Soul Quest looks back across its growing catalogue as Kai Alcé, Last Nubian, Wez Whynt and Sean Green breathe new life into four label favourites.
Soul Quest Records might only have been established in 2023, but the Hackney label has quickly carved out its own corner of the London underground, where deep house, soul, jazz and broken beat comfortably rub shoulders.
Founded by Max Sinàl, Slxm Sol and Leon Sweeney, and later joined by Sean Green, the crew now turns its attention towards its own catalogue for Re:Quest Vol.1, the beginning of a new remix series built around revisiting and reimagining previous Soul Quest releases.
And they’ve picked a pretty serious name to get things underway.
Atlanta’s Kai Alcé returns to Slxm Sol’s “Simple Love” featuring Laville & BB James, having previously delivered a dub for the Simple Soul EP. This time Alcé brings the vocal firmly back into focus, surrounding it with the kind of warm, understated deep house groove that has long been his calling card.
There’s no unnecessary attempt to reinvent the record. Instead, those vocals are allowed plenty of space while Alcé works underneath, giving “Simple Love” a beautifully soulful, late-night feel. Classy house music from a producer who understands exactly how much, and perhaps more importantly how little, a track needs.
London’s Last Nubian takes things in a slightly different direction with Sean Green’s “Really Love”, featuring Will Heard.
Deep house remains the foundation, but there’s a looser, more spiritual quality here. Afro-tinged rhythms move underneath additional piano keys, while Heard’s vocal keeps the soul firmly intact. Rather than forcing the issue, the remix gradually settles into its groove and becomes one of those records that feels increasingly infectious the longer it runs.
Flip the record and Wez Whynt gets his hands on KingCrowney & Zoe Kypri’s “Coat On”.
This might be where Re:Quest Vol.1 most clearly demonstrates what Soul Quest is about. House and broken beat begin bleeding into one another as lush keys and a spacious rhythmic arrangement give Kypri’s rich vocal room to breathe.
Whynt doesn’t overpower the original song, instead building around it and letting the vocal remain at the heart of the record. There’s a lovely looseness to the groove too, giving “Coat On” that bruk-influenced swing that sits so naturally alongside the deeper house material elsewhere on the EP.
Sean Green then brings things full circle by remixing Max Sinàl’s “Healing”, featuring Liv East.
Here the broken beat influence becomes more pronounced, Green rebuilding the track around a bruk-led rhythmic framework while retaining the warmth and soul of East’s vocal. After the straighter house foundations of the opener, it’s a fitting way to close a record that gradually moves further away from a traditional 4/4 template.
What works particularly well about Re:Quest Vol.1 is that it doesn’t feel like four remixes assembled simply to squeeze another release from existing material.
There is a genuine thread running through it.
Kai Alcé’s deep house foundations, Last Nubian’s more spiritual approach, Wez Whynt’s house and broken beat crossover and Sean Green’s bruk sensibilities all occupy slightly different spaces, but share the musicality that has increasingly defined Soul Quest.
And that’s perhaps the smartest thing about launching the Re:Quest series now.
Three years into the label’s story, there’s already enough of an identity and catalogue to start looking backwards without becoming nostalgic. Instead, Soul Quest is giving its music another life through producers who understand where the label is coming from.
Deep, soulful, jazzy and carrying plenty of swing, Re:Quest Vol.1 feels less like a retrospective and more like four old conversations being started again.
Release Date: 23 October 2026 (Vinyl & Traxsource) / 6 November 2026 (Digital & Streaming)
Label: Soul Quest Records
Catalogue: SQR026
Format: Vinyl / Digital / Streaming, pre order here.