Soul-Junk
Encyclopedia
Soul-Junk is an experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...

 genre-hopping Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 / hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 group from San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

Background

The roots of Soul-Junk began in 1993 when Glen Galloway began experimenting while touring in Europe with his rock band Trumans Water
Trumans Water
Trumans Water is an indie rock band from San Diego, California formed in 1991. They have released over a dozen full length recordings over their career, wherein they collaborated with acts in genre, including Azalia Snail, Chan Marshall and Thurston Moore....

. By the time Trumans Water moved to Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 in 1994 he had already left and concentrated on Soul-Junk as a full time independent solo project, eventually taking the moniker Glen Galaxy. Influences on the group's early music include Nation of Ulysses
Nation of Ulysses
The Nation of Ulysses was an American punk rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in spring 1988 with four members. Originally known as simply "Ulysses," the first mark of the group consisted of Ian Svenonius on vocals and trumpet, Steve Kroner on guitar, Steve Gamboa on bass guitar, and James...

, Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...

, and Can
Can (band)
Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music.Can constructed their music largely...

. Galloway had been raised as a presbyterian but had been an outspoken atheist since leaving home for school. Shortly before joining Trumans Water, however, he had returned to Christianity; later telling his bandmates God had called him to leave the band.

Musical Evolution

Early Soul-Junk albums (such as 1950) almost exclusively feature low-fi, Indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 style tracks of Glen singing Bible verses interlaced with instrumental noise tracks, with a similarity to his previous band but with overtly Christian lyrics. As Soul-Junk gained members its sound advanced toward rock and pop. 1953 and 1954 show signs of this continual change. Alternative Press stated in a review of 1953 that their indie musical arrangements are outstanding, "tuneful, energetic and original (almost to a fault)." 1955 is transitional, both in terms of Soul-Junk's sound and market stance. Like previous releases most of the lyrics came directly from the Bible, but 1955 was their first album released on a Christian record label. The double-disk set consists of pop / Indie rock / hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 influenced sounds. It is also the last disk to make extensive use of Biblical quotes before 1959.
While there are fewer lyrics derived from scripture, the albums 1956 through 1958 still reflect on the groups' Christianity based viewpoint, sometimes offering critiques of the Church and in a stream-of consciousness manner. On 1956 the sound shifts toward hip hop, leading CCM Magazine
CCM Magazine
CCM Magazine was a monthly magazine published by Salem Publishing, a division of Salem Communications. It was first published in July 1978, and it has always been a Christian music magazine. On January 16, 2008, Salem announced that the April 2008 issue would be the final printed issue of the...

to describe it as "beyond offbeat, beyond eclectic... beyond the grasp of its market." This position is intentional according to Galaxy, who seeks to reach a wider audience than simply the church, and states "We do need to rock the boat... I dont particulary want anyone to think they know what they can expect from Soul-Junk."

The albums 1957 and 1958 are based in experimental, abstract hip-hop which sometimes adds elements of "avant-jazz." Glen explained this period to HM Magazine, stating "energy-wise I'm feeling the drum n' bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...

, I'm feeling chaotic turntablism
Turntablism
Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer.The word 'turntablist' was coined in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records, and one who performs by touching and moving the records, stylus and mixer...

. But texture-wise
Texture (music)
In music, texture is the way the melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic materials are combined in a composition , thus determining the overall quality of sound of a piece...

 I was feeling hip-hop." The resulting sound is fragmented; Soul Junk's "berserk-hop" on these albums is "hip-hop so out-there, so deconstructed, so avant-garde" that it creates a "carnival aesthetic".

Between 2003 and 2007, no albums were released. Instead, Glen embarked on an effort to put the entire text of the Bible to music. The first results are 1959 (released in 2007) which consists of Psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...

 1-23 verbatim, and "1960" (released in 2009) which consists of all 22 sub-chapters of Psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...

 119. Glen has also released the entire Book of Genesis through his web site. Shortly after recording 1960 (with Daniel Smith from Danielson Famile
Danielson Famile
Danielson is an American Rock band from Clarksboro, New Jersey that plays indie pop gospel music. The group consists of frontman Daniel Smith and a number of various artists with whom he collaborates...

), Glen started playing with his son Jude on drums and daughter Mila. His brother Jon returned on bass, and his brother Brian started playing keyboards and guitar.

Recurring members

  • Glen Galaxy
  • Jude Galaxy
  • Mila Galaxy
  • Jon Galaxy
  • Brian Galaxy
  • Slo-Ro (2001 – 2005)

  • Brian Cantrell (1995 – 2000)
  • DJ Mizzicah
    Micah Ortega
    Micah Ortega is best known as a guitarist for Five Iron Frenzy. He was born on May 31, 1976 in Greeley, Colorado and is a graduate of Heritage High School in Littleton, Colorado...

     (1997 – 2003)
  • Ron Easterbrooks (1995 – 1998)

  • Nathan Poage (1998 – 2000)


Many others are credited per album or track.

Album naming convention

The first Soul-Junk release was called 1950. Its name was derived from the musical style of the era, a fusion of rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 and free-jazz. According to Glen 1950 "...was a good year for music". Subsequent albums have been numbered up from 1950; Extended Play releases have been numbered down, but further numbering does not reflect the music of those years. Soul-Junk songs have also been released on innumerable compilations.

Albums

  • 1950
    1950 (album)
    1950 was the first album release from Soul-Junk. It was originally released as an indie CD by Glen Galaxy. The album was also released by Shrimper Records as a cassette with a smaller track list...

