BOY SODA
Everybody loves
BOY SODA aka Brae Luafalealo has been on the rise since 2019, where his early singles and signature styles had him hand selected as a part of Converse’s All Stars program. Those early original pieces of work were scattered vignettes into the flourishing creative mind of Luafalealo. As his sonic footprint began to grow, the world stopped due to the great pause. Rather than halting alongside it, he utilised the time to create his debut EP THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THINKING AND FEELING.
The project represents a conceptual wonderland of love, lust, self reflection, wrapped in a glaze of sugary pop melodies, grandiose production and a truly singular style that is impossible to pigeonhole, but perfect to listen to. THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THINKING AND FEELING saw BOY SODA make his definitive mark on the musical world, with a conceptually tight debut project that is well beyond his songwriting years.
Despite the momentum that was brewing for BOY SODA, he instantly decided to break his comfort zone to seek new inspiration. Following his debut EP he took a career changing writing trip to London, which caused a period of reflection which led to career ambition. Inspired by London’s bustling culture and cross-pollination of music culture and taste, Brae began to rekindle his endless and inspiring pursuit of being a creative artist.
We had the pleasure of hosting BOY SODA and his team at our Brisbane studios where we were able to chat, work, play, shoot and laugh lots with the man himself. Here is what he said to us; also enjoy the visuals we created on the day.
Interview by Mathew Siebuhr
Where does your name come from?
?
I went through a stage where I was really obsessed with neon signs, around the same time I fell in love with ‘Trapsoul’ by Bryson Tiller and all of the visuals that accompanied it. There was some random film photo that I came across of an old gas station with a blue neon sign that said ‘SODA’ at the back near the drinks fridge. It just ended up sticking at the time so I guess we’re rolling with it now.
I realised when I was younger that I really really REALLY loved the process of recording and producing from garage band. My first demo ever is a garage band project on an ipod touch haha, with vocal harmonies and everything. I recorded it in my parents walk in wardrobe with the apple earphones and that just evolved into using logic and enjoying how rewarding it was to learn new things and have tangible proof of improvement! The demo’s get better 1% at a time and it’s really nice to look back and see the maturity.
When did you realise you had a talent for making music?
Have you always had a supporting team to help you achieve your music ambitions?
At every stage of my career so far, whether it be an official team, or my mentors and collaborators, I've always had a support network around me that believes in me, inspires me and looks out for me. I’ve been extremely lucky to work and learn from the people I have crossed paths with, it’s felt very serendipitous a lot of the time.
“His taste is immaculate and he’s soooo versatile, we’ve explored a few lanes together and he hits it out of the park every time.”
— Boy Soda
