Macca
A must-have record. 'Garden of Life' is a morning radio staple that has followed me around in the depths of my head for many many years. Out to the H&S crew xxx
Limited edition Top Secret Recording (TSR) long sleeve, in collaboration with Heels & Souls Recordings.
Sustainably produced
Screen printed on Continental's Earth Positive Heavy Jersey (EP18L)
5.69 oz / 190 g
100% Combed Organic Cotton
To reduce waste, we'll be running a 3 week pre-sale and only printing the amount ordered. Order before midday December 9th, and we'll try our best to get this beauty shipped out to you in time for Christmas.
Sold Out
Garden of Life - LP Vinyl (Repress)
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
We are now shipping the repress of the Garden of Life reissue, following the amazing response and sell out of the first press.
- Vinyl version of Special Touch - Garden of Life LP.
- Includes double-sided printed inner sleeve with liner notes & pictures.
- Remastered by Justin Drake at The Bakehouse Studio
Includes unlimited streaming of Garden of Life [HSREC001]
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
When you talk about UK Street Soul, and the sounds that define it, it’s impossible to look past Special Touch’s first and only album, Garden of Life. A shining example of this often retrospectively termed genre, which loosely categorised black, soul-inspired music with a DIY, bass-driven aesthetic from the late ‘80s to early-mid ‘90s, this impossibly rare record from cult label Top Secret Recordings weaves a unique brand of positivity and musicality across nine uplifting tracks.
A family affair through and through, producer and TSR founder Robert Charles Roper and his vocalist brother Duval created an LP that effortlessly married the rawness of underground hip-hop, reggae and early house with the sentiment and warmth of soul music. With original copies never having traded hands for below £100 on Discogs, this fully licensed, remastered reissue for Heels & Souls Recordings debut release will be a welcome sight for many.
The continuous thread over the nine tracks is an uplifting optimism, whether on the house-flecked ‘It’s Your Life’, the slung-back ‘Tonight’ or the breakbeat-punctuated ‘Music’. And few, if any, street soul tracks hit the same sublime heights as the title track ‘Garden of Life’, a consummate encapsulation of the Special Touch sound, decorated with breathtaking synth melodies layered over crunchy drum machine hits and Duval’s soaring vocals.
A high-point of an underground street soul scene that caused vibrations throughout UK dancefloors, blues parties, soundsystems and pirate stations from Manchester, London, Leeds, Bradford, Birmingham and beyond, Heels & Souls Recordings are delighted to be working alongside Robert to present a relicensed version of Garden of Life for their debut release, remastering the record from the original DAT tape at The Bakehouse Studio.
Complete with a printed inner sleeve detailing the history of Special Touch and the record’s significance, label co-founders Ben Croft and Patrick Forrester, alongside Prime Direct Distribution, will also be donating their respective share of profits to The Black Curriculum, a social enterprise delivering Black British history programmes and teacher training to facilitate both national curriculum and wider societal changes.
credits
released October 16, 2020
Producer, Written By, Arranged By, Mixed By – Robert Charles Roper
Vocals – Duval
Engineer – Mark Kelsar
supported by 56 fans who also own “Garden of Life [HSREC001]”
Like so many others, this came like a bolt out of the blue and, even though it's well before payday, I had to have this astonishing album on vinyl to prove it exists. The feel of the tunes makes me feel like the Impressions do, Curtis Mayfield, the big spaces and instinctive horns and stuff drifting in and out. Great grooves and I can see lots of ghosts nodding along to this with big smiles on their faces. At last! Anthony Cottrell
supported by 50 fans who also own “Garden of Life [HSREC001]”
Moodymann creates innovative soul funky music with deep 70s inspiration. The vocals are simply outstanding. A step back in time, 50 years ago! Superb. jef37