Heels & Souls Recordings hit release number nine, looking across the pond to Toronto in the mid-'90s to reissue two blissfully Balearic house gems from 100th Monkey. Alongside remastered versions of ‘Raindance’ and ‘Nyika Nyika’, the flip features a pumping remix of ‘Raindance’ courtesy of dream house hero Manuel Darquart and a previously unreleased ‘90s stunner, ‘River Ride’.

100th Monkey were most known under their Boomtang Boys moniker, a killer Canadian production trio and record label. In the early ‘90s, with a release already out as Fun Wow, brothers Tony and Paul Grace were introduced to Rob DeBoer. With respective backgrounds as a drummer, DJ and keys player and inspired by the sounds coming across from the UK, they began producing releases for the label under a variety of different monikers. From the street soul grooves of ‘Love Trip’ as Boomtang Boys, to the hip house flavours of D.S.B. and the progressive rhythms of The Riders of the Soundguard.

Their only release as 100th Monkey though is a jewel in this Canadian crown. Cooked up in their home studio, packed with synths, samplers and drum machines, ‘Raindance’ is a hit of summertime heat that instantly transports you to sandy shores. A slice of mid-tempo, Balearic deep house anchored by shuffling hats and a spine-tingling bassline, the African vocal samples, dreamy strings and goose-bumping chords merge to send you floating out across the horizon.

Picking up the pace, ‘Nyika Nyika’ is another dream-inducing house cut, equally adept at soundtracking a sunset, as it is at powering a dancefloor. Shimmering arps and looped African vocal samples glisten through the haze, with a punchy bass and enveloping strings reeling you in.

On the B side, Manuel Darquart puts his trademark spin on ‘Raindance’, looping up elements from the OG with a dash of that Darquart hot sauce. The kick gets an injection, steamy synthlines are laid down and a salacious sax is slipped in the mix.

Finally, plucked from the 100th Monkey vaults, ‘River Ride’ is an unreleased cut from 1996. Washing over you with a wave of floating pads, trickling arps, a laidback breakbeat and grooving bassline, it’s the perfect warm-down or warmup material, that rightly sees the light of day for the very first time.

Licensed from The Boomtang Boys and remastered from the original DATs by Justin Drake. More

Heels & Souls Recordings roll into reissue number eight with a double dose of early '90s UK street soul magic, splitting the sides between two sought-after cuts from Elaine Vassell and 3rd Zone.

Step back to 1993, house music has hit, UK Soul is in full flow and its rawer, DIY street soul sibling is making its mark across the UK’s underground. Fuelled by accessible, affordable production gear and ignited through enthusiasm and an influx of ideas and sounds, two acts drew inspiration from a melting pot of genres they were exposed to, providing their take on soul as they saw it.

Up first, Elaine Vassell - ‘Never Give Up’. A rough breakbeat-driven, mid-tempo groover from a North West London production triple threat, made up of Longsy D, Pinky and Murray. Utilising Pinky’s home studio with its DX7, Juno 106, LinnDrum and 808, they masterminded a track that sits at the intersection between soulful house, hip hop and R&B. Its crunching drum loop, chest-rattling low-end and serene synth lines, lay the foundation for Elaine’s powerful yet emotive voice to take centre stage. ‘Never Give Up’ should have been a future classic, but never quite found its feet.

On the flip side another 1993 gem, as Sansel Ali and twin brothers Mark and Stephen Anglin joined forces to form 3rd Zone. Conceived in Mark’s makeshift bedroom studio, the trio laid down their first foray into recorded music, ‘You Stole My Heart’. Originally promoed as a limited whitelabel in 1991, it officially landed on the group's one and only EP ‘No Real Reason' in '93.

Armed with a handful of synth modules, a drum machine and a Korg M1, Mark, Stephen and Sansel hit with a tough but tender, underground triumph. Part dance, part romance, layering synth strings, chunky breaks and M1 stabs underneath Sansel’s heartstrung vocals and Stephen’s hip house rap interlude, it provides another perfect example of house seen through the street soul prism.

