LA-based Soulection crew are just about to kick off an epic weekend of shows across Australia, starting with Brisbane tonight and ending with Melbourne on the Anzac Day public holiday. They’ve been spearheading the campaign for many quality aspiring producers and musicians, so we asked a few of our local muso mates to swing the Soulection crew a few probing questions of their own. Take a look at what Hoodlem, Rat & Co, and Fossa Beats wanted to know most from the creative collective.

HOODLEM: If you could put on an event ANYWHERE, where would it be?

SOULECTION: I mean, are we talking LIMITLESS budget too? Haha but seriously, if my team and I could put on an event anywhere, I think Joshua Tree in Southern California would be absolutely magical, beautiful, sexy, mysterious, deep, soulful and timeless. To be in touch—physically, metaphysically, and spiritually—with our loved ones, our team and community via mother nature’s gracious vibes would be out of this world.

H: If you could write a soundtrack for any director, who would it be?

S: A lot of my favourites are gangster-meets-dry-humor-meets-sci-fi-meets-horror-meets-suspense-type-films and Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and Quentin Tarantino are the best to ever direct them. They are masters beyond their years. Our vibes would find their way to fit perfectly with their masterpieces.

H: What 5 records do you own that you would show your future grandchildren to best represent your time in music?

S: In no particular order, but if I had to chose off top, I’d say…
1) D’Angelo, Brown Sugar and Voodoo (sorry, both count as one)
2) Reflection Eternal, Train of Thought
3) Slum Village, Fantastic Vol 1 and Vol 2 (one count again)
4) Rage Against The Machine, Evil Empire
5) Erykah Badu, Mama’s Gun

Rat & Co: What was the first and last album you bought? How different are they from each other? How has your taste changed?

S: I think the first album I bought was Jodeci’s Diary of a Mad Band on cassette via the ‘parental guidance’ of my brother or sisters. And the last album I purchased was Hiatus Kaiyote’s Recalibrations Vol 1 EP. To be honest, my taste has been something that’s been with me from such an early age. Being from the Bay Area, I’ve always loved soul, house, hip-hop, R&B, jazz, latin, and so forth, guess whatever was just playing at home when I was growing up. Couple random things along the way, but I’ve always gone back to the core. The jazz, the soul. 

R: Where do you see Soulection in 5 years?

S: Our philosophy and our ethos will always be the same, just on a larger scale. I see us doing a lot of what we are doing now but 10-fold, ultra strategic, ultra organised, ultra comfortable, and reaching audiences untouched. This goes beyond the music and the shows and the merch, so I definitely see us making a global impact on culture and society, for the better. We have a lot of initiatives planned that will allow us to get there and connect with our peoples across the world. And I think more importantly, within all of us [in Soulection] you will see great change, growth, maturity, security, development, and prosperity. Soulection will teach you how to grow up quick, in a good way. We see Soulection empowering our current generation, future generations, even ourselves, our loved ones, and that’s something we take very seriously. 

Fossa Beats: Who are some producers that you think are going to take off this year?

We’ve been steady grinding on ESTA’s new album and I can’t wait for it to be ready and drop. It’s going to take some time, but it’s going to be something really special — you can’t rush beauty. ESTA has tremendous talents and he’s just barely beginning to blossom into his own sound. The project’s potential is still quite limitless as to which [final] direction he may go. I’m just super happy to see his growth and the commitment to his craft, and you can hear a lot of his story through what’s coming out your speakers. It’s going to be a good rest of the year for ESTA and we’re all rooting for him. 

You can catch the crew during Soulection’s AU tour, kicking off tonight in Brisbane. Details below.