Future soul | |
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Stylistic origins | Neo soul, pop music, electronica, dubstep, hip-hop music |
Cultural origins | 2010s, United Kingdom |
Future soul is a term often used by UK singer-songwriter Daley [1] in the 2010s to describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contemporary R&B. Although both soulful and conscious, future soul is distinguished from neo soul as it infuses more elements of pop, electronica, dubstep and hip hop instead of jazz and funk. Simply put, future soul is soulful songwriting infused with forward thinking electronic production.
Future soul has emerged into the mainstream with commercial and critical success from several future soul artists such as Alex Clare [2] and his hit song "Too Close", [3] Daley, [4] Kymistry, [5] Omari Oneal [6] and Janelle Monáe.
French DJ David Guetta has done future soul in his song "Night of Your Life", which features American singer Jennifer Hudson. Grammy nominated Melbourne-based band Hiatus Kaiyote have described their music as future soul. [7] [8]
The genre since its inception has taken on a much more defined sound with artists like Josh Jacobson who emerged around the same time as Daley. Josh went on to produce tracks such as, "Not Alone (feat. Skela)" (2015), [9] and his cover of Little Dragon's, "Twice," (2016), [10] [11] which both created waves in the online music community for a unique yet defined sound. Surrounding these releases, press including electronic tastemaker's Nest HQ [12] were dubbing Josh's sound as "Future Soul."
Neo soul is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contemporary R&B. Heavily based in soul music, neo soul is distinguished by a less conventional sound than its contemporary R&B counterpart, with incorporated elements ranging from funk, jazz fusion, hip hop, and African music to pop, rock, and electronic music. It has been noted by music writers for its traditional R&B influences, conscious-driven lyrics, and strong female presence.
Blue-eyed soul is rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music performed by white artists. The term was coined in the mid-1960s, to describe white artists whose sound was similar to that of the predominantly black Motown and Stax record labels. Though many R&B radio stations in the United States in that period would only play music by black musicians, some began to play music by white acts considered to have "soul feeling"; their music was then described as "blue-eyed soul".
Andraé Edward Crouch was an American gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, record producer and pastor. Referred to as "the father of modern gospel music" by contemporary Christian and gospel music professionals, Crouch was known for his compositions "The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power", "My Tribute " and "Soon and Very Soon". He collaborated on some of his recordings with famous and popular artists such as Stevie Wonder, El DeBarge, Philip Bailey, Chaka Khan, and Sheila E., as well as the vocal group Take 6, and many popular artists covered his material, including Bob Dylan, Barbara Mandrell, Paul Simon, Elvis Presley and Little Richard. In the 1980s and 1990s, he was known as the "go-to" producer for superstars who sought a gospel choir sound in their recordings; he appeared on a number of recordings, including Michael Jackson's "Man In the Mirror", Madonna's "Like a Prayer", and "The Power", a duet between Elton John and Little Richard. Crouch was noted for his talent of incorporating contemporary secular music styles into the gospel music he grew up with. His efforts in this area helped pave the way for early American contemporary Christian music during the 1960s and 1970s.
Lincoln Barrett, better known by the stage name High Contrast, is a Welsh electronic music producer, DJ and record producer. He produces drum and bass music, and his 2009 album Confidential reached BPI gold certification.
Eulaulah Donyll "Lalah" Hathaway is an American singer. In 1990 Hathaway released her first album titled Lalah Hathaway. After releasing another album, titled A Moment (1994), it debuted at number 34 on the Top R&B albums chart. In 1999 she collaborated with Joe Sample on the album The Song Lives On. After a five-year hiatus, she returned with her fourth album, Outrun the Sky (2004). The single "Forever, For Always, For Love" peaked at number 1 on the Hot Adult R&B Airplay.
Floetry were an English R&B duo comprising Marsha Ambrosius and Natalie Stewart. The group recorded two studio albums, one live album, and sold over 1,500,000 records worldwide. Formed in 1997, Floetry started on the performance poetry stage. They have worked with many US musicians and artists including: Jill Scott, Queen Latifah, Michael Jackson, Common, The Roots, Bilal, and more founders of Neo-Soul.
Minimal techno is a subgenre of techno music. It is characterized by a stripped-down aesthetic that exploits the use of repetition and understated development. Minimal techno is thought to have been originally developed in the early 1990s by Detroit-based producers Robert Hood and Daniel Bell. By the early 2000s the term 'minimal' generally described a style of techno that was popularized in Germany by labels such as Kompakt, Perlon, and Richie Hawtin's M-nus, among others.
Miguel Steward, better known by his stage name Miguel Migs, is an American deep house DJ and producer and founder of Salted Music, an independent electronic dance music record label based in San Francisco, California.
Chris Lake is a British electronic music producer and DJ. He rose to fame in 2006 with his hit single, "Changes", featuring Laura V.
Gareth Daley, known mononymously as Daley, is a British singer-songwriter and artist. He first became prominent after co-writing and featuring on the Gorillaz single "Doncamatic", having been spotted by the band's creator Damon Albarn early in his career as an underground artist on the UK music scene.
Alexander George Clare is an English singer and songwriter. His debut album, The Lateness of the Hour, was released in the UK on 11 July 2011 on Island Records and was produced by Mike Spencer and Major Lazer.
Brainfeeder is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California, founded by Flying Lotus in 2008, focusing on electronic music and instrumental hip hop. It has signed artists such as Ras G, Samiyam, The Gaslamp Killer, Thundercat, The Underachievers, Lapalux, Daedelus, and Mr. Oizo.
Owsla is an American record label and creative collective. It was founded by Skrillex, Tim Smith, Kathryn Frazier, and Clayton Blaha in 2011. Skrillex announced the label on August 17, 2011. The label's first release was Porter Robinson's Spitfire.
"Remember Me" is the first single by English singer Daley taken from his second EP, Alone Together. It was released on 9 December 2012 through Levels/Polydor/Universal Republic Records. The song features guest vocals from English singer-songwriter Jessie J. Produced by White N3rd and Balistiq, it samples "I Should've Known Better" by Mica Paris and Omar, as well as Blue Boy's song of the same name.
Josh Andres, known by his stage name STATIK LNK, is an American DJ, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, and songwriter. STATIK LNK produces sample packs and beats within the hip-hop genre. His music has been classified as a combination of jazz, hip-hop, soul music, and electro-funk sounds. As a producer and DJ, he defies genre norms by fusing together the sounds of jazz, soul, funk, electronic music, and hip-hop. STATIK LNK lists his primary influences as the music of Dr. Dre, Alchemist (musician), Robert Glasper, John Coltrane, J Dilla, Madlib, Miles Davis, and BadBadNotGood.
Hiatus Kaiyote is an Australian jazz/funk band formed in Melbourne in 2011, made up of singer/guitarist Nai Palm, bassist Paul Bender, keyboardist Simon Mavin, and drummer Perrin Moss.
Naomi Saalfield, known professionally as Nai Palm, is an Australian musician, best known as the vocalist, guitarist and occasional pianist for the jazz/funk band Hiatus Kaiyote.
Energy is the third studio album by British electronic music duo Disclosure. It was released on 28 August 2020 through Island Records.
Mood Valiant is the third studio album by Australian neo-soul quartet Hiatus Kaiyote, released in 2021 on Brainfeeder. The album peaked at number 4 on the ARIA charts.