Julian Velard’s meaning of soul

Currently residing in London, Brooklyn-born Julian Velard is a 29-year-old LaGuardia graduate who you may have seen supporting artists ranging from Goldfrapp and Kate Nash to Jose Gonzalez and Ben Kweller. Trying to rescue The Pop Anthem back from the clutches of The Man, he comes complete with wurlitzer, glockenspiel, melodica and many more… and his singalongs may just hit 2009 with the refreshingly pure-pop bang it’s been dreaming of. Endowed with a gift for storytelling akin to the Stevie Wonders and Elvis Costellos of the world, we’ve certainly got him marked for stardom this year.

Here’s what he had to say:

“Soul is a curious thing. It’s its own genre but weirdly, to me, most modern soul music lacks soul. The All Music Guide defines soul as “the result of the urbanization and commercialization of rhythm and blues in the ’60′s”. I imagine the term was born from artists possessing an obvious abundance of the quality. For me it starts with Billie Holliday, moves through Ray Charles, then James Brown, on to Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Sly Stone, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder.

“These days finding soul in an artist is not as clear-cut. For example, the retro-musings of Amy Winehouse are very soulful, while Duffy’s Dusty-style, cupcake R&B is not. Will Young and James Morrison have soul, while Leon Jackson and James Blunt are devoid. R. Kelly has soul to spare while Akon is the most soulless man in R&B (I heard him talking on 4Music about the ‘European Market’… any artist who mentions the word ‘market’ in an interview does not have Soul).

“I have a suspicion that Soul is directly linked to pain. The one thing an artist cannot fake is the experience bestowed by life from pain. An artist can show their experience of pain in my ways; in their voice, their dance moves, even off-the-cuff comments made on daytime talk shows. One thing I do know is soul is something you are born with. Artists and Labels can do their best to dress things up, but in the end, soul always rears its lonely, aching, wrinkled face, much like Miles Davis’ on that famous Montreux Jazz Festival poster.

“If you’re confused about who’s got soul these days and who doesn’t, below is a list fit to my standards: 

Justin Timberlake – a corporate, Disney puppet. But he’s got soul and he’s very, very, talented. Let’s hope one day he stops making cologne that looks like an MP3 player and gives us music chock full of the soul inside him. 

Chris Brown – more in touch with his soul than Justin, but still confused. 

Rihanna –She’s got it. Flaunted it in the beginning with ‘Pon The Replay’, but it got blurred somewhere along the way. She’s in a new video with Justin, maybe he had a hand in it. 

Beyonce – so much soul despite herself. Anyone who doubts it, watch the ‘Single Ladies’ video. 

Britney – she’s from Kentwood, Louisiana. The Deep South. She always had soul but didn’t know how get it out from behind Mickey Mouse programming. Somewhere between childbirth and attacking paps with umbrellas, she got in touch. I suspect K-Fed had something to do with it. 

Tom Chaplin of Keane – very white but soulful. 

Kings Of Leon – soulless. I’m sorry but they are. Anyone who names a record “Youth and Young Manhood” is too cool to have Soul. In a lot ways, Cool is the opposite of soul. 

Brandon Flowers of the Killers – still don’t know about him. The fact he’s a Mormon throws my radar off a bit.  

Coldplay – Chris Martin is in so much pain, I sometimes wonder. With one listen to ‘Yellow’ and you know the soul is there. Maybe it’s hiding beneath Gwyneth. 

Take That – great tunes but soulless 

Boyzone  – Ronan has a got soul. Met him and was proved right. To quote the man himself: “Life is a rollercoaster.”

Mika – no soul. Sorry. Imitating Freddie Mercury, perhaps the most soulful man in the history of Rock, still doesn’t give you Soul. 

Pink – soul, soul and more soul. A bit annoying how she rubs her Soul in your face, but she’s got plenty to go round. 

Alphabeat – the whole Danish thing is a tough one. A lot like Mormonism. But my girl Robyn is very soulful. With that in mind, I have to say Alphabeat are a bit soulless. Fascination is a cracking tune though. 

Katy Perry – she’s got soul. Can’t sing or dance, but has soul. It’s her best quality. 

Girls Aloud – I dunno about this one. Lemme get back to you. Does being extremely fit count toward soulfulness? They are my Achilles’ heel. 

“In conclusion, anyone having a hard time finding Soul in Pop music these days, take a listen to Kayne’s new album, 808s and Heartbreak.  Despite the blatant overuse of Vocoder and uber-80’s beats ala Phil Collins (who is completely soulless) that record is oozing with soul. Oh and this little known fringe act Julian Velard. He’s got it in spades. 

Tomorrow’s meaning of soul comes from our very own Sam Dufton.

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