Digger:
Can you tell us something of the history of Soul Brother?
What was your inspiration and your passion which lead to the
business being created? And how long have you been going?
Laurence:
The company is run by my brother and my wife and myself. My
brother and I have been into this music since the early
seventies really.
Digger:
So you’re a youngster then?
Laurence:
Yes. (Both laugh) Yes, I did sell records a bit in the
seventies as well. Probably about ’70 or ’71 I started
getting into Soul music. And Jazz music probably a little
later on – ’73 or ’74.
Digger:
Were there any other sorts of music that appealed?
Laurence:
Well, when you’re growing up you’re obviously into
whatever you hear.
Digger:
Some people have skeletons in their cupboards. My sister,
for example, had lots of hippie boyfriends and she had to
hide her copy of Electric Warrior, literally in a cupboard.
She wouldn’t dare play it when they were around. (Both
laugh) These days it would be seen as hip.
Laurence:
I was pretty much into this music for the last forty years.
Digger:
Has The Internet changed the business much?
Laurence:
Yes. We set up the business in 1991 and initially it was
just mail order and record fairs.
Digger:
Mail order... how big is that now?
Laurence:
We still do mail order. It’s still one of the largest
chunks of our business. We do more over the phone than we do
over The Internet.
Digger:
Is that because people want to talk to somebody?
Laurence:
Exactly, and we want to talk to them. That’s the thing we
offer – you can have it three ways. You can come and look
at the physical shop and look at things and hear things and
discuss things. Then we have the traditional mail order
where we send out a catalogue and people have a look at that
with all the latest re-issues and new issues each month. And
we review around fifty albums a month.
Digger:
Wow, that must be time-consuming even if it is a labour of
love?
Laurence:
It is a lot of hard work. That goes out to our customers and
they use it to come into the store, order on the phone or on
The Net. Then we have the website as well. It’s three
things and, yes, we have a passion for this music. Which is
why we’re able to discuss it with customers and
recommend things.
Digger:
From how far do they come internationally?
Laurence:
We get a lot of calls from abroad and visitors from abroad
to as well as from all over this country.
Digger:
Is there a sourcing service for hard-to-find items?
Laurence:
We do a 'wants list' service for people, yes.
Digger:
What sort of customer feedback do you get? And I presume you
have lots of regulars?
Laurence:
Yes, we have lots of regulars and we have dealt with tens of
thousands of customers. Over the years. And I think most
people enjoy the experience and most people come back.
Digger:
What are the best sellers?
Laurence:
The best sellers - obviously at any point you’ve got the
new releases for that month and then, which is what your
site is geared towards, there’s still this huge interest
in the classic and rare Soul and Jazz from the fifties up to
now.
Digger:
Do you deal with Blues too?
Laurence:
We don’t really do much Blues, no. It’s more Jazz and
Soul. We cover disco…
Digger:
Northern Soul, Tamla?
Laurence:
Exactly. Funk, we cover all areas. We don’t cover Blues
much and I know it is kind of related but we are pretty
specialist in what we do. You will find things in our shop
that you wouldn’t find in too many other places. To be
honest I’d say you wouldn’t find what we do in any other
places.
Digger:
What are the best things about running the business?
Laurence:
Obviously it’s great being able to do something you really
enjoy and it’s great being able to turn people on to
things they’ve never heard before. That gives me a pretty
high degree of satisfaction.
Digger:
Who are the big names from Jazz and Soul?
Laurence:
The more well known people like Marvin Gaye and Miles Davis,
John Coltrane and The Temptations and Al Green and people
like that but we also try and champion others.
Digger:
Did you see Al Green on TV the other day?
Laurence:
No.
Digger:
He was great.
Laurence:
Yes, he did an album just a couple of years ago which was
brilliant and one of our biggest sellers of that year. But
we dig fairly deep and some of the stuff we have here would
never have got played even at the time it came out. We have
nearly 20,000 individual titles and it’s a broad range.
Some on CD, some on LP, some on 12” and some on 7”
singles.
Digger:
Is the MP3 effecting you at all?
Laurence:
It probably is a bit with the new material but most of our
customers prefer to have a physical product.
Digger:
Same here. I hate that about iTunes because you don’t get
the experience of holding the album and reading the sleeve
notes.
Laurence:
To actually have something that’s tangible.
Digger:
The artwork was part of the pleasure.
Laurence:
Exactly, that’s why people still like their vinyl. They
still like to be able to see and feel.
Digger:
What is your plan for the future of the business?
Laurence:
Our plan is to continue the same sort of service that we
have done for the last twenty years and to keep trying to
spread the word of great Soul music and great Jazz Music.
Digger:
And to adapt with technology?
Laurence:
Yes, we’ve had to adapt with the Internet site but, at the
end of the day, the main thing is the music. Which has,
thankfully, a lasting appeal
Digger:
Do you think that a lot of the contemporary stuff is going
to stand up to analysis in forty year’s time?
Laurence:
I think some of it – the quality end of things will but
the more commercial stuff probably not. There are still
great records being made out there, but in the mainstream you
don’t get to hear about them.
Digger:
There’s probably more opportunities to make good music
because you don’t need a record contract or a
sophisticated studio set up.
Laurence:
Yes, but you can tell whether a record’s been made with
real instruments or on a computer. And the stuff that has
been properly mastered will stand the test of time, whereas
the more technologically made recordings won’t stand the
test of time. To make great Soul or Jazz Music, you do need
great instruments and somebody with a good voice as well,
and production.
Digger:
The Funk Brothers on the Tamla stuff were one of my
favourites. When you hear the intro to Nowhere To Hide or
the backing to ‘Grapevine’ it’s just fantastic. There
was a huge group of them who played on different tracks and
they still make the hairs on your neck stand up when you
hear them.
Laurence:
Exactly. Some of that music is 45 years old and it still
sounds great. It’s continuing to pick up a new audience.
Digger:
There’s a cycle going on there, isn’t there, with the
youngsters taking up this older music?
Laurence:
It’s encouraging.
Digger:
I don’t suppose we would have been buying a lot of our
parents’ music like George Formby and Gracie Fields.
Laurence:
I don’t think so! But then culture changed in the sixties,
not just in music but in lots of things.
Digger:
We weren’t smaller younger versions of our parents.
Laurence:
It was different from what had happened before and I think
it’s just as relevant now as it was then.
Digger:
Laurence, it's been great talking with you.
Laurence:
And you. Many thanks David.
www.soulbrother.com
We're
specialists for New Independent and major label Soul
and Jazz CD's as well as a good source for rare
original vinyl LP's and 12" singles.
If you're looking for the latest new and re-issue funk
and soul 45's, we carry a comprehensive range as well
as being stockists for a whole host of quality
Nu-Spirit, Soul, Jazz and New Beat 12" singles.
We strive to provide the friendliest, most
knowledgeable service around - be it in person, on the
phone or via the web. Our staff are here to help you
buy the music you - and us - love. To help our
customers overseas we have several members of staff
who speak a number of languages including French,
German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.
Phone: 020 8875 1018 (International callers use the
prefix 0044 before dialing 20 then 8875 1018)
Fax: 020 8871 0180 (International callers use the
prefix 0044 before dialing 20 then 8875 0180)
E-mail: soulbrothers@soulbrother.com
By Post: SOUL BROTHER RECORDS, 1
KESWICK ROAD, EAST PUTNEY, LONDON, SW15 2HL, UK
|
