Soul Filter
short bio
"Soul Filter have definitely showcased their years of experience with these tracks. The result is an effortless classic that can easily find a spot in anyone’s library, nestled comfortably between the rock icons from which they draw their inspiration."
~ Maggie McLean, The East
"Soul Filter are not just playing music somewhere between indie, alternative and pop rock but are actually skillfully combining all those genres in something of their own."
~ Drooble album review
"I am a huge fan of Soul Filter !! They recently released their debut CD "A Minor Conspiracy" and I haven't stopped listening to it since. They are amazing performers and even better musicians."
~ Music PEI Award Nominee; Will Allan
"Soul Filter will be the perfect addition to your road-tripping needs. It’s window-down, wind-in-the-hair alternative-rock that transports you to circa 1995."
~ Evan James Cerretti; Talking Bands writer, The Buzz
"If you find yourself missing the days when Holly McNarland and Natalie Imbruglia ruled rock radio and you like a little guitar grit in your tunes, you will feel right at home with Soul Filter's A Minor Conspiracy."
~Roland Beaulieu; Multi-Instrumentalist & Music PEI's Musician of the Year 2021
Soul Filter is a four-piece Alt Rock-Pop band from Summerside PEI. Fronted by husband-and-wife duo Karen & Mike Penton, the award nominated band has attracted much attention since releasing their debut album “A Minor Conspiracy” in December 2018. With an eclectic mix of influences, singer songwriter Karen Penton derives inspiration from nostalgic artists such as Alanis Morissette, Holly McNarland & Sheryl Crow. The band's latest two singles were selected as semi-finalists in the International Songwriting Competition; the self-produced & fiery "Quicksand Town" in 2023, and Music PEI's Golden Ticket release “The City Knows”, produced and co-written by John Angus MacDonald of The Trews, along with co-writers Chris Kirby and Colin MacDonald in 2022. With powerful choruses and memorable hooks, Soul Filter explores themes of love, misery, and self discovery while capturing the essence of the human experience.
long bio
“Sometimes I think I like the pain”, the opening line from Soul Filter’s debut single Armor hits like an “Aha” moment from the psyche to the soul. The emerging four piece Alt-Rock/Pop band's often nostalgic 90s vibe derives inspiration from artists such as Alanis Morissette, The Cranberries & Sheryl Crow. Lead singer/songwriter Karen Penton writes with intention to find the silver linings in adversity and put it in a catchy melody.
The Summerside PEI band recently released their latest single as part of Music PEI's 2022 Golden Ticket program. "The City Knows" was produced by John Angus MacDonald of The Trews and is a high energy dark & edgy fairy tale about the sobering realization of self doubt best described as the introspective confessional of Fleetwood Mac meets the anthemic intensity of Florence & The Machine. "I was 22 and broke and just graduated from University with no clear direction of what I wanted to do with my life. I moved to Halifax to start fresh, and crashed on a friend's couch hoping to make the city my home. Nothing went as I intended and the self-doubt I had tried to run away from caught up to me. My biggest memory is when I spent the night sleeping in the driveway of the place I was staying. It was a very isolating time" says Karen. Co-written by John Angus MacDonald,& Colin MacDonald of The Trews and Halifax producer and singer / song-writer Chris Kirby, the songs spent 7 weeks on CIOE’s East Coast Top 30, reaching the #2 spot.
Since releasing their debut album A Minor Conspiracy in January 2019, Soul Filter has attracted attention with their catchy, soulful music and impassioned performances. They’ve had internet, CBC & mainstream radio play with singles “Armor”, “Like Water”, “How Do I Forget You”, “Illogical Heart”, & “On My Own”. In 2019 they reached the Top 100 in CBC’s Searchlight, opened for one of Canada’s biggest rock bands Big Wreck at one of Atlantic Canada’s largest music festivals Rock The Boat, and received a nomination for Music PEI’s 2020 Rock Recording of the year. Their Facebook “Live At Home” performance hosted by Rock The Boat garnered one of the largest online audiences in the series with over 12.5k views.
When founding members, husband & wife duo Karen & Mike Penton, first met in 2001, she didn't know he was a performing musician and he didn't know she had a secret life long desire to be one. To Karen’s delight, their second date consisted of 2 bottles of wine and an acoustic guitar – the deal was sealed. After a few years of singing Beatles’ covers (and other classics) together at home, Mike decided it was finally time to coax Karen into the spotlight. The two went on to create several popular cover bands (Junkmale, Pretty Tragic, No Doubt & Alanis Morissette tribute show, Karen & Mike acoustic duo), performing all over PEI before forming Soul Filter in 2017.
With themes of self-discovery, adversity, love and loss, A Minor Conspiracy infuses pop, blues and folk into a soulful rock sound. Acoustic rhythm serves as the backbone to melodically sweet electric guitar riffs and punchy choruses. Dynamically weaving between soft falsetto and soulful powerful vocals, Karen embraces vulnerability and delivers empowering, emotive lyrics through alluringly catchy melodies. To bring the album to life on stage, Karen & Mike brought in longtime friends and former cover band mates Ronnie Arsenault on bass guitar and Marc Robichaud on drums.
The band plans to hit the studio this fall to record their next album.
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