Vinyl · Community · Soul
About SoulBrew
Since 2017
Who we are
Soul Brew is a vinyl-only DJ collective based in West Yorkshire, bringing together people who share a love of great music, great records and great times on the dancefloor. Since 2017, we’ve been spinning original 7-inch vinyl across Brighouse, Halifax and beyond – building a welcoming community around the sounds we love.
At the heart of Soul Brew is a simple belief: we’re here for the music. Vintage vinyl for the dancefloor. Great records, good times, friendly faces and unforgettable memories — those moments when the right tune drops, the dancefloor fills and everybody feels it.
Our DJs and collectors draw from decades of record collecting and dancefloor experience, creating sets that move effortlessly between Northern Soul, Motown, R&B, Ska, Rocksteady, Modern Soul and across-the-board dancefloor classics. We champion the iconic, celebrate the overlooked and drop gems you haven’t heard in years – or perhaps never heard before.
We believe that playing vinyl still matters. The crackle as the needle drops, the artwork and labels in your hand, the anticipation of the next record, and the shared experience of hearing a great tune played loud – none of that can be replicated by a playlist or an algorithm. It has to be felt in a room, with people, on a proper dancefloor.
Whether it’s a packed Sunday afternoon at Brighouse Civic Hall, a laid-back soul social at Jeremy’s at the Boathouse, a summer all-dayer in a beer garden, or a late-night dancefloor session at venues including The Piece Hall in Halifax, Soul Brew is about sharing the records that move us with old friends and new faces alike.
Over the years, we’ve welcomed guest DJs, collaborated with venues, supported charities and even created our own beer collaborating with Loafers and Vocation Brewery. All if that’s built a loyal community of dancers, collectors and music lovers. Some come for the Northern Soul, some for the Motown, some for the ska and R&B – but most stay because of the atmosphere, the welcome and the shared love of great records.
We’re collectors, DJs, dancers and music obsessives.
★★★★★ THE SOULIE GRAIL ★★★★★
Vintage vinyl for the dancefloor
Keeping on since 2017.
SOUL BREW
WHAT’s in A Name – A SIDE
When we launched Soul Brew in 2017, the Northern Soul scene was already blessed with many fantastic clubs and promoters. That included our pals in the Halifax Soul Club. We didn’t want to replicate what already existed. Instead, we wanted to create something that reflected our own tastes and experiences: a welcoming, vinyl-only event where Northern Soul sits comfortably alongside Motown, where a rare R&B dancer might follow a Jamaican ska classic, and where the emphasis is always on the quality of the music, the atmosphere in the room and the people on the dancefloor.
Our roots are firmly in the soul scene and, like many of our friends and regulars, our journey started with clubs including the Yorkshire Rider and the 100 Club– the thrill of discovering a record you’d never heard before, the excitement of a packed dancefloor and the lifelong hunt for that next great tune. But our tastes, and our record collections, have always stretched much wider.
Open our record boxes and you’ll find sounds from Detroit, Chicago, Memphis, New York, New Orleans and Kingston. From the polished perfection of Motown to the grit and emotion of Stax and Atlantic; from obscure and often overlooked US labels such as Revilot, Okeh, Mirwood, Ric-Tic and Wand to the timeless sounds of Jamaican ska and rocksteady on labels such as Treasure Isle, Studio One and Trojan. You’ll hear Northern Soul classics, crossover favourites, R&B dancers, modern soul gems, ska anthems, rocksteady grooves and the occasional left-field dancefloor surprise.
The “brew” in Soul Brew is the blend. It’s the mixture of sounds, influences, records and people that come together to create something greater than the sum of its parts. We love the energy and passion of the Northern Soul scene, but we never wanted to be constrained by genre boundaries or the expectation that every record should fit neatly into one box. Our approach has always been simple: if a record has soul, if it moves people, and if it belongs on the dancefloor, then it belongs at Soul Brew.
That philosophy has taken us on countless journeys in search of records. Between us, our DJs and collectors have spent decades crate digging and collecting, travelling to record shops, fairs, warehouses and soul events throughout the UK and beyond. The search has taken us to Detroit, Chicago, New York and Canada, as well as independent record shops and fairs across Britain – from Bridlington and Blackpool to London, Manchester and countless all-dayers and weekenders in between. The search for the next great record, and the next great dancefloor moment, never really ends.
