Welcome to Dome Records

Dome Records has been sold to UK independent company Cherry Red Records. A new chapter in the life of the label begins, but founder Peter Robinson will continue to work with the company as a consultant. Here is the announcement.

"Cherry Red Records has announced the acquisition of UK label Dome Records from directors Peter and Santosh Robinson. Founded in 1992 by industry veteran Robinson, the company’s extensive catalogue is primarily focused on soul and R&B and has enjoyed considerable international success, notably in the US.

Among artists who have been released on Dome are Lulu, Beverley Knight, Incognito, Hil St Soul, the James Taylor Quartet, Shaun Escoffery and US artists including Brenda Russell, George Duke, Anthony David, Jarrod Lawson and Andrew Gold.

The Beverley Knight track “Mutual Feeling” from her 1995 Dome album “The B-Funk” is sampled on “Backdoor”, featuring Kendrick Lamar and Jhene Aiko, from the US and UK No 1 album “Music” by Playboi Carti, the most streamed album of the year to date.

Cherry Red Chairman Iain McNay, who founded the company in 1978, and has acquired a considerable number of label and artist catalogues over the past 30 years, says: ‘When I started Cherry Red in 1978 the music industry was being turned upside down with the emergence of punk music and the thousands of Independent labels which came out of that. I always saw Cherry Red as a label which would be as musically diverse as possible, not focusing on any particular genre, but championing the different, innovative and sometimes the unfashionable. In recent years we have focused less on releasing new recordings (although we will still put out around 20 new albums this year) and concentrating more on catalogue. We are very excited to be acquiring Dome from Peter and Santosh and will look after their catalogue diligently as well as releasing some new albums by their artists. Dome will live on within Cherry Red!’

Peter Robinson, who will continue working with the label as a consultant, says: “After 55 years in the industry and more than three decades running Dome together with Santosh, it’s time to hand over the reins to a new custodian, and I’m very confident that Iain McNay, Adam Velasco and the team that have helped to build Cherry Red into one of the UK’s most respected independent label groups will maintain the Dome legacy in the years ahead”

Robinson began his career in the late Sixties as a music trade journalist and BBC Radio 1 contributor. He joined MCA Records as press officer in 1971 and from 1974 he headed the label’s UK office. Hired to CBS in 1976 by Maurice Oberstein, as International A&R Director he worked with the company’s international and UK artist rosters, and also brought the renowned club/disco label Prelude to the company. Appointed UK A&R Director at RCA in 1983, artists he enjoyed success signing and working with included Rick Astley, Five Star, Fairground Attraction, Clannad, Wax and the Tim Rice/Bjorn Ulvaeus/Benny Andersson musical Chess.

After moving to Chrysalis as A&R Director he worked with, among others, Chesney Hawkes, Paul Carrack, The Proclaimers, Runrig, Living In A Box, Sonia and Adeva.

Dome’s successes have been diverse, ranging from UK hits with Lulu and Sinclair, Beverley Knight’s breakthrough hit “Flavour of the Old School”, a Top 5 hit in Australia with pop-dance artist Newton, a Billboard No 2 Jazz album “Be The Change” with Jarrod Lawson, a Billboard No 1 Gospel hit “Heaven” by Anthony David & Algebra Blessett, and “Until You Come Back To Me” by Hil St Soul, the most-played track of the year at the US smooth jazz radio format in 2000.

Korda Marshall was a consultant on the deal, alongside Ian Penman and Sam Burchett at New Media Law. He says: 'I'm proud to have known Peter for over 40 years as he gave me my first job as a talent scout at RCA in 1983. He was my first boss and my mentor and helped explain the rocky world of major label A&R in the Eighties.

I'm also really proud to have helped him with the sale of his life’s work Dome Records to another dear friend Iain McNay at Cherry Red Records as it’s the perfect home for Peter and his wonderful label. It's great to see two brilliant independent music men and their companies now work together for the benefit of the artists and the music."

Left to right: Cherry Red managing director Adam Velasco, Korda Marshall, Cherry Red chairman Iain McNay, Peter Robinson, Santosh Robinson, Matt Bristow, Cherry Red business affairs director.

It was in late 2022 that Jarrod Lawson had the biggest, and most unexpected, thrill of his music career. He had just received a glowing endorsement in print from Michelle Obama who, when asked by Entertainment Weekly who she was listening to, and after mentioning Beyonce’s Renaissance album, added “There’s this young jazz, blue-eyed soul kid Jarrod Lawson that I’m loving….”

At the time vocalist/keyboard player Lawson – previously Soul Artist of the Year at the UK’s Jazz FM Awards - had recently moved to Nashville from his long-time base in Portland, and was receiving major airplay in the US and Europe on his version of the Isley Brothers 70s classic “Footsteps In The Dark”.

