SoulTrackin’ - Soul Commune Newsletter #1…

Hopefully you’ve heard about it by now, this great, new soul music/social community called “Soul Commune”. I’ve been spending quite a bit of time over there these past few weeks and it is just fantastic! Here is the text of the first newsletter that was sent out today, wanted to post it here for all (especially those of you who have not joined yet) to check out:

Soul is defined as:

The immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life; the quality that arouses emotion and sentiment; and a spiritual or moral force.

Commune is defined as:

To be in a state of intimate, heightened sensitivity and receptivity, as with one’s surroundings.

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Greetings Soul Communers,

I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for being a part of the Soul Commune experience!

The idea to create SoulCommune.com stems from a conversation I had with my friend, an indie soul artist promoter and advocate in November. He brought to my attention the tremendous challenges faced by the many talented artists and promoters alike of this genre.

I was surprised that such great artistry was being overlooked, and we both found it unacceptable that fans of soul music and, particularly, the immensely talented artists of this genre continue to find it difficult to connect and make progress in today’s “music industry.” SoulCommune.com can be an impetus for the change and balance that needs to take place to allow this genre, in its many dimensions, to be properly recognized and continue to thrive as the unique and viable art form that it is!

I am still learning who many of you are, and I feel that SoulCommune.com is a great way for artists and supporters to become more familiar with one another. Many of you know me as the face and website administrator of SoulCommune.com-however, in reality, there are others working diligently to help me put this together, and of course, most importantly, there is YOU! It is your drive, creativity, talent and passion that is the “main ingredient” that has made this a truly unique experience thus far!

One of the goals of SoulCommune.com is to create the kind of synergies that can help further the cause of “real” music both artistically and financially. By pooling our resources, we can continue to bring together members across the many different subsets of the soul music world, from classic soul to hip hop, house to funk; go-go to neo-soul; underground to mainstream and more.
We are here to counteract the current trends that challenge the very existence of this most important and multi-textured genre!

Soul Commune.com will be the place where fans, artists, publishers,radio programmers, promoters, etc can commune without the creative constraints forced by the music industry status quo.

We here at SoulCommune.com are moving forward with many ideas to humbly serve the Soul Community. In the near future look for the following:

• Cyber Store — (Coming Soon)
  
• Online Listening Parties — Upcoming events include Angela Johnson (Purpose Records), Alison Crockett (Crockett Gallery’s), Paul Randolph (StillMusic) Water Seed (Water Seed Music Group) and other indie artists.
  
• REMIX Projects — Starting with Major Label, Motown Recording Artist, Kem. NOTE: During this sponsored event members who are producers will have the opportunity to submit remixed tracks to be considered for inclusion on Kem’s forthcoming Remix release on Universal/Motown release later this year. Stay Tuned for Details!
  
• Conversations/Online Chats — Members get a unique chance to dialogue one-on-one established artists, including recording artist, Kem, music producer, Mike Chav (Erykah Badu’s latest release), and other industry experts.
• Soul Commune TV/Radio — Exclusive live webcasts of concerts, performances, and other unique events (featuring not but showcasing talent/creativity emerging talent within our commune)
• Tour Updates & Show Reviews
• Artist News & Music Reviews

And much, much more!

Your feedback is welcomed and is absolutely essential to enhancing the experience for everyone - so keep it coming!

We ask that you continue to hang out with us as SoulCommune.com continues to flourish and as we move forward to build and expand our universe!

Many thanks to ALL of you who, over the last month, have helped spread the word about SoulCommune.com

Our gratitude goes out to some of those who have reached out to us and been very helpful and/or are members of the Commune:

Mint Condition, Kem, Toya Hankins, Erykah Badu, Phil Perry, Paul Randolph, SoulChoonz, Switzerland Soul, Frances Jaye and Velisa Crayton of I Got Soul and Neosoulcafe.com, UK Soul, Butta of SoulBounce, Chris Rizek of Soultracks.com,Nu-Soul Mag, Drake of Urban-Organic.net, Ty, Traci Latrelle of WHUR, Jodine of Jodine’s Corner,Stephanie Renee of Soul-Sanctuary, TGrundy, Jason Orr’s FunkJazzKafe, Fiona Bloom, Johnnie Evans, Pam and Detrel of ONUTSS, Terry Bello, George LittleJohn, HoneySoul.com, Elliot of Projectvibe.com, Gordon Chambers, Monica Blaire, Liv Warfield, Lonnie Liston Smith, Lalah Hathway, Amp Fiddler, Eric Roberson, N’Dambi (If we’ve missed your name, please insert here:____________)and the rest of the 1300+ Podcasters, Radio Programmers, Artists, DJs, Bloggers, Tastemakers, and Fans who have signed up in the last month.

Please continue to spread the word, and please introduce yourself to someone on the Commune who you don’t know.

Let’s continue to commune

Peace!

Donald Hardway

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