When you talk about UK Street Soul, and the sounds that define it, it’s impossible to look past Special Touch’s first and only album, Garden of Life. A shining example of this often retrospectively termed genre, which loosely categorised black, soul-inspired music with a DIY, bass-driven aesthetic from the late ‘80s to early-mid ‘90s, this impossibly rare record from cult label Top Secret Recordings weaves a unique brand of positivity and musicality across nine uplifting tracks.
A family affair through and through, producer and TSR founder Robert Charles Roper and his vocalist brother Duval created an LP that effortlessly married the rawness of underground hip-hop, reggae and early house with the sentiment and warmth of soul music. With original copies never having traded hands for below £100 on Discogs, this fully licensed, remastered reissue for Heels & Souls Recordings debut release will be a welcome sight for many.
The continuous thread over the nine tracks is an uplifting optimism, whether on the house-flecked ‘It’s Your Life’, the slung-back ‘Tonight’ or the breakbeat-punctuated ‘Music’. And few, if any, street soul tracks hit the same sublime heights as the title track ‘Garden of Life’, a consummate encapsulation of the Special Touch sound, decorated with breathtaking synth melodies layered over crunchy drum machine hits and Duval’s soaring vocals.
A high-point of an underground street soul scene that caused vibrations throughout UK dancefloors, blues parties, soundsystems and pirate stations from Manchester, London, Leeds, Bradford, Birmingham and beyond, Heels & Souls Recordings are delighted to be working alongside Robert to present a relicensed version of Garden of Life for their debut release, remastering the record from the original DAT tape at The Bakehouse Studio.
Complete with a printed inner sleeve detailing the history of Special Touch and the record’s significance, label co-founders Ben Croft and Patrick Forrester, alongside Prime Direct Distribution, will also be donating their respective share of profits to The Black Curriculum, a social enterprise delivering Black British history programmes and teacher training to facilitate both national curriculum and wider societal changes.
Tracklist:
A1. Searching For Your Love [04:33]v A2. Share A Little [04:56]
A3. It's Your Life [04:39]
A4. That Special Touch (625Mix) [04:06]
A5. Thank You [04:39]
B1. Music [04:41]
B2. Garden Of Life [04:12]
B3. Your So Good (Remix) [04:11]
B4. Tonight [03:52]
Format: 12-inch Vinyl LP
Label: Heels & Souls
Catalog: HSREC001
Released: 2020
Genre: UK Street Soul / Deep House