And now two years later he has come up with a truly stellar collaboration with fast rising Los Angeles vocalist Raquel Rodriguez on NEXT MOVE, a sensuous harmony-laden retro slow jam that is already one of the hottest old school R&B cuts of 2024.  The track had its origins in a two-day writing/recording session he had with Raquel and Sam Brawner at their Blue Dream Studios some years ago. Their good friend Andris Mattson from LA band Moonchild also took part. Nothing from that session found its way onto record right away but Jarrod says “the bones of the track which eventually became ‘Next Move’ haunted me above and beyond the others, and so recently I decided to resuscitate that rough idea. We got to work, refining and shaping the song, and voila - ‘Next Move’ finally became a thing”.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Rodriguez has been one of the most acclaimed independent soul artists since releasing her debut album “Sweet Side” in 2021 and it remains a staple on playlists, on US radio and on radio across the globe. Earlier this year she released a new EP “Back To Me”.

Produced by Jarrod Lawson and Sam Brawner

Writers: Jarrod Lawson/Raquel Rodriguez/Sam Brawner/Andris Mattson

Download or stream: https://ingrv.es/next-move-wv7-9

Dome’s association with Angela Johnson goes back a long way – from the first Cooly’s Hot Box album in 2001 and her brilliant solo debut album “They Don’t Know” in 2002, followed by five more albums.  She’s one of the finest American soul vocalists and musicians out there, and over the years she’s guested on many UK and European dance projects from Reel People and The Sunburst Band to Opolopo and Micky More & Andy Tee.

And now she adds the UK’s Full Flava to that list with an exhilarating vocal performance on “I Wanna Be Loved By You”, a soulful nugget first recorded in the early 80s by Pennsylvania band Family of Eve, and here featuring horns and Full Flava producer Rob Derbyshire on keys.

Angela’s music career began at the State University of New York, where she studied as a violin major. It was there that four music students formed a band which evolved into Cooly’s Hot Box with Angela sharing vocals with Christian Urich, who went on to form club legends Tortured Soul.

Download/Stream: https://ingrv.es/i-wanna-be-loved-by-ru5-s

A powerful return to recording for Shaun Escoffery,in incredible vocal form on HOPE,co-written by him with producer Gil Cang, the team responsible for his successes “Nature’s Call”, “Perfect Love Affair”, “Evergreen” and more. His career has included many highlights as both an actor and a singer. An early role in the soul-gospel musical “Mama I Want To Sing” based on the life of Doris Troy saw him on the same London stage as Chaka Khan, Doris Troy and Deniece Williams. “It was an amazing experience, everyone came to see the show, mainly to see Chaka – Luther, Prince, Stevie Wonder, I got to meet them all,” recalls Shaun. “One night I got to sing a song with Stevie, on another occasion I was singing on stage with Prince”. Among his favourite music career moments are meeting Berry Gordy when he sang on a BBC Radio 2 Motown special, performing “A House Is Not A Home” for Burt Bacharach at an all-star concert in London’s Royal Festival Hall, and duetting with Eva Cassidy on “Over The Rainbow” at a Children In Need concert at the Royal Albert Hall. As well as his many West End theatre roles, notably a lengthy run as Mufasa in Disney’s The Lion King, Shaun’s recording career took off with the club anthems “Days Like This” and “Space Rider”. And then he hit a purple patch working with producer-writer Gil Cang which led to the radio successes “Nature’s Call”, “Perfect Love Affair”, “Evergreen” (with Joss Stone) and “When The Love Is Gone”, as well as an atmospheric cover of Eurythmics’ “Here Comes The Rain Again” (with Andreya Triana). “Hope” is included on an 18-track expanded digital version of Shaun’s “In The Red Room” album, 10 years on from its original release. HOPE release date June 28 2024 Download or stream it here https://ingrv.es/hope-8xb-n

