Hollow Souls - Hollow Souls EP (2025) [Hi-Res]

Kris Barras, was once a leading light of the young British blues-rock scene. From humble beginnings in Torquay, Devon to trading licks with the likes of Joe Bonamassa and Billy Gibbons on the world stage, Kris has already lived a hundred lives that defy his youth and exuberance.

Kris’ own project Kris Barras Band had a mammoth 2024. From selling out headline shows in British castles, headlining Planet Rockstock, not to mention achieving a Top 5 album in the UK with ‘Halo Effect’. Known for the gravelly vocal tone and prodigious guitar playing that gifted him a rapid ascent in the British blues-rock world, it is also no secret that KBB’s music has evolved over time.

Hitting it off with acclaimed US hard rock songwriters and signing to Earache Records set off a creative chain reaction that led to a darker, heavier and more energetic sound. Whilst KBB is firmly intrenched in the world of heavy music, Kris is still a bluesman through and through and whilst in-between albums with KBB, this creative lightning strike just happened to hit with something entirely different.

Inspired by the US supergroup Supersonic Blues Machine in which he also performs, and energised by the wealth of British talent around him, Kris put together a homegrown jam band to serve as a creative sparring exercise during his downtime. Together with long-term collaborator, multi-instrumentalist and producer Josiah J Manning, using Josiah’s Plymouth-based Momentum Studios as their base, a studio band consisting of drummer Joe Harris (Toby Lee / Lack of Afro) and bass player Leighton Allen (Callum Scott / The Hoosiers) became more than the sum of its parts. When Kris invited in former KBB backing singer Phoebe Jane to jam, the floodgates of creativity truly opened. In writing for her dexterous range and astonishing power, Kris and Josiah knew they had found a singer with which their musical palette could continue to evolve; the spark that ignited a whole new band into existence Hollow Souls.

Hollow Souls’ debut single ‘Borderline’ showcases all this and more, as Kris invited Jared James Nichols, US blues-rock rising star, to feature on lead guitar remotely from across the pond. Kris said “I’ve really admired Jared’s playing for some time. His contribution to this song is massive, we gave him creative license to play whatever he wanted, I’m so stoked with the results”.

Recorded in one take at Momentum Studios (as showcased in the official video), produced and mixed by Josiah J Manning, Hollow Souls set the tone that new music with further studio collaborators and perhaps even touring could well be in store.

Like a one-two punch, Hollow Souls also come out the gates by announcing a twenty-date UK tour; a real statement of intent that demonstrates a clean sweep of the UK blues-rock circuit, where Kris champions some of the venues that allowed him to cut his teeth as an emerging talent.

Pheobe Jane – Vocals
Kris Barras – Guitar / Vocals
Josiah Manning – Guitar / Backing Vocals
Jared James Nichols – Guest Guitar
Jon ‘Marv’ Harvey – Guest Vocals
Elles Bailey – Guest Vocal
Leighton Allen – Bass
Jo Harris – Drums