Following his new single after a three-year hiatus, James Reid drops a hypnotic visualizer for Soda that’s all sorts of dreamy.
Palm Dreams was a moment, but Soda fully captures a tropical daydream. And that’s just the beginning, a sign of what’s to come from James Reid. “Grab your shit, I’m on my way,” indeed. The visualizer, which dropped a last night, was a trip to a place that feels familiar: like a soul finding an oasis in the desert. Except here, the figure ends up transcending the earth and journeys beyond the universe. “It’s not a straight line, it’s all a part of the ride.”
The four-minute animated video was made by two emerging creatives, Reika and Zelijah who have been working on a number of projects for local up-and-coming musicians, with the direction of Careless Music’s creative director, Henz. As for their references, the creative director cites the animé Cowboy Bebop, 2001: A Space Odyssey film, and the album art for Hot on the Tracks by Commodores. Their works are usually otherworldly and unconventional, often exploring themes that are out of the ordinary.
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Creating other dimensions isn’t easy and the two revealed that it took them two weeks to finish the animation as everything in the music video was digitally-rendered. “At some point, I accidentally spawned a million 3D heads, which resulted in my computer inevitably crashing,” shares Zelijah, who’s also a musician.
Despite diving into animation for two years, Reika is aware of how draining being in isolation could also be. “The pandemic has definitely brought creatives like us to a standstill. Mood plays a huge role in creativity, and I believe I speak for others when I say that it’s extra difficult to be an inspiring artist when the world is ‘less-inspiring.'”
If there’s anything these creatives learned, it’s to be bold enough, most especially in these times. For Zelijah, “Before doing anything, always ask yourself if it’s your spark, and learn the importance of diversification in terms of knowledge and skill set.” While Reika says, “I found solace in the fact that everyone is striving to get over the same hurdle. Creativity stems from the self and this is the perfect time to grow from within.”
You can watch the whole visualizer below:
(Photos courtesy of Instagram and Reiders Official on Facebook
