So recently on a certain D&B forum a colleague of mine suggested that the problem with D&B was that it couldn’t be fun without being cheesy or chavvy. Obviously hearing is in the ear of the beholder and every body’s idea of ‘fun’ is different, but it did get me thinking about the more fun and accessible D&B I had been overlooking lately. For me the D&B with the widest audience accessibility (ie. stuff that not just the headz would listen to) is the vocal and soul fueled variety. It has the vocals to hook in the ladies and give that sense of fun, it has the soul to get the hips swaying and it still has the beats & b-lines to keep the floor moving. Best of all it doesn’t have to degenerate into the cheesy festival style D&B that is seen as commercially popular.

So in response to my good chum Ocelot Ed’s question I put together this mix to provide a solution to Ed’s problem with D&B. As I said, everyone’s idea of ‘fun’ is different, but for me these types of tunes offer up a good balance of fun without the fromage, and there is still enough D&B grunt to keep the headz happy too.

Props have to go to Komatic as he seems to be all over this sound that’s not quite liquid and not quite deep, but has loads of soul and a real pump to the bass and beats. Other notable exceptions are Young Ax who always brings it with a real live sound to his soulful productions and the usual suspects of Duo Science, Spectrasoul and Technicolour who seem to constantly pump out quality tracks on a monthly basis.

The Soulution – 1hr of Soul Fueled D&B

Komatic – The Open Choice
Mage & M25 – Savanna
Young Ax – High Rollers
Komatic – Earth Turns
Paperclip – Whom I Belong
Anile & Hybrid Minds – Old TImes
Madcap – Our Love
Duo Science Feat. Skyeyes – Let Me Know
Deeper Connection – Quiet Storm
Soulproof – Inna Dem Clothes
Villem & McLeod – Hush
Spectrasoul – In Profile
Technicolour – Winter Rose
High Contrast – The Stand
Technicolour & Komatic – We Were Always One
Soul Culture – Stronger