Stumbling across their show on Soundcloud was by accident it came at a moment when all my time was consumed by finding what I believed to be fresh noise to my ears and others, much like many millennial men and woman. In that search, I came across Soulection, infatuation from the moment I pressed play, irresistibly enamored by “Future Beats, Eclectic Soul, Timeless Sounds, Forgotten Gems… This is Soulection” from the voice of Soulection’s radio host Joe Kay.
What started out as an L.A based autonomous music label/radio station would go on to be a hugely successful Apple Beats 1 radio show and music label. With their sound already established by the harmonious ensemble of DJ’s/Producers like – Ta-Ku, Sango, Esta, Abjo, IAMNOBODI, J-Louis and much more. Soulection is broadening individuals pallets one beat at a time.
Soulection brings a collection of styles of sound, whether it be the smooth, soulful sounds of Dwele ‘Too Fly’ which featured in Soulection Ep 280 or rattling ‘future bass’ of starLo ‘I Wish (feat Jonah4lyfe) which featured in the latter. Which made my apprehension for their presence in The Marble Factory, Bristol so much more unbearable. It would have been slightly more plausible to imagine what sounds to expect out of the eclectic assortment of rhythms they’re so known for, but in all honest nothing could prepare me for what they had displayed.
Leading at the helm was HannahFaith, Sosupersam, and The Whooligan. Each injecting vitality into the audience by bringing their unique flavors, to their individual sets. By the surrounding bodies that filled out Da club, I was surprised by the fact the ‘The sound of tomorrow’ had reached Bristol. TheWhooligan wasn’t shy in opening the proceedings. His set brought THEY – Bad Habits remixed by Esta outside the realms of my bedroom and into the nightclub for the first time. A notion that would be thought over and over again. You simply don’t hear DJ sets like this in Bristol, with that being said you can understand why The Marble Factory was packed from back to front.
With the night consisting of three sets, it was hard to imagine each living up to the last – but hell was I wrong. Hannah Faith came in midway through and simmered the crowded through the convoluted rhythms of Kaytranada and persuasively intricate lyrics of GoldLink plus so much more. Her set was like fondue of different cheeses only instead, replace the soft cheeses with soul, funk, and R&B. Though quite not as high-velocity hip-hop song selection of SoSuperSam, Hannah Faith was undoubtedly the most current out of the three performers. Notably, Ms. Faith midway through the set dropped Solange – Mad feat. Lil Wayne. I can’t deny readers; I was shocked. Its rarity to hear and find fresh RnB and Soul in Bristol Nightclubs, something that you can always expect from Joe Kay’s episodic radio show on Beat1 and legion of Soulection DJ’s.
Succeeding Faith’s funky delivery was Samantha Duenas better know as Sosupersam. After the debut of her latest E.P entitled Garden she caught my attention. The brilliantly produced track So feat. P-Lo [Prod. By ESTA] set my speakers to the moon and back. Ta-Ku’s production on the track reminded why he’s such a talent. For a second, his IG ‘Ta-Ku’ had overwhelmed my vision and deterred me away from his SoundCloud, but this beat settled my dispute on his multifaceted nature. Her set was riddled with trap remixes and soft Bryson Tiller ‘Trapsoul’ like flows.
By the end of the night, I couldn’t help but acknowledge with the sentiments of JackBagshaw6 who waited for the floors to clear to approach the Soulection squad. He told the gang how much their work inspired him in his DJ ambitions, in this, I was reminded and learned that – the sound tomorrow was infectious and would certainly be back to Bristol soon.
