Jersey Street
Encyclopedia
Jersey Street are a band from Manchester
, England
, which began releasing deep house
in 1998, before broadening its output to include a wide range of styles including soul
, jazz
, afro-funk and Latin
. Jersey Street’s first single
, "Nobody But My Lord", was released on J.B.O. in 1998. It was followed by two album
s, Step Into The Light and After The Rain, for Glasgow Underground Recordings
, which were released in 2000 and 2002 respectively. The band also released singles for labels
including Yellow Productions
, Out of the Loop Records, Mr Bongo Records
, Naked Records
, Hed Kandi
, Defected Records
, and Electric Chair Records, PIAS Recordings
.
Jersey Street began with founding producer Neil Reid, vocalist Dawn Zee and Steve Chesney (engineer/co-producer) and as other members joined the fold – primarily Matt Steele (keyboards/producer), Jasper Wilkinson (bass, saxophone and guitar)– the band's production aesthetic increasingly reflected the funk, soul and disco influences on House. Since its inception, Jersey Street has used an increasing amount of live instrumentation, including bass, guitars, horn sections and strings, as well as a looser approach to technology which made its grooves less rigid and unyielding than those of some contemporaries. The growing use of live musicians led to a string of dates as a nine-piece band, at venues including London's Cargo and Manchester's Band on the Wall
.
Despite receiving acclaim from the dance music
fraternity – and from underground music lovers in general – Jersey Street has never crossed over to a more general audience. The band continues to release tracks intermittently, under its own name and also using the name Fumi, and various members have contributed to the albums and live performances of artists such as New Order
and The Brand New Heavies.
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, which began releasing deep house
Deep house
Deep house is a subgenre of house music that fuses elements of Chicago house into the 1980s jazz-funk and touches of soul music. In the early compositions , influences of jazz music were most frequently brought out by using more complex chords than simple triads which are held for many bars and...
in 1998, before broadening its output to include a wide range of styles including soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, afro-funk and Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
. Jersey Street’s first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Nobody But My Lord", was released on J.B.O. in 1998. It was followed by two album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s, Step Into The Light and After The Rain, for Glasgow Underground Recordings
Glasgow Underground Recordings
Glasgow Underground Recordings is a house music record label owned by Kevin McKay.The label was created in 1997 and has been home to artists such as Romanthony, DJ Q, Mateo & Matos, Rose Smith, Muzique Tropique, Milton Jackson and DJ Mash....
, which were released in 2000 and 2002 respectively. The band also released singles for labels
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
including Yellow Productions
Yellow Productions
Yellow Productions is an independent record label specializing in electronic music. Based in Paris, France, it was founded in 1993 by DJ Yellow and Christophe Le Friant ....
, Out of the Loop Records, Mr Bongo Records
Mr Bongo Records
Mr Bongo Records is a now Brighton based independent record label, independent film and publishing company specialising in world music and art house / world cinema. It was formed in 1989 by David 'Mr Bongo' Buttle, and operated out of London until 2003....
, Naked Records
Naked Records
This article is wrong. Naked Records was in fact set up in 1988 by James Reed, who was part of Indie band Those Disposable Things. Two singles were released in 1988, the first was a double 'A' side single; Sweet Leila/Out Of The Question. The second single was called Away Days, which was...
, Hed Kandi
Hed Kandi
Hed Kandi is an UK-based record label and a music brand which was established in 1999 by Mark Doyle, specialising in funky, soulful house music. Hed Kandi's catalogue includes both artist albums and various genres of club compilations. As well as producing music albums and compilations, Hed Kandi...
, Defected Records
Defected Records
- History :Established in 1999 by former AM:PM and Cooltempo A&R man Simon Dunmore, Defected's first release was Soulsearcher's "I Can't Get Enough" which reached No.5 in the UK singles chart. This early success was followed up with Roger Sanchez's "Another Chance", which hit No.1 in the UK singles...
, and Electric Chair Records, PIAS Recordings
PIAS Recordings
[PIAS] Recordings is the recorded music division of the [PIAS] Entertainment Group, a European independent artist and label services company.The record labels that operate under the [PIAS] Recordings umbrella are: Play It Again Sam, Wall of Sound and Different Recordings.Aside from the three London...
.
Jersey Street began with founding producer Neil Reid, vocalist Dawn Zee and Steve Chesney (engineer/co-producer) and as other members joined the fold – primarily Matt Steele (keyboards/producer), Jasper Wilkinson (bass, saxophone and guitar)– the band's production aesthetic increasingly reflected the funk, soul and disco influences on House. Since its inception, Jersey Street has used an increasing amount of live instrumentation, including bass, guitars, horn sections and strings, as well as a looser approach to technology which made its grooves less rigid and unyielding than those of some contemporaries. The growing use of live musicians led to a string of dates as a nine-piece band, at venues including London's Cargo and Manchester's Band on the Wall
Band on the Wall
Band on the Wall is a live music venue at 25 Swan Street in the Northern Quarter area of Manchester city centre.-Early history:The building dates back to around 1862 when a local brewery, the McKenna Brothers, built it as the flagship pub of their operation. It was called the George and Dragon; the...
.
Despite receiving acclaim from the dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
fraternity – and from underground music lovers in general – Jersey Street has never crossed over to a more general audience. The band continues to release tracks intermittently, under its own name and also using the name Fumi, and various members have contributed to the albums and live performances of artists such as New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
and The Brand New Heavies.