Touching Bass: Soulection

Los Angeles has played encouraging parent to a growing beat scene for almost a decade. What started with the likes of Ras G has since sifted into the weighty FlyLo/Brainfeeder generation and out the other side. Soulection are the latest family curating a set of releases high on feeling and emotion. Tentatively started in 2010 as a music/culture blog by Joe Kay and 96, it eventually blossomed into a radio show and platform for free flowing instrumental concepts. The ethos was simple. To collate a stream of what the world offered within the boundaries of their soulful DNA. So despite how cavernous the internet can be, they’ve moulded themselves into a culture ripe with vibrancy and consistently exciting music. We got Joe Kay to put together half an hour’s worth of soul food for you to munch through this weekend.

Noisey: How’s the family man?

Joe: My family’s real good man, thanks for asking. My daughter’s right here next to me. The cool thing is she’s now at an age where she’s independent so she’s roaming around the house and just exploring. She’s really smart and forward thinking and she loves the music. I’ll be playing stuff all over the house and she’s hearing this exclusive music before anyone else does. It’s almost like a social experiment because I don’t think any young child has been exposed to this type of music and it’s gonna be interesting to see how it develops her mind unconsciously.

Did you ever play video games or was it all music as a kid?

I did man! I played a lot of Dreamcast when I was coming up. I was always into the NBAs and Halo. That was my shit. When online gaming first came out on Dreamcast I was really dedicated to it. I was even in the Top 10 in the nation at one point on NBA 2K. When I get into something I go hard with it so that was actually a big part of my life. It’s funny that you ask because I don’t really talk about that but it was my little getaway. I haven’t played a console in about four or five years though. I just don’t have the time.

So what would you say were your first experiences of going out to hear music? It’s quite an odd concept when you think about it. You know, just going out to listen to music with other people that you've never met before.

One of the first times was a very prominent reggae festival that’s not actually around any more. It was held at Long Beach at the Convention Center. I remember my mum taking me with her aunts and it was cool because I was exposed to a new culture but it was more like roots and dub. That was really cool and people were surprisingly open, smoking weed and stuff like that. It wasn’t the most recommended atmosphere for smoking with all the families round and stuff but it tripped me out that everyone was so open.

Did you ever make beats at all? It would make a lot of sense if you were a secret bedroom producer back in the day.

I’ve never made beats and I’ve always thought but I feel like I came in really late. I’ve always been more into the art of selecting music and discovering it as well as exposing people to music. As a producer, you tend to get more focused on yourself when you’re making music.

Right. So, talk me through the start of Soulection…

The concept originated back in 2010. 96 and I were the original founders of Soulection. At the start, it was meant to be a blog and just a platform to share art and culture. You had the cream of the crop within the beat scene – with the likes of Brainfeeder and those amazing labels – but despite them I felt there were so many other amazing beatmakers around the world.

We were meant to launch the website but the guy that was making it was taking forever so eventually we wanted to make a compilation of all the music we liked. At the time, I knew I was going to have the radio show and I just ended up putting them together. The reaction from around the world was so good that we decided to continue with it. The second release we ever did was with Ta-Ku and he put together a selection of 24 beats in 24 hours. That was just after the tsunami hit and so we sent out a donation for that and stuff. From there, things just started to build. It was an experiment but after about the fifth or sixth release, that’s when I was like, “yo, let’s take this a bit more seriously”.

Now Soulection has developed its own aesthetic. I feel that’s also where Andre comes in with his art direction. How do you make sure you’re on the same page?

The biggest thing is honesty and quality control. We don’t share content from anybody unless it’s good. 96 was the one that created the logo and the visual side of things at the start and we had a great foundation. Once 96 left, Andre really bloomed into who he is now and he’s super talented. Also, being in communication with the artists. These things that we’re creating are in touch with what the artists are making.

Are you a fan of art?

I’m like the executive producer guy who can’t play an instrument or paint or draw but I know good shit when I hear or see it. Going back to Soulection it’s all about feeling.

How important do you think it is to have an online identity. In the sense that people recognise you as being a cultural force rather than getting lost within the Internet?

It’s very true. You can post something and within minutes it can be swallowed up on your feed. Social media, to me, is something that just makes sense to me. As my day job I also do social media so I’ve just embraced it. It’s also just quality content and being honest rather than just spamming people.

Soundcloud is the Bible may I add. Who has really impressed you from that particular nwetwork?

Mr Carmack’s music has really been pushing me man. I remember taking him to the studio with Ginuwine and I saw this light in Ginuwine’s eyes that made him reminisce about his old school work with Timbo. The drum work and quality of his music is just so creative. I’ve never seen people on the Internet react in the same way they do to Carmack’s music. He’s very low-key too because he’ll just upload something and let the Internet do whatever. It’s such a cool concept.

When are you guys coming out to London?

We’re trying to put out a world tour at the moment. If I didn’t have a day job, I would be there right now. I would say sooner than later. We get our second highest amount of hits from London. There’s something about people in London; you just get it. I remember talking to Flying Lotus back in ’08 when he was still on the rise and I asked him about his favourite place to visit. He said there’s something about London where the people there are just ready. I think this is the time to get out.

HMU, when you do. Where else do you want to visit?

I want to visit Japan because we have a really good presence out there. We now have our own team out there and I love how different their culture is but they still embrace things. I really want to go to New Zealand and Australia, there’s something about the people there that is so warming and soulful. Then there’s Spain, which is also on my bucket list.

What’s the plan for the future then man?

We’re finally working with some vocalists because although we’re primarily a beat label, I feel as though we need to embrace vocals to take us to the next level. We’ve sampled all the old R&B songs and rap shit. There are enough people doing that now. The biggest thing is finding original quality.