"Not a dry eye in the house. This is Fitzroy soul."
In the lead-up to the Brunswick Street Soul Fiesta as part of Leaps & Bounds— featuring live soul, funk, hip-hop and jazz in over 30 venues along and around Brunswick St on 9 July — here’s Chris Gill from Northside Records with three essential Fitzroy soul records.
What that man put on wax is his heart and soul. He laid it down for the white man to see what had been done. He started a conversation with a nation. Took The Children Away, when performed in Northside Records last year to commemorate the 25th anniversary of this record written in Gertrude Street, went down in local folklore history. Not a dry eye in the house. This is Fitzroy soul.
Born out of playing the music in Fitzroy for a long time. They worked up a wild vibe about people participating in soul music – combine that with the exciting feel of this band as they came up led to a great buzz. They played many gigs at The Evelyn, a venue that provides a home for this sort of music, and in fact, many forms of music. This ended up in becoming the first EVER Australian band to be nominated for an R&B Grammy.
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Another band that has come up in funky Fitzroy and spent a lot of time sharing their music, and what a beautifully crafted album this one is too. So many different colours played out in the music. This is a great musical family that will be exciting to watch. These guys WILL hit the bigger worldwide stage very soon. I have enjoyed seeing them come up.