The Drexel Audio Archives is home to the Sigma Sound Studios Collection, a historic collection of approximately 7000 audiotapes documenting the legacy of Sigma Sound Studios and its pop, soul, disco, and R&B recordings that became known as “The Sound of Philadelphia”.

The collection was donated to Drexel University for storage, preservation, and research. The Audio Archives is currently working to preserve the original tapes, migrate the audio to a digital format for research access, and preserve the data for long-term storage.

The Drexel Audio Archive’s mission is to:

Serve students cultural literacy by providing instruction, access, and research opportunities in music, music production, audio preservation, asset management, intellectual property rights, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Serve the community by preserving its recorded music history, advocating its significance, and protecting its valuable recorded materials.

Serve the University and Music Industry Program by creating a vibrant student and faculty resource for collaborative projects and research.

NEWS

2019-08-23 – Pro Sound News – Preserving the Past in Philadelphia

2019-08-06 – Dangerous Minds – Lost David Bowie, krautrock and Sly Stone outtakes FOUND in fab Philly funk soul archive  

2019-06-27 – Associated Press – College music department resurrects long-lost funk music

2019-05-20 – Here & Now: WBUR – Long-Buried Funk Album Released After 50 Years

2019-05-11 – Philly Weekly – Never-before, locally-released music from Nat Turner Rebellion and Sounds of Liberation brings fresh twist to classic funk

2019-05-07 – Fresh Air – Music Review by Ken Tucker: Nat Turner Rebellion

2019-04-30 – Phawker – The Second Coming Of The Nat Turner Rebellion  

2019-04-23 – WHYY Radio – After 50 years, funk album recorded in Philly finally debuts

2019-04-16 – Afropunk – Lost Soul, Found: Philly's Nat Turner Rebellion

2019-04-13 – Philadelphia Inquirer – Fifty years later, the sole surviving member of Philly funk band Nat Turner Rebellion finally sees its debut album released

New Sounds (WNYC): Featured “Tribute to a Slave” in Weekly Roundup 4/1.

https://www.newsounds.org/story/weekly-music-roundup-blitz-ambassador-and-tamino/

2019-03-30 – SoulTracks – Long lost Philly Soul masterpiece unearthed, to be released

2019-03-26 – Rolling Stone – How a College Music Department Helped Unearth a Long-Lost Philly Funk-Soul Classic

2015-04-02 – Philadelphia Inquirer - Drexel students finish long-unheard tapes from historic Sigma Sound Studio

2015-03-04 – WPVI – Philly Groove Remastered

2015-03-02 - Newsworks - Drexel students bring modern mixes to archive of funky recordings

2015-02-04 – Uncovering the Philly Groove – Electronic Press Kit

2012-06-06 – Engineering the Sigma Sound

2011-02-03 – Inside the Archives of Grateful Dead and Phish