No Northern Soul God Help Us

[night nurse]

OK HERE WE GO IF FOR SOME REASON MOTOWN AND NORTHERN SOUL DIDNT EXCIST WHAT MUSIC WOULD YOU LISERN TO AND WHY  . I WILL START

    Tecno is probly the genre i would lisern to it got a  fast beat and i have herd some good stuff come out it over the years even got a favourt peice its Adagio for strings by samual barber there i done but never fear soul will live for ever

 

 

[Soulstu]

Well Dave, for me it wouldn't be bloody techno!!!!!

 

Two things I guess - P-funk and some nice classic disco etc for dancing', dark, doomy indie (Nick Cave etc.) for listening.... I know, I'm a bit odd.

 

However, a massive cold chill came over me even imagining life without northern and motown - I don't think the sun would be bothered to come up.

[Guest MrC]

Samuel Barber wrote Adagio for Strings, it's a classical piece. There have been a couple of dance versions produced, the most succesful of which was the trance version around 15 years ago which was by William Orbit, the best mix being the one by Tiesto - not exactly techno, but still excellent!

 

[Ian Parker]

I'd do what I've always done.... Listened and enjoyed all genres of music.

[Guest MrC]

A bit of Punk, some Reggae, all flavours of House, and everything inbetween!

 

I do love old school trance though.... the post about Adagio for Strings has got me going through some old favourites, Ayla, Gouryella, Cafe Del Mar, Shine.... they all still raise the hairs on the back of my neck and give me goosebumps.... as does an awful lot of Old Skool piano house! 

Edited April 15, 2014 by MrC

[TOAD]

Real soul music ;)

[Amsterdam Russ]

When I first started listening to Northern Soul and Motown as a stupid teenager - and naively believing that it was a black and white world in which life's choices were about picking one thing or the other - I recall saying to a friend that if this great music that I'd just discovered didn't exist I'd probably get into ska and reggae. 

 

That though would probably have led me to a completely different, possibly more "mellow" life, which ultimately may not have suited me. I like the heart-pumping adrenaline hype that goes with dancing to Northern Soul, and the tingles that come from listening to Northern Soul, so guess I'd need these feelings from some form of music.

 

Like a lot of people, I listen to stuff across many genres such as the aforementioned Ska and Reggae along with jazz, bebop, jump blues/swing, Latin, cumbia, African, classical, blues and more. The thing is though, I rarely if ever get the 'Northern Soul' emotional highs - the rapture - with other forms of music, and I have no conscious control over these feelings. They happen or they don't.

 

Some Latin sounds come close. For example, I recently bought a CD of Haitian music from the 60s through the 70s call Haiti Direct. It's got some great stuff on it like this one below. Reckon I could go for stuff like this in a big way in the non-Northern universe.

 

And all those tropical cocktails and other colourful things that you'd associate with the tropics is a big step up from pints of lager, beer bellies, talc and grim venues in grey-skied towns 

 

 

 

[Pete S]

Anything except for house / dance / rave / techno.

Actually I already do listen to everything except that stuff.

[Sjclement]

JAZZ

[Pete S]

JAZZ

 

Ah thats a good point.  Please add Jazz to my couldn't bear to listen to if it was the only music on earth pile.

[Sjclement]

[night nurse]

now then now then no fighting sjclement were going to be happy bunnys its easter

[night nurse]

and now come to think about it i like a bit reggie but i think it would be a very sad world with out northern soul & motown

[Guest Byrney]

For me it would be Detroit Techno and house, like Northern Soul Techno is a very misunderstood Genre. In my view most of what is considered Techno is very far away from real Techno with no real thought into its composition. Yes Techno can be hard, extremely repetitive but many tunes on UnderGround Resistance, Red Planet, Transmat, Planet E, Submerge, Axis are years ahead of their time, some paradoxically emotional and fantastic music - although I can understand many on here hating it

Think it was originator Derek May who described Techno as something that is "...like Detroit...a complete mistake. It's like George Clinton and Kraftwerk are stuck in an elevator with only a sequencer to keep them company."

I think prime examples (although played out oldies to techno fans) would be Knights of the Jaguar, or Jeff Mills Purpose Maker series. Both taking Latin and African influences to create something quite unique.

And Jeff live with the Montpelier orchestra (who approached him to create a rendition of the bells)

Edited April 15, 2014 by Byrney

[Guest Byrney]

Samuel Barber wrote Adagio for Strings, it's a classical piece. There have been a couple of dance versions produced, the most succesful of which was the trance version around 15 years ago which was by William Orbit, the best mix being the one by Tiesto - not exactly techno, but still excellent!

You're right, it's not Techno, although many get stuff like this mixed up because of it 140bpm kick drum. hard to describe why it's not other than it's far too obvious and formulaic in its 'hands in the air break downs' and wholesale use of a piece of music that exists; you'd have a gaggle of Detroit chin strokers (and they exist, with bells on) clambering to the decks to demand this taken off for one of James Penningtons finest.

[Liamgp]

Given that Northern Soul has had almost no influence on musical style (some artists have tried to ape it but only sporadically), you could pick almost anything!

[Guest MrC]

You're right, it's not Techno, although many get stuff like this mixed up because of it 140bpm kick drum. hard to describe why it's not other than it's far too obvious and formulaic in its 'hands in the air break downs' and wholesale use of a piece of music that exists; you'd have a gaggle of Detroit chin strokers (and they exist, with bells on) clambering to the decks to demand this taken off for one of James Penningtons finest.

 

I know, 10 years of a couple of my best mates running 'pure techno' in Hull and at various festivals has taught me what is and isn't techno, and that Techno chin strokers definitely exist!  

