In Conversation With - Soeur
Soeur are an alternative-rock trio from Bristol whose sound ranges from bluesy, melodic rock, to angsty grunge and thrashing punk. ‘Fight’ is their hotly anticipated second EP which delves into the subject of post-traumatic growth.
‘Fight’ opens with the dizzying and heavy hitting song, ‘Quiet It’. This is the perfect introduction to Soeur, with their signature conversational vocal tone moving into a jazzy chorus, with guitarists/vocalists Tina Maynard and Anya Pulver harmonising over each other. Further into the song, chaos ensues with thrashing guitars and layering vocals sounding like a conversation between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Playing around with intonation and melodies is key in the stand out single, Track Back. By writing their own parts separately and then coming together to work out where everything fits, meant that Track Back turned into a kind of call and response song where Tina and Anya were playing around with different perspectives and overlapping vocal parts.
‘Whole’ Me is slower in pace, than the other songs on ‘Fight’. There is more of a melancholy tone which resembles an old school R&B vibe, with the vocal parts, which contrasts with the grungier drum parts, courtesy of Jim Collins. What I find most fascinating with Soeur, is their choice of intonation of certain words. The chorus is unpredictable, at first, though unchanging throughout, as it develops into the raucous chorus that is Soeur’s signature. Tina calls out “whole me, hold me, holy, lonely” in a high-pitched melodic way, whilst Anya’s grittier vocals off-set the silken tones; “get a little whole then you die.”
Whilst their vocals are always mesmerising, make no mistake in thinking that their guitar skills are not of the same calibre. ‘Out Again’ is laden with intricate guitar parts, that give fire to the smoke of people occasionally putting Soeur in the math rock category. These delicate guitar parts weave in and out of a heavier, gritty guitar riff that is an almost mind-boggling combination. The title track of the EP is a lot more angsty and aggressive than its melodic counterparts. The dizzying guitar intro and rattling drum beat cleans a path for a conversational vocal part to build into a screaming battle where Tina and Anya reach boiling point and spill over into a thrashing finish.
We caught up with Tina and Anya, to find out more about the recording process of the EP.
What bands were you listening to when you were recording ‘Fight’ and did that affect the recording process in any way?
Tina - We're all constantly listening to different bands and artists, I'd listened to Idles quite a lot, Yonaka too - it's a real mixture. Whilst bands influence our writing styles, they don't particularly affect the recording process. We know how we like to record, as live as possible.
Is there a theme surrounding the EP or were there any recurring things that came up during the writing process?
Anya - The songs are all, in some sense, about post-traumatic growth. I think wherever there’s personal growth, there’s always some sort of fight involved. People often project the best of themselves (especially on social media), giving us all the illusion that nobody else is struggling, when in reality, we all endure our own battles every day. The message behind ‘Fight’, for me, is both a reminder that we have the strength to fight those battles and an acknowledgement that the fight itself is a fundamental part of change.
I’m fascinated by your guitar playing, especially with the intricate melodic ‘math-rock’ parts. Can you talk about how you both got into guitar and who your favourite guitar players are?
Tina - I was 21 when I bought my first guitar, it's embarrassing to say but I really only got into guitar so that I could accompany myself as I didn't want to sing to backing tracks. I think we'd be the first to admit that our guitar playing isn't the most technical or complicated but we thrive in our limitations. Instead of flamboyant guitar solos we play with time signatures and go hard on the intertwining vocals.
Anya - I think I pretty much started learning guitar at age 12 or 13 because I was tired of not having anyone to play with who was actually committed to music! I learned a few basic chords to accompany my singing but that’s all I knew for years. I didn’t even touch an electric guitar until I started my first band Mansize at 16. I think because I’ve never had any lessons and never really learned to play anyone else’s songs, the people who have influenced my guitar playing most are the friends whom I’ve played with over the years.
