Philly Soul
Roots · 1967 · 100 to 120 BPM · also known as Philadelphia Soul, Sound of Philadelphia, TSOP
Philly soul came out of Philadelphia in the early 1970s, where Gamble and Huff industrialized orchestral soul: silky strings, the MFSB house band, love songs and songs of social conscience. The Philly sound is the direct matrix of disco, the same orchestra and the same studios, needing only an opened hi-hat to cross over. Love Is the Message is literally the founding record of both worlds.
13 reference tracks
- The Intruders: Cowboys To Girls (1968)
- The O'Jays: Love Train (1972)
- Billy Paul: Me And Mrs Jones (1972)
- Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes: The Love I Lost (1973)
- The Three Degrees: When Will I See You Again (1973)
- MFSB: TSOP The Sound of Philadelphia (1974)
- Silk Sonic: Smokin Out The Window (2021)
- The O'Jays: Back Stabbers
- The O'Jays: Now That We Found Love
- The O'Jays: Stairway to Heaven
- Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes: Wake up Everybody
- MFSB: My Mood
- Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes: Bad Luck
At a glance
- Tempo: 100 to 120 BPM
- First appeared: 1967
- Machines: Studio Sigma Sound, Fender Rhodes, Hohner Clavinet, Basse électrique, Batterie acoustique
- The sound: Orchestre MFSB complet, Cordes écrites, Batterie charleston ouvert naissant
- Labels: Philadelphia International Records, Salsoul Records
- Key artists: MFSB, The O'Jays, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, The Trammps, Gamble & Huff
Producing Philly Soul
Ballads sit at 65 to 80 BPM, while uptempo dance sides that prefigure disco, songs like Love Train or TSOP, run 110 to 125, with a light 52 to 55 percent swing, the drums leaning slightly ahead of the beat. Build the drums from Earl Young's MFSB template, the one that invented the disco beat: kick on four beats, snare on two and four, hats in eighths opening on every offbeat for that pshh. Layer discreet ghost snare notes, sixteenth-note congas, tambourine and cabasa. The bass is a fingered Fender line, walking through the chord changes with passing tones, a third or fifth as an approach note, kept warm with gentle compression. Write real orchestral string parts rather than block chords, a rising violin motif answered by a descending cello line, plus soft horns and a wah guitar.
The full production course, in French: tempo, drums, bass, sounds, arrangement, mix, plugins and machines, and a step by step start.
Frequently asked
What is Philly Soul?
Philly soul came out of Philadelphia in the early 1970s, where Gamble and Huff industrialized orchestral soul: silky strings, the MFSB house band, love songs and songs of social conscience. The Philly sound is the direct matrix of disco, the same orchestra and the same studios, needing only an…
What tempo is Philly Soul played at?
Between 100 and 120 BPM.
Who are the key Philly Soul artists?
MFSB, The O'Jays, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, The Trammps, Gamble & Huff.
