Souly Us Alive Interview

Souly Us Alive Tour

Souly Us have released their new single 'Alive' and its accompanying video. Written by two people who have a lot of stories to tell, 'Alive' is full of life and energy with a powerful music and lyric structure. It's about what it means to be human, about the hardships and dark times and the moments that make us so happy.

Made up of Kate Appleyard and Ben Mawdsley, Souly Us have been described as 'a match made in heaven' and praised for their 'unique sound and incredible connection that continues to capture hearts.'

According to Ben, 'the chords for the song just came out of nowhere but when I had them, I knew that it could be a great song. Kate put pen to paper and before we knew it, we had a song that would lift anybody's spirits. And we realised it had to be the title track of our debut album too.'

Ben recorded and produced the single himself in their home in southern Victoria, while it was mixed by Aria and CMAA-winner Matt Fell at Love HZ Studios in Sydney and mastered by Grammy-winner William Bowden. The band produced and directed the video themselves at Kate's childhood farm. They wanted to incorporate both the countryside and the beach, as the beach is part of their day-to-day lives. It's fitting considering Kate pictured herself 'standing, staring into the distance and watching the waves break against the shore' while penning the lyrics.

This release comes off the back of the band's Hello World EP, which reached #5 on the iTunes Country Music Charts, and the single 'My Soldier', which reached #10. Souly Us have also been on the festival circuit, playing Sound of Summer Inverloch, Pakenham BeerBQ Festival supporting Shannon Noll, Winterfest in Warragul and the Prom Coast Festival. To support the release of 'Alive', they have several dates locked in before the end of the year, giving fans a chance to come along and feel alive too.

Upcoming Show Dates:
Friday 30th August: Vela 9 – Inverloch, VIC
Friday 6th September: RACV Resort – Inverloch, VIC
Friday 27th September: RACV Resort – Inverloch, VIC
Sunday 29th September: Harman Wines – Inverloch, VIC
Friday 4th October: RACV Resort – Inverloch, VIC
Friday 25th October: RACV Resort – Inverloch, VIC
Friday 1st November: RACV Resort – Inverloch, VIC
Saturday 9th November: Sheepdog Trails – Korumburra, VIC
Friday 22nd November: RACV Resort – Inverloch, VIC
Friday 6th December: RACV Resort – Inverloch, VIC
Saturday 7th: Live at Bundy (w/ The Eurogliders) – Bundalaguah, VIC
Friday 27th December: RACV Resort – Inverloch, VIC

Interview with Souly Us

Question: Can you tell us about Alive?

Kate Appleyard and Ben Mawdsley: 'Alive' is enough to make anyone want to spread their wings and fly, encouraging the feeling of absolute freedom.

We are human, we all go through hardships and dark times, then there are the moments that make us so happy. Life is a roller coaster! We must remember to be thankful for the times that make us smile, the times that make us light up and feel immense happiness, the times we feel 'Alive'. Life can be 'a beautiful thing, it's a hell of a ride!'


Question: What inspired the song, Alive?

Kate Appleyard and Ben Mawdsley: Arriving at a time in your life when you feel immense happiness, love and freedom. 'Alive' indulges listeners with it's full of life, energetic and powerful music and lyric structure. One evening when Ben was fiddling around with his Maton EM125C in the lounge room, a riff just came out of nowhere. By the end of the night the chords were set and the lyrics were written - a song was born!


Question: How would you describe your music?

Kate Appleyard and Ben Mawdsley: Our music is mainly country style with a touch of pop.


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Kate Appleyard and Ben Mawdsley: Thats a tricky question! We love connecting to the crowd. We love it when they are listening to our music and enjoying themselves.

We have so much fun when we go out and play together. It feels like nothing else in the world matters and it's just us playing music and losing ourselves in what we love to do.
One of our favourite things to do is entertain people and we get such a good feeling when we perform and also when we compose.


Question: Which is your favourite song to perform live and why?

Kate Appleyard and Ben Mawdsley: Our original song, 'Fighter'.

This is a song that will uplift anybody. It's about going through struggle, but always remaining a fighter in life and the different things it throws our way. This track will be on our debut album, 'Alive' coming out September 20th.


Question: What should we expect from your upcoming tour?

Kate Appleyard and Ben Mawdsley: We don't have any tours planned as yet. It's in the pipeline!


Question: If you could have anyone, in the world, attend a show, who would it be?

Kate Appleyard : Carrie Underwood, she inspires me!
Ben Mawdsley: Keith Urban; I would love to have a jam on stage!


Question: What is the story behind the band name?
Kate Appleyard and Ben Mawdsley: For us, music is healing. It is there through the good and the bad. The music we write comes from our heart and soul. This is how we came up with 'Souly Us'.


Question: How did the band come together?

Kate Appleyard and Ben Mawdsley: We were both members of a band locally. This is how we met and became friends. We wanted to start a duo together and from here our friendship turned into love and our passion for music grew stronger.


Question: What motivates you most when writing music?

Kate Appleyard : Lyrically, it's therapeutic for me to draw on my own life experiences, or the things happening to the people around me. I also think it's fun to be creative in my storytelling and make up scenarios in my head, then write them!

Ben Mawdsley: Musically, I base the songs we compose off of the emotions that accompany the topic we are writing about. I feel the music.


Question: Which music/artists are you currently listening to?

Kate Appleyard : Currently on my Spotify playlist I have Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Kip Moore and Ryan Hurd.

Ben Mawdsley: Lady Antebellum, Eli Young Band, Sugarland - and Souly Us! We are currently finalising our album songs so critiquing is at it's strongest point!


Question: What or who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Kate Appleyard : Carrie Underwood – I have always admired her performance ability and love her songs!

Ben Mawdsley: The guitar legend, Tommy Emmanuel.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Kate Appleyard : Oooh, definitely Carrie Underwood or Keith Urban, I would be equally happy with both!

Ben Mawdsley: Kip Moore for sure, I love his style.


Question: What's a typical day like?

Kate Appleyard: Writing music during the day, performing music at night, throw in some Yoga and walking too. Oh, and Ben has two coffees!


Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming a music artist?

Kate Appleyard: I always get a buzz out of performing. But the way we constantly grow together as musicians and as partners – this is the best feeling. I love everything about what we do.

Ben Mawdsley: Writing and performing music with Kate, plus entertainment people; what we have is magical.


Question: Can you share your socials?

Kate Appleyard and Ben Mawdsley: Facebook
@souly_us_music/
YouTube
www.soulyusmusic.com


Interview by Brooke Hunter