LET IT SOUL!

A young enthusiast from Nizhny Novgorod called Igor Zhukovsky once decided to contact the manager of California-based Ubiquity Records, asking the label if it would at all like to listen to his band’s music. “You might even like it, you know!” It took almost no time for the rather unknown act called The Soul Surfers to release its first tracks with the American record label. At the same time, Shawn Lee, a globally known multi instrumentalist from London, set out to learn what his label’s been up to with this new band. That is how the young funk act from Russia got to meet the iconic funk-and-soul musician and even record a track with him for their upcoming debut album.

That’s just the beginning of the story though. One year later, Shawn Lee made his way to Moscow to perform with The Soul Surfers at the Afisha Picnic festival – and to record one more track together. The band had just two nights in an underground analog studio to prepare for the performance and produce another track from scratch. Let It Soul! tells the story of the blood, sweat and tears that go into making a new hit; the story of how music erases all borders between countries and cultures, rendering distances void.

Nizhny Novgorod, London, Moscow, and LA: these four cities make up the history of one composition. From the first random notes to tracks on the vinyl record, Let It Soul! uncovers the path from one ambitious idea to the flawlessly executed hit.

The Soul Surfers are a young funk-and-soul act from Nizhny Novgorod. In 2015, The Soul Surfers released their first album titled Soul Rock! with the famous Ubiquity Records label from California. Apart from “the surfers” themselves, the album features prominent artists such as Malcom Catto, Myron&E, and Shawn Lee. Critics and listeners alike welcomed the album eagerly, labeling it as one of the best funk releases of the year.

Shawn Lee is a globally known multi instrumentalist, producer, and performer from the USA. Shawn is incredibly productive: he has so far recorded 15 solo albums, and we can’t even begin to count the number of collabs he’s associated with. He is constantly experimenting with music styles from rock and funk to electronica and hip-hop, accepting no limits when working on his sound.

The movie by Unity Films will be out in spring. After the screenings at Russian and international festivals, it will be made available to the general public online free of charge.

Фильм студии Unity Films выйдет этой весной и после показов на российских и международных фестивалях кино будет выложен в сеть для открытого просмотра.
The movie by Unity Films will be out in spring. After the screenings at Russian and international festivals, it will be made available to the general public online free of charge.

Featured artists: Shawn Lee, The Soul Surfers, Malcom Catto, Adrian Younge

Directed by Kirill Kulagin and Tatyana Chekhova

Produced by Andrey Pirumov

Shot by Kirill Kulagin and Alexander Dorinov

Supported by Levi’s.