20 November 2016

Soul: Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings


When I first discovered Sharon Jones and her band, the Dap-Kings, some years ago I thought I was listening to some old recordings. Their music sounded exactly like the type of soul you would expect to originate from the 1970's, but as it turned out it wasn't. The song I was listening to Give Me A Reason was actually recorded and released in 2010.
The music style of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings can be seen as a renewal and mixture of soul and funk music. Some songs like When I Come Home and People Don't Get What They Deserve lean more towards the funk side, featuring groovy bass lines. Giving Up and It Hurts To Be Alone on the other hand are more soulful tracks with moody brass parts. What I like the most about this type of music is that it feels old and familiar, but never outdated. I guess that's what we call 'timeless'.
Recently the group gained some main-stream interest when their song 100 Days, 100 Nights was featured on the Netflix show Luke Cage. Unfortunately in 2013 Sharon was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and after several years of chemotherapy she died last week, only aged 60. 
But in her own words: I'm Still Here.



For more videos check out this playlist on the Daptone Records YouTube Channel.

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