Jean Graham’s meaning of soul

Jean Graham is a DJ, Promoter and Manager, and has written for places of brilliance including Artrocker, The Guardian, and now Muso’s Guide. Her DJ sets take in psychodelia, trip-hop, ska, electro and indie, and she’s currently managing a hot new band called Dynamo Garage, described by XFM’s John Kennedy as “definitely worth a listen”. We’d described them with far more useful words, in a form similar to “a little bit like how you’d imagine a hybrid of The National, Beirut and At The Drive-In to sound”.

 

Anyhow here’s what Jean had to say on soul…

“Essentially, one could argue that the meaning of soul: ‘Requires artists to write (to a certain extent) for their own fulfilment.’ Which I think to a degree is true, however I feel that the meaning of soul, with regards to music, for me is also about, really feeling and believing in the sounds that are made and the message that is communicated through those sounds and/or lyrics to the audience.

“Live performances can also help in communicating the meaning of soul within music; take Bob Marley, Aretha Franklin and James Brown’s live performances for example.

“My favourite artists tend to be my favourite artists due to the fact that I can feel a connection with them; their music and or performance, even if I haven’t experienced what they’re communicating through their music. However it’s often the case that a song or artist is a favourite of mine because their music reminds me of a certain person, place or moment in time.

Tomorrow’s meaning of soul comes from singer Julian Velard.