Quiet Storm is not just a subgenre of R&B, it was an impactful radio movement for decades, very rich in countless forgotten gems. Quiet Storm was particularly created for intimate listening: Slow, relaxed, soft and soulful. Emerging in the mid 1970s, it carried the spirit of Soul over into the 1980s and 1990s. For those interested in rare, but also somewhat modern Soulful sound, Quiet Storm is a rich domain to dig into.

The genre-defining record was Smokey Robinson’s Quiet Storm (1975), which can be seen like a blueprint of the genre. A well-known, more jazzy Quiet Storm classic is Anita Baker’s Rapture (1986). Highly recommended also is The Night I Fell in Love (1985) by Luther Vandross, which shines through smooth production and silky vocals.

Quiet Storm really was a big thing in the 1980s, but over the following decades it started to fade from mainstream attention. This makes the forgotten pieces particularly interesting to explore. In the newsletter, you can find more of these genre defining, underground Quiet Storm records.