As harmonious as their music, Old Soul strives to propel you back to a time where you could be a punk-rocker, with flowers in your hair
“Gang’s all here!” the band unanimously exclaims, as our screens respectively light up, signaling we were ready to begin. A grinning bunch, with radiant energy
On a cold February evening, Old Soul and I gathered (virtually, mind you) to have a chat, and I got to know the talent behind their single, Fall Into Your Love — which came out in late November 2021.
You can tell they have been doing this for a while. Making music together since 2017, Old Soul bounce off each other effortlessly, finishing each other’s thoughts with an ease that can only be attained from a camaraderie, and mutual liking attained from being friends for a long time.
“I’ve known the guitarist, Peter, for quite some time since high school,” drummer Palfalvi recounts. “He and I have always played covers together, he on the guitar, me on the drums. And then, there was a time where we went our separate ways, just focusing on our studies and college. And then eventually I met Loreta, our singer. She turned out to be an amazing vocalist, and she suggested we get together and form a band. And she thought of all the times I recounted playing with Peter, so we ended up just trying things out in the basement playing old Cream covers, old Black Sabbath covers from the ’60s, 70s style music, and that’s basically the beginning of the band. And then we were completed by our friend here, Joe, who is an incredible bass player, who Peter actually met.”
“Yeah! I met him at John Abbott,” guitarist Rallis jumps in.
John Abbott College is an English-language public college, CEGEP for Quebec natives, located in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada, near the western tip of the Island of Montreal.
“We had a class together, and we started talking about music and going like “Oh! You like the same music I like!” And you know, when you’re just talking to a person about music, and you start talking about specific songs on specific albums and like on that part and going crazy over a little bit on a record collection, and realizing just how in tune you are.”
And the rest, as they say, is a rock’n’roll seal of fate. But how did the name come to be?
“I think we were just looking for a name,” vocalist Triconi chuckles. “And we were just brainstorming some names, and then Peter [Rallis] was like ‘Old Soul,’ and then we’re like, yeah, we’re old souls! I feel like it just came naturally.”
“It was a fitting sentiment,” Rallis agrees. “It’s something that has like a mass appeal. You know, everyone’s heard the term “old soul.” And people have certain feelings towards that saying and what they think it means to them. And so there’s a bit of depth in it, as well.”
And with the name, came an emblem.
From afar, Old Soul’s band logo resembles a bohemian sun, with red rays and a green circle. But a closer look will make you notice that circle is actually a snake devouring itself.
“The snake, and the sun are common symbols in our art,” Triconi says. “Because they’re symbols that are everlasting, that are very cyclical, especially the snake. And how it’s completely going like recycling and rehashing, and that’s kind of what we’re doing when we play this old form of music.”
Fall Into Your Love is a tune that propels you to 1969 Woodstock, with nostalgic psychedelic Rock influences — the kind akin to the Doors’ Break on Through (To the Other Side) or Jefferson Airplane’s Somebody to Love.
“We all really love [psychedelic Rock music],” bassist Bottaro says. “And I guess it’s the most prominent genre that we listen to but we’re pretty eclectic. We listen to a variety of genres. But I think we’re just big fans of like, the live aspect of this [style of music], that those two decades [1960s and 1970s] are known for. We all have some sort of attachment to it in one way or another.”
“That’s like the common thread I feel between all of us,” Palfalvi adds. “It’s something that we all enjoy quite a bit. We have different tastes like Joe said, but it’s that one thing that we all sort of agree on as being something we enjoy.”
“We love especially, just what the whole era stands for, you know, ” Triconi says. “With the youth kind of reclaiming freedom and I think that’s what society needs right now.”
“Yeah, again, you have the reliving of that sort of idealistic dream that we all have,” Rallis chimes in. “Sometimes you listen to a song and you’re just like, you think you’re [back in time] for a moment, and then you realize how many things have changed, like the material things all changed. But there is that one thing that’s not material, and that’s what connects to the spirit, to the soul, in a way.”
And how did the song come to be?
“It’s definitely a song that’s evolved over time,” Rallis shrugs. “Because we’ve had the song in our pocket, I’d say for like, two years. It’s an old song. So it just started off with a guitar riff, and then like a nice groovy, you know, rhythm section, and great vocals. Everyone gets excited , and I believe the less you think the more you produce, sometimes.”
“I totally agree,” Triconi says. “I feel like most of our songs are written just like, in the moment, while we’re all together. Most of them aren’t kind of premeditated, they just kind of flow naturally, whatever is coming out of us at that moment kind of becomes part of it.”
“We’re always building on top of another,” Bottaro agrees. “And it kind of forms a shape in the end.”
