BOY SODA
BOY SODA has been on the rise since 2019 after being picked by Converse to travel to the United States, where he opened for Dominic Fike at the Converse x Camp Flog Gnaw brand event in Los Angeles. Returning to Australia, the young songwriter, producer and vocalist was armed with more ambition and fire driving his creativity; resulting in a string of single releases throughout 2020 that would put him on the national Australian radar.
With the release of his highly anticipated debut EP ‘THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THINKING AND FEELING’
His music is a breath of fresh air and stands as an exciting moment within the new movement of burgeoning Australian-bred hip hop and R&B.
“THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THINKING AND FEELING’ is the first full look I’m giving people in my mind and my world. I think it’s very reflective of my relationship with self-love and self-awareness and how those effects everything else I do and say - a project of six conversations with myself about love and healing and celebration.”
We caught up with BOY SODA to dive deeper into the new EP, creative developments and future plans
Listen to 'The Distance Between Thinking and Feeling' below
What has been your wildest experience lately and has that influenced any of your recent projects?
Nothing too wild but I got a red light fine and used the picture of it as my project cover *laughs*. It didn't influence the music but it definitely helped curate the listening experience around the rainy, late night drive aesthetic. I still haven't paid the fine.
You're from Sydney, what's the R&B scene like there?
POPPING. I feel inspired all the time by the drive and inspired by the artists I get to share spaces with. Everyone is also aware they're part of a new wave of artists and it's exciting to do it with like-minded people. Crazy hip-hop and R&B presences here, I'm a huge fan of Danté Knows, A. Girl and Mason Dane at the moment.
Your single ‘Big’ had amazing visuals. What inspired the video?
I just really wanted it to have the air of otherworldliness. The aim was to alienate the character that I was portraying in order to have a mirrored effect in the sense that it humanised the character more. The idea was definitely influenced by a hyper-self awareness and ability to look at things from a broad persepctive, and the planet in the video is really a representation of that. The costume designer, Dexter Lola, created the fit by hand too, inspired by Tilda Swinton's androgynous archangel character in Constantine, so I'm very grateful to have had so many brilliant minds like her and my cinematographer, Bailey Watts, on board to help execute it all.
Now that your EPs out, How are you feeling about it? It must be so exciting.
Being my first body of work, I'm just really proud to have it, and it be mine and everyone else's at the same time. It's a beautiful thing, to have your articulation restricted to only 6 songs and working within those parameters producing what I can only define as a brilliant first piece of the puzzle.
What was the inspiration behind it?
The Distance Between Thinking And Feeling is a commentary on my relationships with self-love and self-awareness. It was inspired by ideas of love, celebration & loss and how they communicate with my mental health. It opens with ‘TWENTYOH5' which is essentially comprised of 4 separate acts, so surrender to the journey and enjoy!
How did you come up with the name?
I was always aware that the name of the project would come last and it arrived maybe two months before it came out. I was inspired by long, poetic, romantic titles, like 'I Like It When You Sleep for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It [The 1975] and The Distance between Thinking And Feeling feels like a statement, or a proud observation in a similar way. I like to abbreviate it to [t/f] for short though.
Which song would you say you resonate with the most on the EP?
It changed constantly as I made the EP, and it still does, but right now it's ‘LONELY'. For me it feels like a song that heals through transparency. In the project it's 'the fall' moment, the low part; but I like to see it as the moment where you get to fall upwards. It's very honest about a universal feeling and I could love it for that reason alone.
So you were the cover on Spotifys ‘Come Thru’ playlist that must have been exciting? Were you expecting that?
Definitely wasn't expecting it but it was an amazing moment. I was in the same room as lovemedo (co-producer of ‘TWENTYOH5') and Dex who took the photo so we all had a euphoric moment when we all saw it.
Would your younger self be proud of the accomplishments you are starting to achieve now?
I remind myself of this all the time, it encourages me to move with more gratitude. My younger self would lose his shit if he heard the music we get to make and the people we get to meet and love.
Has music always been something you’ve wanted to pursue?
I've always loved the transfer of sound to emotion and the way that music facilates that experience. Separately the act of creating something from nothing never stops being the most surreal experience to me so I've always felt an inevitability about my existence as an artist.
Tell us what your biggest goal is for this year?
I just want to continue to be committed to the process of discovering new things about my sound and voice. I think only great things can come of that. I definitely want to drop another project and feel like I could do a million shows so I'm just excited and grateful to be in such a supportive space.
And lastly what do you have planned for the future?
I want to be a prolific in my presence as a song-writer and topliner so I'm excited to tell stories and write for other artists across all genres. I just plan on creating for as long as I am on the earth, and trust that that process can only provide me with beautiful art and beautiful experiences.
Artist: Boy Soda