The Soul Surfers biography: members, albums, tours

The Soul Surfers - Russian musical group, which has firmly established such a concept as "Russian Funk.". Led by by Igor Zhukovsky the team from Nizhny Novgorod is already conquering the West - Soul Surfers are playing gigs on both sides of the Atlantic! In addition, the band has released a James Brown tribute and... a collaborative album with himself Sean Lee.! Their music is a great authentic psychedelic-soul-funk. The musicians experiment by combining traditional motifs with sound effects - echoes of distant ... 60-х... The result is a first-class, and most importantly - a unique sound that can be heard on the radio! But where did the story begin Russian-Funk band? And how did the influence of a Russian band from Nizhny Novgorod spread to the U.S.? All of this in order...

The beginning of the story

It just so happens that the last call performance turned into a team effort, which made today's The Soul Surfers known in the States... Radio presenters BBCDetroit burlesque dancers, famous musicians and entertainers all give kudos. Soul Surfers! But how did it happen? The most interesting thing is that the guys themselves want to tour exclusively in their homeland... Well, it's not an easy task to tour America! According to drummer and frontman Igor Zhukovsky, the story of Soul Surfers originated in a school in Nizhny Novgorod. It was then that school friends, who were united by their love of To James Brown, The Meters and other things funk/soulThey got together to play at the last call, but afterwards they realised that they couldn't live without music... That's how the band came into being!

"After leaving school we formed our own band... The main reference point for us was the work of The J.B.'s. But we could only play something similar after our first thirty records sold out - only then we felt our experience and possibilities... Of course, it's impossible to outplay The J.B.'s! They are one of the most legendary bands we have ever heard... Then we played their music and also Brown's songs, until at one point we were noticed by the manager of the Californian label Ubiquity: he said he would help us to release an official tribute. We were just thrilled! As a result, the first James Brown tribute was recorded, played by Russian guys - us...".

Albums

2018 saw the light of day with an album recorded in collaboration with Sean Lee.! For those who don't know, Sean Lee has worked with legends such as. Amy Winehouse, Robbie Williams, Beastie Boys.... The record turned out to be quite impressive: while the Soul Surfers make sure that each instrument in the huge range of sounds "stands" in its place, Lee adds spice at the most opportune moment...

The most interesting thing is that the band is released on vinyl records! To some it may seem strange, to some it may seem "showy", but the band has a Igor Zhukovsky my opinion on the matter:

"From the very beginning we were aiming at vinyl! Vinyl is a unique tradition of the world soul scene... If you play music authentically, you have to release it according to certain unspoken rules. Personally, I don't take modern funk bands that are not released on records seriously at all. It's so racist (laughs). Every self-respecting band realises the importance of this tradition, and that's why they have to release their music on records! Our first record, for example, was printed in a factory in Detroit...".

Did the band, apart from tradition, also think that they would fall under the trends - after all, the vinyl trend is back! Nevertheless, it's quite original and really befits such an esteemed genre....

Regarding 2019 of the year, he will forever be Soul Surfers truly memorable... It was in 2019 that the official tribute to the already mentioned above was released The J.B.'s and James Brown.! Listening to the record it is obvious that the band approached its recording with special trepidation and respect....

"We were unarmed before the greatness of Brown..."

The hit records were. "Givin Up Food For Funk." - A composition with whispering drums that not only give the track a mood, but also give space for guitar riffs:

And also the track "Popcorn With A Feeling":

"Sometimes we record in fancy studios, sometimes in our own headquarters... We always use old analogue equipment and really unique instruments: for example, we have a microphone in our studio that Vysotsky himself sang into! And dozens of Soviet rock and jazz records have been recorded behind our drum kit... It's incredibly cool!"

Tours in the United States, Europe,...

Today. The Soul Surfers are very popular in the territory as West as well as Europe! At the same time, the participants themselves claim that they would like to travel on tour only in their homeland... By the way: the tour lay through the Chicago, Detroit and St. Louis.:

"When we travelled to the States, we knew we didn't want to stay there. Our goal from the very beginning was to bring soul back to Russia! A lot of VIAs played funk, jazz-rock, but where is it today?! It makes me sad, there's a kind of emptiness..."

According to the musicians, America very similar to RussiaBut they wouldn't want to live there... As for Europe, the Soul Surfers go there quite often! Switzerland, Spain, France - the choice is manifold!

"Our early work was inspired by the Soviet groove of the seventies! The fact that we get called to America or Europe is cool, it's certainly a pleasure for us. But we always remember where our main stage is... This is our homeland..."