The power house that is Soul Parlour out of Mainz, Frankfurt have released a serious musical weapon. Evoluzion is the second album from the Soul Parlour massive, and signals the coming of age of the best kept secret of global underground groove

Soul Parlour already carry the torch as one of the leaders of the new twisted groove beat school, this dynamic trio of DJ’s, producers, club promoters, and all round music lovers are teachers of a brand new school of online global groove peeps and club night early hours skankers.

The crew have absorbed and meshed a fusion of music styles into their very own, super soul sound, whether it be the Dillaesque Detroit trunk funkness, the London Bruk and funky attack, or the deep tech Theo Parrish styled groovements.

Holyroller caught up with Soul Parlour and attempts to BRUK THE SOUL CODE!

• Big ups for repping the music over the years…but what keeps SoulParlor driving forward?
Frank J.: It is simply the music!

• Who are the members of SoulParlor?
Frank J: Frank Lotz (Audio treats), Tobias Müller and me Frank Jensen.

• Can you talk a little bit about SoulParlors music philosophy:
Tobias M.: For me music has to be uplifting; needs to have a groove that make’s you wanna move your body. Sure it’s possible to express the whole range of feelings and states of mind, but I always ask myself which of them are desirable states and are worth to be revisited through a piece of music?
Frank J.: Yes it’s all about creating vibes!

• What made you start djing?
Frank J.: I think in first place it was the old vinyl itself, very strange medium for me in the beginning as I don’t get it with an age of 10 years. After that I recognize the music and its variety. I started mixing music with “rec” & “pause” buttons on tapes but reached the limit of creativity very soon. So I took step by step to go further and now here we are. I simply love to see people dancing with a smile on their faces. That’s all!

• What has been your most musically inspirational moment?
Tobias M.: The most musically inspirational moment was, when I realized that deep peace of mind that I reached while playing around (keyboards,etc), that particular time more empirically searching then playing a given set of notes. What happens is that body, mind and feelings get so well synchronized and in permanent reflection, so there is no time for thoughts to come up, there’s only “now”, only awareness. Musically there’s no better situation to let inspiration take over and that’s true inspiration.

• Can you talk about your musical influences
Tobias M.: There are so many, you know that, but I can tell you when I heard Herbie Hancock’s Headunters & Thrust the first time (bought them in a bundle) it felt like coming home.
Frank J.: Right, the good old 70′s funk&soul with all his facets like Boogie, Brazilian and Disco!
And for sure 90′s golden hip hop age. Drum&Bass, Soulful House and even funky Techno!

• In your ideal world which artist would you love to work with, out of the music legends of history and why?
Tobias M.: This question never came up to me.
Frank J.: Yes never! It just happens. There has to be a will on both side but, OK here is my answer, Dilla
I would love to see how he is working with samples.

• Tell us about the album process and which artists are on your new album
Tobias M.: This is truly an album which would never exist without the internet and the confidence of TDR.( Tokyo dawn records) Many people do it the same way: creating instrumentals, sending them around the globe, getting back to the studio to check the received stuff, post-production.?In the end it’s all about global communication, so may the funk be with you.

Frank J.: One of our main points was finally doing “music”! tracks with song character, arrangement and vocal artist! Away from beat loops only. We want to challenge ourselves and go one step beyond. So we just sit together and embrace the past years to choose a bunch of artist we would love to see involved. After we managed all the boring business issues we where very happy to have nearly all wished artist’s on board. From that point it was pleasure to watch the project grow.

• How do you feel about this your second album?
Tobias M.: It was a long way to get here. It’s truly a little wonder, so many people involved, so many dependencies, so many compromises, but in the end persistence payed off and I’m satisfied for the moment.

Frank J.: You know how it feels now! After all that work you can’t even enjoy to have a listen! In each track you find points to do it better. But you really have to stop thinking about! But overall I am sure we can be proud for now!

• What is your vision for broken beat, and your music future?
Tobias M.: We’ll do our best to keep it fresh, from raw to sophisticated styles. The creative process is still going on, variety increases, there’s still so much to explore.

Frank J.: I am still saying broken beat will come back again! I said that 2-3 years ago and everyone laughing at me. But trust me and you will see. Actually broken beat was never really dead. You can find it everywhere , if its uk funky, dubstep or soulful house – broken beat just took a short sort out break!

• Where people can hear you play?
Frank J.: We have a bi-monthly residency called “You Move Nothing If You Don’t Move Yourself” based at the lovely Red Cat club in Mainz. Running since 13 years! Beside that we are traveling Europe to spread our sound and vibe. Best way to get informed is to check our webpage www.soulparlor.com on a regular basis.

• What are your all time top ten recordings?
Frank J.: that’s an evil question. Often this depends on a current mood. But to sum up there are some artist really shaped our way. To name a few its Dilla, George Duke, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Dego,  IG Culture, Bugz in the Attic, Domu, Phlash aka Phil Asher (good old CO-OP fam) and so much more!

• Who do you want to big up?
Frank J.: TDR family (Marc & Fabien), everyone involved with our album (vocal artists & remixers), our worldwide music family, our families, the Red Cat crew, all supports and all we forgot!

• Is there anything you want to say to music fans out there?
Tobias: Don’t follow the facebook thumb and other mass-media-advises, take your time in an (online) record-store and listen. Listen carefully, it’s like food and bullshit’s gonna make you sick. I forgot, if you’re reading this you already know.
Frank J.: Stay tru! Don’t follow every hype! And thanks for being patient with us waiting on the second album! For damn 10 years! We are old guys!

Thanks to Soul Parlour for taking the time to talk to Holyroller.

Soul Parlour’s second album EVOLUZION is out now digitally on TOKYO DAWN RECORDS
CD release and launch party early June

www.soulparlor.com
www.tokyodawn.net