Something wonderful happened recently while I was attending a Grand Rapids Soul Club (GRSC) event. In the middle of one of the mixes, I heard the chorus of a song lift through the beat.
At once it was familiar and then not again. As I listened deeper, I realized it was not “Loud Places” by Jamie XX, but rather it was a lesser known (and thereby less familiar) 1977 song, “Could Heaven Ever Be Like This” by Idris Muhammad. In this moment I was reminded of the power of GRSC to transfer an audience of passive listeners into active music archaeologists whose quest it was to seek out more on the many gems spun on vinyl at this event celebrating four years this Friday.
To commemorate the fourth anniversary, GRSC has invited San Jose’s Peanut Butter Wolf, founder of Stones Throw Records, and Chicago’s Dave Mata, of Impala Sound Champions. Both acts are committed to the purity of music in that they believe in moving people, and not just massive units of vinyl, in their mission to create experience via music for people. Here is a great
article on Mata and his music education philosophy covered in The Chicago Reader.
“I (personally) define soul as music that moves not only your body but your mind and heart,” says GRSC’s Andrew Christopoulos, who credits the growth of the actual soul sound as one rooted in America’s black music of gospel and R&B, “(This became) rock, which lead to funk, disco, hip-hop and so on. It’s amazing how much of a connection one can feel to a certain arrangement of sounds. A good example is that Idris Muhammed record sampled by Jamie XX, as both the original and the new versions are great and soulful. We take pride in bridging those gaps when we can.”
So, if you are looking for a space devoted to the pure magic of a soulful sound, then GRSC is the place for you and your dancing feet to land this Friday night. But if you are seeking a place where zero attitude is the vibe in the room, then dress to impress and join others like you on the dance floor.
Admission: $10.