Look At Your Soul invites collectors to dig out records by African American artists, recorded during the 1960s and 1970s, that tell the story of Black social, cultural and political struggle through the music.
We are based in the UK, birthplace of the Northern Soul scene. However, our aim and hope is that fans and collectors from across the global soul scene will contribute to and engage in this conversation.
The sixty-minute sets on this website have been created by collectors of rare soul 45’s from around the world.
We invite you to listen.
IMAGE CREDIT: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of James H. Wallace Jr, © Jim Wallace
Sheila Wilmer: Look At Your Soul
Sheila Wilmer’s 45, Look At Your Soul, captures the essence of what we are trying to do with this platform. The complex arrangement foregrounds Sheila's incredibly soulful voice as she urges ‘us’ to look around, to open our eyes and to act against injustice. The lyrics and the cast of background characters make it a unique and highly evocative record and one that feels just as relevant today as when it was first released.
Get involved.
There are several ways you can engage with the Look At Your Soul project:
Listen to the sets on this platform
Revisit your own vinyl collection
Create a set which reflects ‘Soul with a Message’
If you’re a collector, we invite you to revisit your own vinyl, with the objective of creating a set of, what historian and collector Tommy Søvik aptly calls, ‘Soul With A Message’.
This project asks contributors to listen to their vinyl and to dig out records by African American artists, recorded during the 1960s and 1970s, that tell the story of Black social, cultural, and political struggle through the music.
**NB. Our initial focus for this project is on the wider social, cultural, and political message rather than those that stem from struggles within individual personal relationships - ie "you cheat and put me down" narratives.
If you’d like us to create a set for us, please contact us below:
Latest Guest Sets.
We’ll be posting new sets from our contributors on a regular basis, so don’t forget to check back! You can also sign up to our mailing list if you’d like to receive updates to your inbox.
Currently based in Singapore, Honey spins a sultry, raucous and exciting mix of original RnB, pop, jazz and soul music focussing on femme fatales, cool girl groups, rule breakers and hip-shakers. She presents monthly shows…