How do you decide who plays and sings which parts? Occasionally you jump in and out of jazzy/soulful moments and then straight into a grungy riff and shrill screaming vocals.
Tina - We all write our own parts. Occasionally there'll be an obvious part that writes itself but we're all essentially responsible for writing what we end up playing/singing, whilst keeping in mind what's right for the song. That might explain the jumps to and from different styles.
Anya - I don’t think any one of us is necessarily solely pulling the songs in a specifically jazzy or soulful or grungy direction, we all have a very wide range of musical interests and influences which naturally feeds into the mish mash of genres we create. A lot of the time, it’s not a conscious effort to divvy out the parts, we might write a part deliberately leaving space for the other person to experiment with or give a rough idea of the direction of the song but usually it just sort of evolves by itself as we each add our own elements.
You offset vocals a lot, where you’re almost speaking the words on top of each other. In the song Track Back it seems to be more of a call out and reply situation. How do songs like that come about?
Tina - Haha. Well Track Back was a special situation. Anya wrote the chorus but (couldn't?/didn't want to) sing the high part so I took over those specific words. But yeah, a lot of the time when we've written the music, we've both got different ideas of what the vocal part should be. We then sing them and alter the melody lines and lyrics so that they fit and compliment each other.
Anya - We like to play with different perspectives within the same song so it’s fun to talk over each other but perhaps synchronise particular words, notes or rhythms. Usually, someone has an idea of what the song is about and then the other will put a whole new spin based on their own experience with that matter. I think as a dual fronted band, the songs end up that way naturally, because we’re not the same person with the same perspective.
Would you ever consider switching to having one guitar and one bass, or do you prefer the sound of having two guitars? Does that impact on your sound in any way?
Tina - I have a baritone guitar and I play my guitar like a bass a lot of the time anyway but I'm not really interested in playing bass at the moment. We're happy with our sound and chemistry but wouldn't say no to it in the future. Anya goes through a bass amp and I've got a dirty cab that's full of low end so we're not in need at this point in time.
Anya - I mean, never say never but I’m really happy with the sound we’ve managed to get out of two guitars. Our amp setup is pretty integral to our sound and I actually find the limitations of not having a bass in the band force us to be more creative.
When writing and recording songs, do you have any idea of what you want the finished thing to sound like when performing live or do you kind of roll with the feeling of being in the moment?
Tina - Up until now we've always played our songs live for a while before recording them. You can really get to know a song and work out how you want to perform them and ultimately record them that way. I'm sure there are pros and cons doing it that way but it's worked for us at this level. It's always interesting to gauge the reaction to songs as well.
Anya - I think for me, when we write, it’s the live sound I’m focusing on and then when we come to record songs, it’s all about trying to translate what we achieve live onto record.
What message do you want people to take away from the EP?
Tina - It's just to THINK. Tell the truth, say what you feel and don't do stupid shit. Talk to each other and fight against ideas/ people/situations that are negatively impacting the world.
Anya - I think I want people to understand that we all struggle, we all endure our own internal battles as well as being part of much bigger ones and the more we communicate, the more we can do to combat them. It’s okay to feel like things broken but it’s really important to understand that we have the power to change.
Feature created by Tyler Damara Kelly
Check the band live on these following dates -
08/11/18 - London, Tobacco Dock (BBC Introducing Live)
09/11/18 - Leicester, The Cookie
10/11/18 - Cheltenham, Frog & Fiddle
11/11/18 - Worcester, The Marrs Bar
12/11/18 - Nottingham, The Chameleon
14/11/18 - Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach
16/11/18 - London, Thousand Island
17/11/18 - Bristol, Crofters Rights
28/11/18 - Birmingham, Hare & Hounds
09/12/18 - London, Camden Assembly
10/12/18 - Southampton, Joiners
11/12/18 - Brighton, Green Door Store
13/12/18 - Newcastle, Head Of Steam
14/12/18 - Nottingham, JT Soar