A decade of soulful house from Bristol’s Good Vibrations Music, celebrated with Decade One.
Sean McCabe is a Bristol-based producer and DJ who has spent over two decades shaping a soulful, groove-driven corner of house music. Since releasing his first tracks in 2003, he has built a long-standing relationship with the legendary US garage label King Street Sounds and remixed artists including Dennis Ferrer, Evelyn Champagne King, and Roland Clark, while his 2014 debut album It’s Time on Z Records hit Number 1 on Traxsource in its first week and picked up support from Solar Radio, Mi-Soul, Kiss FM and Jazz FM. He has also earned a reputation on the international DJ circuit, forging his name at the legendary Southport Weekender and playing shows across Europe, Asia and South Africa. In 2016 he founded Good Vibrations Music, growing the label out of his own Good Vibrations club nights in Bristol, as an outlet for his own productions and those of close collaborators, moving fluidly between soulful house, boogie, broken beat and Afro-influenced grooves. This year the label celebrates its tenth anniversary with Decade One, a career-spanning retrospective released as a limited edition double vinyl and an extended digital compilation, both out on Friday 14 August 2026. Sean is working with MN2S Label Services on the digital release.
How did you get into music? What is your musical background?
I released my first tracks back in 2003, and my style of arranging has actually stayed pretty consistent since then, I’ve always liked building a track slowly and creating changes throughout. What’s evolved is that the music I’m drawn to now is a bit deeper and more eclectic, with richer chords and more organic textures, and that comes through in what I’m producing today.
Tell us about your latest project
The latest project is Decade One, a compilation marking ten years of Good Vibrations Music. It brings together eight tracks across the vinyl double pack, with an extended edition on digital, from artists including Frankie Feliciano, Lem Springsteen, Mr. V, Kaidi Tatham, Black Sonix and Harold Matthews Jr. It wasn’t meant to be a definitive greatest hits, more a fair snapshot of the different vibes the label has represented over the years. Both editions land on Friday 14 August 2026, with the digital release coming through MN2S Label Services.
“It’s difficult to choose a favourite from the comp, but I think Feliciano’s remix of ‘I Know Someone’ featuring Mike City is up there and holds a special place. The song ‘I Know Someone’ was the first release on the label and the track that made me start it. Mike is someone I’ve had the pleasure of working with before on other labels, and is one of the industry’s top songwriters having written for artists like Sunshine Anderson and Carl Thomas. When I tried to shop the track to a label, they came back wanting changes that I didn’t feel were needed. So that urge for creative freedom led me to deciding to set up my own digital label. And when Feliciano put his touch to the song, it took it to another level and is one of the tracks I’ve played most in my sets over the years. Coming around to 10 years, I knew I wanted to press up his remix to vinyl. So that is what started the Decade One compilation project too. It all evolved around that record.”
Could you describe your musical style and creative vision?
My sound moves across house, disco, boogie, Afro, deeper grooves and even some proto house and nineties garage house dubs. I’ve always DJed that way, so it felt natural to produce the same range, mainly because I get bored sticking to one style. To me, soulful dance music means it’s rooted in classic soul, jazz, gospel and funk, the chords, the basslines, the syncopation, combined with a groove built to move people on a dancefloor.
What advice would you give to anyone thinking of entering the music industry?
Focus on the things you enjoy the most and give yourself time and space to develop that craft properly. Over time you’ll naturally build a following for the thing you’re really good at. A lot of people want everything to happen in a hurry these days, and the industry is becoming ever more demanding, with social media and busy schedules pulling focus away from the creative side. It’s important to look after your mental health and manage your stress levels along the way.
What are your plans for the rest of the year and beyond?
There’s a version of Kem’s “Heaven” featuring Colonel Red in the works, produced alongside Groove Assassin, plus new material coming together with Willy Washington, Lem Springsteen, Hannah Khemoh and Motion Severn, and a few tracks with Black Sonix that need finishing soon. On the gig side, I’ll be at Bambalan in Bristol on 23 August for True Definition, Melton Mowbray on 12 September for the Soul Shine all-dayer, and London on 26 September for Our House Music.
What have you enjoyed about working with MN2S Label Services?
It’s been great to have extra support and advice from the label services team, who bring a real range of expertise and experience in the business. It definitely has a more personalised feel to the service.