Two timeless tracks that fly the flag for the fact that big studios and big budgets aren't necessary to create songs that really resonate. Each side also contains an alternate version, with the A housing a beatless reprise of ‘Never Give Up’ and the B a tougher, bassier remix of ‘You Stole My Heart’.

Licensed from Pinky Music and 3rd Zone respectively and remastered from the original DATs by Justin Drake. More

Reissue number seven for Heels & Souls Recordings sees them look back to the sounds of South Africa’s townships in 1991, cherry picking four of Tashif Kente’s finest cuts from his sought after album A Boy And A Dream, giving them space to breathe on a 12" pressing.

Clearly influenced by the flavours bubbling over from the UK and US in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, from R&B through to boogie, proto house to new jack swing, Tashif’s productions are a melting pot of ideas and influences, laced with a distinctive South African flavour.

Born in Soweto, Mzwandile ‘Tashif’ Kente, cut his teeth with Harari for a brief period, a group that birthed greats like Condry Ziqubu, Sipho Mabuse and Alec Khaoli, before going solo in 1984 and releasing just one album as Tashif Kente, 1991’s ‘A Boy And A Dream’. An album that speaks of love, lust and longing, produced by Kente and Selwyn Shandel with Marc Rantseli also joining the fold, it has that signature South African synth bass, drum machine and killer keyboard combo of the Bubblegum and Kwaito scenes, topped with Kente’s buttery vocals.

Heels & Souls Recordings take four favourites from the LP and press them loud on either side of a 12”. On the A, the audacious new jack, dancefloor bubbler ‘Tell Him I Became Your Lover’ leads into the lovestruck, boogie-tinged grooves of ‘Somebody’s Got My Love’. Flip it over to find a jealousy jam of the highest order with the synthy soul number ‘Who’s That Boy’, before ‘I Like The Way You Love Me’, a lights down low, R&B flavoured lovesong rounds off the EP.

Licensed from Gallo, who transferred the original ¼ inch tapes for their archives, Heels & Souls have enlisted the expertise of Justin Drake to remaster these South African beauties for a new generation of listeners. More

Heels & Souls Recordings step back to 1988 for their sixth reissue, relicensing and remastering Flair's anthemic soul number 'Chasin' The Rain.' For the uninitiated, strap yourself in for six blissful minutes of heavy bass licks, soaring vocals, and infectious synth lines.

Consisting of Janet Rose (aka UK Soul queen JB Rose), Joe Matz, Peter Bielig, and Peter Shindler, Flair was a predominantly German affair, with Rose being the only UK band member and Bieling living in London during the late '80s. This is a curious detail considering 'Chasin' The Rain' is often lauded today as a UK Soul classic - partially due to its release on the prolific UK label Champion. However, it's squeaky-clean production values, and the fact it was mixed and mastered at the famous Jankowski studio in Stuttgart by three Germans, reveals a somewhat different story.

The track has that UK street soul heavy low-end, but with a synth-pop flavour sprinkled in the mix - swinging synth lines and gated snares aplenty. Yet from chatting to Peter Bielig, who's been instrumental in getting this record reissued, the sounds sweeping across the Atlantic from the likes of Jam and Lewis, who blended R&B, funk, soul and pop, were clearly a big influence too.

Those were heady days for four young twenty-something musicians, with Peter recalling cherished memories these tracks bring back, telling of his and JB's PA sessions at London's Gulliver's nightclub. However, while 'Chasin' The Rain' had all the hallmarks of a chart-breaking hit, Champion prioritised other projects and the record never broke. Sadly the group disbanded after only two releases, and this musical gem was consigned to the crates of those in the know. Soon after, Peter Bielig went to Jamaica to work at Tough Gong Studios, working on albums for Rita Marley Music. He now lives in Brazil, producing local artists in his studio in Salvador.

