{"title":"Cultures of Soul","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCultures of Soul is a reissue label based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is run by Deano Sounds, a passionate music enthusiast and expert. With an extensive knowledge of various genres and eras, Deano carefully selects and curates rare and forgotten gems from around the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt Cultures of Soul, we strive to bring you the best in soul, funk, disco, boogie, jazz-funk, reggae, Afrobeat and beyond. Our releases are meticulously remastered from original tapes or vinyl sources to ensure the highest quality sound. We take pride in preserving the authenticity and integrity of these timeless recordings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhether you're a dedicated collector or simply looking for something new to add to your music library, Cultures of Soul offers a diverse range of releases that will captivate your ears and transport you to different musical landscapes. Join us on this sonic journey as we celebrate *artists* who have made significant contributions to their respective genres.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"greg-belsons-divine-disco-volume-two-obscure-gospel-disco-1979-1987","title":"Greg Belsons Divine Disco Volume Two: Obscure Gospel Disco (1979-1987)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis is a Record Store Day 2019 item. It will be available to purchase from our stores from 8am 13th April. Remaining stock will be available to purchase from this page at 00.01 20th April.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlthough gospel and disco music seem like polar opposites, one is secular while the other has embraced a hedonistic culture, the marriage of the two genres has birthed the uplifting spirituality and dance floor thump found in gospel disco. By the mid-'70s many established and independent gospel artists started creating records with a tight four-on-the-floor beat that touched both churchgoers as well as patrons of the drug-fueled establishments of the '70s. Cultures of Soul Records is proud to present the second installment of \u003ci\u003eGreg Belson's Divine Disco\u003c\/i\u003e. Belson is one of the world's leading authorities on the funky gospel sound; for this collection he dug deep into his crates to undercover the rarest independent and private press gospel disco records ever recorded. \u003ci\u003eGreg Belson's Divine Disco \u003c\/i\u003esound is one that's been heard around the world from his DJ appearances at Glastonbury's NYC Donwlow stage to LA's Funky Sole to soul nights across Europe. Many tracks are under the radar or recently discovered such as Harrison Jones - \u003ci\u003eOn that Other Shore,\u003c\/i\u003e Converters, \u003ci\u003eI've Been Converted\u003c\/i\u003e and the super limited self-released 45 by Mr Jesse R. McGuire – \u003ci\u003eJesus Is On the Mainline\u003c\/i\u003e. Only 50 copies were ever pressed. This volume even includes gospel disco from the UK with Paradise's brilliant \u003ci\u003eKeep the Fire\u003c\/i\u003e. This compilation also includes remixes and edits by Steve Cobby (who was a member of Fila Brazillia) and the Divine Situation production duo of Greg Belson and Paulo Fulci. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cultures of Soul","offers":[{"title":"LP | x2","offer_id":50401416839499,"sku":"1058136","price":32.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50401416446283,"sku":"1061953","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/63f48502-7740-403f-bccc-1b3d77af2dfe_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726522093"},{"product_id":"tanamur-city-indonesian-aor-city-pop-and-boogie-1979-1991","title":"Tanamur City: Indonesian AOR, City Pop and Boogie 1979-1991","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis time Cultures of Soul make a pitstop in Jakarta, in the years between 1979 and 1991, the peak of the New Order the revolutionary government of President Suharto, which could be characterized as a “dictatorship”… along with all the political repressiveness that entails. However, at the same time, Suharto’s full-throated advocacy of foreign trade resulted in a new economic buoyancy, an expansion of tourism and culture industries, and a flourishing of the entertainment sector. Suharto aggressively courted western corporations to do business in Indonesia, which led to the need for more and more entertainment to distract the expatriates after hours.