’s, early 80’s. This is when production became more DJ oriented, vs. musician/artist oriented. Many technical advances were made in recording (drum machines, samplers, etc…) that allowed non-musician folks to make recorded creations at a budget(notice I didn’t say music) and with less personnel. They were able to quickly clear unprecedented profits, and turn most resources to radio programming. This was seen with SugarHill Gang. I remember that this was the first song I’ve ever heard that was played several times every hour on the hour when it first came out. They practically reprogrammed the listeners to appreciate the product that would not have been as well received if it were in regular programming scheduling. At this point, the majors had to scuffle to meet this new demand. Since most CEO’s and A/R folks were historically artist/music conessiuers or former musicians, many of them thought it was a fad and didn’t take it seriously, so many heads rolled and they were replaced by finance/accountant types only interested in profits. This is where our music got “dumbed down” and sold out. The paradigm shift was profit like any other product. No longer was focus on art, and now we and they are paying for it. As a musician, I saw many opportunities turn sour thru the years. And like many others were forced to do other things to maintain a living. I’m toying with the idea of returning cuz its in my heart. I do see some pretty new talent, but its all individual based. Where are the bands? It was the bands that moved the people, set the tone and kept the artistry in check. Sorry for rambling Im out. Peace.
Whilst I agree with some of what you say Jimmymack, I would like to challenge a few points you made. First of all the chronology is incorrect. “Disco” was pretty much dead in the water by the end of the 70’s and was in fact made by real musicians with real instruments. Nearly all disco tracks had real drummers, guitarists, brass and string sections and even sometimes a full orchestra.
Sugarhill’s “Rappers delight” was not made with any of the technology to which you refer. The first Roland programmable drum machine, the CR-78, was released in 1978 and the first machine that made an impact on the music scene was the Linn LM-1 in 1980 which cost a staggering $5000, the infamous Roland 808 was released the same year. The backing for Sugarhill’s record was actually made with tape loops of Chic’s “Good times” break. The record was creative and new and opened up a new genre of music and it certainly didn’t kill soul or sign the death warrant for musicians.
It is also unfair and I think untrue to blame DJ’s and hip-hop artists. What they were doing was something different, something new. They used turntables as their instruments and drums by manually manipulating vinyl records to make extended breaks and loops to create their own rhythms. To do that well requires skill. They were not killing soul either, on the contrary, many of them extended the life of soul music by bringing artists like James Brown to a younger audience who otherwise would never have heard his music.
Disco and soul music existed alongside and within each other in the 70’s and after disco’s demise, the 80’s yielded some great soul records, many of which utilized drum machines and synthesizers in the production. The difference was (and this is where I start to agree with jimmymack) they were mostly programmed and played by musicians. The clever musicians learned how to use and embrace new technology, rather than bemoan its existence and blame it for killing music or putting them out of a job.
I believe the demise of soul came about in the latter half of the 80’s and I think there were two reasons. First is the pop video. The record buying youth were being sold images of pop stars and they started listening with their eyes. How the singer looked became more important than how they sounded. James Brown and Aretha Franklin had amazing voices, but put them alongside the new romantic pop stars of the 80’s, or the sexual images they are sold today and the kids just won’t get it.
Secondly, I think to a degree soul died of natural causes. Just as traditional jazz and the greats like Sinatra and Ella were shunned by the kids who got excited about Elvis, styles changed… it’s just evolution.
Technology cannot be blamed for making it “too easy” to make a record. If it is easier then that allows more people to make music, so there is more choice for the listener and the people with real talent will always make a better record than those without, regardless of the tools they use. But therein lays the real problem. What is a “better record” exactly? Is “Sexy Bitch” a good record? It certainly isn’t soul, or full of any great musicianship, but it is a huge hit and try telling the 1000 people who pack my dancefloor on a Saturday night that it is rubbish… I think they will disagree. But are they wrong, or just entitled to their opinion?
I do however think that it is a matter of education to a degree. It is a shame that a great singing voice is not enough now, it has to be accompanied by sex appeal and images to sell cd’s to our youth, and that is not what real soul music is about. Maybe one day it will be again.
I do agree with much of what you say, Les. Would Elton John’s looks prevent his talent being recognised if he were trying out in the business today? What about Ella Fitgerald’s? Louis Armstrong’s? Luther Vandross at his fattest? What probably helped to kill soul music was MTV. We now watch music as much as we listen to it. This is why the ugly ones usually get voted off X-Factor and American Idol early on. The image is as important, it seems, today as the music. Or maybe more important. Cheryl Cole is not at number 1 for her singing ability. She is there because the public had a large dose of her on TV Saturday last and she has image appeal. This is typical of the music industry today. The 1980s offered an alternative which was supplied via faceless pirate radio. All that mattered were the tunes. Suddenly we rediscovered hidden gems and the genre ‘rare groove’ was born. This helped to fuel the supply of quality soul from so many true musicians. Jazz artists in their own right contributed (such as Herbie Hancock, Paulinho Da Costa, Donald Byrd, Bob James), as did gospel singers (such as Winans, Commissioned) and true vocalists (such as Glenn Jones, Jones Girls). What they looked like was irrelevant. These days it is paramount.
Great article! I agree. Music needs a total makeover. That will only happen when the people demand it. I think they are now. I love soul music and any music that touches the soul. www.myspace.com/davemorrisdavemorris —– check out some of my music and tell me what you think. Peace