Future soul is a term often used by UK singer-songwriter
Daley in the 2010s to describe a style of music that emerged from
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
and
contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music.
The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhythm ...
. Although both soulful and conscious, future soul is distinguished from
neo soul
Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contempo ...
as it infuses more elements of
pop, electronica, dubstep and
hip hop instead of jazz and funk. Simply put, future soul is soulful songwriting infused with forward thinking electronic production.
Future soul has emerged into the mainstream with commercial and critical success from several future soul artists such as
Alex Clare
Alexander George Clare (c. 1985) is an English singer and songwriter. His debut album, '' The Lateness of the Hour'', was released in the UK on 11 July 2011 on Island Records and was produced by Mike Spencer and Major Lazer.
His biggest hit, ...
and his hit song "
Too Close", Daley, Kymistry, Omari Oneal and
Janelle Monáe
Janelle Monáe Robinson (; born December 1, 1985) is an American singer, rapper and actress. She is signed to Atlantic Records, as well as to her own imprint, the Wondaland Arts Society. Monáe has received eight Grammy Award nominations. Mon ...
.
French DJ
David Guetta
Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...
has done future soul in his song "
Night of Your Life", which features American singer
Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, and talk show host. Throughout her career, she has received various accolades for her works in recorded music, film, televisio ...
.
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
nominated Melbourne-based band
Hiatus Kaiyote
Hiatus Kaiyote () is an Australian jazz/funk band formed in Melbourne in 2011, made up of singer/guitarist Nai Palm, bassist Paul Bender, keyboardist Simon Mavin, and drummer Perrin Moss.
History 2011–2013: Formation and ''Tawk Tomahawk''
In ...
have described their music as future soul.
The genre since its inception has taken on a much more defined sound with artists lik
Josh Jacobsonwho emerged around the same time as Daley. Josh went on to produce tracks such as, "Not Alone (feat. Skela)" (2015), and his cover of Little Dragon’s, "Twice," (2016), which both created waves in the online music community for a unique yet defined sound. Surrounding these releases, press including electronic tastemaker's Nest HQ
were dubbing Josh’s sound as "Future Soul."
References
{{Soulmusic
Soul music genres