    (1994)
  • 1951
    1951 (album)
    1951 is the second studio album released by indie rock group Soul-Junk released in 1995.-Track listing:#"Spirit Of God Descend On Us"#"Bread Of Life"#"Turn To Joy"#"Forever And Ever Amen Alright"#"Peace Peace Peace"#"Sovereign Lord Did Say"...

    (1995)
  • 1952
    1952 (album)
    1952 is the third album release by the band Soul-Junk. It was released in 2 parts, a CD and a LP vinyl record. Most of the lyrics are drawn directly from scripture, specifically the New International Version...

    (1995)
  • 1953
    1953 (album)
    1953 is an indie rock album by the Soul-Junk released in 1996. The album consists of guitar based low-fi rock, which one reviewer described as being in the ballpark of "Beck meets Danielson." Alternative Press found their musical arrangements to be outstanding, "tuneful, energetic and original",...

    (1996)
  • 1954
    1954 (album)
    1954 is an album recorded by the experimental hip hop group Soul-Junk from San Diego, California.Soul Junk 1954 exists as a bonus track on 1953.-Track listing:-Credits:*Glen Galaxy...

    (1996)
  • 1955
    1955 (album)
    -Credits:*Glen Galaxy *Jon Galaxy *Ron Easterbrooks *Nathan Poage *Chuck P. *Mia Af The Lion *Rachel Smith *Artwork : Brian Galaxy...

    (1998)
  • 1956
    1956 (album)
    1956 is an album by hip hop group, Soul-Junk. It was released in July, 2000 on 5 Minute Walk. Some tracks were selected to appear on the MTV reality show Road Rules.-Track listing:# Enter Venus# ill-m-i#*Rachel Galaxy: Vocals#*Tim Kellett: Violin...

    (2000)
  • 1957
    1957 (album)
    1957 is the eighth studio album released by Soul-Junk. It was released on November 5, 2002 through Sounds Familyre Records.-Track listing:# Phalanx# Non-Linear# Jelly Wings# Gotham# Ungst Func Slag Collision# Innerspacemen# Droptop Floride...

    (2002)
  • 1958
    1958 (album)
    1958 is a hip-hop album by the group Soul-Junk.-Track listing:#"Hezekiah & the Sad Cobras"#*DJ Mizzicah: vinyl#"Moonpie Eating"#"Autosmuddling"#*Co-Written By: Bizzart#"Thy Dark Streets Shineth"#"Tasmanian Pork"#*DJ Mizzicah: vinyl#"Buzzards"...

    (2003)
  • 1959
    1959 (album)
    1959 is an album released by Soul-Junk in 2007. The album contains the first twenty three chapters of the Biblical book of Psalms set to music...

    (2007)
  • 1960
    1960 (album)
    1960 is an album by experimental Christian rock / hip hop group Soul-Junk.-Track listing:- Personnel :*Brian Cantrell – percussion, drums*Todd Fadel – keyboards*Glen Galaxy – guitar, arranger, vocals, producer, artwork...

    (2009)

EPs

  • 1949
    1949 (EP)
    1949 was the first EP release from Soul-Junk. It was released as a 7" 45 RPM vinyl record in 1994.-Side B:#"Isiah – 9:2, 6"#"1 Peter – 2:6-10"...

    (1994)
  • 1948 (recorded but not yet released)
  • 1947 (1995)
  • 1946
    1946 (EP)
    -Credits:*Glen Galaxy *Jon Galaxy *Ron Easterbrooks...

    (1995)
  • 1945
    1945 (EP)
    -Track listing:...

    (1994)
  • 1944
    1944 (EP)
    1944 is an EP release by Soul-Junk. The hand made packaging contains no release date or production information, other than the names of the tracks, artist, and label. Multiple covers apparently exist, as the one pictured on the Infinite Chug web site has a different cover than is pictured here ....

    (?)
  • 1943
    1943 (EP)
    1943 is an album by Soul-Junk that was released on Flapping Jet Records following Soul-Junk's "1956" release. This release contains two songs from 1956, one song that is unique to 1943, and three remixes. All songs by Glen Galaxy/Produced by Rafter Roberts & soul junk....

    (200?)
  • 1942
    1942 (EP)
    -Credits:*Glen Galaxy – CTR, Singing, Farfisa, Keys, Breaking glass*Jon Galaxy – Bass, Hand concocted drum machine*Slo-Ro – Banjo, Clarinet, Trumpet, Loops, Electronics, Toy piano, Acoustic guitar, Backup singing...

    (2001)
  • 1941
    1941 (EP)
    1941 is a 2001 EP release from Soul-Junk. It was released as part of a 3-inch disc series by Absalom Recordings. It's sound is unusual even for Soul-Junk, consisting of purely instrumental electronic music blended with low-fi, jazz, and hip-hop. It is most similar to their album 1956...

    (2001)
  • 1940 (2002, 2003)
  • 1939 (2002)
  • 1938
    1938 (EP)
    1938 is an EP released by Soul-Junk in 2002 on Salad Dressing records. It comes packed in a 5¼ floppy disk, and only 500 were produced. "Vesuvius Re-Ups Erupts" is a remix of "Vesuvius" from 1957.-Track listing:-Credits:*Glen Galaxy*Slo-Ro...

    (2002)
  • 1937
    1937 (EP)
    1937 is a remix album released in 2005 on Sounds Are Active by the avant-garde group Soul-Junk.-Track listing:#"Opidish" – 0:31#*#"Begollar Tempus" – 3:58#*...

    (2005)
  • 1936 (2008)
  • 1935 (2008)

External links



Interviews:


Samples:

Concert Reviews:
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