Soul II Soul broke through in the late ‘80s with their debut album Club Classics Vol. One which spawned the hit songs Back to Life, Fairplay and Keep on Moving. In the middle of Britain’s second summer of love, amongst the sound of acid house, Soul II Soul stood out – filled with soul and slow beats. The band went on to score more hits through the ‘90s with A Dreams a Dream, Joy and Move Me No Mountain.
The founder of the collective Jazzie B spoke to OUTinPerth from his home base in London and told us about the style of the collective’s upcoming Perth show.
‘This gig is going to be a sound system gig featuring Caron Wheeler on vocals, MC Chickaboo, and myself with a whole analogue set up I’m going to bring out and that how Soul II Soul started… it’s coming full circle.’
Soul II Soul took its inspiration from the sound systems of Jamaica, where DJs would play records alongside MC’s and singers. For Jazzie B who grew up in London having a sound system was par for the course.
‘Growing up in the household that I did, lots of my brothers had their own sound systems, which is traditionally taken from the Caribbean. You carved your own way growing up, I listened to a lot of music from country and western to a lot of folk music against the backlash James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, and Bob Marley… Dennis Brown and then I was a big fan David Bowie when everyone else was into punk. I was introduced to The Clash and I was very much into their sound and their act. All of these things influenced me. So I took the traditional sound system and I guess “updated” it.’
Every show the collective puts on is different though, as the Jazzie B explains,
‘I like to freestyle a lot, I never go out with a set plan, I’m gonna do this or do that, I just take everything and just look at the room because traditionally that’s what a sound man does.
With so many shows under his belt, it’s not surprising that Jazzie B show no hesitation when asked how to identify a good party,
‘It’s an easy one that one, what makes a really great party is – a happy face, a thumping bass, for a loving race.’
Soul II Soul perform at Sets on the Beach at Scarborough Amphitheatre on February 19 alongside Greg Wilson, Flight Facilities and The Glimmers.
Graeme Watson
