Soul and a Summer Storm

I’d like to set a scene for you reading this; it’s a warm summer’s day. However, storm clouds have formed above, and people run into their houses before getting caught in the summer storm that is about to take place. You’re lucky enough to be inside watching the first few drops turn into, what seems like, a continuous stream of heavy rain. But this doesn’t faze you; you open the double doors leading to the garden, and allow the cool breeze and the tap-tap of the rain to enter the room. The atmospheric lights you hung up over the door a few months ago set a calming feeling around you, and on this Sunday afternoon you sit and watch the British weather do what it does best…rain. What better to do than to listen to some Soul?

Now, moving away from that little ‘setting the scene’ moment, I wanted to share with you guys the wonders of SoundCloud and some of the gems I’ve found. Before I carry on, if you haven’t signed up to it already make sure you do. I tend to roam the vast musical banks of SoundCloud, listening to anything that grabs my interest, and see what music is out there.

I’ve recently gotten into Neo-Soul and slow mixes to really bring out that summer vibe; nothing beats that moment of absolute chill on a cool day. Two channels on SoundCloud that have really caught my attention this year and that really evoke that chill vibe are one channel by Londoner, Tom Misch, and another by L.A. based Soulection.

From http://bamalovesoul.com/

I actually came across Tom Misch’s music through Soulection, and it hasn’t disappointed me since. If you’re into that old school sound, you’d be quite interested in this guy’s music. What I like most is how Misch re-works those old school sounds to make something so fresh and modern. One of the first tracks that I heard of his was an instrumental called The Journey, and to this day it remains as one of my go-to songs. Much like the title, the song feels like a musical journey, progressing and developing till the very end when you can just start to quietly hear the voice of Misch himself. I’m not sure why this song struck me so much, but it’s definitely something to listen to to understand what I’m talking about. He’s also, via his SoundCloud channel, released his latest track Memory, which has a real nice summer atmosphere to it, mainly with the introduction with Caribbean steel pans.

Check out his SoundCloud channel here.

For those, like me, who are into Neo-Soul, take the time out to listen to Soulection. As we speak now, Soulection is playing from my JBL Flip, filling the room with some of the freshest tracks at the moment. This L.A. based channel and radio show has got one of the most varied, but strongly connected, track lists I’ve heard. It’s times like this when I wish I lived in the States, solely because of the vast Soul vibe there. Broadcasted on Rinse FM, Soulection is one of those channels that fit the BBQ atmosphere and really gets you to go within yourself, if that makes sense! If you’re looking to build on your Neo-Soul knowledge, really have a listen to this channel and check out their website here.

You can check out the SoundCloud channel here.

I hope that you guys get a chance to listen to at least one song from these channels. You never know, you may end up surprising yourself and enjoy them…I hope you do too.

From your Neo-Soul-ful buddy,
Myles