Today, whether we’re playing a packed Sunday afternoon at Brighouse Civic Hall, a relaxed soul social at Jeremy’s at the Boathouse, a summer beer garden session or a special event elsewhere, our aim remains exactly the same as it was when we started: to play great records, create unforgettable memories and share the joy of discovering – and rediscovering – incredible music.
Soul Brew. Vintage vinyl for the dancefloor.
THE SOULIE GRAIL
WHAT’s in A Name B SIDE
The Soulie Grail was born from two ideas at the heart of soul culture: the Soulies who have kept the scene alive for generations, and the endless search for the next “grail” record. Every DJ and collector involved in Soul Brew has spent years crate digging, travelling and hunting down those elusive 45s that make dancefloors come alive. That search has taken us from Detroit, Chicago, New York and Canada to record shops, fairs and soul events across the UK – from Bridlington and Blackpool to London and beyond. Because for us, the search is part of the story, and the next great record is always waiting to be discovered.
SoulBrew merch
Merch
We’re regularly asked about T-shirts, polos, stickers and patches. We have a supply of quality piqué polos available for £25 each.
Ask us at a Soul Brew session and we’ll get you kitted out. If you prefer, we can also add an embroidered Soul Brew logo to your own clothing for £7 a go- or for the logo and full ‘Soulie Grail – Brighouse’ embroidery across the back its £20.
We also do limited runs of stickers, badges and patches – look out for them at our gigs. But be quick as they don’t hang around for long.
2017
Founded
7″
Vinyl only – always
5
Genres on the dancefloor
What you’ll hear
Our sounds
The foundation
Northern Soul
Born from the underground clubs of 1960s and 70s Britain, Northern Soul was built around obscure American soul records that never charted – raw, urgent and made for the dancefloor. Venues like the Wigan Casino and the Twisted Wheel were its cathedrals. The records were the gospel. At SoulBrew, Northern Soul is the foundation everything else is built on.
Detroit soul
Motown
Founded in Detroit in 1959, Motown created a sound that crossed every boundary. The Velvelettes, Contours, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Tammi Terrell and Marvin Gaye, Four Tops, the Temptations and many more– polished yet powerful, timeless yet fresh. The Sound of Young America, as they called it, sounds just as vital today. Motown anthems sit proudly beside Northern Soul stompers at every Soul Brew night.
RHYTHM & BLUES
R&B
Rhythm and Blues is the root of it all – the music that gave birth to Northern Soul, Motown and everything that followed. Raw, rhythmic and irresistible, the original American R&B records of the 1950s and 60s carry an energy that has never been replicated. At SoulBrew these records sit at the heart of every set.
smooth sOUL & Grooves
Modern Soul
Modern Soul kept the faith alive through the 1970s and 80s with a smoother, more groove-driven style – the bridge between eras. Soulful, danceable and still at the heart of every Soul Brew set, it is the sound that proves great soul music never really went anywhere. It just got more sophisticated.
Upbeat Jamaica
Ska & beyond
Ska, rocksteady and early reggae – the Jamaican sounds that crossed the Atlantic and found a home in the same clubs as Northern Soul. Upbeat, rhythmically infectious and deeply rooted in the same spirit of community and dancefloor joy. Soul Brew weaves these sounds through the night as a natural part of the mix.
More than a night out
What we do
On the decks
Vinyl-only DJ sessions
Expertly curated Northern Soul, Motown and R&B sets, played on original 45s. No laptops, no shortcuts – just records, a proper sound system and a dancefloor that means it.
Out of the box
Rare record showcases
Rare and cherished pressings brought out of the box and given the airing they deserve – from four-figure rarities to forgotten B-sides that never got their moment first time round.
On the floor
Community events
Nights built around people as much as records – old friends, new faces and a dancefloor that welcomes everyone. That spirit of community is what has kept the scene alive for sixty years.
West Yorkshire and beyond
Where you’ll find us
From intimate monthly residencies to special all-dayers and festival stages – SoulBrew has called some of West Yorkshire’s finest venues home since 2017.
Monthly residency
Jeremy’s at the Boathouse
Special events
Brighouse Civic Hall
Guest appearances
The Piece Hall, Halifax
One of Yorkshire’s most iconic spaces. When SoulBrew plays the Piece Hall it is a late-night dancefloor of old friends and new faces, with one of the most extraordinary backdrops in the North.
Take us home
Listen anywhere
From the dancefloor
Vinyl vibes
★ ★ ★
We champion the classics, celebrate the overlooked, and occasionally pull out something you have not heard in years – or perhaps never heard at all.