Emerging from the heart of Los Angeles – a new music collective is on the rise and rapidly gaining popularity. Ranging from a multitude of genres from electronic sounds, Lo-Fi, House Beats, Trap, R&B Soul, and Hip Hop this unique collective has something for everyone. Soulection Radio founded by Joe Kay and Andre Power has grown to become it’s own radio show, concert platform, clothing line and more recently independent music label.
From it’s early beginnings at KBEACH radio (seen above) at Cal State Long Beach to Apple Music Beats 1 – this group of producers and DJ’s has forged its own path in the music industry and continues to thrive. For the past decade, Soulection has produced about 400+ radio shows, performed at major music festivals such as Coachella, and sold out local venues such as the 2019 Soulection Experience at The Shrine, LA.
Creativity among this collective is endless especially with the rise of music producing technology and streaming platforms. With the help of GarageBand, Logic, and Audacity artists can create full-fledged master tracks from their laptops in the comfort of their homes. On top of production software, music streaming platforms such as Soundcloud, Spotify, and Apple Music have allowed artists the ability to extend their reach and connect with listeners from across the globe. By optimizing both production software and streaming platforms to their advantage, Soulection continues to flourish internationally – broadcasting and connecting with about 100 countries listeners and local pools of talent.
A Closer Look At Their Musical Influences
Since 2011, Soulection has become a pivotal source of finding and sharing the newest musical voices for GenZ and Millennials. Through their carefully curated radio show, they have highlighted many artists early on in their careers. Some artists they can be associated with include Ella Mia, GoldLink, Snoh Aalegra, Leven Kali, Saba, Kaytranada, and more. On top of that, they have an extensive list of their own resident DJ’s and producers including Mr. Carmack, Noodles, Jared Jackson, Sango, Andre Power, and Joe Kay just to name a few.
With a variety of artists in their arsenal, Soulection’s core musical DNA can be described as an ode to old school hip hop and R&B. It is easy to see the influence of musical greats such as J-Dilla or the wave of the 1990’s to early 2000’s. Beyond this, they also pay tribute to traditional musicians and their craft. This year they held a different concert called Soulection Jazz Night – an event that paid tribute to the culture of jazz improvisation and the ragtime and blues era.
Besides the influence of specific genres, we can also see musical influence by geographical regions. For example, artist LAKIM draws inspiration from his East Coast roots to produce “slick deep house R&B edits or underwater footwork flavor” while Michigan’s Sango draws inspiration from Brazillian Baile Funk and Samba. With this deep understanding of so many musical backgrounds paired with today’s sounds of bass, synths, hi-hats, and more the creativity of this collective is endless. Soulection continues to honor the greats of the past and create their own spin to reinvent music that resonates with the current generation.
Contributed by Ryanna Declines a writer from The Clive Davis Institute x Billboard MUSIC INDUSTRY ESSENTIALS program.