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJakarta became a wonderland of colourful discotheques, nightclubs and restaurants that merged traditional Indonesian ambience with the sexy ultramodern pulse of the disco beat. While imported disco records dominate playlists, a local music scene has developed in parallel, with indigenous artists like Chaseiro, Rafika Duri, The Rollies and Lydia Kandou embracing the use of synthesizers and drum machines, modern studio production and influences from western pop, rock, funk, boogie, disco, jazz, yacht rock as well as Japanese City Pop. And from all this they are forging a distinctive Indonesian dance-pop sound that will largely remain hidden from the rest of the world… until now. Compiled by Munir Septiandry of the influential Indonesian DJ collective Midnight Runners, Tanamur City collects some of the high points of the latter part of this era, conjuring up a world of humid nights in packed discos, no-holds-barred genre blending, fun, fashion and funkiness of a kind never before seen in Southeast Asia… and seen rarely since. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cultures of Soul","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50405589975371,"sku":"1147506","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50405588697419,"sku":"1147507","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/4979d6a7-90f3-4fbf-99d2-3afdd616ee31_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726579626"},{"product_id":"bombay-disco-volume-2","title":"Bombay Disco Volume 2","description":"\u003cp\u003eWelcome to the second celebration of the sounds of Bombay Disco, which digs deeper into the recordwallah shops in the bazaars of India. As fans of our first collection will recall, disco arrived in India in 1979, shortly after its mainstream popularity had peaked in the West. Disco songs remained in vogue throughout the subcontinent for a dozen years, in many ways because of the \"cabaret scene\" or \"item number,\" a mainstay in South Asian cinema that dates back to the 1920s. Back then, these scenes depicted traditional courtesans or nautch (dancing) girls, but by the early 1960s dance sequences became much more surreal, with visuals inspired by Busby Berkley and music infused with jazz, Latin, and rock 'n roll. This tradition continued with an East-meets-West fusion of funk, disco and electro, to the hip-hop and EDM influences popular in South Asian films today. Disco songs continued to flourish after its early '80s ubiquity, often in the more tawdry films such as the horror movies that were immensely popular as the decade wore on. As the '90s continued, the cabaret sequences began to bear a closer resemblance to MTV videos. The music in these scenes changed to a similar style while the perennial love songs continued to entrance listeners. We haven't delved into the more massive film hits here, since the majority of those songs have been anthologized elsewhere. We prefer to dig deeper into the thousands of dusty, mold-encrusted records found in the back alley shops in India's teeming cities. For your dancing pleasure, we've cleaned off and polished up these vintage disco delites for your manoranjan (entertainment). Enjoy a cocktail and get on the dance floor! From the extensive liner notes, which by the way includes incredible cocktail recipes to enhance the Bombay Disco 2 listening experience.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cultures of Soul","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50492177383755,"sku":"382577","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/5033ca4a-8d6f-484c-a02c-a20f2f1c9416_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727691153"},{"product_id":"tropical-disco-hustle-volume-2","title":"Tropical Disco Hustle Volume 2","description":"\u003cp\u003eCultures of Soul is proud to release the highly anticpated follow-up to the widely successful Tropical Disco Hustle, an album full of rare disco tunes that exude a Caribbean avor. This volume takes us back to Trinidad and Jamaica and sends us on a few new adventures in St. Lucia and Guadeloupe. Three tracks by Wild Fire including 'The Dealer,' as well as two other classic disco tracks, 'Dance With Me' and 'Try Making Love,' can be heard on this new compilation. The album also features two killer disco workouts by the Tru Tones, 'Dancing' and 'Let's Party,' with the latter having been heavily inuenced by the Jacksons. Both tracks are rare and in demand by DJs and record collectors alike. Also featured here is an excellent cover of Chanson's 'Don't Hold Back' by reggae legend Derrick Harriott, and the under-the-radar, African-inuenced disco tune 'Caribean People' by Camille Hildevert. This album was compiled and researched by Deano Sounds, with edits by french DJ-extraordinary Waxist Selecta and legendary UK disco DJ Al Kent.