In the late 1950’s through a combination of R&B (Rhythm and Blues) and African-American gospel music, the genre of soul was born. It’s a kind of music, that incorporates elements of rhythm and blues and uses gospel-music devices, religious themes and it puts greater emphasis on the vocalists. It originated in the African American community in the Unites States. Soul is and always will be associated with such performers as Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Ray Charles and Otis Redding. To take it narrower, soul was born in Memphis and most of performing artists were originally from the southern US.

Broadly speaking, soul music comes from the mix of the scared – gospel music, and the propane – blues. This genre of music, more than any other genre is a mixture of two other musical genres. The 1950’s Ray Charles’s and James Brown’s black R&B recordings are considered to be the very beginning of Soul music. They were followed by such white artists as Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly who removed most of the gospel message, they adopted the music, but kept the same instrumentation, musical technique and feeling.

In 1960’s Soul music ruled the black music charts, having such artists as Aretha Franklin and James Brown leading them. Later on, Soul inspired many other styles of music such as the current pop music and funk. Soul music was never lost, it just evolved. Examples of contemporary Soul artists are Mary J. Blige, Joss Stone, and Raphael Saadiq.

Soul became a permanent part of the grammar of American popular culture. Its underlying virtues—direct emotional delivery, ethnic pride, and respect for its own artistic sources—live on as dynamic and dramatic influences on musicians throughout the world. To varying degrees, the power and personality of the form were absorbed in disco, funk, and hip-hop, styles that owe their existence to soul.

So, is soul music soulful? It is not the music that’s soulful, but the human ability to perceive the music as something soulful. Music, at the end of the day, is just well-organized sound. However, we are mesmerized by it, many of us are healed by it, and in this case, it can be the gospel message and inclination. It comforts us and our soul.

Güven Tankut, is a young Turkish Dj who performs and plays his music in Istanbul and Antalya cities. His genre is soulful music. In Antalya, his spot is Pio Gastro Bar and Bistro. With the great atmosphere of a city bar in the old town of Antalya, with Latin cuisine and soulful music, how other than that a perfect evening can sound? Tankut performs on Friday and Saturday nights in Pio. Don’t miss the chance to have your best experience in the city of Antalya, Welcome to Pio.