Unfortunately, the master tapes were nowhere to be found, so we had the maestro, Sean P, rip and restore a mint copy of the record, with award-winning mastering engineer Cicely Balston working her studio magic for that added punch. More

Top tier tackle from Heels & Souls Recordings for their fourth reissue as they let loose a much anticipated double header, Gold In The Shade’s 'Over You' backed with 'Shining Through'. Rough, tough, straight-from-the-heart ‘90s street soul, coming courtesy of TSR bossman Robert Roper and the Gold In The Shade ladies Arletta Davis and Sonia Johnson. One of the most sought-after cuts of this scene, it encompasses much of what made street soul special - heavy bass, gritty breaks, emotive chords and off-kilter vocals, marrying together to form a snapshot of a raw DIY scene with optimism at its heart.

The trio’s first single from 1990, ‘Shining Through’ is a no nonsense, bassbin-rattling love song from the underground, seeing long-term friends Sonia and Arletta pulling on the heartstrings from the mic as Robert works his magic behind the studio controls.

Lovingly remastered from the DAT by Cicely Balston, if only ‘Over You’ had been so easy. Two years of endless searching for the tape and subsequently a clean copy of the record, Heels & Souls even went to the lengths of having the multitracks restored so that Robert could attempt to recreate the original mixdown in the studio – but the magic of ‘91, unfortunately, can’t simply be conjured at the drop of a hi-hat.

After all but losing hope, Sean P (by way of Backatcha’s Aiden Leacy), came to the rescue with a mint condition copy of the record that he had from running in the same circles as Robert and Duval back in the day, ripping and restoring it with a precision he’s rightly famed for. And so (finally!) here it is: distorted samples, low-fi hits, speaker rumbling bassweight and all. Raw to the core, but that’s the point – pure, unbridled emotion from the depths of North West London.

Fully licensed from Robert Roper, 20% of profits from Heels & Souls Recordings and Prime Direct Distribution will be donated to Lives Not Knives, a youth-led London-based charity, working to prevent knife crime, serious youth violence and school exclusions. More

Repress!!

When you talk about UK Street Soul, and the sounds that define it, it’s impossible to look past Special Touch’s first and only album, Garden of Life. A shining example of this often retrospectively termed genre, which loosely categorised black, soul-inspired music with a DIY, bass-driven aesthetic from the late ‘80s to early-mid ‘90s, this impossibly rare record from cult label Top Secret Recordings weaves a unique brand of positivity and musicality across nine uplifting tracks. With original copies never having traded hands for below £100 on Discogs, this fully licensed, remastered reissue for Heels & Souls Recordings debut release will be a welcome sight for many.

A family affair through and through, producer and TSR founder Robert Charles Roper and his vocalist brother Duval created an LP that effortlessly married the rawness of underground hip-hop, R&B, reggae and early house with the sentiment and warmth of soul music.

The continuous thread over the nine tracks is a sense of optimism, whether on the house-flecked ‘It’s Your Life’, the slung-back ‘Tonight’ or the breakbeat-punctuated ‘Music’. And few, if any, street soul tracks hit the same sublime heights as the title track ‘Garden of Life’, a consummate encapsulation of the Special Touch sound, decorated with breathtaking synth melodies layered over crunchy drum machine hits and Duval’s soaring vocals.

A high-point of an underground street soul scene that caused vibrations throughout UK dancefloors, blues parties, soundsystems and pirate stations from Manchester, London, Leeds, Bradford, Birmingham and beyond, Heels & Souls Recordings are delighted to be working alongside Robert to present a relicensed version of Garden of Life for their debut release, remastering the record from the original DAT tape at The Bakehouse Studio.

