To celebrate the release of “Soda”, the first musical solo project of multi-hyphenated star James Reid in three years, Careless Music has warmly welcomed us into their world with a special media conference to dive deep into their latest release.
Catching up with Reid himself, the now-27-year-old actor-musician-entrepreneur excitedly shared the story behind the recently-released track, how quarantine has affected his creativity (for better and for worse), and what we can all expect from the indie music label he founded in the next couple of months.
Hosted by famed local DJ and host, Rico Robles, the conference opened with Careless Music CEO Jeffrey Oh welcoming the virtual crowd, and sharing his own excitement for the track. Oh expressed how the song perfectly represents the spirit of making the most out of everything, an apt kickstart to 2021 after the devastation of 2020.
When asked about working with Reid as the Chairman and Founder of the label, Oh described him as an incredibly hands-on leader and artist, “He’s superman. People would be surprised at how involved he is with music and business.”
This hands-on approach was even more apparent when the main man himself answered questions on how the track came to be.
“Soda” is an electro funk song that Reid intended to do to start the year off with something fresh, as it’s a new type of music for him to explore, and the song itself has a very refreshing vibe that’s reminiscent of long road trips with friends to the beach. In some ways, this might as well be one of his quarantine babies—something that he wrote and produced himself during the long time we’ve been in isolation.
As it was a time of introspective for all, Reid shared that the track came out of his own experience of turning negative things into positive outputs. He, himself, admitted feeling lost throughout quarantine because of the pandemic, but it was this song and the Careless business that inspired him to stay motivated and busy to maintain a semblance of normalcy. And these are also the very things he wants to impart to his fans and anyone who listens to “Soda“: have an open mind, learn to see the light in things, and treat darkness as your teacher.
Reid’s introspective period goes beyond the pandemic, though. As this is his first solo project in three years, the young artist have had plenty of time to reflect and ponder on his own creative path. He shared that amid the freedom he enjoyed throughout those three years, it gave him the time to learn more about himself, to grow as a song writer, and to realize what type of music and content comes naturally out of him. Hence, his new Daft Punk-inspired sound (which he revealed was one of the music acts he’s been idolizing ever since he was a kid).
But as far as quarantine babies go, Reid dropped some hints on what to expect next from him and the rest of Careless’ treasure trove of artists. Without spoiling too much, he shared that he’ll be dropping a few more singles after “Soda,” before working full-on on a new album. He also hinted at some live performances here and there for this new track.
When asked how different it is for him and the Careless team to create content now, he expressed how extremely difficult it was because of the heightened security measures to ensure. But with all of these restrictions and rules, he talked about how much more fulfilling it felt after completing a project because of these added challenges.
James Reid then put on his Careless Music Chairman and Founder hat on, and divulged some plans for the label in the upcoming months: “I’ll be releasing quite a few singles this first half of the year. We’ll have more music coming from Nadine (Lustre). And also her concert, which will be coming up. We have an album from Massiah, which we’ve been working on.”
The driving force behind this passion-fueled approach for all of Careless Music’s artists, Reid indicated, is the ultimate goal of serving as a bridge for local acts to be recognized more within the country, and abroad. Sure enough, the label has been producing music that’s on a whole different league since its granted independence in 2019.
Safe to say, “Soda” sets the tone for the whole label this year, and at the rate things are going, this early on, we’ll have one hell of a music playlist by the end of it full of Careless Music’s upcoming releases.
So sit back, let’s pop some bottles (or not) and bring on the next chapter of our lives with “Soda” in the background: