Born out of London’s late-’80s sound-system culture, Soul II Soul is less a band than a creative collective, masterminded by producer and DJ
Jazzie B. Blending
soul ,
funk,
reggae,
dub,
jazz, and emerging club rhythms, they helped give British R&B its own accent — warm, street-level, and future-facing at the same time.
Their debut Club Classics Vol. One (1989) didn’t just spawn global hits like “Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)” and “Keep On Movin’” — it introduced a fluid, collaborative model where singers, musicians, and producers rotated freely, long before that became the norm. Vocalists came and went, but the groove stayed unmistakable.
Often sampled, endlessly influential, and still quietly mysterious, Soul II Soul proved that club music could be soulful, political, and deeply human — all without losing its swing.
