The homegrown R&B gem has been dropping three singles a week from the new project…

Australian hip hop and R&B has no doubt seen a huge resurgence in the last couple of years, a new wave of artists emerging from lockdown armed with unique sounds and enthralling artistries. It’s resulted in a whole new community of like-minded artists frequently collaborating as of late, and it’s perfectly shown on Sydney/Eora-based artist Boy Soda’s new mixtape, YC-TAPE: VOL. 1.

Featuring input from the likes of Jordan Dennis, Club Angel, Finbar, Jarryd James and countless more, the project is a thrilling snapshot of the talent embedded in the local music scene. And of course, it’s a solid display of just how far Boy Soda has come since early singles like ‘Daisy Chain’ and ‘SEE SOMEONE’. From the stoner anthem of ‘3 Little Piggies’ to the sensuality of ‘Body’ and the hip hop adherence of ‘Trouble’, YC-TAPE: VOL. 1 is a total home run not just for the Boy Soda project, but for the local music scene as a whole.

To celebrate the new project, we caught up with Boy Soda to get the full drop on just how much has gone into YC-TAPE: VOL. 1. Check it below.

Strawberry SZN

“I’m soooo proud that Strawberry SZN is the opening track for this tape. I started it on some chords and a drum loop that Lovemedo designed and really got the bones of the song’s structure in that first home-session. We revisited and built it into this expression of funk and colour that you hear today, indulgent in vocal stacks/harmonies and expressive in tone and melody. It’s a beautiful chaos that LMD built on a production level and I really wanted the vocals to carry the same energy, that’s why you hear characterised lines like ‘something so strong it make your daddy look week’ and ‘so sweet it makes yo mama look sour’ haha.

“It’s really just a highly illustrated recount of us finding good weed. On a musical level, this type of music really lives in me, and I haven’t expressed my funk sensibilities yet or this versatility in tone that I love, so it was important to start the project this way. I think Strawberry SZN is a nice shock to the palate, because after it, you also get to experience R&B/G-Funk joints, pop-Outkast expressions and evidence of my hip-hop tastes.”

Smoke Break

“Tentendo and I have done a song before called Daisy Chain which I love, and we hadn’t met in real life despite this, so earlier this year when we finally did connect, we made Smoke Break. For me it feels like an instant classic, reminding me of G-Funk joints my older cousin would introduce me to like 213 or old Nate Dogg cuts, mixed with my R&B taste.

“The song itself is a narrative about falling in love with someone while you’re smoking together, and then realising that It really was just a smoke break and nothing deeper haha. Tentedo has amazing amazing taste so it was a real breeze creating this with him on that session in Naarm. I think we had some amazing Pho as well on a lunch break, I remember it fondly!”

3 Little Piggies

“This is definitely the smoke anthem of the project. I wanted it to feel like that song that comes on at 1am in a house party that everyone knows, a universal stoner anthem – that Colt 45 & 2 Zig Zags essence! It felt appropriate to come after Smoke Break chronologically, because it’s the effect, and Smoke Break is the cause. The nursery rhyme theme was really important to the essence of the song, and I make references to red riding hood and obviously the 3 Little Pigs, while holding this self-awareness of the irony in it all.

“It had to be tasteful and not gimmiky, so Jordan Dennis and Charbel were the 2 people I trusted the most to uphold that brief – they killed it. Finbar produced it, (as well as Giants & GARNIER!) and I think I originally heard it in a beat pack he sent me. I’m glad I had it on my hardrive at the time because the story in the song is not made up, it’s a straight up recount of an experience I had, so basically the universe wanted this song to happen hahaha, it facilitated the whole thing!”

Trouble

“Jarryd James brooooo!!!!! What a talented, beautiful soul. It really is an honour to create art with him, I love his energy and his taste and we always make cool shit together. His sound selection and intentionality are what are most evident to me, and Trouble was a chance to make a hip-hop record that reflected our tastes in that space.

“I used to feel like I always had to sing everywhere on a song so people knew I could do it, but Trouble is a good indicator to me that I’m learning to silence that and really deliver what the individual song is calling for. I love this joint, and I feel like it will still bang in 20 years when we listen back.”

Body

“Body is the baby maker of the tape. It felt necessary to give my version of that on this tape, because I grew up on songs like Neighbours Know my Name, Mars Vs Venus by Usher, Slow Down by Bobby Valentino, Adorn by Miguel etc !!!!

“The production by Club Angel is really intentional and discreet in a lot of ways, so it gives room for the vocals to hold presence. For me, it speaks to me being emotional asf, I have 4 cancer placements in my star chart and it shows on Body haha. It’s a soundtrack for intimacy.”

SIDEWAYS PT I

“I’ve luckily never been cheated on but if I had been, this would be the song I’d make about it. There’s this voicing and tone that I keep stumbling on that’s very Andre 3K inspired, and I use it in a lot of stacks in ‘3 Little Piggies’ too, and ‘Sideways Pt 1’ is where I just let it loose. It’s a caricature of me in a way and Club Angel & I made it after a session, almost as a joke to be honest.

“It came together quickly for that reason because we were just flowing with no pressure. Liyah Knight also pulled up and helped me write the pre-choruses (you’ll notice the lyrics change the second time) and we just had a lot of fun. I’m not sure what genre I’d call it but it’s me through and through. I really got all my pettiness out in this track.”

SIDEWAYS PT II

“I love the writing on this. I was inspired by Lucky Daye for the first section and then it goes into a Frank Ocean ‘biking’ cadence. Two of my favourites. People always talk about the “Gap” in creative careers where there’s a period at the start when your work doesn’t match the standards you’re going for. And I resonate with that because I’ve felt that in the past, where I’ve made songs that just aren’t good enough for me to like them the way I like my favourite music.

“‘Sideways Pt II’ is one of those songs where I feel like I’ve crossed that barrier, and I’m hearing back melodies that I really fuck with. Club Angel just gave me the guitar tone and drum tones that excite the fuck out of me. Big shoutout to Cam Parkins who’s mixed the entire record incredibly, and Leon Zervos who mastered it. Amazing mix/masters like these really do justice to the amazing producers on the tape, and to me as an artist and vocalist.”