You wouldn't think by looking at the city that it had much of an alternate music culture. Clubs — despite the recent emergence of some ''rock'' places — are still dishing out bhangra. So it came as a surprise that there's a thriving blues club which holds gigs every now and then.

Founded earlier this year by Kiranjit Sant, owner of the Haze blues bar in the Priya complex, the club already has 500 members. Now, they are planning to affiliate with the Chicago Blues Club and the Blues and Jazz Club of Paris, which means that their artists will come to town for performances.

Today, India has about two pure blues bands, according to Sant. One is the Kolkata-based Saturday Night Blues Band, that plays on, well, Saturday nights at the Park hotel, and the other is the Shillong-based Soulmate, which is here to perform at the Haze. It has two members, who get extras like a bass guitarist or a drummer, to play with them. But the ''soul'' of the band is Rudy Wallang, 43, and Tipriti Bangan, 23 (Tips, to friends).

''I joined a band, Mojo, in 1993 and was with it for nine years,'' says Wallang. Though Mojo released an album, it remained obscure, and when the band split, Wallang decided to form a new blues band. Enter Tips, a gospel singer. Her voice is powerful, yet poignant, with smokey undertones, making it perfect for blues singing.

''Shillong has a culture steeped in music,'' says Wallang, ''But there aren't many opportunities to perform. There's the Roots Festival, where we play, but mostly we're travelling.''

Their hometown has lent a lot to their music. From the name of their debut album Shillong to a song in Khasi (which had the North-eastern crowd at Haze cheering wildly), they clearly haven't forgotten their roots. The band's name, though, is more personal — taken from one of their songs, Blues Is My Soulmate. ''A fan once asked what genre our music fell into,'' says Wallang, laughing. ''I told him it was Soulmate music.''

Though Tips is mostly quiet, she comes into her own on the stage. Soulmate's music, though slightly derivative, is good, with interesting guitar riffs and melodies. The band will be playing again at Haze on July 05, 2006 and The Saturday Night Blues Band will perform on July 8. Forms for the blues club can be picked up from Haze as well.