“I kind of just want [our listeners] to lose themselves in whatever they’re feeling,” Triconi continues. “Or even to connect deeply to what is either being said or what is being conveyed by the music. I’m not expecting any complete, you know, sort of message to come across but just an enjoyment you know, sensation of feeling an experience. It’s not complicated,” she chuckles. “It’s a very simple thing.”
Prior to writing their own music and incorporating their lyrics, Old Soul has been known to rock the Montreal live music scene, by performing covers of old Rock songs. They jokingly state they are one of the few “jam bands” left.
“This is obviously not true,” Palfalvi laughs. “But as we say in practice, we just like to let loose, and sometimes we’ll have improvised instrumental portions and Loreta will join in and sing over it. So we hope to bring that old school sort of call and response style that was epitomized by guys like [Led] Zeppelin and Cream and just the ability to in the future, especially, improvise and give people a new show every time instead of something that’s like a rehash.”
“We put a little twist in [our covers],” Bottaro continues. “And everyone knows, Rock is in a pretty weird place, has been for a while. And so, with our originals, we can kind of bring sort of the essence of older material but refresh it with like a modern twist. I would say it’s familiar.”
“And sometimes that means our music does go to different places,” Rallis says. “And it’s a bit longer. It’s not as big or as contained as a Beatles song. But it still has the sound and the feeling that you’d expect from something. It’s the raw energy. There’s a pocket there. There’s a meshing of each respective member, that doesn’t sound like anything else, because none of the bands we love sound like anyone else either.”
Inevitably, however, when the COVID-19 pandemic overtook the world, it put a stop to live music everywhere — hindering the band, as they are notorious for their live performances. But it also wasn’t without its creative advantages.
“It definitely affected us,” Bottaro says. “I think it affected all artists, to some degree or in some way. We kind of had a lot of shows booked in the month of April. So we kind of had like some steam rolling, and then everything got cut off. So we were pretty disappointed with that. But at the start, when no one knew what was going on, it was kind of hard to practice. We didn’t know if we could see each other for a certain amount of time. But we still managed to get together and still keep it going. It was definitely tough without any live shows. Because we have like more incentive I guess to really practice the nitty gritty stuff, and get everything tight when we have a show planned. So during that time, we came up with a lot of new music, and we were writing stuff.”
“When we couldn’t see each other,” Palfalvi adds, “We were sending a lot of recordings to each other, little snippets, excerpts of some songs and giving each other feedback. It was a good creative period for us, because when you’re also doing the live stuff, as much as we enjoy it, you have to have a repertoire of covers to kind of give people a little bit of something that they recognize along with your original material. So it was a good time for us to kind of not have to maintain those covers, and work more explicitly on original stuff.”
With their first studio single, the band had to adjust to the methodical, organized recording in studios as opposed to playing live, off-the-bat improvised music — especially given the fact that the song was recorded in a day, as Old Soul had reserved the studio, at Planet Studios in Montreal, for just 8 hours.
“It was a challenge,” Palfalvi confesses. “It was our first experience in the studio together, and we all really wanted to do a good job and represent our material, the best we can. And in a studio, you have to play in certain boundaries that you wouldn’t have live. But it’s good it focused us and made us get tight. It was nerve wracking, but it was a good experience and practice.”
“When you get to studio, things have to be a lot more precise,” Rallis says. “Because the more precise you are, the easier jobs the producer has later on to, you know, actually finish the product. A lot of songs nowadays are recorded on a click. So that means things become a bit more rudimentary, and you have to make sure that however you play, you know, the riff has to be the same volume, the jumping has to be the same volume, and it has to maintain a certain level of composure. Whereas live, you could just rip it and say “This is the live, this is what’s happening and that’s what it is.”
In the light of the pandemic, the members took it upon themselves to learn about production, with the hope of self-producing one day. As the frustration with the lack of live performances grew, they found themselves investing in recording equipment, as well as writing a lot of original material.
“It’s been a lot of fun, you know, recording ourselves even like with the few things that we have,” Bottaro says. “We have a lot of opportunities to overdub stuff that we couldn’t otherwise do. And it’s just fun. We haven’t even hit the tip of the iceberg with it, but look out, we have a lot of material incoming.”
“Yeah, we’ve been recording a new record,” Palfalvi excitedly says. “We have these songs mostly recorded, and we’re just in the process of mixing them now. We’re excited about the new [government] statements, and with certain measures being dropped, we’re really excited for people to come together again. Expect lots of shows!”
And indeed, the first show has just been announced
Mark your calendars, folks because on March 19, Old Soul is back live, to grace your eardrums!
The event will take place at The Blue Dog Motel, on 3958 St Laurent Blvd.
Make sure to visit both Old Soul’s and The Blue Dog Motel’s social media accounts for more information.
OLD SOUL
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