Soul Essence with Martin Gale

This week, we begin with a big soulful-house moment from Loleatta Holloway before moving through fresh vocals, original garage, disco and some bassier business later on. As usual, we've got new flavours blended up nice and smooth alongside the classics we love. Inner City and Steffanie Christi'an bring us Turn Me On, Barbara Tucker and Tyyla get right in the feels, and Mariah Carey takes us into the vinyl vaults with Dreamlover. Hour two opens beautifully with Lisa Stansfield, then Soul Revival and Capathia Jenkins lead us into that proper garage feeling. From there, Kano and D.P.V. set up the funkier end of the show before Inner City return with Good Life and Neil Willis takes us Deeper Love.

This week, we start soulful, sunny and beautifully relaxed for a birthday broadcast, with a few Latin flavours carried through from last time and some proper Soul Essence warmth in the mix. Ezel and Rona Ray open things up with Endless Summer, with Audiowhores and Susana Montero, Jerry Ropero, Roger Garcia and Mijangos, Stryv and Hotmood keeping that early glow moving. Then the show rolls into soulful house, disco touches and proper house memories, with Michael Gray and Barbara Tucker, Seamus Haji and Kathy Brown, DJ Fudge with Ralph Session and Chinua Hawk, Bobby & Steve with Lifford, and Hifi Sean with Paris Grey all on the pile. We head a little deeper later on with Testify, I'm Free, Red Alert and Turn Me Deeper before Bohannon brings us home with Let's Start The Dance.

This week, we ease ourselves in at the deep end before the Friday feelgood switch gets properly flicked. Incognito opens with Wake Me under Louie Vega and Joe Claussell's hands, Crackazat takes on Tryin' Times, and there's warm soulful house from Candice Hoyes, Paris Cesvette with Tracy Hamlin, Kym Sims and Cafe 432. The Shapeshifters bring a classic-house lift with Back To Basics, while Daisuke Miyamoto slips in that cheeky Michael Jackson sample. Hour two starts with Barbara Tucker, heads into Fonda Rae's old-school class and Lovebirds' Wrap Me Up, then Talking Heads brings a funk bassline that means business. Mark Knight carries Curtis Mayfield's Move On Up firmly into this century, Ladies On Mars gives us a Quincy tribute, and a rare Dimitri take on Stardust helps bring us home.

This week, we ease in with a melodic, soulful opening before the sunshine properly kicks in. Memi P. and Djarah get us moving with 100 Proof, Detroit Rising and Kimberly Davis keep things smooth on Good Vibrations, and Barbara Tucker brings one of the classics we love with Stay Together. Then we stir up a little Latin house party, with Harry Romero's take on Ritmo Da Rua, Mirko and Meex's Amore and the brass-led bounce of El Trompetista. Hour two heads into disco-house and familiar favourites: Todd Terry revisits Peanut Butter, Dave Lee and Maurissa Rose bring By Loves Design, and Michael Gray brings remix magic to Mystic Merlin. Atari Safari refresh an eighties favourite before Bob Sinclar and Ron Carroll take us firmly into filtered house with House Music.

This week, we start in proper vintage territory before bringing things bang up to date. Black Rascals and Roger Harris set the tone, Waterlillies take us back to the garage-house days, and Barbara Tucker brings one of those voices that gets us every time. We keep it soulful with Juan Hoerni and Terry Dexter, then Dr Packer gives Angie Stone a warm disco lift. Hour two opens with proper Friday feeling from Copyright, Angie Brown and Jocelyn Brown before Dave Lee and Maurissa Rose bring us right into 2026. There's an Ibiza memory from Masters At Work and India, a lovely lift from Riva Starr and Nic Hanson, then Twism and B3RAO send us back to an eighties favourite as we bring it home.

This week, we begin deep with Helmut Ebritsch, Factor E and Ian Pooley before opening things up into old-skool garage, soulful vocals and plenty of disco warmth. We head back to 1994 with 24 Hour Experience, visit the Vinyl Vaults for Gwen Guthrie's Padlock, and hear fresh music from Barbara Tucker alongside Bobby & Steve and Gwen Yvette. Hour two keeps the soulful house rolling with Funkatomic, Tracy Hamlin and Derrick McKenzie, then a pair of Dave Lee moments brings that warm, funky-house feel. Knee Deep takes us back to an Elm Grove memory, Mattei & Omich with Re-Tide turn us towards disco, and Groove Armada's Love's Theme lands as one of Martin's tracks of 2026. Jazzy M and Roog give a classic a fresh wash and brush up before we firm things up for the finish.

