Souldies is one of the hottest, burgeoning musical genres in the game today. This genre finds bands taking the sound from that golden vinyl era of soul, R&B and doo-wop from the ’50, 60’s (and a bit of the ’70s) and sonically interpret them for today’s audiences. There’s a nostalgia baked into the sound, yet everything about these songs feel vital and alive for 2025.
The Altons, an LA-based band, is at the forefront of this souldies revival — purveying beautiful ballads of love and loss supported by gorgeous vocals from duo vocals of Bryan Ponce and Adriana Flores, pristine production and a plethora of influences worn on their sleeve.
We spoke with Bryan Ponce, co-lead vocalists of The Altons, to discuss their new album Heartache in Room 14, working with Daptone Records head honcho Bosco Mann on that album, the band’s evolution and what’s on the horizon for The Altons in 2025.
Year We Formed: 2015
The Story Behind The Name of Our Band: The band was named after Alton Ellis, a famous rocksteady singer from Jamaica. We are all big fans of his music so it seemed fitting.
Our Sound has Been Likened To: Artists from Motowan and Stax Records, Brenton Wood, and artists from Latin America such as Los Angeles Negros, Trio Los Panchos.
Bands You’ve Seen Us Before In: Thee Sinseers, Brenton Wood, La Santa Cecilia, Upground, Trish Toledo, Barbara Mason.
You dropped your first full length record Heartache in Room 14 which dropped on Valentine’s Day 2025. Talk about why you dropped the album on this holiday?
We had a few different dates floating around for the release including at the end of 2024, but when February was mentioned we thought “Why not on Valentineâs Day?”
It just felt right.
This is your first full-length album since 2019’s In the Meantime — can you talk about the evolution of the band from both a sonic and lyrical standpoint?
Bryan – I think the biggest turning point for the band sonically was when Caitlin [Moss, drummer] and Chris [“Bolillo” Manjarrez, bass] joined the band. They’re really the back bone of the whole sound. The first time we recorded with them was at Penrose and I think that was the first introduction to what The Altons sound would become for this album.
How does it feel to have Heartache in Room 14 released on the legendary Daptone Record (Penrose imprint)?
It’s an honor to be on Daptone Records, weâve been fans of their work for years, so to be able to work with the whole crew has been incredible.
Speaking of Daptone, you had Bosco Mann — the founder of Daptone — as the producer of the record. Can you talk about his influence on the album and what you learned from working with him?
He was great to work with and also a huge influence on the album. We spent a lot of time throughout the years and really got to see how he worked. However, the biggest thing I learned was that there is no cutting corners when it comes to recording. He’s always pushing for the absolute best take you can put down.
You’ll be playing The Wonder Bar in Asbury Park coming up on Saturday March 22 — if someone’s checking the band out for the first time– what song would you tell them to listen to (beforehand) in order to truly get what The Altons are all about?
I would say “Tangled Up in You” but also “Perdoname” right after. I think it gives a pretty good sense of how dynamic the set may be that day.
What do you love about being in this band?
The commitment from everyone. Having everyone putting 100% effort helps move things along much quicker.
What are 5 things you’re most excited about for The Altons in 2025?
Playing more shows, touring Europe, meeting new people, possible collaborations and working on new music.
