For me it wasn’t planned to be like this, I kind of fell into it. Fell into LIFESOUND and it’s “Colorful Lifestyle for All.”
It started over drinks at a standing bar down in Shibuya more than 3 years ago. The conversation was music… soul music to be exact. That was the first time that I met the young businessman named Naoki Yamanouchi. The first conversation lasted more than a few hours and by the end of the evening he had convinced me to drop around his office and have a look around. I fell for it. Once I reached his office about a week later, I couldn’t figure out how to enter the building. I know now that most people have the same problem.
From that initial meeting we have somehow morphed into SWEET SOUL RECORDS with LIFESOUND as our parent company.
LIFESOUND itself is made up of 3 separate businesses that work closely together to help the parent company achieve its mission. We have the Creative Agency, PHOTO STUDIO TERRANOVA, and SWEET SOUL RECORDS, all working towards creating a society where motivated creators, artists, designers, photographers, producers, singers, and musicians can showcase there creativity and enjoy a “colorful lifestyle.”
Each individual member of the LIFESOUND team, past or present, has been chosen because of their creativity, motivation, and willingness to help other talented people succeed in life and seek greater achievement. It’s not only our mission it’s how we live our lives.
LIFESOUND’s Creative Agency consist of the talented print and web designers, web SEO specialists, developers, and a hard charging sales team, while PHOTO STUDIO TERRANOVA is the secluded refuge, situated on the outskirts of Shibuya, for our creative agency clients and aspiring photographers.
In the few years since that initial meeting, SWEET SOUL RECORDS has taken flight, setting and achieving goals that other small independent labels can only dream of. We share the international stage with other larger reputable labels and have signed some of the most talented independent artists soul music has to offer.
As with any record label, the artist you choose to represent will define your success in the business, so when deciding on which artists to release the decision process can sometimes be very intense affair, and is debated by the entire team. We are focused on select artists, those in the Soul, Jazz, R&B, and Funk genres, and deliver their music to soul music listeners here in Japan and worldwide.
At present we represent talented soul artists from The Netherlands, Finland, Denmark, Bulgaria, Russia, Germany, Spain, France, the UK, the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. In the future we will continue our search for the most talented independent soul artists from around the world, while also continuing to introduce the world the fine Japanese soul artists who want the world to know that soul isn’t limited to only one group or culture.
My time spent inside LIFESOUND and SWEET SOUL RECORDS has been both an adventure and fulfilling. I’ve had to opportunity to meet and talk with some of the most talented singers and musicians on the planet, stepped into their world and witnessed the magic they practice when creating their music, and even made a few friends along the way.
On behalf of LIFESOUND, I would like to thank all the artists who have given us the honor of representing them here in Japan and around the world. Without you and your magic, SWEET SOUL RECORDS would not be SWEET SOUL RECORDS.
I would also like to give a special shout out to a few talented young ladies who allowed us to use their music for our 5th Anniversary promotional CD, Shirma Rouse, Mary Davis Jr., Kaori Sawada, Nao Yoshioka, and Sacha Vee. It’s very much appreciated.
Michael Harris
Senior Manager at SWEET SOUL RECORDS