"Anaconga”, the fourth Dome album by Bluey and Citrus Sun, is an homage to jazz and soul greats from back in the day. The album opens with the gorgeous Maynard Ferguson tune “Mister Mellow” from the Seventies, with backing vocals from Tony Momrelle and Deborah Bond. Bluey and Richard Bull share the production . “Down For The Third Time”, the album’s lead single, is a deliciously funky remake of a classic Bobby Caldwell groove from 1978, with Natalie Duncan on vocals and Dominic Glover and Charlie Allen tearing it up on trumpet and guitar respectively. “Mystic Brew” was originally written and recorded in the Seventies by funk, soul and jazz keyboard legend Ronnie Foster and Bluey includes it “to say thank you for his massive contribution to the music we love and are inspired by”. Erykah Badu’s “Honey”, also with vocals by Natalie Duncan, features beautiful trumpet and flugelhorn from Kevin Robinson. The stand-out new songs on the album are “Santiago”, which features the young Indonesian harmonica player Rega Dauna, who starred on the band’s “Hard Boiled” instrumental hit from their last album “Expansions & Visions”, and “In Search of the Blue Note”, with Dominic Glover on flugelhorn and Graham Harvey on keyboards, which Bluey says is “inspired by New York City’s jazz history and nightlife”. Bluey sums up the mood of the album: “I hope that the rhythms wrap themselves around your consciousness and the music slithers into your soul, whilst you bask in the light of the Citrus Sun! Unconstricted love, Bluey”.

ANTHONY DAVID’S FIRST EVER ‘BEST OF’ COLLECTION IS PURE ‘HEAVEN’

For the first time in 10 years Atlanta vocalists Anthony David and Algebra Blessett come together for an emotionally charged performance of the 1988 BeBe and CeCe Winans #1 Gospel and R&B hit “Heaven”. Their acoustic version of the song – which has received praise from BeBe Winans himself - has now become a Billboard Top 10 Gospel hit, with airplay on more than 100 Gospel and Adult R&B radio stations across the US.

The song opens this first ever collection of many of Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Anthony’s finest songs, which also includes “4Evermore”, a Top 20 Billboard R&B hit with Algebra from 2011, and his very first Billboard R&B hit, “Words”, on which he is joined by India Arie. Following the success of that single he received warm acclaim from Michelle Obama and President Obama, who both said he was one of their favorite artists.

Anthony and Algebra have such a unique vocal chemistry together and it is very evident on “Need You Now”, their achingly soulful rendition of the Grammy Award-winning Lady Antebellum song, a huge hit in the US and around the world in 2010 and the #1 most-downloaded country song of all time in the US.

Other guest vocal performances come from Millie Jackson’s daughter Keisha on the beautiful “Lady”, Gramps Morgan of Morgan Heritage and Demetria McKinney on the irresistible reggae tune “Givin’ It Up” and Dutch singer/actress/TV and radio presenter Giovanca on “The Further We Go”. Anthony’s remake of Tears For Fears’ “Rule The World” is a unique family collaboration, on which he is joined by his cousin, Boyz II Men’s Shawn Stockman, and another UK song he has always loved is the Level 42 classic “Something About You”. Also included is UK favourite “Body Language”.

Says Anthony: Algebra and I really enjoy working together, both on stage and in the studio. We chose ‘Heaven’ for our first duet in a long while because it’s a feel good classic we grew up on”.

And India.Arie says about Anthony: “He’s a great talent and one of my oldest friends. Not only did he encourage me to start performing professionally but it was him who suggested I use my first and middle name as an artist. There was even a time when he spent his rent money for me to experiment in the studio”

Order the CD version here

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3r0uUP9 

Amazon USA: https://amzn.to/45xM8Cf

Ingrooves: https://ingrv.es/heaven-the-best-of-xz5-c

After setting the soul scene alight - especially in the UK - in the early 2000s, New Jersey vocalist Dennis Taylor is being discovered, and re-discovered, by a growing audience around the world in 2022, thanks in large part to a series of new remixes.

20-track collection brings together some of the stand-out tracks produced by Darryl James and Fred McFarlane back in the day, notably Enough is Enough, Smile and Steppin’, and the stellar new mixes by Nigel Lowis of In The Mood and It’s Over, as well as the brilliant Drizabone Remix of Smile. Released for the first time on this album is the Nigel Lowis reinterpretation of Here I Am.

Among the other original recordings included are the Rahsaan Patterson-composed Want, a collaboration with UK vocalist Beverlei Brown on Could Be You, Taylor’s beautiful take on the Anita Baker classic Angel and his version of the Kenny Gamble-Bunny Sigler song Love, Need and Want You, first recorded in the Eighties by Patti Labelle.

Twelve of the tracks on the package are co-written by Taylor, most of them with his production team of Darryl James and the late Fred McFarlane (best known for his work with Evelyn King, Jocelyn Brown, Robin S and Jenny Burton).

Available on all digital platforms.

Released September 30th, 2022

Mayor of Atlanta Andre Dickens joins two of the city’s best known soul singers Anthony David and Algebra Blessett to present them with plaques celebrating their Billboard Gospel #1 hit “Heaven”.  The song, originally a major hit in 1988 for Be Be and Ce Ce Winans, spent a year climbing the Gospel Airplay charts before reaching the top. Also present at the gathering was the song’s producer Eddie Stokes, another Atlanta resident. The release was the first success in the Gospel genre for the Dome label.

