Truth & Soul was a record label and production team based in

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

, Brooklyn. It was formed in 2004 by Leon Michels and Jeff Silverman with Philippe Lehman. The label was best known for their releases with Lee Fields & The Expressions and other New York retro-soul groups. As a production house and

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

, Truth & Soul worked with artists like Aloe Blacc (" I Need a Dollar") and Adele (" Right as Rain"). In 2016, Truth & Soul's catalog was acquired by The Orchard, and was succeeded by Big Crown Records.

History

Soul Fire Records

Truth & Soul was born out of Soul Fire Records, a label run by musician Phillip Lehman. Lehman had previously run soul revival pioneer Desco Records with Bosco Mann, and founded Soul Fire in 1999 as a funk label; Mann would later open the soulful

Daptone Records Daptone Records is a funk and soul independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. Best known as the home of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and Charles Bradley, the label boasts a roster which includes Menahan Street Band, The Budos Band, T ...

. Between 1999 and 2003, Soul Fire put out numerous records by artists like Lee Fields and The Whitefield Brothers. In 2003, Lehman decided to retire from the music business, leaving his studio to young musicians Jeff Silverman and Leon Michels, both former Soul Fire artists.

Formation and releases of Truth & Soul

Silverman and Michels founded Truth & Soul with Lehman in 2004. Silverman and Michels ran the label with label manager Danny Akalepse, and were the in-house production team. The label has recorded and released the music of El Michels Affair,

Bronx River Parkway The Bronx River Parkway (sometimes abbreviated as the Bronx Parkway) is a long parkway in downstate New York in the United States. It is named for the nearby Bronx River, which it parallels. The southern terminus of the parkway is at Story Avenue ...

, Quincy Bright, The Evil D's, Lee Fields and The Expressions, The Fabulous Three, Cosmic Force, The Olympians, Tyrone Ashley's Funky Music Machine, Ghetto Brothers, The

Phenomenal Handclap Band Phenomenal Handclap Band was formed in New York's East Village by producer Daniel Collás. Their first full-length record, '' Phenomenal Handclap Band'', featured such diverse talents as Aurelio Valle, Carol C, Jaleel Bunton, Jon Spencer, and ...

, and Bama & The Family. In 2008, Truth & Soul produced and released the Lee Fields & The Expressions album ''My World'' to critical acclaim. The same year they produced Aloe Blacc's sophomore record, '' Good Things'', which was released on Stones Throw records on September 28, 2010. A new studio, The Diamond Mine, was built in Long Island City 2014 by Michels and his frequent collaborators Thomas Brenneck, Nick Movshon, and Homer Steinweiss. Truth & Soul has remixed "

Love Is a Losing Game "Love Is a Losing Game" is a song by English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse from her second and final studio album ''Back to Black'' (2006). It was chosen as the fifth and final single from ''Back to Black'' and was also the final single rel ...

" by Amy Winehouse, the Gabriella Cilmi single "Sweet About Me", Dinah Washington's "Cry Me A River" for Verve Remixed 4, and Truth & Soul are credited as writers on Adele's grammy nominated album, ''19''. Their records have been sampled by Ghostface Killah, Just Blaze, Jay-Z, Young Jeezy. Other venture included curating the in-game radio station of the same name in the 2009 video game ''GTA: Chinatown Wars''.

Legacy and Big Crown Records

Michels and Silverman decided to dissolve Truth & Soul in July 2016 with

The Orchard The Orchard may refer to: * The Orchard (company), American music and entertainment company * The Orchard (band), Canadian country music duo * ''The Orchard'' (Lizz Wright album), 2008 * ''The Orchard'' (Ra Ra Riot album), 2010 * The Orchard (t ...

acquiring the label and the distribution rights to its catalog. Soon after, Michels co-founded Big Crown Records with Truth & Soul manager Danny Akalepse. Some artists on the Truth & Soul roster moved to Big Crown at this time.

Artists

Noted 'featured artists' included: * Bronx River Parkway † * Cosmic Force * El Michels Affair †‡ * Fabulous Three ( Leon Michel & Jeff Silverman) † * Jr Thomas & The Volcanos *

Lady Wray Nicole Monique Wray (born May 2, 1979), also known as Lady Wray, is an American singer and songwriter. Her 1998 debut single "Make It Hot" was certified gold. Early life Nicole Monique Wray was born on May 2, 1979, in Salinas, California, to ...

‡ * Lee Fields & The Expressions †‡ * Liam Bailey * Michael Leonhart and Avramina 7 * Shirley Nanette * Tyrone Ashley & Funky Music Machine (reissue) * Ghetto Brothers (reiusse) † denotes artist on Soul Fire Records.
‡ denotes artists on Big Crown Records.

Discography

References

External links

Official site

Interview with Leon Michels

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