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"Northern" genres


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I've been exposed to "Northern" for over thirty year now and have understood the following genres (in chronological order):

Northern – 60's soul, often obscure small label releases stuff

Oldies – the above that have been played extensively over the last three decades

Newies – new release or recent release, at the time e.g. Skip Mahoney

60's Newies – e.g. Keb, Guy spins at Stafford

Modern – 70's & 80's releases & now anything from 1970 to the present

Can anyone please inform me what exactly is?

Popcorn

Cross-over

Beach

Deep funk (as opposed to funk)

Two-step

(Sensible answers would be appreciated as I keep buying total s**t off eBay under the guise of one of the above)

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Can anyone please inform me what exactly is?

Popcorn

Cross-over

Beach

Deep funk (as opposed to funk)

Two-step

(Sensible answers would be appreciated as I keep buying total s**t off eBay under the guise of one of the above)

Except it was written several years ago and doesn't include any of these genre....

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Can anyone please inform me what exactly is?

Popcorn

Cross-over

Beach

Deep funk (as opposed to funk)

Two-step

(Sensible answers would be appreciated as I keep buying total s**t off eBay under the guise of one of the above)

All a bunch of non-genres really.... all quite hard to define but heres my attempt......

Popcorn.

Tunes played on the Belgian Popcorn scene..... strictly mid-tempo... can be soul or pop ballads (amongst loads of other genres like Latin and Cha Cha music).

Cross-over.

Late sixties tracks that sound more seventies.... and early 70s tracks that sound more sixties.... again, more midtempo stuff included ( the cynical would say it was a genre made up to sell all the records that nobody wanted).

Beach.

Music played on the Beach Music scene in the U.S. (Mainly the Carolinas). Includes a lot of soul and white covers of soul amongst other pop oldies.

Deep funk.

Style of Funk played by Keb Darge at the 'Deep Funk' nights.... now includes loads of Modern Soul and Disco.... getting to the point where the Funk will soon be defunct....

Two-step.

Walking pace tracks..... mainly Modern and mainly dull as ditch water.... a very London type collecting scene.

Hope that helps.

WOOF!

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Go to page 2 of the Joey Delerenzo thread and read Dave Rimmers "essay" on milk and northern soul.

Hi there,

I have just tried to find the thread. Unfortunately I have not been very succesfull. Maybe it's too early and I have not really woken up!

Would be fine, if someone could post the link!

Best regards

YouYou

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Popcorn, oohhhh your talkin my language now!

Popcorn is similar to Northern in as much as it's a contrived genre, the records existed largely before the name Popcorn was associated with it.

Generally this style is a big mix up between soul, early rock n roll, teenbeat and rockabilly.

Most records generally consist of a big beat, cheesy lyrics and either a big baritone voice or a very country and western type vocal.

Some of their "oldies" are listed as:

* Douglas Banks - Aint That Just Like A Woman

* Ralph Graham - She Just Sits There etc etc.....

And I love it!

Hope this helps

Jodie x

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Guest Kolla

Another one to add - Aggro Soul, which I first heard Santucci use on a soulcast radio show. Liked it but i'm not sure what it is ...

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Guest micksmith

THE MOST DREADFUL MUSIC TO HIT OUR SCENE-ABOUT 10% IS ANYGOOD. IN MY OPINION.

I'M NOT SURE RALPH GRAHAM WAS PLAYED ON THE CRAPCORN OH I MEAN POPCORN SCENE-AS IT'S TOO SOULFUL.

I AWAIT REPLYS.

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10 % ?

mmmm just dig out a bar "dance with me" cd from 97, now when first got it my thoughts on first play were that 2 or 3 tracks that fitted in with my idea of soul out of the 30 , while rest didnt come close

after reading Micks post just revisted cd and had a quick skip thru tracks, see what sounded like now, and how many could be classed as acceptable,

interesting as now seems theres a fair few more boderline, which could say may possibly work at right place right time right dj, while when a fair few years ago would have said no way.

dunno what it means, wider ranges? exposure to some plays having an effect, just listening to what seems a female track that owes a lot to pentagons "i wonder" or other way around, and quite enjoyable! :)

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Guest Johnny One Trout

Thought 2 Step was another term for UK Garage? Might be dead wrong, still hungover!

No your not wrong it was a term that the UK Garage scene adopted although traditionally two step meant your slower soul steppers a variant of the rare groove theme if you will ;o))

John

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Another one to add -  Agro Soul, which I first heard Santucci use on a soulcast radio show. Liked it but i'm not sure what it is ...

Aggro soul... agressive, mainly 60s soul with loads of andrenalin and oopmh! "Blokes' records" like Eddie Parker - I'm gone, Mello Souls and Walter & Admirations (these are for me the anthems) ...and not a swirly skirt in sight.

Good DJs playing aggro soul: Mark Bicknell, Marco, Steve C and Mick H.

Heikki 1

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Aggro soul... agressive, mainly 60s soul with loads of andrenalin and oopmh! "Blokes' records" like Eddie Parker - I'm gone, Mello Souls and Walter & Admirations (these are for me the anthems) ...and not a swirly skirt in sight.

Good DJs playing aggro soul: Mark Bicknell, Marco, Steve C and Mick H.

Heikki 1

Well this is a new one on me, havn't heard the name aggro soul before.The songs you mention Heikki are all top tunes I like to dance to but I'm not a bloke, then again I don't wear a swirly skirt either so perhaps Im ok.

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Well this is a new one on me, havn't heard the name aggro soul before.The songs you mention Heikki are all top tunes I like to dance to but I'm not a bloke, then again I don't wear a swirly skirt either so perhaps Im ok.

Of course you're allowed to like "blokes' records" Karen, girls can throw darts as well, tho' it's a male dominated sport?

