Monika Monalisa By Express News Service BENGALURU: When Rudy Wallang and Tipriti Kharbangar from Soulmate, go on stage to perform their crowd-favourite If You Were My Guitar, the craziness in the audience is a sight to behold. To weave the same magic, Okcupid, an online dating service, is bringing the band to perform at the newly launched Hard Rock cafe in Whitefield. Wallang and Kharbangar started the band in October 2003 in Shillong to play Blues and promote the genre, which they still consider as a niche one. Though they are core members of the band, the duo often teams up with other musicians for drums, bass, organ and other backup instruments. “There are quite a few Blues bands/musicians playing at clubs and pubs in India, which is pretty good,” says Wallang who considers BB King, Freddie King, Albert Collins, Etta James, Koko Taylor as his idols. Amid protests across the country, the band has been performing and spreading the message of peace. “It takes people away from the dreariness and dirt of politics. Music keeps them sane for a while,” she says. Kharbangar agrees, “CAA is a dirty word. It insults us as Indian citizens and tries to destroy the Constitution of our great country.” The band has a huge fan base in Bengaluru, but why did they stop performing here? “I’m sure you know exactly what has happened in Bengaluru. We love playing here, but looks like the administration doesn’t want live music venues around. It is sad that famous venues have had to close down. Bengaluru has been one of our all-time favourite places to perform in,” says Wallang. They are coming up with their fourth album, which is likely to come out by January-end.Soulmate will perform on Dec 27 at Hard Rock cafe, Whitefield, 8 pm onwards.

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