For the Love of the Music: DJ Soul Sister’s Rare Groove

Music and New Orleans are synonymous, not only because of our strong jazz, brass band, and blues roots, but also because we are a city open to musical expression in all forms. On this episode of GoNOLA Radio, our hosts Lorin Gaudin and George Ingmire explore the world of music in New Orleans with one of the leaders and tastemakers herself. DJ Soul Sister joins the show to talk about her passion, her influences, and her genre of choice, rare groove.

Many DJs these days work within the digital realm (“mp3-Js”), but DJ Soul Sister is a lover of vinyl and at all her shows, spins only that. She is not your average party DJ, as she spins with a particular vision and feeling in mind. DJ Soul Sister’s specialty is rare groove, which encompasses music from the late 60s to mid 80s like funk, soul, Brazilian, reggae, afro beats, post punk, true school hip hop, soulful jazz, disco, and more; the main requirement is that it has got to be soulful. These rare grooves are also music from the time period that were not necessarily top 40 hits, like B-side cuts and unique finds, making every live DJ set a chance to curate music history with artistic style and individuality.

DJ Soul Sister’s love of the music is what drives her. From her weekly Saturday night dance party Hustle at the Hi-Ho Lounge in the Marigny, to her long-running show on WWOZ, Soul Power, to film screenings and other events that she organizes that are all devoted to music, DJ Soul Sister does it all to spread the word of the music that she loves so much.

DJ Soul Sister is mostly self-taught as a DJ, and it helped that she grew up in a musical family. Some of her early influences include P-Funk (Parliament-Funkadelic), James Brown, and New Orleans bands The Meters and Chocolate Milk.

Listen to this episode of GoNOLA Radio and delve into the world of rare groove and vinyl love with DJ Soul Sister.