The Soul of Soul, or What Is New Music Anyway?

What does Daptone Records have to do with new music? Find out in this journey into the soul of, well... soul. Plus, a playlist of new music inspired by that retro sound.

My 9-5 has started to encroach into my 5-9 and weekends with much greater force and regularity, but I figured you guys wouldn't tolerate yet another break so soon after my last one. So, I've asked my friend and fellow No Ripcord ex-pat

Joe

Rivers to help.

Joe is a music journalist who has contributed to the Guardian, Clash, HuffPo, the Independent, and (obviously) No Ripcord. You're in capable hands.

Please be nice to him, give him a follow if you're so inclined, and — most of all — enjoy.

-Gabbie

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The idea for this post came from a note I wrote a few days ago.

Yes, it’s intentionally glib and throwaway, but the more I thought about it, the more I realised¹ there was something in it. I love new music and discovering a future favorite² is a real thrill, but sometimes… it’s kind of a slog.

What is “new” music?

Over the course of 2024, I listened to around 150 albums released during the year. In 2023, it was closer to 250 records. You unearth some gems, but boy do you find some real duds. It’s only natural you’d want to return to musical comfort food at some point.

New Music is Dead; Long Live New Music

But then I started thinking about it more. When we say new music, what do we even mean?

This (hopefully) isn’t as stupid a question as it might seem at first glance. I realised my thoughts on how to codify “newness” boiled down to two further sub-questions:

1. Does new music have to have been released recently?

2. Does new music have to sound new?

Let’s start with the first question, as it’s by far the simpler.

In 2024, I heard the self-titled debut album by Arthur Verocai for the first time.

And the second time.

And the third time.

And, well, you get the picture. I adored its Latin rhythms, expansiveness and groove. It was released in 1972, so surely no one would attempt to claim it was new, but since I’d not heard it until recently, by definition it was new, if only to me.

Like I said, there’s always a thrill to finding a future favorite,³ but even at my most contrary, I wouldn’t really try and claim Arthur Verocai was new music (though it won’t be the last you hear of him today…).

The other question is far more complicated, because to answer it you have to decide what it means for music to sound new.

Is it something which has no clear lineage, something which creates sounds you’ve never heard before, or is it just a fresh approach to existing styles?

We’ve all grown up with pop music as our life’s soundtrack, so unless you’re an outsider art or musique concrète aficionado, you’re unlikely to be hearing something that’s completely without precedent on a regular basis.

But can there be different types of new?

Does a new grime track sound newer than a new blues song, simply because grime is newer as a recognised genre?

Does new music from new artists sound newer than new music by less-new artists?

Daptone Records and the Newness of Old Soul

Evoking Daptone Records in my original note was a deliberate move. Despite being a record label that continues to release new music from current artists, they’ve been associated with a classic soul sound since their inception, as well as being famous for recording on analog equipment.

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Charles Bradley, Lee Fields—the names most famously associated with Daptone deliberately harken back to a golden age.

Even if you think you don’t know these names, you do; The Dap-Kings were the backing band for most of the tracks on one of the biggest records of the 2000s: Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black.

So is music on Daptone new? And what of soul music overall?

Does a new grime track sound newer than a new blues song, simply because grime is newer as a recognised genre?

I adore soul music, but there can’t be many genres where you’re up against the weight of history like you are with soul.

The incredible hit rate of the Motown label in the 1960s gave way to the iconoclasts of the 1970s like Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield and Minnie Riperton, who took the style into bold new frontiers. You could argue that there’s nowhere left to go.

A Playlist of Modern Soul

All of which brings me onto this week’s playlist. It’s new music but it’s also not. It’s soul music which is heavily reminiscent of a golden age but every track is less than five years old.

Whatever your definition of new, I hope you enjoy.