Spirit Records, based in Charlotte, NC, produces original new
soul and rhythm & blues-influenced music. Often drawing
on classic elements of soul and R&B, Spirit fuses the traditional with the new, creating it's own brand of music in the process. All
of Spirit's music is written, produced, and recorded in-house.
Founded in 1979 by Bill Bradford and original partner Sandy Bell, the label has over the years found
success regional to international in scope.
Spring 2011 kicks off with the release of "Soul Singles Vol 2", a fifteen song collection of more recent releases seasoned with a few from Spirit's mid and early years. Nine Spirit
artists deliver the goods on these tracks.
2010 saw the fall of "Soul Singles", a sixteen track compilation of music from nine Spirit artists, and featuring new material from Debby Dobbins, Maria Howell, and Thomas Moore along with several remixes. The CD was released on iTunes and CDBaby and garnered an outstanding review from Netherlands based soul site SaveOurSoul internet radio and the US site Have You Heard.
The year 2008-2009 was one of the most productive for Spirit
and writer-producer Bradford. June, 2009, saw the release of Debby Dobbins' "Cool and Collected" album to iTunes. Combining her past Spirit singles with new music, the collection quickly attracted notice from
Los Angeles' The Urban Music Scene, and from Netherlands soul site Save Our Soul.
In spring 2009, Munich production/remix wizard Fabian Wondrak /aka DJ Circle delivered a scalding house remix of Maria Howell's "Let You Go" single (from her "Soul" album on Spirit) which was released on iTunes in Europe and the US.
In July, 2008, Sonja Grier's "Soul Evolution" collection was released on iTunes, gaining positive reviews from the west coast Urban Music Scene and Save Our Soul. The lead single "Said I'm Sorry" charted on internet soul stations, and her soulful environmental
call-out "Reverse Evolution" single from the album, ever more appropriate today, has captured play.
This followed the April release of
Maria Howell's "Soul" album on iTunes. This collection resulted in "Artist of the Month" recognition on Europe's Save Our Soul site, and an outstanding review from LA's Urban Music Scene. November saw Spirit's remixed re-release of her "What Does Christmas Mean To You" single which was previously awarded a Billboard Magazine "Holiday Pick".
In 2005, Spirit released the CD Soul Project "Reconnection" / iTunes . The CD featured eight Spirit artists on 14 tracks of original new soul music, and rapidly gained attention.
Japan's soul site, Soul Treasures spotlighted the CD with a month-long feature on production & artists. The concept of Soul Project was to connect new soul music with it's classic roots, and Sonja Grier's "Right Here, Right Now" single from the CD did just that, becoming a club hit in the UK resulting in a vinyl release of the single to the British
northern soul market. Meanwhile, two additional singles, Pamela North's "Good Girl Gone", and Maria Howell's "Somethin' You Got" were charting on internet soul radio in the US, giving the album and Spirit three singles charting simultaneously -
a first for the label.
Past Spirit highlights include Sonja Grier's national top twenty dance/club hit, "Love
Flight 109" (released internationally by RCA with three remixes in 1987), and Debby Dobbins' "Can't Help
This Feelin'" which playlisted on 165 radio stations and propelled her to Hollywood and a national TV performance
on StarSearch. Many of these early Spirit releases are available on the CD that chronicles Spirit's
first two decades, "Carolina Soul: The Spirit Records Anthology" (1979-2000) also on iTunes. This CD contains all fifteen of Spirit's original vinyl 45 single releases dating back to the label's 1979 "ground-zero" release
of the Bradford & Bell 45 "(They Call It) Mr. Dollar's" which was distributed over the region from the
trunk of Bradford's 1971 Triumph TR6.
All music for
Spirit is written and produced by Bill Bradford.
Additional information is available on Bill Bradford and Spirit Artists.
Contact Spirit Records
