Introducing: The Ultra Violets

With festival slots at the likes of Boardmasters, Y Not? and Isle of Wight, and a support list that includes The Libertines, McFly and Feeder, the Cornwall-based indie-rock quartet have carved out a reputation for riotous live shows and razor-sharp songwriting. But with their new single HONEY PIE—dropping June 6th—they’re turning the volume up on something darker.

An incendiary critique of social media’s dopamine-fuelled illusion of perfection, HONEY PIE is all grit and no gloss. Fueled by biting lyrics and an urgent, riff-heavy sound, the track calls out the collective blind eye society turns to the chaos behind the curated feed.

We caught up with The Ultra Violets to talk instant gratification, toxic timelines, and why HONEY PIE might just be their most unfiltered statement yet.

1. Somewhere Soul has grown into a vital voice in underground music over the past nine years—what was the original vision when you founded it, and how has that evolved with the platform’s growth?

To be honest, when I first started sharing music recommendations online I didn’t really have a vision. I played in a band during sixth form and then was DJing throughout my time at University, so there had always been a musical outlet in my life. When I moved to London I felt really inspired by the bubbling UK Jazz and Soul scene so I started writing music reviews and sharing recommendations on Instagram. At the time more than anything it was just a passion project away from my 9-5 that kept me sane and gave me a sense of purpose. 

It wasn’t until I started doing A&R for an independent record label that I learnt more about the mechanics of the music industry and how broken the streaming model is, that’s what lit a fire in me to make Somewhere Soul a force for good in the industry.

That’s when I started providing social media and music industry advice to artists on top of sharing new music recommendations. I hosted regular online workshops about topics such as running a DIY PR campaign, navigating social media and creating a release strategy. 

Then about 12 months ago the current version of my platform was sort of decided for me when a few posts went viral. My audience snowballed from 10,000 to 500,000 to now 900,000 very quickly and suddenly 99% of my followers were music fans as opposed to artists.

On reflection I’m actually really glad it happened that way. It’s a lot more enjoyable shouting about the music on behalf of the artists rather than trying to teach them to do something that most of them ultimately don’t even really want to be doing. It feels like I’m having more impact this way and that’s always been my number one priority. 

2. In today’s hyper-digital music landscape, platforms often focus on clicks over community. Why was it important for you to build Somewhere Soul around deeper values like artist support and community nurturing?

I have always felt incredibly indebted to music and to the artists behind the music, simply because music has had such a profoundly positive impact on my life. And I fear that things such as the album format and the artists behind the music who sacrifice so much and pour so much of themselves into their music, are getting forgotten about and taken for granted.

An artist might spend over a year on an album and ‘fans’ will skip past the interlude or a track they don’t instantly love. Maybe it’s diminishing attention spans, maybe it’s playlist culture, maybe it’s the sheer volume of music that gets released, I’m not sure.

But what I do know is that if you want to keep hearing from the artists you love, you need to actively support them beyond your monthly streaming subscription. People see buying records at a cost but I genuinely see it as an investment and your return on investment is those artists being able to continue creating the music that enriches your life. 

It’s the same with live shows, I view gigs in the same way as others may view a fitness class, it’s an investment in my wellbeing and an investment into the career of the artists. So I guess the deeper values embedded in what I share on social media come from a place of concern and resistance to where it feels like we’re heading. Having said that, I’ve been really lifted to connect with so many people online who buy records, listen deeply and clearly value music in the same way that I do.

3. The Rituals – Volume 1 compilation feels both personal and expansive, tracing a sonic arc across a full day. Can you talk us through how you approached the curation and what that 24-hour musical journey means to you?

When I first decided that I was going to put a compilation together, the concept of the compilation was something I couldn’t get my head around initially. Like others, I’m not really an expert on a specific genre of music and I share such a broad variety of music through Somewhere Soul that I couldn’t think of a coherent way to piece together a compilation. 

Then the penny dropped one day when I was playing with my, at the time, 6 month old daughter. She was having a major meltdown and I played an Ezra Collective track (God Gave Me Feet For Dancing) and she was soothed instantly. 

I smiled to myself and thought about how music really is there for you at all times. From the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed, music has your back. 

So I thought about the music I listen to across a 24 hour period and I quickly realised just how ritualistically I listen to music. First thing in the morning I’m always listening to things like spiritual jazz or deep slow burning soul. Once the day gets going it’s typically bright and groove heavy Hip Hop or Jazz Fusion. Once the day starts winding down I reach for cinematic and psychedelic sounds. And because I DJ the D side was always going to be dance music. Once I had those themes locked in based around that gradual shift from light to dark it was quite easy to think of artists who had the right sort of sound to fit into that journey.

4. From household names to rising stars across continents, the compilation is a celebration of global jazz and soul. How did you go about selecting such a diverse array of artists, and what threads connect them in your view?

I think ultimately it was about making sure I nailed the sonic journey of the compilation. I really wanted it to be a great listening experience and to be a true representation of what I listen to across 24 hours. It was also important to me that it wasn’t just a collection of amazing tracks. I wanted there to be a sense of community behind the record and that’s why all of the artists featured on the record have been involved in the Somewhere Soul journey in some way.

Whether I’ve connected with them in person, experienced their live shows, or featured their music before, the compilation is peppered with examples of the beauty of organic connection. Opek is a great example, I was handed his record by a friend in a writing camp in the South of France. I had never heard of him and instantly fell in love with the record. And there’s something really special about that in-person physical recommendation. Someone looking you in the eye and saying “I think you’ll really enjoy this.” 

Another beautiful example is Marla Kether. I saw her perform for the first time at We Out Here a few years ago and absolutely loved it. Off the back of that I ended up booking her to headline one of my own shows recently and now she’s got a track on the compilation. So I’ve got a much deeper connection to her as an artist than just someone who might have submitted a good fit track for the compilation. And that’s the common thread, I’m telling the story of how music is always there for us with the artists who have been there for me.

5. You’ve built Somewhere Soul with an ear tuned equally to home listening and the dancefloor—how do you see the role of tastemakers like yourself evolving in an age where algorithms often shape musical discovery?

I think it’s quite apparent that algorithms have failed us. They can hone your taste by introducing you to stuff that’s similar to stuff you already like, but they don’t expand your taste by introducing you to music you’ve never experienced.

So sometimes you need that random person popping up on social media to be like ‘POV you hear this and fall in love with Turkish Psychedelia’. Also, as I’ve previously mentioned, I think the human connection is important when discovering new music. 

Music is a transfer of energy and emotion from the artist to the listener and I believe that the same should be the case with sharing music. The algorithm isn’t recommending me an album because it means something to them, it just thinks I’ll like it which is good for business. So I think the role of tastemakers today isn’t just to sift through the overwhelming amount of new music that gets released but to keep that human connection alive.