Soul Trigger

London's hottest Jazz Funk band

Jonathan Lack of Soul Trigger sat down with us recently to talk jazz, funk and getting down & dirty with the band. Read the interview below of one of the hottest band's to hit the scene in London this year.

Who are Soul Trigger? How did you come together?

Soul Trigger is Allan Shrestha (Drums), Louis Dennington (Keys), Phil Martin (Bass) Jonathan Lack (Sax and backing vocals) and Murray McChlery (Guitar and Lead Vocals).

We got together in June 2009 at the Breakfast studios in Clapham [Junction, London]. Murray and I had been in touch online for quite a while and had very similar tastes in music. Funk was what we wanted to play and is what this band has always been about. Murray knew Allan from other bands and I knew Phil from work and we all had a similar idea about what we wanted to play and just went for it. Our first gig was in March at a Walkabout bar in Temple, London (an Aussie hang out). It was a short set consisting mostly of covers, but it went down well.

Shortly after, Louis joined us on Keys and our sound was born.

what are your influences?

There’s a wide range of styles that influence our music. As a funk band primarily, we love to include Rock, Reggae, Jazz and Soul music in our style. If I could pick out just a few of the many bands that influence us individually and as a band, I would say James Brown, Funkadelic, Rage Against The Machine, Stevie Wonder, Jeff Beck, Tower of Power, Jamiroquai, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Acoustic Ladyland, Jimi Hendrix, Primus, Fat Freddy's Drop, Bob Marley, Larry Graham and The Specials.

What's your earliest memory of music?

Unfortunately, the first thing that comes to mind is Agadoo by Black Lace. I think it was played at my cousin’s birthday party when I was a toddler. It was pretty popular back then I can tell you.

Did you grow up in a musical household? is your family musical?

It was a very musical household and I was encouraged to play instruments from fairly young. My parents have always played a lot of music around the house and although I used to love Pop music, I was fascinated by my parent’s vinyl collection. This was mainly Classic/Prog Rock and Funk. Instrumentally, my brother is a guitarist and keyboardist and my parents and granddad all tried music.

What's the dynamic of the band like?

We all bring very different things to the band, both in and out of rehearsal time. All of us are creative and inventive with ideas, so rehearsals are most of time really great fun and productive. We have a sense of humour about things, essential for this music and generally work hard on our image. Friendship is a crucial part of any band. No one wants to see a band that are miserable.

For gigs, we have a lot of energy and good humour between us, which has gotten much better in recent weeks and as we've gotten more confident with what we're doing. It's such an enjoyable type of music and as a band we make the most of it.

Do you collaborate well together?

With different backgrounds in music, we bring a lot of influence and style to rehearsal and to gigs. With song-writing, it's primarily done away from rehearsals by individual members of the band, but then is mainly fleshed out within rehearsals. It can take one rehearsal or weeks of rehearsal until we're happy with a track or gig set. Everyone will generally write their own lines, but ideas are shared about until there is agreement.

I'd say we collaborate really well. Everyone's ideas are there in all of our songs and when we play live. Given that we only get together once a week, we've had some excellent results.

Do you think it's easier or harder to stand out as a band in the age of YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, X-Factor?

I think these days there is now a difference between real, organic, home-grown music and a vast majority of pop music that has come about. Web culture has changed so much over the past 10 years that we are now in a state where recorded music is cheap or free to buy and live music has taken more of a precedence for bands. Sadly though, image has taken such a priority with new bands in recent years that good song writing or musical skill has often taken a backseat.

I think though, that facebook and youtube are a good way of passing on your sound or gaining a fan base. The technology is there to use and if done right, could make a difference.

In music these days, funk isn't a big genre. It doesn't sell that well, but is a great live experience. Modern technology can make it easier to connect to an audience that wants to find you and as long as you can back that up with great live performances, you can still do well in the long run.

What I find most intriguing is that funk is a quintessential part of hip hop and pop, but it doesn't have the same status.

What do you think is the key to being a successful band?

Ideally, being great musicians that have the same goal with what they want to achieve, that can get on and have a laugh (it's a hard task to get songs done and to get anywhere, so having fun along the way makes it worth it) are hard working and push for fans and gigs. Share the idea that the next gig will be better and bigger than the last and do your best to get more fans.

You guys are getting ready to play the Troubadour in London - are you excited to play such a legendary venue?

Playing on a stage that has such a history is something to be proud of. More importantly, it's a longer set for us and will be a stonking chance for us to get noticed. We're really excited to be honest.

(just an fyi from owoa: those that have played the Troubadour include Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Paul Simon, Sammy Davis Jr. and oh yeah - Led Zepplin used to jam there late night for fun)

There do you see yourself and the band in 5 years?

I'd like to have had commercial success within the next 5 years and would like to be committing more time to it. Would like to be touring in 5 years and working solidly on material. Ideally, to have a similar reputation to bands like New Mastersounds of JTQ and generally doing well with.

If you could collaborate with any artists - alive or dead - who would it be? And why?

Funkadelic, Tower or power or Hendrix for me. Mainly because I love their work and think we'd make a great funky sound with them.

Desert Island discs – 5 discs you would take with you.

For me personally, this will change daily, but for now it's just this:
Pink Floyd - dark side of the moon
Mandrill - live at montreux jazz festival 2004
Miles David - Tribute to Jack Johnson
Blur - parklife
Red hot chili peppers - blood sugar sex magic

Many thanks to Jon for sitting down with us this month. Check out Soul Trigger:
Soul Trigger on Facebook
www.myspace.com/soultrigger