[night nurse]

Samuel Barber wrote Adagio for Strings, it's a classical piece. There have been a couple of dance versions produced, the most succesful of which was the trance version around 15 years ago which was by William Orbit, the best mix being the one by Tiesto - not exactly techno, but still excellent!

 

[night nurse]

 

 

Edited April 15, 2014 by night nurse

[night nurse]

oopps so good it on twice .............. for some unknow reason my quote didnt attach to these

[Soulstu]

and now come to think about it i like a bit reggie but i think it would be a very sad world with out northern soul & motown

A bit of Reggie eh, Dave? Is Hot Line your favourite record then? Or are you on a bit of a Kray/Perrin/Yates obsession! 

[Pete S]

I could live without soul completely if I could keep my rocksteady and early reggae.

[Spacehopper]

all styles of reggae n ska.....mod(60s and revival)/punk and indie....and also done a bit of techno/hard house (90s)and drum and bass in the past...know a few Bristol djs so go to the odd free party every now and then

[Little-stevie]

Early folk.. 60s beat... Jazz.. Jamaican music up to around 1980.... Indie..

[Podge]

Easy for me Stu as I have a very broad ''soul'' liking, anything from 70's disco through to soulful/funky house,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, collect it all, listen to it all.

[Soul16]

A bit of Punk, some Reggae, all flavours of House, and everything inbetween!

 

I do love old school trance though.... the post about Adagio for Strings has got me going through some old favourites, Ayla, Gouryella, Cafe Del Mar, Shine.... they all still raise the hairs on the back of my neck and give me goosebumps.... as does an awful lot of Old Skool piano house! 

Chooooon!!

[Soul-slider]

Ska, Rocksteady & Reggae!!!

...and from the good old USA...1960's garage.

...From the UK Mod/beat/psych

 

When you really sit down and think about it though, not many of the above would exist if not for Soul!

Edited April 15, 2014 by Soul-Slider

[Mickjay33]

^{NO SOUL THEN CLASSIC DISCO /FUNK}

  ^{ONLY MUSIC I CANT STAND COUNTRY& WESTERN WHICH SHOULD BE BANNED}

[Soul16]

Being something of a Hi-Fi enthusiast, recording quality can play a large part in determining what I listen to at home. Other than Jazz and Opera, I will give almost anything a go. 

Northern Soul rarely sounds particularly 'hi-fi', but then it doesn't need to.

Kent CD releases sound awesome on decent kit though. 

[night nurse]

^{NO SOUL THEN CLASSIC DISCO /FUNK}

  ^{ONLY MUSIC I CANT STAND COUNTRY& WESTERN WHICH SHOULD BE BANNED}

You gonna have to sell those booties then mick lol

[Mickjay33]

You gonna have to sell those booties then mick lol

ALL GONE M8 

THEY WERE DRIVING ME NUTS

[Zed1]

The Blues....... what else!.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIvka3SSv9Y&feature=kp

[Autumnstoned]

Been listening to BBC 6 Music of late and pleased to discover that there are still loads of contemporary British bands /artists making great music as, of course, was always the case going right back to the 60's. You just have to search for it but I am happy to listen to that.

[Mark S]

What a question now I could handle it ok but poor old Russ Winstanley he would struggle

 

[Codfromderby]

anything except heavy metal, for some strange reason, and that stuff they play on capital fm, and that teenage whingy stuff 

[Mark Jones]

I would never have been born...as be no point to mylife so daft question.

Edited April 15, 2014 by soulechoes

[Biggordy]

Ska, rocksteady, reggae, jazz, blues, doo wop, old school hip hop, latin.

[Pete S]

^{NO SOUL THEN CLASSIC DISCO /FUNK}

  ^{ONLY MUSIC I CANT STAND COUNTRY& WESTERN WHICH SHOULD BE BANNED}

 

I'd take country and western over jazz any day - I used to think the same about country until I listened to some really old stuff.  Can't dance to it though...

[night nurse]

 

 

REMINDS ME OF KEVIN AND PERRY LOL

[Thecivilservice]

Probably this (!)

 

[Ceejay]

BLUES............DOO WOP................SKA...............REGGAE  

[Speedlimit]

a bit of good old fashioned doo wop all those great group harmonies from acts like the penguins ,the kodaks ,the cadillacs , the eldorados, the magnificents, the spaniels etc awesome stuff

[night nurse]

Probably this (!)

 

pmsl

[Frankie Crocker]

I could live without soul completely if I could keep my rocksteady and early reggae.

Agreed Pete. Rocksteady is the perfect contrast to Northern in its many many guises. Some of the techno merengue out of Latin America at the turn of the millennium is brilliant. Some of the female club sounds from the early noughties are pretty good dance tunes. There are plenty of great pop tunes going back to the 60's and 70's for when you need a bit of background music - the Beatles have a superb range of songs for starters, much of the Spector Wall of Sound stuff, California surf music and Mersey Beat sounds, something for any occasion. Oh, and House of Pain's 'Jump Around' to play each time you stop at a traffic light...

[doublecookin]

anything from Bowie would do me

[Guest soash]

The same stuff as now, except without the Soul & Motown.

 

So that would be Blues, R&B and Ska............

[Pete S]

anything from Bowie would do me

 

Except Lodger  

[Paul-s]

Ive always listened to a broad range...funk, punk, jazz, latin, indie, blues, Reggae, classical....theres pure soul in all of it and utter s--te in all of it.....you have to search.

Edited April 22, 2014 by paul-s

[Soul Wv10]

as some one who is in to all sorts of music and goes to see band regularly, and also goes to reading festival most years ,it would  be hard to pick one sort of music but the smiths would be top of my list

[Geeselad]

er, any other kind of soul, funk, disco, boogie and house thatwas still around, black underground music, just like now really.