Truth and Soul Records

Truth & Soul was a record label and production team based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was formed in 2004 by Jeff Silverman and Leon Michels with help of Philippe Lehman. The label was best known for their releases with Lee Fields & The Expressions and other New York retro-soul / funk groups. As a production house and recording studio, 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 and Mighty Eye Records.

Not to be confused with Truth and Soul.
Truth & Soul
Founded2004 (2004)
FounderLeon Michels
Jeff Silverman
Defunct2016 (2016)
Distributor(s)The Orchard (catalog)
Independent (former)
Genre
Country of originUnited States
LocationWilliamsburg, Brooklyn
Official websitetruthandsoulrecords.com

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. Between 1999 and 2003, Soul Fire put out numerous records by artists like Lee Fields and The Whitefield Brothers. In 2003, Lehman retired from the music business, eventually moving to the Dominican Republic.[1][2]

Formation and releases of Truth & Soul

Truth & Soul Records was founded in 2004.[3] When Lehman decided to move to the Dominican Republic, he left Soul Fire Studios to Silverman, who was Soul Fire Records label manager at the time. Silverman then asked Michels to join him in forming a new label (Silverman, a huge fan of the movie Putney Swope, by Robert Downey Sr., suggested Truth & Soul be the new labels name). Hence Truth & Soul Records was formed. Silverman and Michels ran the day to day of the label, eventually bringing Danny Akalepse in as label manager, and both Silverman and Michels were the in-house production team.[4] The label has recorded and released the music of El Michels Affair, Bronx River Parkway, 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, 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.[5] Eventually their studio space was acquired by Vice Magazine at the end of 2012 and both Silverman and Michels went on to build new recording studios. The Diamond Mine, was built in Long Island City in 2014 by Michels and his frequent collaborators Thomas Brenneck, Nick Movshon, and Homer Steinweiss.[6] Silverman went on to build his own studio in Red Hook, Brooklyn (in 2016) named Future Sounds.

Truth & Soul has remixed "Love Is a Losing Game" 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.[7] 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 / Mighty Eye Records
Big Crown Records
Founded2016 (2016)
FounderLeon Michels
Danny Akalepse
Distributor(s)
Genre
[9]
Country of originUnited States
LocationBrooklyn, New York
Official websitebigcrownrecords.com

Silverman and Michels dissolved Truth & Soul in July 2016 with The Orchard acquiring the label and the distribution rights to its catalog.[10] Soon after, Michels co-founded Big Crown Records with Truth & Soul manager Danny Akalepse.[11][12][13] Some artists on the Truth & Soul roster moved to Big Crown at this time. Jeff 'Dynamite' Silverman went on to work for Rockstar Games on the original soundtrack to Red Dead Redemption 2. He then started a new label Mighty Eye Records in 2022, continuing the heavy funk sounds of Soul Fire and Truth & Soul.

Artists

Noted 'featured artists' included:[14]

† denotes artist on Soul Fire Records
‡ denotes artists on Big Crown Records[15]

Discography
Artist Title Catalog Number Release date
El Michels Affair Sounding Out The City TSCD-001 2004
Various Artists Fallin Off The Reel TSCD-002 2005
Tyrone Ashley & Funky Music Machine Let Me Be Your Man TSCD-003 2007 Reissue
Various Artists Fallin Off The Reel vol.2 TSCD-004 2008
Bronx River Parkway San Sebastian 152 TSCD-006 2008
Lee Fields & The Expressions My World TSCD-007 2009
El Michels Affair Enter The 37th Chamber to be released in conjunction with fat beats records 2009
Michael Leonhart & Avramina 7 Seahorse & The Storyteller TSCD-009 2010
Bama & The Family Feeling Good b/w Drums of Asiko TS001 2004
Bronx River Parkway feat. Analu Deixa Pra La b/w Mas y Mas TS002 2004
Timothy McNealy K.C Stomp b/w Easy, Easy, Easy TS003 2004
Lee Fields & The Expressions Do You Love Me b/w Honey Dove TS004 2004
El Michels Affair Creation b/w Behind The Blue Curtains TS005 2005
The Expressions Money Is King b/w These Moments TS006 2005
Quincy Bright My Ghetto Looks Like This TS007 2006
El Michels Affair C.R.E.A.M b/w Glaciers of Ice TS008 2006
Funky Music Machine Gotta clean Up The World TS009 2006 Reissue
Bronx River Parkway La Valla b/w Nora Se Va TS010 2007
Tyrone Ashley & Funky Music Machine Can't Help Myself b/w Love Me A Little While Longer TS011 2007 Reissue
El Michels Affair Bring Da Ruckus b/w Duel Of The Iron Mic TS012 2007
Black Velvet Is It Me You Really Love b/w Earthquake's Coming TS014 2007 Reissue
El Michels Affair w/ Raekwon The PJ's...from afar TS015 2007
Lee Fields & The Expressions My World b/w Love Comes and Goes TS016 2007
Bronx River Parkway Agua con Sel b/w Me Toca TS017 2008
Timothy McNealy What's Going On b/w I'm So glad You're Mine TS018 2008 Reissue
Quincy Bright My Ghetto Looks Like This Vol. 2 TS020 2009
The Olympians How Can I Love b/w Stand Tall TS025 2009
Lady Lady 2013

See also

References
  1. "Soul Fire". www.propermusic.com. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  2. "Truth and Soul | WHO?MAG". Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  3. "ABOUT". truthandsoul. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  4. "The Truth & Soul Story". daily.redbullmusicacademy.com. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  5. "Truth and Soul: the production team making Texas sound vintage, and helping Lee Fields rewrite history". the Guardian. 2014-05-29. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  6. "The Diamond Mine Recording Studio" (PDF). The Diamond Mine. Retrieved March 7, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. Amy Winehouse Gets Some Truth & Soul Treatment | Soundslam
  8. "Physical Distribution". Big Crown Records. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  9. "Brooklyn's Big Crown Records Isn't Just About Old-School Soul". Bandcamp Daily. 2017-05-11. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  10. "The Orchard Acquires Truth & Soul Records". The Daily Rind. 2016-07-14. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  11. "Big Ups With Leon Michels". Flea Market Funk. 2020-07-30. Retrieved 2021-03-11. Once Jeff Silverman and I decided to dissolve Truth & Soul, me and Danny Akalepse, who worked at T&S for a number of years started Big Crown.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. "Big Crown Records | HHV Mag". www.hhv-mag.com. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  13. "How Big Crown Records Is Creating More Than the Retro-Soul Revival". Observer. 2016-11-18. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  14. "MUSIC". truthandsoul. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  15. "Artists". Big Crown Records. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
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