SOAK- the amalgamation of two genres, soul and folk- is the stage name of young musician, Bridie Monds-Watson.
Growing up in Derry, Ireland, a city rich in culture and creativity, where support for projects is given freely, Bridie found that she had a natural gift for song-writing from a young age. She overcame severe dyslexia, which she struggled with as a child, and was at one point told that she could never be able to write properly- but this made her more determined to than ever.
It was in her early teenage years that music captured her interest. It wasn’t long before Bridie became obsessed with making music, learning guitar at 13 then uploading videos of herself playing demo’s and covers to YouTube.
Attention to the music Bridie was creating soon came trickling in, and she spent the next few years playing in different bands, performing at local open mic events in Derry, sharing her songs with anyone who would listen. It was the first time she had real dedication and passion for something.
It paid off, as she had barely turned 16 before media attention came flooding in. Sacrificing college for opportunities such as signing a publishing deal with Universal, which saw her evolving and beginning to establish herself finally as SOAK. This enabled Bridie to build herself a home studio so she could write and record at her own pace, before signing to Rough Trade Records in 2014.
Bridie has since performed on ‘Later…With Jools Holland’- an experience that she says herself ‘Didn’t feel real’- as well as playing mainstage at Clockenflap Festival 2015 in Hong Kong, releasing her debut album ‘Before We Forget How To Dream’ that same year and being nominated for a Mercury Prize award. Songs from her album include ‘B a noBody’ and ‘Sea Creatures’ which have racked up millions of streams on Spotify.
SOAK has just released brand new track ‘Everybody Loves You’. A beautiful, easy listening track where Bridie’s vocals relax you and wash over you, as she croons ‘Everybody wants you, not me today, ‘cus I’m done/Everybody loves you’. It’s dreamy, gentle, but a song that will still get you singing along after a few listens. Specialising in indie/dream-pop with hints of folk, influences from Sonic Youth, Foals and any new music that comes around, SOAK creates songs and fills them with poetically crafted lyrics that take inspiration from life-events and deep thoughts.
SOAK will also be performing at Jimmy’s in Northern Quarter, Manchester on 28th November 2018. Tickets will be available Friday 5th October at 9am via: http://gigst.rs/soak
Follow SOAK on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Soakofficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soaksoaksoak/?hl=en
Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/Soak0fficial/
Official Website: http://soakmusic.co.uk/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4PLsMEk2DCRVlVL2a9aZAv