MacD on Music: Sweet Soulstice Music

Derry, as we all know, has produced some of the finest musical talent the world has ever known. Our music has touched all corners of the world and appeared in countless death scenes in Grey’s Anatomy (okay, just one has done that, but you get the point).

Of course, the question this raises is how? How do we create such amazing talent? One answer is: The NWRC. The music programme in the NWRC (or the Tech as it’s commonly known as here) is responsible for some of this generation’s finest musicians, talent such as Hannah Richardson (CHERYM), Roe, Dylan Bradley (Parker, who’s new single Ucluelet was released this past Friday) and Clodagh May.

More recently, it has given us the subject of this week’s column, Soulstice.

Soulstice are MAI (lead vocals), Fallon Smith (guitar) and Odhran McCann (bass) and are a very recent addition to the Derry music scene, having just formed in March of this year.

Talking about how they first came together, Odhran tells me “We’re all Tech students. We’re all doing music performance in the Tech. We formed a little friend group and then we started playing together.”

Fallon continues “The band started at the beginning of March I would say and has kind of just gone from there. We were all in a band before this, but we split up due to creative differences and now we formed this.”

Odhran reassures me that they’re “all still friends”. Talking about their musical influences, MAI told me “Mine would probably be Mitski, Lana Del Rey, Phoebe Bridgers.” For Fallon, it’s “FINNEAS, Gregory Alan Isakov, which is quite the name, and I would probably say Phoebe Bridgers as well.”

After forming, one of their first gigs was the 24 Hour Busk for Homelessness, on the 17th-18th of March. MAI tells me, “It went pretty well I would say.”

Odhran: “it was very cold out. It wasn’t the best weather, but it was under a little roof, so it wasn’t too bad.”

Fallon: “It was a great event. It was a good cause to be a part of, definitely.” We then spoke about the Derry music scene in general, and Odhran says, “It’s quite strong.”

MAI adds “it’s very lively. There’s a lot of young people, I’ve noticed, in the Derry music scene.”

Fallon: “I wouldn’t say it’s as strong as it was before COVID, but it’s starting to come back alive now definitely. Especially in 2023, there’s been so much going on around the city for young musicians. The Nerve Centre, as well, is a huge help to people who are just starting out.”

We then spoke about the Tech, and the invaluable help they’ve provided for groups such as them. MAI says “I think the Tech has been really good for all of us. The amount of opportunities we’ve been given through the Tech, and the equipment we’re allowed to use. We have full studios, practice rooms. All you really need to do it book it. You don’t need to pay or anything.”

Fallon adds “As a young musician, the Northwest Regional College is really the place to study. It’s a great place to start off at, because they just have so many connections in the industry and they can really get you into places. We played at a festival down in Bundoran a couple of months back, and we wouldn’t have been able to do that without the Tech.”

Odhran added that “the tutors are great.”

Finally, we moved onto MAI’s single, which, at the time of our meeting, was still over a month away (the single, ‘Hologram Halo’, was launched in the Nerve Centre this past Friday). When we met up, MAI said that they’ve been “busy recording, performing, I had photos this week.” The single was the first release by any of the band members, with hopefully much more to come in the future.

Soulstice can be found on Instagram @soulsticeband. Fallon can be found @fallonraiynemusic and MAI is @mai.musicofficial. MAI’s debut single ‘Hologram Halo’ is out now.

Now, onto other business. As mentioned earlier, Parker’s new single ‘Ucluelet’ is out now. They also promised to make “the biggest announcement we’ve made as a band so far” on Friday past.

Unfortunately, my deadline is the day before the big reveal, so you’ll have to find out what it is via Facebook or Instagram @bandcalledparker.

Also, this Thursday, TRAMP are playing in Belfast’s Deer’s Head as part of the Output Showcase. The event is free so be sure to catch them at 10pm if you’re in the area. For more information, find them on Facebook and Instagram @outputbelfast. TRAMP are, of course, @thisistramp.