Soma Quality Recordings (or simply Soma Records) is an independent record label based in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland. It was co-founded in 1991 by the

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

duo Slam, Dave Clarke (not the English techno musician) and Glenn Gibbons. The label is known for releasing early works of Slam,

Jeff Mills Jeff Mills (born June 18, 1963, in Detroit, Michigan), also known as "the Wizard", is an American DJ, record producer, and composer. In the late 1980s Mills founded the techno collective Underground Resistance with fellow Detroit techno pro ...

, Silicone Soul's "Right On Right On", Funk D'Void, Felix da Housecat's early track "Clashback", the original vinyl version of

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...

's track " Da Funk" and much more.

History

The origin of the label goes back to 1991 when there was very much a DIY ethos back at the tail end of the 1980s. In that time, electronic music became more dominant in the music industry, with a greater reliance on synthesizers and the adoption of programmable drum machines and the advent of affordable music technology. A lot of enthusiastic group founders of people such as Soma founders that were passionated about music created a lot of well-known labels that are still existing nowadays. So there was the DJ and music producer duo called Slam, consisting of Orde Meikle and Stuart McMillan who met in 1986 in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, where former was studying Geography at university and later was working in a bar. They did try to get some help from the rock infrastructure that existed in Scotland and sell the idea to a couple of people involved in the music industry, but they failed. So they decided to go to a small studio to make their first couple of tracks with Rejuvenation—duo from UK, consisting of Jim Muotune and Glenn Gibbons and press 1,000 records of the techno EP entitled "Eterna / I.B.O.". Jim and Glenn were the sound engineers for the release. They phoned record shops to ask if they would like to buy 10 or 15 copies, with the profit used to fund pressing of another 1,000 copies. Soma is most known for releasing the original vinyl version of Daft Punk's track "Da Funk" in 1995. It contains a uncredited beat sample of "Bounce Rock Skate Roll" performed by

Vaughan Mason & Crew Vaughan Mason & Crew was an American funk and post-disco based group led by Vaughan Mason (October 24, 1950 – April 2, 2020). They are best known for their single " Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll", which reached number 5 on the US ''Billboard'' ...

and drum break sample of " I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Babe" performed by

Barry White Barry Eugene White (né Carter; September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003) was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and ...

. This is what label's manager says about them in his interview to

Fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

: The label celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2011 and released the ''Soma Records – 20 Years'' compilation on 19 September 2011. The compilation contains a Daft Punk demo recording of a track called "Drive" that remained in the label's archives. On 31 March 2017 they turned 25 years old and to celebrate their anniversary, Soma enlisted Jeff Mills,

Robert Hood Robert Hood (born 1965) is an American electronic music producer and DJ. He is a founding member of the group Underground Resistance as a 'Minister of Information' with Mad Mike Banks and Jeff Mills. He is often considered to be one of the fo ...

, Adam Beyer and many others to contribute to a special box set ''Soma25'', which includes their long-lost remix of Daft Punk's "Drive". The label took part in a Boiler Room session in Glasgow showcasing its artists and local favourites. Soma Quality Records continues to be one of the UK's leading techno labels.

List of artists

This is a list of artists that are currently, or once were signed to Soma Quality Records: 0–9 * 04LM A * Adam Beyer & Jesper Dahlback * Alex Smoke * Arnaud Le Texier * Audio Spectrum B * B12 * Beroshima * Bryan Zentz * Buried Secrets * Butch Cassidy Sound System C * Calculus * Charles Fenckler * Christian Wunsch * Cleric * Clouds * Counterplan * Cratesavers D *

* Dan Curtin * Daniel Ibbotson * Dax J * Deepbass * Deepchord * Desert Storm * Dove E * Eastmen * EBE * Edit Select * Ege Bam Yasi * Electric Rescue * Envoy * Equus * Ewan Pearson F * Faculty X * Felicie * Frame * Freelance Science Artist * Freska * Funk D'Void * Funk D'Void & Sian G * G7 * Gary Beck * Gemini Voice Archive * Giordano H * H-Foundation * Harvey McKay * Heron * Heron & Dantiez Saunderson * Hipp-E & Tony * Holmes & McMillan * Hutton Drive * Hystereo I * Ilario Alicante * Indo Silver Club * Itamar Sagi J * Jandroide * Jaun Iborra * Jef Dam * Jeff Derringer * Jet Project * Joe Stawarz * John Barber * John Tejada K * Kontal * Kyle Geiger L * Lars Huismann * Lee Van Dowski & Tsack * Let's Go Outside * Lewis Fautzi * Lex Horton * Liebezeit * LightSleepers * Luciano M * Maas * Magna Pia * Manta Electrica * Marco Bernardi * Mark Henning * Martinez * Massi DL & Xpansul * Monoloc * My Robot Friend N * New Soul Fusion * Norbak O * Octogen * Oliver Deutschmann P * Percy X * Petrichor * Pig&Dan * Pressure Funk Q * Quail + AISHA R * Rebekah * Reeko * Roberto Clementi * ROD * Roll Dann S * Schatrax * Sci.Fi Hi.Fi * Sci.Fi Lo.Fi * Scott Grooves * Secluded * Setaoc Mass * Sharkimaxx * SHDW & Obscure Shape * Sidetrax * Sidewinder * Silicone Soul * Skintrade * Slam * Slam, Gary Beck * SLV * STS * Symmetrical Behaviour * Sündikat T * Temudo * Tensal * The Black Dog * The Spirals * The Surgeon * The Unknown Wanderer * Tony Thomas U * Uun V * Vector Lovers W * Wolf 'n' Flow * Woo York X * X-Funk Y * Yan Cook

References

External links

*
Soma Quality Records
discography at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

{{Authority control Record labels established in 1991 Scottish record labels Electronic music record labels Ambient music record labels Techno record labels House music record labels 1991 establishments in Scotland Music in Glasgow