Soulive Releases 3rd New Single “East Side” | WATCH NEW VIDEO!
Soulive Translate a Live Staple into “East Side,” the Third Single from Their Upcoming Album Flowers
Flowers, The Innovative Organ Trio’s First Full-Length Album in 15 Years is Available on January 30, 2025 via Flóki Studios
For more than twenty-five years, the Woodstock, New York–formed trio Soulive have carried the flame of the Hammond-organ format for a new generation. Guitarist Eric Krasno, organist Neal Evans, and drummer-producer Alan Evans built their language on feel and economy — three voices locked in, sweat and telepathy with no wasted motion. Back with their first full-length studio album in 15 years, Flowers is slated for release on January 30, 2026 via Flóki Studios. Today, the band unveils the third single off of the record, “East Side.”
“East Side” was the only fully-finished song the band brought to the Iceland sessions. Neal had brought the tune to soundcheck during the first night of their 8-night Blue Note run in 2024 and it has now become a staple in their live sets. Steeped in a classic Soulive sound, the new track is an infectious blues-driven waltz where Neal Evans and Eric Krasno telepathically pass the melody back and riff off of it resulting in a stand-out release that will invigorate nostalgia in those who have followed the band for decades and delight new listeners.
“It’s become one of our favorite tunes to play live,” says Alan Evans. “We knew as soon as we started recording it, we were going to capture something special. I can still feel and smell the vibe of that day whenever I hear the song. I hope it sparks some similar feelings for people when they listen to it!”
Soulive never broke up; they just went quiet. Krasno turned to songwriting and production. Neal to arranging and texture. Alan to engineering and sound. “There’s so much more that goes into a recording than the gear,” Alan says. “It’s about the environment — your place in space and time at that moment.”
That reconnection took form on Flowers, Soulive’s first full-length album in more than a decade. Tracked at Flóki Studios — a century-old former grocery store on Iceland’s north coast — the sessions pulled the trio out of routine and back into focus. Alan had worked there before with MonoNeon and Oteil Burbridge, drawn to the light and the solitude.
Flóki’s co-founder Wade Koeman built the studio for isolation and inspiration. “Ninety percent of the time, no one’s there,” he says. “You’ve got the midnight sun in summer, the Northern Lights in winter. It’s truly remote.” Inside: vintage analog gear, wide windows, and silence. “Most studios are dark, sealed off,” Alan says. “This one has light pouring in. You look out and there’s the ocean. The room feels alive.”
“There’s just something about the light up there — it’s unreal,” Alan adds. “You see it hit everything differently, and it just changes how you play.” Koeman calls it “light like you’ve never seen before — the sun, the angle, the relationship to the earth.”
And then there are the huldufólk, or “hidden people,” whose presence is woven into daily life in northern Iceland. Koeman explains that Flóki’s team makes daily offerings — a little chocolate, some fruit, a splash of Brennivín — to keep the energy balanced. “When we forget,” he says, “the lights flicker, the computers freeze, or a door handle just falls off. Once we leave an offering, everything works again.” Alan nods. “You can feel it,” he says. “There’s energy in those walls.”
They arrived with fragments and grooves but wrote most of Flowers on the spot. “We’re not super precious about it, man,” Alan says. “If it felt good, we moved on.” They played less and listened more, letting decades of chemistry do the work. “The three of us just fall into place,” he says. “It’s like having a conversation that never ended.”
Photo Credit: Kim Evans
DISCO