Colombo-based The Soul describes itself as ‘genre fluid’. “We all come from different musical backgrounds and influences, and that becomes apparent through the music we make,” says Dave Roberts, the vocalist. The band garnered lots of fans at its NH7 Weekender gig in Pune and just wrapped up a performance at the Goa Sunsplash festival. This weekend, The Soul takes the stage in Bengaluru with Kochi-based The Derelicts.
The music scene in Sri Lanka is dominated by Sinhalese music and a few Tamil rappers, according to guitarist Khazim Miskin. “In the past few years, artistes playing English music have been taking an interest in writing original songs, as opposed to playing the cover circuit,” he notes. Through the band, its members want to contribute to the original music and culture of their country. The outfit, that also consists of guitarist Sarani Perera, bassist Uvindu Perera and drummer Divanka Sewmin, plays a mix of blues, jazz, R&B and reggae.
What strings its music together is that the band always weaves in a message into the songs. “The themes of our songs range from the perils of war and political unrest in our country, to environmental causes and saying no to pharmaceutical drugs,” Dave shares. At the gig, the band will dish out tracks such as Lucky Child, Let Me Be and No Doctor Witch Doctor, all from their 2018 debut album, Round & Around. The Soul also has their second album in the works. “The second album was recorded in one go. And it was a really intimate session, with more mellow music as opposed to our high energy gigs,” says Dave. The album will be out later this year.
Rs. 400. Jan 19, 8 pm. At Fandom, Koramangala
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