Madison band releases anthem for city’s new pro soccer team

The Racing Pulses rock out on 'Go Forward!'

Joel Patenaude by Joel Patenaude

Photo by Michael Brooks The Racing Pulses, left to right, is drummer Mike Newby, singer and guitarist Kristian Iliev and bassist Christian West.

Madison alt-rock band The Racing Pulses today released a new song, “Go, Forward” — an anthem for Madison Forward FC, the city’s new professional soccer team. The catchy rock song comes the day before Flamingos play their first game at Breese Stevens Field.

“Our purpose was to make the song easy to sing so that fans can have a good time. The lyrics are not very complicated and I think it is an addictive tune,” says Kristian Iliev, frontman for The Racing Pulses. “Rumor has it that you can hear the song at Breese Stevens Field tomorrow at the game.”

Iliev says he got in touch with the soccer team soon after hearing of its formation. “I was eager to get in touch and see if they would be interested in us writing a song for them,” he says.

Iliev says he and his bandmates — drummer Mike Newby and bassist Christian West — “performed a stripped down version of the track for the club’s front office and then invited them to a show at the High Noon Saloon where we played the finished version. Everyone seemed to enjoy the song, so we went ahead and finished it up.”

The song was recorded at Paradyme, a downtown studio, with engineer Yeekeng Yang. The cover art for the single was done by Dan Fransee, a local illustrator who has worked for Ian’s Pizza among other clients.

Iliev’s father was a soccer coach back in his native country of Bulgaria, so Iliev grew up a fan of “the beautiful game.”

The fan club of Madison Forward — dubbed “The Flock,” in keeping of the team’s flamingo theme — has responded positively to the song, Iliev says.

“They are going to help teach the song to fans, and we are really excited to hear it at games,” he says.

The band was featured in the February issue of Madison Magazine. Listen to The Racing Pulses’ song “Go, Forward!” here:

Joel Patenaude is associate editor of Madison Magazine.

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