Soul Coughing

Formed in New York City, New York, USA, Soul Coughing comprise M. Doughty (guitar, vocals, lyrics), composer Mark de Gli Antoni (keyboards, samples), Sebastian Steinberg (double bass, ex-Marc Ribot) and Yuval Gabay (b. Israel; drums). Their origins can be traced back to 1993 when Doughty was working on the door at the New York avant garde jazz club the Knitting Factory. There he gradually recruited the group’s members from the club’s clientele, and together they set out on a path of ‘shared musical adventure’.

Their debut album, Ruby Vroom , received universal critical acclaim, and preceded their first major touring commitments. It is in the live arena that they are best observed – in performance they regularly adopt and adapt the jazz predilection for extended improvisation. As Doughty told the press, ‘This band lives to play live. We lose our minds sitting at home.’

Irresistible Bliss was another successful marriage of hip hop beats, mechanical noise and expansive musicianship, with each of the 12 songs thematically linked to day-to-day life in New York. As Doughty insisted, the contents were ‘mostly paranoid love songs about hoping desperately someone will call you, while at the same time being incredibly afraid of the sound of the ringing phone.’ Produced by Tony Bennett associate David Kahne and Steve Fisk, it was recorded in the same sessions that saw the band complete compositions for the Blue In The Face and X-Files film soundtracks.