When I complained about the heat on summer days, my mother would tell me to think about things that were really cold. So I would build a house made of ice in my imagination where I would sip on cold, sugary drinks and hang out with polar bears. A trip to Soda Island might just be the equivalent in my adult life.
The aptly named album is made up of contributions from the different artists that, together, form the Soda Island collective. Although each song has a unique flavour, there is a strong current of lush, spacey instrumentals with electronic and acoustic facets that runs throughout the record. The album seems to be a celebration of self expression and kicking back and it’s hard not to enjoy the ride.
Over the past few years I have, to some extent, explored the world of electronic music and become familiar with which niches I find I can connect with. Being married to an electronic producer has also given me an appreciation for the skill involved in making beats, even when they don’t fit into that niche. That said, I don’t think it takes a trained ear to ride the wave of A Trip to Soda Island. In fact, if you have not yet acquired a taste for the work of beatmakers, A Trip to Soda Island is a great entry point. It takes my favourite things about electronic music and my favourite things about acoustic music and weaves them together in a seamless glimpse into paradise.
The vocalists that are featured on the Soda Island collective’s debut album are a top quality group of artists from different genres. From Merival’s folksy sounds to Rakita’s modern soul, the album is a true collaboration of different styles, which somehow meet in the middle to create a really easy listen.
There’s something irresistible about the mood that is created when electronic sounds are combined with acoustic instrumentation. Aside from the obvious technical mastery involved in making this work, for the listener, it’s the perfect combination of nostalgia and forward-thinking. It is my secret opinion that, generally speaking, music reviewers spend too little time dwelling on the way that music makes its listeners feel. That’s something I’m trying to focus on a bit more, and this album definitely lends itself towards making this the focus. While I can only speak for myself, as a listener, I like to feel both motivated for the future and reminded of good things past. This is a difficult balance to strike, although there are many different approaches that can result in this specific kind of magic. A Trip to Soda Island does this with the abovementioned blend of acoustic and electronic elements, but more than that, by creating an over-arching carefree mood, as if all is well with the world.
I’m told the genre that the collective identifies with is future bass, but on listening to some offerings from their competitors, it’s safe to say that Soda Island has created something wholly unique. In a world where a lot of what’s popular seems to be a replica of itself, this is inspiring! Although it’s still true that there’s nothing new under the sun, Soda Island seems to combine different existing elements to create something refreshing and beautiful. The album is a perfect place of solace for those of us who have tired of hearing the same thing, presented differently, again and again.
