Deep Street Soul

Deep Street Soul

Deep Street Soul is a Melbourne soul group made up of DJ and drummer Sol Loco, bass player and soul enthusiast Papa ‘J’ Hunter, Matt ‘Guitars’ Green on guitar and Ms. Monique on keyboards. The group forms in 2006, originally with Trev D on six-string guitar, and develops from a shared interest in older southern soul and funk that the members have been playing as DJs for the previous decade.

Style and influences

The band works in soul and funk, drawing on old-school southern sounds and the club-based energy of nu funk. Their early set begins with Booker T. and The Meters covers before moving into original material built around breakbeat-driven funk and soul. They also cite influences from the wider nu funk scene in Europe and the United States, alongside Osaka Monaurail and Melbourne group The Bamboos.

Releases and collaborations

In 2007, Deep Street Soul teams with local funk figures DJ John Idem and DJ Cassandra ArdQ for its first 45, GetdownHQ / Deepstreet Strut, on JayCee’s label. The record sells out quickly and receives airplay in mixes and on radio stations around the world. The group then records another 45, Loose Caboose / Nasty, for JayCee’s in 2008. It also issues three tracks as a digital release on Blair Stafford’s Straightup Recordings label.

Later activity

Deep Street Soul signs with Freestyle Records and plans a full-length album.