This week, we ease in with terrace warmth and a proper US-garage swing, then roll through soulful house vocals, nineties memories and a few favourites brought nicely up to date. MDA Grooves and JKriv set the tone with Caparica Sunset, Dave Lee gives Our Love that throwback garage feel, and Cafe 432 with Lifford bring the warmth on Symphony. From there, Barbara Tucker and Sounds of Blackness keep the gospel lift high before Evelyn “Champagne” King takes us back with Love Come Down. The second hour opens with Kevin McKay's vocal-house take on All I Do, then Kenny Thomas and Opolopo lead us into a deeper, disco-tinged stretch. Groove Armada's Love's Theme sits right in that sweet spot, Basement Jaxx meet the Isleys on Jus 1 Kiss, and N-You-Up with Mike Dunn and David Penn bring us home with Jack My Body.

This week, we start with warm, summery soulful house on the terrace before heading into a funky room for the second hour. Crackazat brings the shine, DJ Meme gives The Police a fresh lift, and Dave Lee's Z Mix of Benjamin Diamond adds one of those Y2K-flavoured moments that always gets your tush going. The second half digs deeper with Harry Romero's treatment of Radio Slave and Kameelah Waheed, then swings through a dubby Chaka Khan cover, Key To Life and Shakedown's Ibiza-era throwback. ATFC and Inaya Day bring the vocal house feeling before Aidan Bega and Filta Freqs firm things up for the finish. It's our usual Soul Essence blend of new treats and the classics we love, all mixed up nice and smooth.

My comeback show on House FM!

I'm on my holidays this week, so I've gone into the vaults and picked out a show from five years ago and my House FM days when I had the ace producer Richard Earnshaw on the show for a chat

A hot and steamy show from the South Coast with a nice pile of fresh tunes for you to enjoy, ranging from some soulful and jazzy house to start all the way through disco to a few bangers at the end as per our favourite recipe

Another big helping of soulful house goodness, from more classics from Physics and Kim English right the way up to date with Micky More and Andy Tee plus Sgt Slick's epic cover of Sade

Another feast from the soulful cellar: a special blend of classics and contemporary tunes, ranging from Kim English and Billie all the way up to date with fresh sounds from Marc Cottrell and Wh0

Soul Essence is back after more than two years away! This one is pure soulful house joy: warm vocals, disco touches, US garage flavours, deep grooves, and a few familiar voices reworked beautifully — from Marvin Gaye and Level 42 through to Louie Vega, Kenny Dope, Dave Lee, Sean McCabe, Mousse T. and more. I felt real joy putting this together, it's so nice to be back - hope you feel it too

The full night (pretty much) from my gig at Rita's in Southampton, all the way from some deep and latinhouse, through a fair chunk of disco (we had a party in!) and finishing up with some of my favourite UK garage classics. Shared untouched apart from a fade out at the end so be kind

The full night (pretty much) from my gig at Rita's in Southampton, all the way from some jazzy soulful house, through disco, funky and tech house and everything else in between

The whole night of house music from my live gig at Rita's in Southampton

The first couple of hours or so from my first gig of 2026 at Rita's in Southampton

The first couple of hours or so of my last gig of 2025 at Rita's in Southampton - the usual blend of feelgood cocktail-hour tunes. The recording here actually comes from three different bits of kit in the end as we had to have a kit switchover and a small three track section got lost so I recreated it at home so it flows. Nothing else has been retouched as per usual. I hope you enjoy it anyway

The first couple of hours or so of my gig at Rita's Southampton, where I blended up a mix of latin house, deep house, US garage house and even some disco house for good measure

The first three or so hours of my live gig at Rita's in Southampton, for a new night of classic-flavoured house music.

