By: Staff
"Wicked Scenes" by Soulish is a mesmerizing track that plunges into themes of deceit, mistrust, and emotional upheaval. The song unfolds like a cinematic experience, weaving dark, film noir-inspired imagery as the narrator confronts betrayal and confusion under the "blue moon," a haunting symbol of isolation. With its whispered vocals and searing guitar riffs, Soulish conjures a moody, atmospheric soundscape that feels like a wanderer’s relentless pursuit of answers, drifting through shadowy alleys and empty streets.
Hailing from Toronto, Soulish is a dynamic five-piece Indie-Soul band that came together in 2020. The lineup features Ernesto Alonso on bass and vocals, Hector Alonso on drums, Jakob Goldstein on lead guitar, Joshua Napal on synths, guitar, and vocals, and Cole Solish on rhythm guitar and vocals. Their diverse backgrounds and shared love of storytelling shape a unique sound that draws on Latin rhythms, modern psychedelia, and indie rock.
Vocally, "Wicked Scenes" excels with its lush, emotive style—melding bluesy, spoken-word segments with soaring, melodic passages. This dynamic interplay, paired with textured instrumentation, evokes the imagery of a smoky, intimate venue, with the audience captivated, perched at small, candlelit tables, hanging on every word as the story twists and turns. The result is a rich, unforgettable sonic journey that keeps listeners hooked from start to finish.
Get ready to be captivated by Soulish’s latest release, where moody atmospheres and rich storytelling collide. Let the lush vocals and dynamic instrumentation take you on a cinematic ride you won’t forget.
Stream "Wicked Scenes" now on all platforms! Catch Soulish live at their upcoming shows – don’t miss the chance to experience their electrifying sound in person!
We had the chance to catch up with Soulish for an exclusive interview in "The Cage" Music Blog.
Here’s how it went:
Hello Soulish, we’re thrilled to have you for this interview! We’ve had a blast diving into your music and exploring your work on “Wicked Scenes”, and now we’re even more excited to learn more about you, both as artists, and people.
Please tell us the names and roles of each band member.
Ernesto Alonso - Bass and vocals
Hector Alonso - drums
Jakob Goldstein - lead guitar
Joshua Napal - synths, guitar and vocals
Cole Solish - rhythm guitar and vocals
We have so much to say about your music and the incredible way you blend genres. It's like putting cheese on something versus melting it. When it melts, it becomes a part of whatever it's on, and that's exactly what you’ve done with your sound and individual instrument and vocal contributions. Additionally, the final style is instantly recognizable and carries a lot of weight. We listen to a ton of music, and this is truly something special. Was this unique sound part of the band's vision from the start, or did it evolve as you were making your first recordings?
I think we explored a similar sound at times early on, but we also had a lot of influences and directions that we wanted to experiment with. We’ve done the R&B sound on other songs like Symbiotic & Living History, but this one was us just really keeping it simple and honing in on a vibe that we know we’ve pulled off before.
Ernesto
We’ve never asked individual band members about their specific approach to styling their music within the song, so this is a first, and we’re excited. Here we go: The opening of “Wicked Scenes” has an extremely unique guitar melody to it. There’s so many different ways to describe the sound of an instrument, but we’d like to know from both Cole and Joshua directly what the sound intention was and what specific words you would attach to the final sound?
I was listening to a lot of connan mockasin at the time and kind of wanted to make a riff that was slightly strange and quirky in sound. I’m not sure if I evoked that but I liked the result.
Joshua
I dont really play much in the beginning of the song but considering myself, Joshua and Jakob are all playing different guitar parts on this song, I wanted to make sure that my contributions were as complimentary as possible. So my focus was more on rhythmic aspects and giving the song a bit of breathing room between the different parts as well.
Cole
Next, we want to ask Ernesto about the bass stylings and who (what artists before you) you feel could have possibly inspired this styling? We asked this question because there is a very unique technique created and it’s not something we can attach ourselves to say “sounds like “, which is unusual because usually we can. The question ultimately is where did you develop this very unique style?
