Chatterbox. When the stars talk, they talk to
Nick and Sue. Welcome back to the Chatterbox
Redux Podcast with Meenik and today our special
guest is Jay Masurly of the Swiss indie band
The Souls. This is Nick and Sue with Chatterbox
giving you all you need to know about music!
now on Chatterbox UK. We're just lucky enough
to welcome Jay Messoli from The Souls. Jay, welcome.
How are you, sir? Thank you. Thanks for having
me. I'm very good. Thank you. How are you? Yeah,
good. Thank you. Thank you. It's nice and sunny
down here on the south coast of England. I hope
you've got something similar where you are. Hopefully.
It's nice. Yes. Yes. I'm in Bristol right now
and there. We've got, well, we've got. Oh, Bristol.
Coming on the west as well. Brilliant. Brilliant.
So, so we played cut your songs yet we've got
the new one and we played oh something else a
few weeks ago yeah been playing something else
um so we've got a new single release and we've
got an album with a fantastic name so let's talk
about the singles that you're pushing at the
moment let's talk about that yeah yeah what's
that one all about how did it come about what's
it about yeah well yeah the single is called
the secret and It's um, it's one of those funny
stories writing song as well I was I was in my
little studio back in Switzerland and I was writing
the song I had the melody I had the structure
of the song already, but I didn't know what to
sing about so I got these two years old, New
York Times magazine on my desk, opened up, took
a random word, which was a secret. And I thought
that would be, that's a pretty, pretty cool name
for song titles. So I started writing about that.
And I think everyone can relate to it because,
you know, I bet everybody does have a secret
or a little secret somewhere hidden. So it's
all about the mystery of having a secret, actually.
A secret as opposed to saying that's got skeletons
in the closet. This is just a secret. Just one,
all right? Okay. Yeah, exactly. Nothing major.
Okay. Sounds good. There's another single I'd
noticed about a month ago, Rosa Jericho. Is this
recent? Do you want to tell us about that one
as well? Yeah, sure. So Rosa Jericho is actually,
well, it's basically about, you know, escaping
from from the harsh reality of the daily life
actually so uh it's a perfect well i just realized
that the other night when we played a live how
a perfect match it is to play live on a saturday
night when people are going out and uh yeah just
having fun enjoying themselves with their friends
or meeting new people and just yeah having a
good time it's all about that actually sure sure
and we've got an album Well, they're very interesting.
I love it. It's a great name. It sounds like
it was probably thought up in an old English
pub one night. But tell us about the album, how
the title came about, and then we talk about
some of the tracks on it. Yeah, sure. Yeah, that's
a funny story. There's no actually deeper meaning
behind it, really. So we recorded that album
in London. So we stayed there for one month.
We recorded it at Eastcoach Studio. And during
that time, we were staying at the new Airbnb.
And between the Airbnb and the studio, there
was that pop called The Whippet Inn. Yeah, yeah,
exactly. So we came to London with our band band,
with our stuff. So after a 14 -hour ride, we
just basically just wanted, yeah, we were...
thirsty you know we were thirsty a little bit
wanted to go for a pint so that was the first
pub we went into and the last we went and so
ever since uh every every time we we went out
of the studio uh night we went there for dinner
and a couple of pints or by the end of the session
even went there in the mornings for a cup of
coffee so that was um we thought that was a perfect
perfect down title for that record but it is
but it's not it's one of those pubs it's not
it's not like the king's head or the queen's
head or the something bar it's the whippity this
could be on the yorkshire moors where they race
their dogs across the fields and you know it's
just so way out and british and could be in yorkshire
and the more it really could be it's just exactly
But regardless of that, we're not undoing, doing
the pub any damaging, having a little bit of
a lighthearted chat because at the end of the
day, it's very good publicity for it. You went
there every day and you're looking well on it.
And the pub, well, what more publicity does the
pub need than to have an album named after it?
Tell us about some of the tracks on there. What
are you pushing as singles as the album comes
by? What have you got earmarked for singles?
