Since returning from their first trip to this other realm, they have come back as digital avatars of their human selves and have been working towards making music to access the portal. The “Soda State” acts as a sort of quality control. If the portal is accessed, then they know the song they are creating at that time is of a high standard. Both “M” and Tracie hope the fans can tap into their own “Soda State” of mind when listening to their music. Their latest single High was created during the unlocking of the “Soda State” for the sixth time. The song captures a sense of euphoria with the help of the catchy melody and light, floating vocals. The track itself seems perfect for a beach holiday which is what we are all craving right now, and the song can definitely help you get into that headspace.
Since debuting, Soda State have received support from the likes of KISS FM, remixed Super producer Jonas Blue and have racked up millions of streams.
LOOP managed to have a chat with the guys to get more of an insight about their process, the “Soda State” itself and their future plans.
Can you describe what Soda State is?
M: So about a year ago, we were making music together in my garage in London. We’ve got a kind of home studio setup there – some analogue synths running into our laptops and a whole load of home-made gadgets that Tracie put together.
Tracie: We were playing around, re-working Metronomy’s The Look. M was on the DX7, I was running it through a sequencer I’d made out of my dad’s old Atari and that’s when it all began.
M: Yeah, it was crazy. We were vibing and all the equipment started shaking, and the lights were flashing and then we were both thrown forward through a portal that had opened up in the studio. Like some Matrix or Tron shit. Catapulted through mad lights and insane colours to an alternate reality. And that’s how we discovered Soda State.
Tracie: We landed on a beach and whilst at first it was pretty terrifying, when we looked around it was like paradise. Blue sea, white sand. And this big rush, like a serotonin hit.
M: It’s hard to explain but you just feel”…incredible over there, it’s like some kind of digital utopia. It’s pure escapism, you can be who or whatever you want to be.
T: That first trip was incredible – exploring, discovering the place. It’s familiar. Like the world we know, but everything looks slightly more digital; the colours of the buildings and trees are more enhanced, more vibrant. Everyone looks familiar but there’s people with blue skin
M: But then just into the fifth day”…boom! We get sucked back through the portal and we landed back in London.
Tracie: Oh but also, when we returned we didn’t change back to our human versions, we seem to be stuck as our avatars – the way everyone looks in Soda State – so we’ve spent the last year getting used to life as digital beings in a human world.
Is there a secret formula to enter the Soda State?
M: After the first time there, we were desperate to get back. To experience that high again. So, we spent months locked away in the studio trying to work out how we got there in the first place.
Tracie: Covid helped as everyone else was locked down too so we didn’t feel we were missing out on life outside the studio!
M: We realised we must have hit on some digital code through our music, a combination of 0’s and 1’s that somehow unlocked the portal. We tried different tempos, different styles, different sounds and then one day we were finishing a tune Midnight – and it happened again.
Tracie: It’s happened I reckon about 6 times now. Every time we make a tune that unlocks the portal, we release it!
Can you only enter Soda State together or can you enter it separately?
M: To be honest we’re not sure! We’ve only ever experienced entering together but I guess that’s mainly cos we’ve both always been in the studio at the same time – and both working on the tracks together. I’m not sure it’d quite be the same without Tracie there too!
If you decide to have features on your future releases, will they be allowed to enter the Soda State with you?
Tracie: I guess the decision wouldn’t be down to us. If we crack that code when someone else is also in the studio with us, I assume they’d be pulled into the portal with us. Come and hang out with us and we’ll all hopefully find out!
M: We have worked on some of our tunes with some of our collaborators but so far we’ve never unlocked that portal when they’ve been cutting vocals”… it usually happens when we’re close to the end of a track and it’s just me and Tracie fine tuning.
You have previously mentioned you usually land on a beach when entering the Soda State, have there been any times you’ve landed somewhere else? Do you think there could be another part of Soda State that you haven’t unlocked yet?
Tracie: Not yet. Yeah it’s always been the same beach so far. I think landing somewhere else, particularly an unfamiliar part of Soda State might freak us out big time!
M: We always get sucked back into the portal after a week, well 127 hours to be precise as we’ve discovered! So, we know we have that limited time to explore. We can’t be certain, but it seems like Soda State is an island. There’s the beach, sand dunes, a volcano emitting some crazy kind of light beam and a city with cafes and clubs like you’ve never experienced before.
Tracie: Our favourite is one in an underground cave system, where you step out of the lifts and you’re by an underground lake, hundreds of beings dancing, phosphorescence in the walls making the whole place glow and pulse. Last time we were there I had my USB stick with me so we managed to try out our new single High and the place went off!
M: There’s also this strange fog that covers half the island. We’ve no idea what that is and once you penetrate it, you can’t see 2 feet in front of you, so we don’t know what’s beyond it.
Now that Bars and Clubs are starting to re-open, are you planning on doing any shows in person?
Tracie: Yeh 100%, we want to get out DJing as much as we can, and hopefully start building our live set too.
M: We say that when we’re through the portal, we experience the Soda State Of Mind. We’d love to create a show where we can bring that sense of escapism to an audience – so they can get lost in the moment and maybe feel that euphoria, that intoxication we feel in Soda State
If you could host your own Beach Party in the Soda State, which artists would you want to perform?
Us B2B Daft Punk
Caribou
Jamie XX
Jungle
What was the inspiration behind your latest single High?
Tracie: So, the 3rd or 4th time we went to Soda State, we met 2 girls. Laine and Jennif3r. Like most people we’ve met there, they were born in Soda State and so knew the best places to go. Let’s just say M and Laine got close and it wasn’t long after that he wrote the top line for High”…
In terms of working as a duo, does one of you take the lead in terms of top-lining and the other in melody and production? Is there a certain process?
M: Although I play keys and can produce, I generally leave most of the production to Tracie as he’s a don in this area. And I tend to take care of the top line, writing the melodies and lyrics.
Tracie: It feels like such an easy process every time we write together as we both seek the same sense of euphoria in the records, we listen to so we’re very much on the same page.
What do you want your fans to experience when listening to your new single?
M: All our songs tend to be about the concept of escapism and the productions tend to reflect that mood too. This song was definitely inspired by a feeling of euphoria, hopefully you’ll get to that Soda State of mind when you listen!
What are your plans for 2022?
We want to be releasing as many records as we can! Over the last year, we released our first set of records and first EP through The Magician’s Potion label and that was such an amazing start to our career. So, we hope to build and build on this, growing our listeners and playing our music live.
Buy their new single High here: https://sodastate.lnk.to/HighSo
Follow them on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/sodastate/?hl=en