LIKE many young creatives born out of the music streaming age, Brae Luafalealo is unconcerned by the perceived constraints of geography.
Who says a kid growing up in Terrigal on the Central Coast can't release American-style R'n'B? When Luafalealo was starring in talent shows and musicals at Gosford High School most of his friends weren't listening to Usher or Kid Cudi.
But staying true to his own tastes is paying off for the 22-year-old, who releases music under the moniker Boy Soda. After releasing four tracks independently since 2019, Boy Soda will drop his first single with major label Warner on Friday.
Loveu2bits blends modern electronic R'n'B and playful hip-hop and was the result of a collaboration with Melbourne producers Hugh Lake and James Hamley.
"It doesn't make sense for me to come out of the Central Coast making the music I make, but it speaks more of the accessibility and opportunity, and the way that geographical locations don't matter in artistic projects these days," Luafalealo said.
"You make what you think is cool. I like that I went against the grain a little bit. If I'd tried to conform to all of my friends and not listened to R'n'B I would have lost my way a little bit."
Novocastrians will spot familiar landmarks in the video for Loveu2bits, which was directed by Newcastle cinematographer Bailey Watts. Susuru Ramen & Gyoza restaurant and fellow King Street business, Popolo Gelateria, were used as locations.
"He [Watts] has got great resources and has certain places he wants to shoot certain things in, these places he's book-marked," Luafalealo said.
"When I came to him with the vision and everything, he had the idea of Susuru and Popolo. I was really lucky to have his resources as he executed it as close to the brief as we wanted to."
The brief Luafalealo had for the video was to complement his story of broken love.
"I wanted to balance that binary of romance and tragedy in that video, because I wrote that song when someone I'd been with previously moved on before I did," he said.
"I've always believed love is high risk and high reward. The risk is you might get your heart broken and that's the whole point of being vulnerable and sharing everything, because at the end of the day, nothing is certain."
The pandemic has stalled Boy Soda's live career, but it's enabled Luafalealo to write almost 100 songs, which he plans to begin releasing with his debut EP later this year. Joining Warner also means his music will be promoted in the UK through Atlantic Records.
"From a young age signing to a label was something I always wanted before I even knew what that meant," he said.
Boy Soda's Loveu2bits is released on Friday.