If I hadn't listened to any of it, what would
you say I should be listening out for? What would
you like me to listen to? What would stand out
to you, do you think? Well, I think one track
that really captures the whole recording session
and the whole album is Bangladesh, I'd say. It
was also the first thing we released. It really
represents the roughness and the perfection and
the imperfection, kind of. I think it's got that
edgy vibe we actually are, and those moments
really represents the whole record pretty well,
I'd say. Is there any inspiration there perhaps
from George Harrison and things he'd done in
the past perhaps? Not at all. Okay. No, no, our
guitar player had that. He actually dreamed Brent
the chorus, the Bangladesh chorus and we kind
of liked it and we recorded it by himself just
for the rough demo and we kind of liked the vibe
of it so we thought it's worth a try to write
that song, even though it sounded weird at the
beginning to have a song titled, named after
Bangladesh. So one day I went to London and wrote
that song, completed that song with Gavin Goldberg,
one of our producers. And we were just sitting
there. lobbering and chatting. What could we
write about Bangladesh? So we thought, let's
go on a fancy trip through Bangladesh. So we
opened up Google Maps and went throughout the
streets. So we got inspired by the landscape,
the beautiful landscape they have. So it's all
about that. It's a made up story. It's like a
fever dream in Bangladesh. Wonderful for Google
Maps. I love it. Google Earth. Okay, what else
can we listen out for? What else would you like,
you know, you're pushing there. What would you
think are going to take people away when they
listen to the album? Well, I think one track
that stands out is Bobby on the Beat probably.
That's that track, even the long -time hardcore
fans of ours weren't expecting something like
that. So it's it's got more of a hip hop kind
of vibe and we even have a rap part in it and
that's but it's still yeah I love I always wanted
to do that to to have that kind of crossroad
that kind of genre thing and that was the perfect
match we were lucky enough to have a rapper and
our producers know to have in the same studio
so we had so we jammed around with him and we
you know we got it down so that's I'm really
proud of that. Cool, we've got the tour to talk
about in a minute as well. Are you just in the
UK at the moment to do stuff or are you still
based in Switzerland most of the time or have
you got a place here now and you're pushing yourself
in the UK your career? Well, most of the time
I'm in Switzerland, and we are all based in Switzerland,
but currently we are on tour. We're able to support
Scouting for Girls, actually, on the whole UK
tour. Yeah, and so, yeah, that's why I'm in Bristol
right now. We're gonna play a show here tomorrow
night, and we started in Belfast and Dublin,
Brighton and Bournemouth, and yeah, it's... It's
uh, it's gonna take us through whole uk till
end of march and then we're heading back to switzerland,
but it's The pleasure to be here actually. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah It takes two to tangle And two to
present a radio show So here's nick and sue Your
musical duo This is Nick and Sue with Chatterbox,
giving you all you need to know about musical
entertainment. Chatterbox Chatterbox Chatterbox
Chatterbox Chatterbox Chatterbox I just look
seeing that so the the hotel or the room and
the place you got I can see the the photo with
the bridge the Clifton suspension bridge which
is a very famous that one right yeah I'm just
seeing that's definitely the Clifton suspension
bridge that is I was thinking yeah that definitely
is yeah just above Bristol on the river seven
yeah yeah definitely yeah okay let's look at
these dates because I can turn this around quite
quick we'll include it with Thursday. So Thursday
the 5th of March we're in Bristol with the Bristol
Academy. 6th of March is the Great Hall Cardiff.
7th of March Dreamland Margate. 9th March Cliffs
Pavilion South End You're in Norwich UEA on Tuesday
10th March 12th March Cambridge Corn Exchange
Friday 13th March The Rock City Nottingham Birmingham
Academy on March 14th Glasgow Academy March 16th
Barbican at York March 17th City Hall Newcastle,
March 20th, Manchester Apollo, 21st of March,
Liverpool Academy, 23rd of March, Leeds Academy,
24th of March, Oxford Academy, 26th of March,
Guildhall Portsmouth, 27th of March, and Roundhouse
London, Camden, 28th of March. That's what I've
got here, left to go. And there are some mega
venues there, some massive ones there, you know.
They are quite impressive, isn't it? Brighton
Dome wasn't a bad one the other night, was it
for you? That was amazing, it really was. We
were 15 years ago, so we went to the Great Escape
Festival and we went to see Kodaline in that
venue and we dreamt about one day we want to
play here. finally made it that's yeah it's beautiful
beautiful venues actually so many legends who
used to play there that uh you can literally
feel the vibes there that's that's amazing it's
an honor i'm not far from there we're about 30
miles from bryton so yeah pacing towards Kint
but yeah so yeah yeah we know the Dome the Brighton
Dome very well I can assure you I even saw the
monkeys there once so there you go You're a little
bit older than me. It was the 80s tour, but yes,
I am. I'm Belgian here, definitely. But yeah,
yeah, that was good fun. I remember that one.
That stands out, that one. That was the link
from the 60s and the, yeah, yeah, it really was.
All right, all right, I see, I see. It was good.
