| Truth & Soul | |
| Founder: | Leon Michels Jeff Silverman |
| Distributor: | The Orchard (catalog) Independent (former) |
| Country: | United States |
| Location: | Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York |
Truth & Soul was a record label and production team based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was formed in 2004 by Leon Michels and Jeff Silverman with Philippe Lehman. The label was best known for their releases with Lee Fields & The Expressions and other New York retro-soul / funk groups. As a production house and recording studio, Truth & Soul worked with artists like Aloe Blacc ("I Need a Dollar") and Adele ("Right as Rain"). In 2016, Truth & Soul's catalog was acquired by The Orchard, and was succeeded by Big Crown Records and Mighty Eye Records.
Truth & Soul was born out of Soul Fire Records, a label run by musician Phillip Lehman. Lehman had previously run soul revival pioneer Desco Records with Bosco Mann, and founded Soul Fire in 1999 as a funk label; Mann would later open the soulful Daptone Records. Between 1999 and 2003, Soul Fire put out numerous records by artists including Lee Fields and The Whitefield Brothers. In 2003, Lehman retired from the music business, leaving his studio to young musicians Jeff "Dynamite" Silverman and Leon Michels, both former Soul Fire artists.[1] [2]
Silverman and Michels founded Truth & Soul with help from Lehman in 2004.[3] Silverman and Michels ran the label with label manager Danny Akalepse, and were the in-house production team.[4] The label has recorded and released the music of El Michels Affair, Bronx River Parkway, Quincy Bright, The Evil D's, Lee Fields and The Expressions, The Fabulous Three, Cosmic Force, The Olympians, Tyrone Ashley's Funky Music Machine, Ghetto Brothers, The Phenomenal Handclap Band, and Bama & The Family.
In 2008, Truth & Soul produced and released the Lee Fields & The Expressions album My World to critical acclaim. The same year they produced Aloe Blacc's sophomore record, Good Things, which was released on Stones Throw records on September 28, 2010.[5] A new studio, The Diamond Mine, was built in Long Island City 2014 by Michels and his frequent collaborators Thomas Brenneck, Nick Movshon, and Homer Steinweiss.[6]
Truth & Soul has remixed "Love Is a Losing Game" by Amy Winehouse, the Gabriella Cilmi single "Sweet About Me", Dinah Washington's "Cry Me A River" for Verve Remixed 4, and Truth & Soul are credited as writers on Adele's grammy nominated album, 19. Their records have been sampled by Ghostface Killah, Just Blaze, Jay-Z, Young Jeezy.[7] Other venture included curating the in-game radio station of the same name in the 2009 video game GTA: Chinatown Wars.
| Big Crown Records | |
| Image Alt: | Big Crown Records crown logo |
| Founder: | Leon Michels Danny Akalepse |
| Genre: | [8] |
| Location: | Brooklyn, New York |
| Mighty Eye Records | |
| Distributor: | Fat Beats[9] |
| Location: | Brooklyn, New York |
Michels and Silverman dissolved Truth & Soul in July 2016 with The Orchard acquiring the label and the distribution rights to its catalog.[10] Soon after, Michels co-founded Big Crown Records with Truth & Soul manager Danny Akalepse.[11] [12] [13] Some artists on the Truth & Soul roster moved to Big Crown at this time. In 2022, Mighty Eye Records began in collaboration with Silverman.[14] [15]
Noted 'featured artists' included:[16]
† denotes artist on Soul Fire Records
‡ denotes artists on Big Crown Records[17]
| Artist | Title | Catalog Number | Release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Michels Affair | Sounding Out The City | TSCD-001 | 2004 | |
| Various Artists | Fallin Off The Reel | TSCD-002 | 2005 | |
| Tyrone Ashley & Funky Music Machine | Let Me Be Your Man | TSCD-003 | 2007 Reissue | |
| Various Artists | Fallin Off The Reel vol.2 | TSCD-004 | 2008 | |
| Bronx River Parkway | San Sebastian 152 | TSCD-006 | 2008 | |
| Lee Fields & The Expressions | My World | TSCD-007 | 2009 | |
| El Michels Affair | Enter The 37th Chamber | to be released in conjunction with fat beats records | 2009 | |
| Michael Leonhart & Avramina 7 | Seahorse & The Storyteller | TSCD-009 | 2010 | |
| Bama & The Family | Feeling Good b/w Drums of Asiko | TS001 | 2004 | |
| Bronx River Parkway feat. Analu | Deixa Pra La b/w Mas y Mas | TS002 | 2004 | |
| Timothy McNealy | K.C Stomp b/w Easy, Easy, Easy | TS003 | 2004 | |
| Lee Fields & The Expressions | Do You Love Me b/w Honey Dove | TS004 | 2004 | |
| El Michels Affair | Creation b/w Behind The Blue Curtains | TS005 | 2005 | |
| The Expressions | Money Is King b/w These Moments | TS006 | 2005 | |
| Quincy Bright | My Ghetto Looks Like This | TS007 | 2006 | |
| El Michels Affair | C.R.E.A.M b/w Glaciers of Ice | TS008 | 2006 | |
| Funky Music Machine | Gotta clean Up The World | TS009 | 2006 Reissue | |
| Bronx River Parkway | La Valla b/w Nora Se Va | TS010 | 2007 | |
| Tyrone Ashley & Funky Music Machine | Can't Help Myself b/w Love Me A Little While Longer | TS011 | 2007 Reissue | |
| El Michels Affair | Bring Da Ruckus b/w Duel Of The Iron Mic | TS012 | 2007 | |
| Black Velvet | Is It Me You Really Love b/w Earthquake's Coming | TS014 | 2007 Reissue | |
| El Michels Affair w/ Raekwon | The PJ's...from afar | TS015 | 2007 | |
| Lee Fields & The Expressions | My World b/w Love Comes and Goes | TS016 | 2007 | |
| Bronx River Parkway | Agua con Sel b/w Me Toca | TS017 | 2008 | |
| Timothy McNealy | What's Going On b/w I'm So glad You're Mine | TS018 | 2008 Reissue | |
| Quincy Bright | My Ghetto Looks Like This Vol. 2 | TS020 | 2009 | |
| The Olympians | How Can I Love b/w Stand Tall | TS025 | 2009 | |
| Lady | Lady | 2013 |