When I put these together it usually starts with me being triggered by a single track and working outwards from there. This time it was Harry “Choo Choo” Romero's classic “Tania” from 2001, so edging out sideways from there I took in some disco, jackin' and funky house, both past and present. Always room for a few classics too, so listen out for those. Full tracklisting: djmartingale.com/tracklistings#090825

This week I'm feeling more on the soulful side, starting out nice a mellow with some latin-style beats, moving through some contemporary and classic soulful house into something funky to finish up with. Full tracklist: https://djmartingale.com/tracklistings/#270725

In all the heat I was feeling something a bit deeper so put together this selection of deep, nudisco and jackin house tracks but mostly with a deep feel to them. Still amazed how good Frankie Knuckles "Rain" still sounds now, plus found it hard to keep my feet still when a newer track by Cassette Moderne went in. Enjoy it anyway! Full tracklist: https://djmartingale.com/tracklistings/#130725

Back in the studio with another soulful blend on a gloomy but hot and sticky day on the South Coast. As usual a progression from something deeper to something bigger, all with some kind of funk or soul element to it. Revisited a play or two from shows of yesteryear as well. A splendid time is guaranteed for all. Full tracklist: https://djmartingale.com/tracklistings/#05072025

Another enjoyable morning in the music room where I've been sinking into some soul-flavoured house goodness. It's my usual mix of one or two classics mixed up with some fresh tunes that have been waiting on my pile for attention. For the full playlist, go to https://djmartingale.com/tracklistings/#21062025

For the second weekend in a row I just let rip with what felt good, and today that was the sound I fell in love with thirty odd years ago, the original garage house sound as I first discovered. Absolutely loved making it, you can find the full playlist at: https://djmartingale.com/tracklistings/#31052025

What I was feeling one day in May as I flicked through my new purchases and old favourites - a journey from soulful house through disco and nudisco to funky house. Full tracklist: https://djmartingale.com/tracklistings/#24052025

Back with another episode taking a flashback to the nights out we loved in the nineties and noughties, with another great selection of old skool R&B, hip hop, slow jams, and house classics together with some chill vibes for the comedown. This time, we've got some Missy Elliott and TLC, plus retro-bangers from Faithless, BBE and Gusto -- where were you the last time you heard those? Full tracklisting at https://djmartingale.com/tracklistings#omt-2

Welcome to the very first episode of One More Time – a brand new podcast for anyone who ever lived for a proper night out in the '90s and '00s. Built around the story arc of a classic night out, we start with some mellow R&B and bar vibes, before stepping it up through funky house and UKG, all the way to the club bangers and late-night introspective grooves. This is a journey through the eras, the energy, and the memories – all blended together with full-quality control. Whether you were there the first time or just feel like you were, I hope this brings some of those good-time feelings back. Get involved, share your memories, shout outs and requests via djmartingale.com/contact or @djmartingaleuk on Instagram.

Back once again with the soulful skills to pay the bills, including a pair of epic tracks from the Shapeshifters, some Fouk-ing magic and a Tall Paul rerub of a Hacienda classic. Full tracklist: djmartingale.com/tracklistings/#show-355

Feeling high on life with today's soulful selection of house music, from back room to the big room as we like to do it, including an absolute thing of beauty from Crackazat, a nice slab of Louie Vega and a throwback track from Lisa Stansfield. Find the full tracklist at djmartingale.com/tracklistings#show-354

Another celebration of the fresh and and the familiar, blending up garage house throwback tracks with Ibiza 2001 bangers and Traxsource Top 100 tunes. Includes a tribute to the brilliant Angie Stone who we tragically lost this weekend. For the full track listing, go to https://djmartingale.com/tracklistings/#show-353

Another feast from the soulful servery, with a journey from the beach to the big room. We've got Tasha LaRae, Sgt Slick, David Penn and everything in between for people who like their house music with a hint of soul

A slightly older school flavoured show this week, with a good handful of some classic US garage sounds mingled in with some of the freshest soul-flavour house tracks of today. Find the tracklist here: djmartingale.com/tracklistings#show-351

A fresh feast from the soulful house servery, where this time we've got some classic remix action from Masters at Work blended up with something deep, something disco and something banging - find the tracklist here: djmartingale.com/tracklistings#show-350

The first show of 2025 and starting off high-vibe with a retrospective of 2024 and some of the best tracks we've enjoyed together

The final show of 2024! To finish up the year, no frills, I've just played a show for you from the heart, with an eclectic blend of fresh and classic soul-flavoured house music for the festive season

Back again with another heartwarming story told in soulful house, including soulful, deep, nudisco and everything in between - find the tracklist here: djmartingale.com/tracklistings#show-347