On this track my goal with the bass was to keep it real simple and let the rest of the song ride over top of the bass. The deep sub bass in the verse & chorus come from a modern R&B/hip-hop angle, and in the post-chorus I chose to use a synth bass that’s reminiscent of someone like Jordan Rakei who is a big influence for me. For our other tunes when the bass is more forward, my inspiration comes from guys like Rocco Palladino & Jake Portrait.
Ernesto
Hector, we wanted to know how you manage to cut through all the noise with your clean, cut drums that your fills and styling are extremely powerful and maintain the melody, but also literally shine right through. How would you describe your technique and what is your emotional sensation when providing the foundation for this song?
The drums in this song are meant to provide a steady solid and sometimes draggy backbeat with the sporadic syncopation. The fills are meant to be short and with a triplet feel added, to contribute to the laid back feel of the song. The drums in the outro then pick up in energy to deliver that breakdown high intensity conclusion to the tune with snappy snare shots at the very end.
I think my technique is mainly based on linear drumming in an attempt to provide clear drum notes at all times that can sit comfortably in the mix and be easy to process digitally later on if needed.
Hector
Vocally, the song envelops so many styles, and it gives us this feeling of everything — like a blues element where the singer is telling a story, almost talking, then suddenly switching to carrying the vocals, where they just soar over the drums and guitar. That combination creates so much depth and texture, you can almost picture the whole band in a dark room, a smoky venue, with an entire crowd sitting at those little round tables, completely fixated, because you just have to know where the story is going to take you. We know we're supposed to ask a question at some point, so here it is: how many genres do you feel you captured in this song?
The three big ones are Blues, R&B and Rock. But maybe just Blues cuz it’s the roots of the other two. This is probably our most ‘refined’ song when it comes to nailing down a genre, so it’s one we’re really happy with. The vibe you described is totally what we were going for so it’s great to hear that it came across how we intended it to.
Ernesto
The trio of singers' styling is atypical especially in rock and roll. The end result is a terrific final performance that is exceptional. Can you please tell us more about how this was developed?
I don’t actually sing in this particular song, but this approach came out of a more practical sense of sharing the responsibility and load of singing while also having a bit more freedom and flexibility to have harmonies and different approaches to our songs based on who’s carrying which parts. It took a couple years of trial and error with some really talented singers who we all loved, but this time around we decided to keep it internal and try to do something outside of the box. Shoutout to our past singers, especially Chris who you’ll hear on some of our previous recordings.
- Cole
We want to know who mixed your music and whose idea was it for the synth and sort of quickly panned sound at the 20 second mark of the song? (additionally we must comment that there is an endless supply of ear candy throughout the song with the mixing being absolutely terrific and the final track being incredibly crystal clear making for this to be a top quality listening experience).
All production was done by me (Ernesto) and mixing was done by our dear friend Simon Austin. I’m pretty sure that little synth line came about from Josh and I messing around when we were originally making the demo. Experimenting with synths and production tricks is definitely one of my favourite parts of producing, it keeps things fresh and interesting.
Ernesto
We read, “Wicked Scenes explores themes of deception, trust, and emotional turmoil.” Can you tell us if this song was derived from one particular experience or was it a grouping of experiences from one or more band members?
The lyrics for this song are totally fictional. I typically write from a personal perspective, but for this one Josh and I decided to try something new and we created a story that encapsulates the themes that we described in that blurb.
Ernesto
There is a particular pattern of most iconic rock songs in that they allow each individual instrument moments to shine. There are some new styles of music where there is a persistent pattern and sustained “wall” of music with fewer shining moments. This song literally feels like each instrument has its moment in the spotlight. When writing the music is it something that’s done in a group session or is each one of you bouncing ideas off of each other and then separately creating the melodies to then return for almost your “pitch “of what you’ve created?
We’re a really collaborative group. We all write and bring ideas to the table. Sometimes it’s just a chord progression or a riff. Sometimes it’s a more fleshed out song, and we kinda just go from there. Sometimes we jam it at our studio and shake it up, other times we write something from scratch in the DAW and just let it build into its own thing. We all have different approaches and attitudes around song writing and I think that’s what makes our songs so strong. There’s no one piece that makes us Soulish. It’s the fact that we all bring our own identities and styles and massage that all together until we have something that just sounds like us.