It was good. Yeah, three of them, yeah. Anyway,
I've got to ask you, so this gig with Scouting
for Girls, how did you get here? Did they come
to you or do you go to their management and say,
all right, we're available? Can we support you
sometime? Which way around did it go? Actually
both a little bit. Our manager knows the booking
agency and he suggested us to them and they listened
to our stuff, they watched, checked out our YouTube
videos and the live videos and they thought well
cool live band let's give them a chance and that's
why we're here now so we're really lucky to be
here. That's good and is it your first time in
the uk at all doing anything apart from the recording
of course is it your first time playing live
no no it's not actually we are we once planned
our uh a tour throughout the uk in 2011 uh 11
yeah all up by ourselves we um we had that dream
to uh to go big or go home. So we rented a real
nightliner. We spent all our money in that nightliner
and had our own driver. And what we did was basically
just playing open mics in the empty pubs, which
was the best of adventures ever. And we've been
there ever since as well. So we played London
a couple of times and we went back to Liverpool
as well. So it's always been like... are played
kind of. And of course this time around, it sounds
like you've seen a lot of the UK already to quite
a small number of venues, but it looks like you're
definitely going to every corner here aren't
you, including Belfast in Northern Ireland, and
of course Dublin, the Republic of Ireland, and
you've got two dates there, you've got two dates
running there so that was good, so you've done
them too, and then of course you're doing Scotland,
are you done? yeah yeah on the 16th in Glasgow
trying to see if you've got Edmund though and
did I see Cardiff yeah so Friday you're in Wales
so you really are all the countries within the
UK yeah yeah that's very exciting and there are
there are a lot of cities that I haven't been
yet so I'm really I'm really looking forward
to be there and hope that I can spend some time
there uh yeah exploring it a bit a little bit
yeah why don't you go there when it's still daylight
and that gives it's uh yeah some You've got some
beautiful cities there. You know, some are very
nice. Some are, you know, York, Cambridge, some
are beautiful cities. Not saying any of them
aren't because people live in them all. But some
of them are quite amazing. Yeah, really, it's
quite amazing. Birmingham, I always find is ultra
modern. But then again, that's what it's about.
It's a nice mix of modern and old. You know,
it's a mixture. Yeah, that's what makes a city
though, isn't it? The different architecture.
If they all look the same, it'd be boring, wouldn't
it? You know, absolutely. You name it. That's
all very exciting, very busy time. What's next
for the souls in their own lives? So just say
you come back in six months time. What would
you like to be telling me you've achieved or
you're doing? Well, I hope that by the end of
that tour we're just playing now. we can increase
our fan base in the UK. I wish to come back,
we actually plan to come back to the UK after
that, maybe actually in a half year or so. Maybe
play our own tour or supporting another act,
really depending. But I hope to, if we talk in
a half year, that I'll be somewhere in the UK
already as well, again. well make sure we get
another chat when that happens so when you come
back over absolutely we'll try and get it before
you start so you know everyone you know like
like you started 26th of February in Belfast
well let's see if we can get it i mean we wouldn't
have met you early but i think it was all dates
with you and things you were doing and recording
and mad stuff uh but yeah we can try and get
it start at beginning uh yeah it'd be good then
we can give all the dates out absolutely absolutely
as we go to far so i can see We go to all those
cities on the radio show first I can say I'm
sure we do positive we do. Yeah So there we go.
So yeah, it's amazing. Yeah Positive we do. Okay,
let's do some social media for you Websites and
Facebook and whatever you got just chuck it at
them now so people can have a look at you and
find out more Absolutely yeah we got some actually
we got some brand new shirts brilliant beautiful
beautiful shirts and well you found us on the
the souls .ch or we're mostly active on instagram
so you'll find us under we the souls at on instagram
and uh yeah follow us and you will be a part
of our journey and see how the tour goes whatever
we're doing yeah sure and we just emphasize the
ch of course which is for switzerland so make
that really clear to people when they're looking
at your website. So there can't be any confusion
then. Yeah. So, uh, Jay, it's been great meeting
you. Uh, it's been a great chat, uh, with you,
every success with the whip it in and the singles
and, uh, tour and let's have a chat again sometime.
Yeah. Every success with chat again soon. You
take care. All the best mate. Let's do that.
You too buddy. Take care. Bye bye. Bye. Bye.
You've been listening to the Chatterbox Redux
Podcast with me, Nick, and today our special
guest was Jay Masurly of the Swiss indie band
The Souls. If you're interested in becoming a
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bye. This is Nick and Sue with Chatterbox giving
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