A slightly heavier sprinkling of the classics together with the fresh disco, soulful and deep house sounds of the moment, bringing some hopeful feelgood vibes to your winter chill - find the tracklist here: djmartingale.com/tracklistings#show-346

A heartwarming tale in soulful, disco and classic house genres, as usual taking you on an international story arc via Glitterbox, Cafe Mambo and even my local twenty five years ago. Find the full tracklist here: https://djmartingale.com/tracklistings/#show-345

A few classic house anthems in amongst some fresh soulful, disco and funky house magic, including a vinyl-only mix of one of my favourite tracks and a great Dimitri from Paris remix of Jamiroquai - find the tracklist here: djmartingale.com/tracklistings#show-344

Back once again with the soulful behaviour, this week I think a kind of tale of hope, with some classic soulful house throwbacks coupled up with some disco and deep house grooves to make you move - find the tracklist here: djmartingale.com/tracklistings#show-343

This week, a selection of current and classic house once again, ranging from soulful house, through deep, disco, nu disco and jackin' house, I was in a kind of Glitterbox sort of mood when I made it, with elements of Cafe Mambo thrown in - find the tracklist here: djmartingale.com/tracklistings#show-342

Your soulful storybook this time sees us take in some classic Masters at Work, the latest soulful house and some beach house for added atmosphere - as usual, a blend of the latest sounds with the soul you know to help you find the flow and you can find the tracklist here: djmartingale.com/tracklistings#show-341

Another great story of soul for you this week, taking you through twists and turns of deep, soulful, latin, jacking, funky and classic house tunes - a pinch of Glitterbox, a dash of Defected and a hint of Strictly Rhythm does the trick. Find the tracklist here: djmartingale.com/tracklistings#show-340

We're back again, and this time as it's summer here in the UK, we start off with some beach house vibes, and then into the soulful and disco house feels before some tech touches from the big room - find the tracklist here: djmartingale.com/tracklistings#show-339

Another soul-flavoured feast, where this time we're going with the Glitterbox/Defected type feels, moving through soulful house, some absolute stone cold classics into some disco and jackin' house funk action - find the tracklist here: djmartingale.com/tracklistings#show-338

A return to presented shows, where we span the full spectrum via deep house, soulful house, a Latin house digression plus one or two classics thrown in for good measure - find the tracklist here: djmartingale.com/tracklistings#show-337

A bonus live DJ set recorded at Rita's in Southampton where we took the early evening from the Ibiza sunset with some deep and latin vibes, through to some nudisco funky rhythms - find the tracklist here: https://djmartingale.com/tracklistings#show-336

Manabu Nagayama, Soichi Terada - Low Tension (Jimpster Remix) Vaudafunk - Plage Privée Mijangos, Cafe De Sol - Bahia (2024 Version) Timmy Regisford & Felicia Graham - Smile (Original Mix) Dj Hermes, Fly - Pasilda (Afro Extended Mix) Ralf GUM - 9 After Midnight feat Portia Monique Chiffon Zoo, Rona Ray, Soulmekanikz - Answers (Soulmekanikz Remix) Quentin Harris - My Joy HawaBiza Project - Animal (Master Kev & Tony Loreto Vocal Mix) Soul Rebels - Turn Me On (Original Mix) Purple Disco Machine - My House (Original Mix) Mirko, Meex - Amore Kelly G., Candi Staton - Power Of One (Extended Mix) Chez Damier - I Never Knew Love (Made In Detroit Extended Mix) Deepstar, Donna Allen - Sugar (feat. Donna Allen) [Richard Earnshaw Extended Remix] Pat Bedeau, Jodie Erica - Fantasy (Main Mix) Love Klubb, Richard Earnshaw - Ready For Love (Richard Earnshaw Extended Klubb Mix) Ralphi Rosario, Andrea Love - So Amazing (Knox Club Mix) Andrea Tomei, Alfreda Gerald - Young Hearts Run Free Micky More & Andy Tee, Angela Johnson, DJ Meme Orchestra - Is It Love You're After (Danny Krivit 12" Edit) Demuir, Amalia Leandro - Watch Wut You Say (feat. Amalia Leandro) Doche, Kria McKenzie - This Feeling (Birdee Remix) Kid Crème, MC Shurakano - Doing My Own Thing (feat. MC Shurakano) [Vocal Mix]