About us

STREET SOUNDS IS A HIGH PROFILE BRAND THAT EPITOMISES EXCELLENCE AND QUALITY.

Founded in 1982 by Morgan Khan, Street Sounds quickly became the de facto, brand and market leader of compilation albums, specialising in music of black origin, including all styles of street music. Street Sounds released innumerable compilations and has launched the careers of many recording artists. Described by Music Week as ‘iconic’, the Street Sounds record label in its 41 year history has been instrumental in shaping and defining street music. The label was responsible for introducing and pioneering various important music genres including Hip Hop/Rap and House music to the UK and European markets.

Soul, Boogie, Electro / Hip Hop, Funk, Disco, Jazz Funk & Classic House will live on because music of black origin is part of our DNA, the rite of passage of a generation into a new culture and world.

Electro & Hip Hop was not just music, but a way of life that was disruptive, fresh and helped shape our identity and brought together diverse communities as one, united & bonded by a shared passion of the lyrics, beats, DJing, dance, fashion, lifestyle & culture!

Street Sounds played a crucial role in introducing Electro & Hip Hop music to the UK audience and an essential part in shaping the music landscape during the 1980’s. The Street Sounds ELECTRO albums have left an indelible mark on contemporary Hip Hop and Urban culture. Many artists and producers cite the ELECTRO series as a major inspiration.

Today, the legacy of Street Sounds continues to influence and inspire new generations of artists and music enthusiasts. The label's impact on the UK's musical heritage is undeniable, as it played a significant role in shaping the landscape of modern electronic and Hip Hop music in the country.

Street Sounds was conceived from the need to expose and make available the latest, most upfront music from the streets of America to UK and European audiences. The concept was born from Morgan Khan's love of music as a fan and from his own frustration of not being able to get hold of certain tracks because they were either US imports, that cost up to 10 times that of a UK 12 inch single, or album AND that’s if you could even find the import.

Let us not forget that the majority of record shops in the early 80's, where ‘Mama and Papa’ type shops, which were totally oblivious to the new music being listened to by a new generation. Also, until the birth of Street Sounds the perception of compilation albums were ‘Ktel’ type albums, featuring mainstream pop hits, or cover versions, sometimes so butchered in length, to fit as many tracks as possible on each album.

Street Sounds is the 'godfather' of the modern compilation album and its format became the template for the labels that came later. The concept of each album; to literally represent the sound of the moment; full length versions and the highest quality.

The compilation albums and tracks released by Street Sounds have directly influenced and defined hundreds of thousands of people’s lives and have also been substantially responsible for today’s mainstream and street music culture. Street Sounds has been accredited by numerous journalists and DJs, including Paul Gambaccini, Bob Kilbourn and James Hamilton as pioneering Electro, Hip Hop and House in the UK. Numerous publications and other media have documented the importance of Street Sounds to popular culture.

The reason for the colossal success of the Street Sounds albums was having tracks which were just coming on import, or were still only available as promotional records to the few key DJs, or having just been UK released, or tracks hard to get hold of in there full-length version. Numerous tracks featured on the Street Sounds albums were never even were released as singles in the UK, or Europe. Street Sounds, or more precisely its sister label STREETWAVE were responsible for giving exposure to many artist, that would never have broken in Europe. One of these was Cheryl Lynn and her track “Encore”, which CBS records had decided not to release and thank God, Streetwave did, with major commercial success!

Why there is such collective respect, support and love for Street Sounds? The reasons include, our heritage, the fact that we have our finger on the pulse of street music, made buying hot and expensive in demand American imports affordable & widely available for many people and we became the ‘sound of the street’. Street Sounds is far more than just a record label and its distinctive yellow and black logo. Street Sounds is for many people a passage/journey from youth to adulthood, a way of life that helped shape their identity, that opened a new world of music and culture.