Soulgroove

Meet Shillong based trio band called ‘Soulgroove’ who just released their debut single titled ‘Better Part Of Me’ out now on YouTube.

Musicmandir – Tell us about Soulgroove?

Soulgroove – Soulgroove is a trio band from Shillong ,  India. The band consists of John Patrick Rymbai , Elza Catherine Rymbai and Zediah Manson Hynniewta

Musicmandir – How would you describe your sound or who are the various influences behind your music?

Soulgroove – We like to describe our sound as Soulful Reggae with a small pinch of blues to it. The band is highly inspired or influenced by artists like Bob Marley, Mike Love, Allen Stone, Aretha Franklin, Los Lonely Boys etc.

Watch the official video for Better Part Of Me

Musicmandir – How have you been spending time and adjusting during this insane covid-19 period?

Soulgroove – 2020 was kinda like a big blow but it actually wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be. Initially, when we were on lockdown, we found an alternative way of getting together and working on music and that was through Discord so we could reassess ourselves every alternate day and work on something. Then when we got a little bit of “freedom”, we got together for online shows, working on songs and finishing the debut single, “Better Part Of Me”.

Musicmandir – Discord is an interesting platform, could you explain how it has helped you put music together or rather what makes it different from the other options out there?

Soulgroove – It actually was our first option and we stuck by it… We arranged sessions , usually 3 days a week , 2 hours a day. It was basically like a conference call or sometimes video call so it was quite hard to bring something good to the table to be honest. There’s something about being more creative when we’re together and we couldn’t touch a 100% through Discord but we managed to make something of it. The Discord sessions lasted for 4-5 months then we went back to jamming and working with each other when the situation regarding the virus subsided.

Check out this interesting article written by Tanya Desai about Discord and Indian Internet Culture. Read it here.

Musicmandir – Any future plans?

Soulgroove – Looking at 2021 , we plan on releasing a series of singles and hopefully an EP at the end of the year.

Musicmandir – Name 5 other indian independent artists you have been listening to?

Soulgroove – The band has been looking up to artists from Shillong like Soulmate, Dewdrops, Blue Temptation and has also been listening to a few of Blackstratblues and Aditi Ramesh.

Follow Soulgroove on Instagram & YouTube