Shirley Lites, who has shared the stage with such vocal greats as Gladys Knight and Melba Moore, is best known for her long association with Billy Paul, for whom she served as bandleader and back-up vocalist from 2000 until his passing in 2016. Shirley first caught the attention of the dance music community for her brief tenure as a solo artist back in 1983 with the classic disco-boogie hit "Heat You Up/Melt You Down," which was followed by "Fire," produced by House DJ/Remixer Lenny Fontana - both tracks made a positive impression on the European club scene and dance charts. Shirley is back as a solo artist and sounding better than ever, working with the legendary Philly Soul producer and fellow Philadelphia native Butch Ingram. Shirley chose the classic track "Cause We've Ended As Lovers" for her solo debut, a song written by Stevie Wonder and originally performed by the late Detroit based vocalist Syreeta on a Motown B side in 1975. The song is the perfect match for Lites' silky vocal, backed by a soprano background choir and set to a bossa nova rhythm with tasteful percussion, subtle keyboard flourishes and Butch's fretless bass. Back in Philadelphia and working with the Society Hill gang seems to suit Shirley Lites quite well, look for more great performances to come from this new alliance.

Cause We've Ended As Lovers

Shirley Lites - Cause We've Ended As Lovers

If you love soul, house, and deep grooves—with a drizzle of jazz, afro and disco, you are in the right place. Enjoy my latest set!

Strong Souls (D3 Elements, July 2014) // Dovie Cote (Alleviated, December 2021) // Vasily Umanets (Deep Compact Records, November 2023) // Urulu (South Street, January 2017) // Alina Bzhezhinska (BBE, March 2023) // Northern Bureau (Induction Muzic, July 2021) // Ed Wilman (HEAVY, July 2023) // Buschwacka (Classic Music Company, November 2023) // Oscar P (Open Bar Music, June 2017) // Mr Wright (Kolour Recordings, September 2023) // Shirley Lites (Salsoul Records, September 2020)

Deep Quest Essentials airs at:
- www.mfmbrabant.live Fridays 8PM CEST / 11AM Pacific
- www.starguardz.com Saturdays 4PM CEST / 7AM Pacific

Deep Quest Essentials 59

Essential Media Group LLC. is a South Florida based record label specializing in multiple genres encompassing all eras of Folk, Blues, Jazz, Classical, World, Rock, R&B and Pop including current Hip Hop, Dancehall, Reggaeton and Dance/Electronic Music.

DJ / Producer

Michael Caffin, better known by his artist name Soul Jawa, is an American Afro & Deep House producer based out of San Diego, California. He is a Dutch native with family roots tracing back to the Dutch Colonial era of the East Indies - now known as Indonesia. Both of his parents originated from the Indonesian island Java, or Jawa, by locals. 

He studied music at a young age while also producing mixtapes with multi reel-to-reels and turntables. When moving to San Diego, he took a much needed break. Thereafter, he explored remixing instead and surprisingly received a welcoming response from established artist—such as, The Shapeshifters, Dutchican Soul, and DJ Chickawowwow of StreetSoundsRadio (UK). 

With guidance from industry expert—Oscar P, Soul Jawa is dropping his own tracks on record labels such as Kolour Recordings (Detroit), Open Bar Music (NYC), and HEAVY (NYC). It also allowed him to produce "Deep Quest Essentials", which airs weekly on Starguardz Radio, Amsterdam and Brabant Mfm Radio, all available on Soundcloud.

New tracks tagged #Shirley Lites