Mind, Body & Soul: New York club night Soul Connection is honouring the overlooked Black women of house music

Tell us the story about how you two first met…

HB: I heard Lovie playing Destiny’s Child on her show, and I knew we needed to connect. I saw there was a night coming up at Nowadays where Gabrielle Kwarteng was playing, I invited her to join me and we realised we wanted to create the same kind of dancefloors together. The rest is history!

L: Yeah, we both have resident shows on The Lot Radio and had stumbled across one another’s work. I think what brought us together is that we’re both drawn to worldbuilding through music. My show, Summer School Radio, is its own’s world, and Honey Bun’s Buntopia is a universe in itself as well. It only felt natural that we’d want to explore the kind of world we could make together.

Does Soul Connection have a particular vibe or ethos?

We believe in a body, mind, and soul connection through music, where Black women are at the forefront of what we do, who we book, and what we play. We want women to feel that this music is just as much theirs, so we do whatever we can to make the dancefloor a fun, sweet, feel-good place. We book exclusively Black femme DJs, and give them free rein and a great soundsystem to do their thing.

How would you describe the experience of being at a Soul Connection party for someone who’s never been before, what does it feel like on the dancefloor?

L: I would describe Soul Connection as the slumber party that your older, fly cousin is throwing downstairs. On this particular night, she invited you to join, and it’s your first time hearing music that will change your life forever.

HB: Period.

What genres of music are played at your parties? Would you say Soul Connection sticks to house music, or does it change night by night?

L: The party was born from a deep, soulful house sound, so we always bring it back to that. ‘90s house with female vocals, R&B classics, etc. But we leave so much room for variation.

HB: The sound can shift depending on the venue. Here in Brooklyn, we move between Nowadays and Good Room. I love the contrasting rooms of Good Room, they allow us to book more DJs in one night, and we can touch on a wider array of sounds. That’s where we tend to stretch out sonically – our nights at Nowadays are a bit more focused with smaller line-ups, and we usually play off a particular theme. There, we’ve had nights dedicated to Diana Ross, Donna Summer, and Soul Train. The room and system are so unique, we enjoy the challenge of finding that perfect sonic sweet spot when we play there.