11. Soul-Junk

Meet your new favorite band, Soul-Junk. Founded in 1993, with albums dating back as far as 1950 (we'll explain later), singer/songwriter/producer Glen Galaxy has eluded all preconceptions of gospel music by remaining true to his divinely inspired creative vision. One of the first times I met Glen in the 1990s, he told me he was taking a break from performing and focusing on ministry. Translation: Driving around, blasting distorted electronic beats out of the speakers of his low-rider, preaching through a megaphone out his window. There's only one Glen Galaxy. In the fall of 2019, I met with him at his San Diego recording studio Singing Serpent, and we discussed how he went from touring the globe with experimental indie legends Trumas Water to forging his own path into the world of hymns, initially using blasts of punk rock and free jazz overlayed with word-for-word recitations of Biblical scripture. If you've never listened to this band, sit down. You're in for a lot of surprises.

Recommendations:

"1956" (2000) is a good jumping off point to ease your way into the breadth of Soul-Junk's world, thanks to a stylistically diverse set of songs employing hip hop, folk, sludge metal and techno into a smooth, sleek package thanks in part to production wizard Rafter.

​"If [1998's] 1955 is your first Soul-Junk record, then you're ready for anything!" -Glen Galaxy

Their latest album "1961" (2012) is a heavy rock odyssey that employs the group's original format, using direct biblical quotes as lyrics.

While Soul-Junk has remained an entity, Glen has been putting his songwriting into these other projects in more recent years. They are all face-meltingly grand. Check out his groups Octagrape, Sumatraban and Parallel Stereo to dig deeper.