Feel-Good Friday 10.03.17

It’s that time of week again. Time to feel good!

Sam and Dave – Soul Man

In July 1967, co-author Isaac Hayes was watching a tv broadcast of the aftermath of the 12th Street Riot in Detroit, Michigan. Hayes noted that black residents had marked buildings that had not been destroyed during the riots – mostly African-American owned and operated institutions – with the word "soul”. Relating this occurrence to the Biblical story of the Passover, Hayes and song writing partner David Porter came up with the idea, in Hayes' words, of "a story about one's struggle to rise above his present conditions. It's almost a tune [where it's] kind of like boasting 'I'm a soul man'. It's a pride thing."

POWERS – Beat of my drum

This Brooklyn pop duo have had a string of underground hits and have even written for big time artists, like Selena Gomez. The group has said they went through a number of names before settling on POWERS. Crista Ru, one half of the duo said, “We got the name because we wanted one word that described the feeling, the intention and the just all around vibe of what we were doing. Our music’s very empowering. We found that that name wasn’t taken and freaked out and was like this is it.

Sam Cooke –Wonderful World

This song is associated with lots of different things. That’s partly due to its frequent use in tv, ads and films. The tune featured in an iconic ad for Levi jeans in the 80s and also features in the films Inherent Vice, Witness and Hitch.

Ting Tings – Great DJ

Ever wondered where this Manc group’s slightly odd name comes from? "Ting Ting" was the name of a Chinese colleague of one of the band members at a shop they were working at. Their colleague told them that the name sounded like the pronunciation of “bandstand” in Cantonese. The band researched the name and found it to also mean the "sound of innovation on an open mind". Pretty cool, huh?

Cadenza feat. Stylo G – Foundation

Fans of reggae and ska will be know all about the legendary DJ that is David Rodigan. But, even super fans might not realise that David’s son, Oliver, is pretty talented himself! Oliver AKA Cadenza shows off his skills with this banger.

Flamingosis – Groovin’

This young producer from Denver, Colorado has made a name for himself by taking an old-school approach to instrumental Hip Hop. Favouring samples over drum machines, Flamingosis brings that old-school, feel-good vibe we all love.