DOME 30 YEARS, Vol. 1

When Peter Robinson launched Dome in 1992 after working in A&R for major labels, little did he imagine that the label would still be going strong three decades later.  Yet here we are and Dome has now celebrated its 30th birthday with the release of Dome 30 Years Vol 1 and an accompanying Vol 2, both of which are available on all streaming and download services.

25 tracks spanning early releases like the Lulu/Bobby Womack Top 30 hit I’m Back For More and Richard Darbyshire’s majestic This I Swear, via Hil St Soul’s timeless version of Until You Come Back To Me and Brenda Russell’s Bluey-produced Latin favourite Make You Smile, right up to the present day and new music from Jarrod Lawson with his take on the Isleys’ Footsteps In The Dark, the Nigel Lowis Mix of Dennis Taylor’s In The Mood and a new take on  jazz funk classic Could Heaven Ever Be Like This from Incognito feat. Bluey.    

The label has been blessed to work with so many talented artists from the US and UK in its quest to deliver the finest in soul, R&B and dance music, and many of its newer followers from around the world are only now beginning to discover just how many gems there are in the Dome catalogue. This compilation will help that process of discovery, and there are many more great artists to be featured in Volume 2.

Dome Records Vol. 1    29/04/22 on all digital download/streaming platforms

Full Flava, led by UK producer/songwriter Rob Derbyshire, have over the past couple of years released a series of remixes of key songs from their 20-year history. Working with a stellar line-up of US and UK female vocalists - including CeCe Peniston, Chantay Savage, Carleen Anderson, Donna Gardier and Incognito’s Joy Rose - they cover a wide range of styles from disco to Latin, soulful house to soul-jazz.

Refreshed is a 2CD collection of remixes together with new cuts like Get Down Saturday Night, a 2021 take on an Eighties club hit, with a powerful soul vocal from Chantay Savage, Music Is My Way Of Life (JKriv Remix), sung by Kelli Sae (already a #1 track at Traxsource.com) and Rod Temperton’s Love X Love featuring Izzy Chase, with a Latin-flavoured mix by Incognito.

Among the most streamed Full Flava recordings are September, also featuring Chantay Savage, remixed by Sunlight Square; You Are The Universe featuring CeCe Peniston, remixed by Michele Chiavarini; “Was That All It Was, a disco era Philly favourite featuring Carleen Anderson, given the soulful house treatment by Micky More and Andy Tee; and the Stevie Wonder composition Betcha Wouldn’t Hurt Me, with Donna Gardier on vocals. Blue Lab Beats bring a soul-jazz twist to Stories, also featuring Carleen Anderson.

REFRESHED DOMECD350
Release: October 1 2021

• Available on 2CD
• and to stream

Jarrod Lawson, the singer-songwriter-keyboardist from Portland, Oregon who emerged seemingly out of nowhere at 37 with a debut album that took the jazz and soul world by storm, has completed recording of his long awaited second album.

Titled BE THE CHANGE, it will be released worldwide by Dome Records on October 30 – on CD, 2LP vinyl and on digital platforms - preceded by the title track as a single.

He is accompanied by a band that benefits from the rhythmic presence of Grammy-nominated percussionist Sammy Figueroa, whose playing in a lengthy career has graced albums by artists as diverse as Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Quincy Jones, Hall & Oates, Carole King and Chic.     

Lawson’s trademark layered harmonies and vocal phrasing, his jazz fusion arrangements and his stunning keyboard skills are in evidence throughout the 11-track album, notably on “Be The Change”,  “Universal Chord” and “How Long”.   On the beautiful, intimate “I’ll Be Your Radio” he is joined by Moonchild’s Amber Navran on vocals and flute and her fellow members of the Los Angeles alternative R&B trio who contribute clarinet and flugelhorn. On the smouldering torch song “Love Isn’t Always Enough” Max Ribner’s trumpet and flugel provide the perfect mood-setting accompaniment.  

Describing him as the “blue eyed soul boy of jazz”, the London Evening Standard wrote: “It’s not just Lawson’s wide ranging tenor and ability to swing, scat and groove that has made him the biggest soul-jazz sensation in years.  It’s the way he’s bringing spirituality back to a genre that had lost its depth”.  

Jarrod received a Soul Artist of the Year Award from the UK’s Jazz FM in the wake of the release of his debut set and was Album of the Year runner-up at Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Awards.He has performed at the North Sea Jazz and Love Supreme festivals among many in Europe, Indonesia’s Java Jazz festival and a number of festivals in his native US.  He has also played Billboard Live in Tokyo.   A European tour, originally scheduled for July 2019, has been rearranged for May 2021.