Heikki

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Of course you're allowed to like "blokes' records" Karen, girls can throw darts as well, tho' it's a male dominated sport?

Heikki

LOL Heikki, better not get into the dart thing on this thread or I shall be getting into trouble, I have to say that aggro soul is a new term to me so I'm pleased to have learnt something new.

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Aggro soul... agressive, mainly 60s soul with loads of andrenalin and oopmh! "Blokes' records" like Eddie Parker - I'm gone, Mello Souls and Walter & Admirations (these are for me the anthems) ...and not a swirly skirt in sight.

would aggro soul be the same thing as a stomper then? with the agression being related to the amount of amphetamines consumed?? i mean back in the day of course, when i guess teeth grinding was big, before ectasty induced gurning became the norm. i dunno, i'm probably talking rubbish.

and what's this swirly skirt thing? were there some songs in the 70s that girls were afraid to dance to or something?? or do you just hate swirly shirts? they've supposed to be back in this autumn/winter :)

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Guest in town Mikey

Played Benny Troy - I wanna give you tomorrow, out of Johnny T's box the other day.

Is that modern? 70s? modern oldie? oldie? disco? crossover? Dave dee dozy pew pew barney mcgrew?

I just thought it was a fantastic Northern soul track. Probably wrong tho. ;-)

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and what's this swirly skirt thing? were there some songs in the 70s that girls were afraid to dance to or something??
Yes at around '73 when I was about minus five years old I remember me and some other scene leaders brought some rules to the scene for example the one that allowed only men on the dance floor during certain records. This should be brought back LOL.

No no... just an observation, during certain records with a macho factor there are mostly bald ugly blokes on the dance floor. But I'm not a big fan of swirly skirts by the way :) but the 'fashion' thread is elsewhere.

would aggro soul be the same thing as a stomper then?

Mr Santucci should explain it since he's championing this term a lot, but since stompers can be even pretentiously happy as well (yuck) so it's not that. The aggro content comes from the agressive feel & emotion of the record... Capitols - I got to handle it... Parisians - Twinkle little star, Clifford Curry - Ain't no danger, Jackie Paine - No puppy love, Lee Rogers - How are you fixed for love... get my drift?

Heikki

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Guest in town Mikey

I always though Beverley Ann - He's coming home, was a girly soul record.

Would that be PMT soul?? Or is it too twee, and we are back to the agro stuff?

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or space age soul - like the b side to the Boss Four - Walkin' By

And the b-side to the Contenders "Do What You Gotta Do" same stylee :§

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Interesting point someone made in the Midtempo CD Swap thread about the Jamaican soul scene. I believe the Stardust 45s were originally pressed to satistfy demand for Big City type soul on that scene in NYC and Toronto.

Occasionally I've heard pirate radio stations in London in the wee small hours play entire programmes of midtempo early 60s records that we would class as northern slowies. Very interesting at the points where they cross over... Ernestine Anderson on Sue, Chuck Wright on Ember, The Wanderers on UA are all sounds I've heard on this type of show.

Unfortunately, these shows seem to be very sporadically scheduled, and subsequent attempts to tune into these stations to find more of the same stripe have resulted in being subjected to a few minutes of ear-splitting ragga and numerous "shout going out..." type exhortations by the deejays.

Anyone else know more about these programmes, and the Jamaican scene in general?

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Interesting point someone made in the Midtempo CD Swap thread about the Jamaican soul scene. I believe the Stardust 45s were originally pressed to satistfy demand for Big City type soul on that scene in NYC and Toronto.

Gareth, That was me, Jason who brought that up.

You're dead right about the Stardust label, too. It appears to be for that market. I've been invited to attend a dance in the Bronx once, but couldn't make it, as I had to drive back to Baltimore that night. I have heard that they're quality nights, though. People dance as partners and it's like a slow lazy cha cha step that they do. It's a very collector-driven scene, but many couples show up for a good night out. The Jamaicans are also very secretive about what their after. They don't want record dealers to be able to pinpoint which records they're looking for. They also don't like their lists making the rounds either. They keep quiet.

As for popcorn, I'm not suprised how a lot of people on the soul scene don't like it, but I will say that there are many great records by black artists on that scene and the jamaican scene that are great, but not well suited for a proper northern do. Kurt Harris "Emperor" has legendary cult status on all three scenes, too. While many Belgians are waking up and smelling the coffee on some Stafford type sounds, the Brits are starting to play a few of their sounds like Harvey on Tri-Phi and Jimmy Gilford on Thelma. It appears that it's all starting to converge a little, which is good because I like how northern soul is becoming more and more progressive, now. It seems like all of my favortie music is eventually falling under the umbrella of northern soul.

If you're in on the midtempo swap, you'll be in for a treat of nice sounds that define what the "jamaican beat" sound is. A larger ratio of it is soulful, in contrast to popcorn, which veers further away from an r&b base.

post-1-1091739479_thumb.jpg

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Thanks for the info, Jason. Cool picture of Teri Thornton too... Her "Why Don't You Love Me" / "Either Way I Lose" on Columbia is a top 45 that would fit in well on all those scenes mentioned. What's her lp like?

Gareth, I've got a mint demo copy of "Either Way I Lose" that I snagged from my good buddy and ex-Baltimore resident Dave Withers a few years ago. I don't have the LP. though. I grabbed that image from a web site dedicated to jazz musician Kai Winding, as he played on that LP. I've never heard it either, but I imagine it's got a bit of a supper club sound, as she was and still is primarily a jazz vocalist.

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Speaking of jazz, what genre does Terry Callier's "Ordinary Joe" fit into? It's jazz, folk, soul, northern, 70s, crossover with gospel/inspirational undertones... basically everything but Aggro-Soul. Can anyone think of another record which generically fits into so many of the above?

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