Daptone Records Celebrates 10 Years of Soul

Daptone Records has been delivering the New Sound of Old Soul since the turn of this century and has established itself as a place where quality, heart and feeling are the staple of every on of their releases. The label is celebrating 10 Years of Daptone with a series of intimate shows in New York and Brooklyn — four sold out Sharon Jones & The Dap-kings shows in Brooklyn and New York with labelmates Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens and The Sugarman 3 alternating the opening slots. As well as a December 3 Charles Bradley headline show at The Bowery Ballroom and a New Year’s Eve blowout with The Budos Band at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

A series of special releases will also accompany the label’s 10th anniversary celebrations, including SOUL TIME!, a compilation of singles, B-sides and live tracks from Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings out on November 25 as a Record Store Day Black Friday exclusive. Reissues of Charles Bradley’s debut album No Time For Dreaming featuring two additional tracks—covers of Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” and Nirvana’s “Stay Away”—and El Rego featuring 12 of the African soul legend’s greatest recordings from the late ’60s and early ’70s are out now. Also available now is the digital release The World of Daptone Sampler featuring one song from every Daptone LP. Limited quantities of the CD version of the album will be distributed for free at select independent record stores on Black Friday. Look for indie record stores across the country to also feature select CD’s from the Daptone catalog on sale.

Brooklyn’s Daptone Records, headed by Gabriel Roth and Neal Sugarman, launched itself to the forefront of the soul explosion with their first release in 2001 (Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings’ first album Dap-dippin) and has remained at the head of the class ever since. Remaining proudly independent, the secret to their ongoing success is simple according to Roth: “We were able to stay rooted in this idea that people want to hear good music. And that’s our business plan: We’re gonna try to make really good records. Period.”

In addition to the label, Daptone is home to a storied analog studio built by hand with the help of friends and artists (Sharon Jones helped with electrical wiring; Charles Bradley showed them how to install radiators; and future members of The Budos Band helped knock down walls and jack up the sagging ceiling afterwards). In addition to recording many of the label’s own albums there, the studio and label’s stable of musicians been used by artists including Amy Winehouse, Michael Bublé and Mark Ronson to help capture the raw new soul energy for their major label projects.

Additional information on Daptone Records, including an in-depth history, downloadable photos & logos and more can be found at the official press page for the 10 Years of Daptone celebration: http://www.daptonerecords.com/press/10th-Anniversary.html

Daptone 10-Year Anniversary Shows

12.03 – Bowery Ballroom
Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires

12.06 – Music Hall of Williamsburg (Sold Out)
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens

12.07 – Music Hall of Williamsburg (Sold Out)
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, The Sugarman 3

12.13 – Bowery Ballroom (Sold Out)
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, The Sugarman 3

12.14 – Bowery Ballroom (Sold Out)
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens

12.31 – Music Hall of Williamsburg
The Budos Band