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cultures of Soul","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50493146988875,"sku":"388027","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/34984613-6079-4e97-b4a9-f1152c8958f2_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727695781"},{"product_id":"saturday-night-south-african-disco-pop-hits-81-87","title":"Saturday Night: South African Disco Pop Hits 81-87","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe 1980s were an epoch of upheaval and rapid change in South Africa. The decade began with the country’s apartheid government fighting to maintain its institutionalized racial segregation in the face of global protests and demands for the release of human rights activist Nelson Mandela, who had been jailed since the early 1960s. By 1990, Mandela was free, and apartheid was on the way to being dismantled. On the music front, things were changing too; At the beginning of the decade, the main music style of black South Africans was the jazzy indigenous jive of mbaqanga, a provincial style that had held its place as the sound of South Africa since Mandela was first imprisoned. By the end of the decade, South African music stars were making international waves with bubblegum, a flashy variety of Afro-techno-pop.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eSaturday Night: South African Disco Pop Hits 81-87\u003c\/i\u003e Cultures of Soul explores this period of change, and the intermediary forms that filled the gap between mbaqanga and bubblegum. The years when South African musicians and producers wrestled with the incursion of foreign disco and formulated their own style of homegrown disco-pop. Starting from the early 80s, when bands like Varikweru, Black Five and Soundburger essayed local attempts at boogie and jazz-fusion, through experiments like the Madonna-cloned diva Margino, who domesticized the burgeoning Italo-disco and NYC electro sounds, up through the massive breakthrough of Brenda and the Big Dudes, who arrived at the right mix between native and international influences to point the way forward for South African pop. The sound on these records is ostensibly familiar, drawing heavily on models from the 1980s dance culture in Europe and America, but if you listen closely enough you can hear the distinct South African-ness of it all—from the deep, burbling basslines, the brightly hypnotic melodies, and chant-like lyrics—and with sounds as intoxicating as these, you will sure want to listen closely. And often!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cultures of Soul","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50499373334859,"sku":"1112199","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/aa85e90f-973a-4221-9cf5-d4167569a490_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727772688"},{"product_id":"call-me-answer-this-little-light-of-mine","title":"Call Me, Answer \/ This Little Light Of Mine","description":"\u003cp\u003eFollowing on from the success of \u003ci\u003eGreg Belson’s Divine Disco\u003c\/i\u003e series Greg Belson and Cultures of Soul team up again to explore the world of Gospel Funk. Belson, one of the world's leading collectors and DJs of gospel music, has assembled a collection of some of the rarest Gospel funk records for \u003ci\u003eGreg Belson’s Devine Funk\u003c\/i\u003e. In addition to the full-length being available on CD and LP, choice selections from the compilation will be released on 7” singles in limited quantities. Additional 7”s from Greg Belson’s amazing collection of Gospel Funk are now available including the the high octane and socially-on-point take of the Gospel classic \u003ci\u003eThis Little Light Of Mine\u003c\/i\u003e by the Gospel Ambassadors amongst others.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cultures of Soul","offers":[{"title":"Black | 7\"","offer_id":50504783954251,"sku":"1117190","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/be74842b-6a17-409a-8cff-751d6a5df70b_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727810327"},{"product_id":"greg-belson-s-divine-funk","title":"Greg Belson's Divine Funk","description":"\u003cp\u003eGreg Belson and Cultures of Soul team up again to explore the world of Gospel Funk. Belson is one of the world's leading collectors and DJs of gospel music. You hold in your hands a collection of some of the rarest Gospel funk records from Belson’s amazing collection featuring everything from the laid back breakbeat laced \u003ci\u003eI Don’t Want to Be Alone\u003c\/i\u003e by Allen Gauff Jr to the high octane and socially-on-point take of the Gospel classic ‘This Little Light Of Mine’ by the Gospel Ambassadors to drum break funk of the Wearyland Singers \u003ci\u003eIf You See Me Doing Wrong\u003c\/i\u003e to the sublime soulfulness of Zella Jackson’s \u003ci\u003eDays Are Just Like People\u003c\/i\u003e. Without a doubt though, all of the artists included in this compilation, believed in themselves, the message, and the direction of the Gospel Funk intensity you hear within these grooves. Gettin’ on the Good Foot for God? Listen and decide for yourselves! \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTracklist: A1.