One of the best parts of being a music fan in 2020 is the ability to discover artists from all over the globe with relative ease. With power from the internet, as well as social media, fans are able to connect more so than ever with artists they may not otherwise have discovered all through sharing, public playlists, and general marketing.

And while the process of discovering new artists byway of attending live shows may be on hold- now is the best time to use the power of the internet to discover your next favorite bands. And fortunately for all of our readers we are continuing on with our Quarantine Questionnaire series today with another band that deserves some love. Meet The Netherland’s River of Souls.

Made up of guitarist/drummer Paul Beltman, bassist Benjamin Hoogers, vocalist Bart de Greef, drummer Koen Spierings, and guitarist Mathijs van de Sande, River of Souls formed in 2014 and released their first full length album The Well of Urd in 2016.

Then, following their 2018 EP The Nihilist, the band went through a brief period of change before reuniting to record and release their May album Usurper.

Now, a few months after their album release we had the chance to chat with Spierings about the band, how they are handling the 2020 shutdowns and learn a bit more about what they hope the future holds.

You can read our full interview with Spierings below, and be sure to stream Usurper, out now.

Second Society Report: How are you holding up during this insane year that is 2020? Hopefully your friends and families are staying safe and healthy!

Koen Spierings: Everyone around us is healthy, thanks for asking. The secret is that I was already insane before 2020 started, haha. But for me personally, not much changed. I’m not a guy who goes a lot to bars or stuff like that, and my social life was not very big beforehand, so, it stays pretty much the same.

SSR: Did you have any big releases or tours that were put on hold because of the pandemic? How has that affected the band? (could be personally, financially, morale wise, etc.)

KS: The release of our second album Usurper did go through as planned, but that was the only thing this year that has happened and is going to happen. We had some shows already planned, and they were canceled, so now it’s waiting until we can book shows again. This has affected the band more than I was willing to admit. Not financially or something, but morale wise. There was a lot of time spent to create and produce this album, and a lot of preparation was done for shows to promote the album and to get reviews and create a small buzz around it, and this was all for nothing. Of course we were super disappointed, but I think now we are starting to think about other possibilities to promote the band.

SSR: How have you been spending your newfound “downtime” while the world has been essentially shut down?

KS: Pretty much how I always did, spending time with my wife and dogs. We did use the time as well to improve our rehearsal space so we can record audio and video ourselves, and that’s going pretty ok. It’s almost done, and then we can try  if everything works or what we need to adjust or want extra, so that the quality is good to release a live video or stream from our rehearsal space.

SSR: Have you picked up any new hobbies while quarantining that you’d like to share?

KS: Hahaha, yes I have, I found my old LEGO back at my parents place, and I’m hooked again. Furthermore I really enjoy baking cakes and pastry, and long walks with my 3 dogs.

SSR: Have you worked on any new releases during this time? Any that are already out or that we can get a sneak peak of?

KS: Yeah, we started working on an EP which we hope to release in early 2021. No chance for a sneak peak yet, because even the recording place is still a work in progress. We did however released a lyric video for a song of the new album last week, check it out here.

SSR: Have you written any songs specifically about the state of the world right now?

KS: We don’t have any songs with the specific subject of the pandemic that is going on right now, but most of our lyrics handle the subject of death and what mankind does to each other in various ways.

SSR: How has it been being an artist in a time when you cannot tour? How have you been working to promote your music and expand your reach?

KS: It’s hard. We don’t have a real way of reaching out to an audience. Of course we try to stay as relevant online as possible through social media and youtube, but because there are so many bands that have to it this way at the moment it’s hard to keep people interested. I prefer to let the music do the talking, but we can not play and convince people at the moment.

SSR: Do you have any words of advice for fans that are feeling particularly bummed out about the live music world coming to a halt?

KS: It sucks, but it is not the end of the world. Of course I don’t like it, but as long as my loved ones are healthy and safe I’m happy, know your priorities.

SSR: When the world returns to a safer spot and we are able to (hopefully) attend live shows again- say in 2021- what do you hope to achieve?

KS: Hopefully we can do some cool support shows for a decent band in a decent venue, and we would like to do a small European tour/road trip in 2021

SSR: Is there anything you wish your fans would know about you or about the current state of the music world?

KS: Not much that they don’t know already, hahaha. I just want to say from this spot that I hope that everyone is healthy and safe and is taking care of each other, and I would like to thank Second Society Report for this interview!

You can listen to River of Soul’s latest album Usurper wherever you stream music, and be sure to connect with the band to stay up to date on all things new music via the links below.

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