We recently chatted with singer-songwriter Soule about her music. Her latest song, “quarantine scripts”, is now available on all streaming platforms. The song is off her her upcoming EP, wall splattered with ink, due out on October 15, 2021.

Soule gives insight into the song’s influence and meaning on her YouTube channel:

As a raw, somber track whose lyrics and music composition emerged out of my bedroom during quarantine, this song isn’t about a particular person but rather humanity personified as one. Imagine having these thoughts and reflections about the state of the world bursting through your head–a chaotic pandemic compounded with systemic racism and institutional corruption–all the while being cut off in isolation from it. It’s easy to feel connected yet disconnected at the same time. I think that this concept of being isolated in our heads can apply outside the context of quarantine because we all have this internal world in us that’s a mystery to everyone else. So when you listen to this song, feel free to imagine the subject as any person, place, or thing that you associate these feelings of disconnect with.

Here’s what Soule had to say about her music and sound.

How excited are you to release new music?

I’m definitely excited. It’s also a bit nerve-wracking. It’s like this has been the moment I’ve been waiting for the past year, and it’s quite surreal for the wave to have actually struck.

What can people expect when they listen to your music?

My music is a fusion of indie, shoegaze, slowcore, alternative or grunge from the 90s, and feminist or queercore punk rock. My recent single “quarantine scripts” has more of a dreampop and chillwave type of atmosphere, and there’s quite some diversity on my upcoming debut EP. If you listen closely, there are subtleties in the background vocals of my song, where I make use of the high and low ends of my range. I think there’s value in organically producing some delicate background effects with your voice and blending it in as a part of the dreamy ambience.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians?

There’s no real deadline to creativity; crafting a personal and authentic project takes time, so there isn’t a need to rush the process because you feel like other people might be moving more ahead. Your stories are simply different. You can’t necessarily force a timeline on an organic narrative that unfolds over time, and it’s okay to give it that time. Ultimately, you own your art, so you deserve to be the one driving the motor – not external pressures from a product-driven society.

What is your favorite song to perform live?

Perhaps “Volcano Girls” by Veruca Salt, hypothetically speaking as a new artist who hasn’t had that many live performances yet. I love the energy of Nina Gordan’s powerful soprano vocals complemented by the angsty electric guitar. That’s the type of sound I would love to emulate, create my own signature twist, and still embody this ‘volcano girl’ persona with my hair and aesthetic. I had a solo jam session in my bedroom one day and made an acoustic ballad version of the song.

Can you describe your creative process when you’re writing new music?

I’m often stimulated by a surge of creative energy, which I tend to experience more at night. Sometimes, an entire verse flows from my head like a stream of thoughts, metaphors, and symbolisms that I pour out onto paper. Other times, I might write out some metaphorical ideas to expand on later, or I put on a beat and freestyle for some lyrical ideas. With guitar progressions, I might find myself spontaneously creating something new in the middle of a practice session, and I’d record it on voice memo. I often find myself revisiting old ideas that I had forgotten about, and building off of them accordingly – perhaps freestyling some fitting melodies. For “quarantine scripts,” I knew from the very beginning that this would be an indie, dreampop song with a girl in red vibe, though I refined and added elements to it over the months to really make it my own sound. 

What has been the best advice someone has given you about music?

It’s normal to not have it all figured out from the beginning. Being a self-starter and independent musical artist is no easy journey. Sometimes, I would look back and wish I had done something differently or more efficiently. In reality, there isn’t quite a need to set such high expectations for yourself, especially if you didn’t grow up with a support system to guide you through and tell you which efficient path to take and which corners to cut. So of course I wouldn’t have known back then what I know now; it really was a domino effect, and I’m still living and learning.

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Follow Soule on social media: Instagram|YouTube

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