- cole
If you had to say what style of setting you feel this song would be most appropriate. Would it be a movie or TV sync, a live performance in a small 500 person or less than you or a festival? The question is not which venue would you most prefer to play rather, which do you feel, it’s best suited for the listeners to fully immerse?
I think this song is perfect for a dramatic, story-telling music video. Like you mentioned, the track has this smoky, film noir vibe that could definitely benefit from visuals that convey the same energy. We’ve already got some ideas for how we can bring this to life, so we’ll make it happen eventually.
Ernesto
What do you change about your music when it’s performed live versus when it’s recorded in the studio?
We’ve been experimenting with this very question lately but for the most part we try to keep our songs as true to the recorded version as possible, but add the occasional jam or solo when we feel the song can be extended live. For this song specifically in our live shows, we bring the guitars forward since there’s three of playing on it. Also, Ernesto doesn’t play bass live for this. We just pump a bunch of sub bass through the speakers.
- cole
What’s the story behind how you chose your band's name?
Honestly, one of my oldest friends made a really bad pun playing off my last name, Solish, and it kinda stuck. If ya can’t shake it, embrace it!
Cole
Can you tell us more about the album cover artwork and its meaning and intent for the listener to absorb?
The artwork was meant to support the music in conveying that mysterious, emotional vibe. I think that the hazy & candid photo that we took does exactly that. It’s also just a cool shot.
Ernesto
Are there opportunities for you to perform this incredible music where you live in Toronto? What was the best / favorite past show?
We’ve been playing around Toronto for a few years now. We’re actually going to be playing a special Halloween show the week after the release of Wicked Scenes. This’ll be our second “Spooktacular” where we dress up as a band, play a song or two as whatever we’re dressed up as (last year we dressed as the Lonely Island and did a medley of our favourite tunes from them) have a costume contest and play a rippin set. We always strive to make our shows as fun and memorable as possible, what’s the fun in putting on a show that’s no different from any other band. We’re all about having a good time.
Cole
Which of your already released songs is the most important to you or had the most impact on the band's career, and why?
I think our song Symbiotic holds that spot for us now. That was our first song that we had our fans sing back to us when we would play it live and it just kinda grew into something we knew our fans were always stoked for. Felt really special knowing how much our fans came to love that song and we can’t wait to blow that one out of the water with our next great song or album.
Cole
There is a lot of technology available today. Some artists have described it as “overwhelming” or “too much.” The current climate of music is growing with computers being more prominently used for both creation and correction. Do you feel this has a positive or negative impact on the end result for music?
Progress and change are necessary. Bring it on! If you can’t adapt to the changes and new technologies, how are you gonna create art that breaks the mould and brings forward something new and exciting. I love finding out about new producers and approaches to songwriting and recording. Even though we’re a pretty straightforward band set up, there really isn’t any technology we shy away from.
- cole
Most people love or hate social media; where do you land?
I find it frustrating as it can become a bit overwhelming for me at times. But I do appreciate the direct fan engagement and the ability to analyse every detail of your bands data. Gives a really unique perspective on how to grow and target an audience all at the tip of your finger. But I do find the competitive nature, constant fighting for attention and potential negative impacts on mental health and sharing of information a bit draining. My inspiration to use social media definitely ebbs and flows.
- cole
So, what’s next? Can you share the full details on your future projects and what fans should be excited about? We’re hearing about more releases, and we’d love to be the first to announce it!
We’ve got some more singles coming your way, we’re doing a fall tour in Ontario throughout November and maybe, just maybe we’ll be releasing a live off the floor session set of videos. Make sure to follow us on Instagram to get the scoop all that we’re doing as soon as we announce it.
Cole
End Interview
We’re happy to have shared Soulish’s exciting journey with you and uncovered such inspiring insights about their creative process.
Now, click the links below to experience their incredible work firsthand!
Check out this latest release and listen to more of Soulish on Spotify & YouTube.
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