Complete with a printed inner sleeve detailing the history of Special Touch and the record’s significance, label co-founders Ben Croft and Patrick Forrester, alongside Prime Direct Distribution, will also be donating their respective share of profits to The Black Curriculum, a social enterprise delivering Black British history programmes and teacher training to facilitate both national curriculum and wider societal changes. More

Heels & Souls Recordings’ fifth reissue sees them reach across the Atlantic to Vancouver, pressing up Pilgrims Of The Mind’s 'What’s Your Shrine?' for the first time ever on vinyl, 25 years since its CD-only release on Map Music. A departure from the label’s previous releases, the LP is a beautiful smorgasbord of styles - progressive house, downtempo, ambient, tech house and trance all nestle together, a wiggling journey of sonic delight from the mind of Stéphane Novak.

Turn the dial back to ‘97 and Vancouver's underground had a distinctive buzz to its rumblings, an amalgamation of scenes and styles gave rise to a cohort of producers that were unconstrained by genre, offering up a heady mix of sounds to expand the mind. ‘Welcome To Lotus Land’ the key 1996 compilation on Robert Shea’s seminal Map Music, championed much of this output including two cuts from POTM. Stéphane then released his first and only full-length album, ‘What’s Your Shrine?’ on the same label the following year.

Picking out choice moments from an album as considered and complete as this is tough. Those horizontally inclined will be drawn to the ambient dwellings of ‘Sandcastle’ & ‘Following the Sofuto Kuriimo’, tracks like ‘Nothing Can Pull Us Apart’ and ‘L’Amour? Encore?!’ are perfectly suited to warming up limbs on the dancefloor, ‘My Baby Likes Rum’ and ‘Loosejaw’ prime for one in full swing. Yet to pick individual tracks misses the stunning sum of its parts that this 70+ minute cruise is, surely one of the finest albums from the American West Coast during its halcyon days of the ‘90s.

Digging deep in his vaults, Stéphane managed to uncover the original unmastered DATs that have been given a fresh mastering by Justin Drake at the Bakehouse Studios. This beautiful, double-disc gatefold comes complete with liner notes from Ciel, words from Stéphane himself, plus never-before-seen photography - the complete package this music always deserved.
More

Reissue number three for Heels & Souls Recordings combines the Balearic bliss of Paprika Soul’s, ‘Come With Me’, with Soft Sugar’s dream house gem ‘Métro’ and an unreleased version of the tripped-out groover ‘Swampin'. A cherry picking of the best of three rare and sought after ‘90s EPs from the minds of High Wycombe’s Alan Barnes, Andrew Spiller and Andrew Hughes.

As anthemic as they get, Paprika Soul's 'Come With Me (Sea Breeze)' is an otherworldly electronic interpretation of Tania Maria’s beloved Brazilian jazz funk classic from '83. Vocalist Sarah Newell's unique delivery combines with a euphoric blend of Barnes’ and Spiller’s crisp drum machine programming and cosmic synthwork. Complete with crashing waves and Balearic birds, it’s a timeless, endorphin-tingling track that feels even more relevant than ever. The A-side also features the brilliant street soul flavoured ‘The Chill’ mix and the ‘Bossa Mix’, the most true in form to the original.

On the flip you’ll find Soft Sugar’s dream house flavoured ‘Métro (Funk Mix)’, Barnes and Andrew Hughes’ homage to time spent cruising the Parisian train system. Barnes’ favourite of their joint-productions, it blends that riviera feel of classic M1 stabs and sweeping pads with a dreamy bassline and stuttering breaks. Flying under the radar at the time, it’s since become hot property for the eagle-eyed digger out there.

Closing out the B, an unreleased, alternate version of Soft Sugar’s slung-back ‘Swampin’ from their Basement Records House Department EP. Mesmerizingly smooth, the 110bpm house-groover busts the brain with wigged out chants and intoxicating arpeggiations.

Fully licensed from Alan Barnes and remastered by Cicely Balston, 20% of profits from Heels & Souls Recordings and Prime Direct Distribution will be donated to Zaatari Radio – a humanitarian collective working with war-affected communities around the world. More