\u003ci\u003e The Chariettes Gospel Singers - Nobody But Jesus A2. Allen Gauff Jr - I Don't Want to Be Alone A3. The Christian Harmonizers - Troubles of the World A4. The Wearyland Singers - If You See Me Doing Wrong \u003cbr\u003eA5. Gospel Travelers - Jesus Is Watching You A6. Pearl Farano and The High Lites of Joy - Who's Your Boss B1. Gospel Ambassadors - This Little Light of Mine B2. Vocal Aires - Save a Seat for Me B3. Birmingham Travelers - Call Me Answer (feat. Henry Burton) B4. Zella Jackson - Days Are Just Like People B5. The Original Christian Harmonizers - Blackman Keep Doing Your Thing B6. Preacherman Isadore Womack - I’ve Got Power In My Mind \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cultures of Soul","offers":[{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":50504968503627,"sku":"1116007","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/af466c24-2911-4024-bd3a-d37eb91ad1c7_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727811978"},{"product_id":"sparkle","title":"Sparkle","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn a genre that has classically been driven primarily by hot twelve-inches, it can sometimes be hard to find a disco album that delivers the goods from end to end—let alone a disco LP that could be described as “perfect.” Does such an animal even exist? We’re pretty sure it has to, and we can probably think of a few candidates ourselves. Cultures of Soul Records presents Sparkle’s self-titled album which many disco aficionados would put into this category.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSparkle was a female vocal trio from Connecticut, assembled by the producer Harold Sargent, erstwhile drummer of the sterling funk band Wood, Brass \u0026amp; Steel, and creator of manifold drum breaks that would go on to be sampled for decades. Originally released in 1979, the album and the group are fittingly titled as the music is a scintillating, radiant collection of shimmering disco and dazzling funk, performed by Too Much Too Soon—the multiracial R\u0026amp;B band that featured Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken, the writing\/production team that would discover Rihanna and power her career to global dominance fifteen years later. Also on hand is musical prodigy Rahni Harris, whose Sargent-assisted club classic “Six Million Steps” is also included on the album.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cultures of Soul","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50511379988811,"sku":"1101049","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/891f9fe5-1181-4f38-bf70-a60b5b88679e_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727888246"},{"product_id":"the-sound-of-the-san-francisco-christian-center","title":"The Sound of the San Francisco Christian Center","description":"\u003cp\u003ePreviously only available on private pressing housed in a gatefold jacket filled with photos and liner notes By Uchenna Ikonne. When most people think of the musical legacy of San Francisco, the first thing that usually comes to mind is the Summer of Love. Much less likely are you to hear about the City by the Bay’s rich heritage of gospel music. Cultures Of Soul is proud to revisit this chapter in the city’s history with the reissue of \u003ci\u003eThe Sound Of The San Francisco Christian Center.\u003c\/i\u003e The San Francisco Christian Center was one of the first churches to open its doors to disaffected hippies searching for a deeper spiritual substance. This era saw new, youth-driven forms of “Jesus music” that fused gospel messages with rock aesthetics. Chief amongst these new-style gospel artists was the San Francisco- based Andraé Crouch, who was one of the influences behind this recording. As a historical document, it provides a breathtaking view into the roots of contemporary gospel music, but as just pure music, it is a transcendent listening experience. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cultures of Soul","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50521741066571,"sku":"1094420","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/070fe572-89e8-45d9-90d8-bd669ce55c2d_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727994477"},{"product_id":"free-spirit-3","title":"Free Spirit","description":"\u003cp\u003eBetty Griffin's \"Free Spirit\" was previously released on the 2016 compilation - Greg Belson's Divine Disco Volume 1. This 7” comes with\ntwo epic remixes of the track. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cultures of Soul","offers":[{"title":"7\"","offer_id":50521962283339,"sku":"2018784","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/BETTY_GRIFFIN_Free_Spirit_7_c8012bb6_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727997263"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_0779167d_thumbnail_4096_166bd23d-e1c7-4c38-8535-d3a220e54640.jpg?v=1726522064","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/collections\/cultures-of-soul.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}