the soul of house music

Putting The Soul Back Into House

I stumbled across Vick lavender after TTRoger gave me the track send for me – Carla Prather- from the opening bars of the tune I just knew I was in for a treat, when the vocal started it just rolled with ease as Ms Prather sat on the rhythm like a train on the track, as I listed I sensed she was relating those words to something,

‘If you ever need me send for me, put a message in a bottle baby, an send for me’
The tone of the tune was just classy and just musical, - this was the beginning of a new chapter for me, it had been so long since a tune just grabbed me and slapped me on the back of my neck shouting hay listen to me.

Since then ive listened to Vick lavender with fresh ears and wondered how can something so good not be shared with a world which says it has soul.

I recalled the early days of blaze an in particular ‘The last 25 years’
That album was high point for me musically, as it blended and fused old sounds with new technology an for me it was done well, the blaze sound set the bench mark, granted there has been many new sounds added in the genre of the house field but how many have had shelf life beyond being called a classic-
Ok for some they like the club sound , but, after say a few months the track being played it loses its edge an another track takes its place, it may get a play now an again but it doesn’t maintain its place on the shelf and finds its way into a box somewhere gathering dust,.

As I said when I heard the sound of Vick lavender Of Sophisticado Recordings, I really felt and believe that this is a sound which has soul, real soul, in one of the latest tracks I heard ‘black samba’ I recognised that it may not be a banging club track but a smooth sounding track, it took me on a little journey, as I closed my eyes I felt I was at a party on a street corner in Chicago, the horns were just right- as you listen further you feel an urge to break the tune down further and get the feel of classy studio session where the producer is producing a full on production, one where his intention is not to make a hit that will be played for a while and then disappear, but to make music that people want to listen to, not just hear, music that had substance and would be played, the sound of real instruments, what always stays with me is the bass line and the trombone in the track ‘Send for me’ the trombone sounds like its being played with ease, whilst the bass just always keeps the joint bouncing along .

It’s been so long since ive compared a producer to a great such as Roy Ayres, but believe me there are musical comparisons –
I wonder do people listen to the beat, the words or the music, because Vick Lavender covers all the bases.
There are many good music makers, but for us right now its Vick Lavender who is waving the flag, if you haven t given him a fair hearing, go back and listen again, its house music for adults, music with soul and passion, the singers who he has on his jams may be known, but when they sit on his tracks its pure magic, if you listen to ‘Send for me’ from the start it just takes you on a journey,

We wonder how long it will take for some of the major promoters to take notice of Mr Vick Lavender and his talents, we recently had the pleasure to see Vick play at the Miami WMC 2010 and couldn’t help but notice he plays a lot of his own music, something which we notice a lot of dj’s don’t do.
We are hoping that he will be invited to play at the next Southport weekender or the next Soul Heaven we say this because we feel that for a lot of the music the soul just isn’t there, but Mr Vick Lavender truly puts the soul back into the house music.

Just Good Music Show
(Dj’s Jungle & ttRoger)