Soulmate was formed in October 2003 by Rudy Wallang and Tipriti Kharbangar and their sound is a sonic canvas grounded in Rudys elegant blues guitar that channels Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Jimi Hendrix, Muddy Waters, and the Three Kings but also embracing every sound that Tipritis extensive vocal range could accommodate, from Koko Taylor, Etta James and Nina Simone to the recent addition of the earthy sounds of Khasi folk music.
They have played innumerable gigs till date planting the seed of the blues and roots music in India and their live prowess have spurred interest and fascination for them well beyond
Indias borders. Theyve toured Europe, the USA, played in Memphis the home of the blues, regaled audiences in Bangladesh, Dubai, Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal and have had the honour to share line-ups with luminaries like Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal, Keb Mo, Joss Stone and Carlos Santana to name a few. Soulmate has three albums to their name, Shillong, Moving On and Ten Stories Up in 2014 all of them uncompromising discourses on the blues both as homage and re-imagination. Indias leading blues festival The Mahindra Blues Fest has honoured them and Indian blues (a scene theyve helped shape) with a special stage called The Soul Strat Stage.