Jae Soto
Jae Soto has released her new single "Working the Weekend" on Switch Hit Records (Arthur Moon, Raia Was, Cale Hawkins). The track can be streamed now at YouTube and is on all digital platforms for any playlist shares.
Spanning indie-alternative and experimental pop, Jae combines traditional songwriting and processed sounds and marries them into a playful symbiosis. Her music serves as a call-back to beloved eras of musical transformation, often blending nostalgic sounds with darker experimental elements.
On the song Jae Soto says, "'Working the Weekend' is a tongue-in-cheek portrait of working-class life. With minimalist lyrics that feel like a day in the grind, the song is meant to capture the pressure cooker of emotions - from turning shoulders against the oppressive heat to smashing glass in screams of frustration. As the chorus erupts into "I won't make it out," the song takes on a playful nihilism, accepting the trap of inequality with a knowing laugh against the danceable backdrop. The juxtaposition indicates a decision to embrace the burden, finding humor and release in the overwhelming struggle. Though the details evoke a sense of being trapped, the driving rhythms suggest cathartic acceptance as a small escape."
"Working the Weekend" was created using the vintage Roland Alpha Juno 2 synthesizer. Jae Soto says, "I focused mainly on the Juno 2's marimba and xylophone patches. I processed the sounds through Ableton Live’s Max MSP experimental effects chains. I tend to gravitate towards the bright and blippy sounds and I think in this case, the cuteness of them is a good juxtaposition to the heavy subject matter."
She adds, "It felt almost like creating a collage, because I pieced together the processed sounds and rearranged them, so it resulted in a sort of kaleidoscopic soundscape at times with lots of overlapping patterns. A happy accident."
Prior to shifting her focus to production, Jae Soto was a long-time session singer, often participating in collaborations with large modern jazz ensembles. Before venturing into music-making as a solo endeavor, she explored various corners of NYC’s music and dance scenes. Along the way, she absorbed a cacophony of eclectic sounds and cultures and now draws from those experiences, placing them into her own context.
Jae Soto has also released Citizen Jane, a dystopian-themed mini video game which is available to play HERE. The game takes place in 2073 after environmental disasters have forced civilization underground to operate on a social credit system. Players try to collect enough credits to stay underground by making perilous trips to the toxic surface world. The goal is to balance collecting items for credits while keeping health from reaching zero.
The dystopian narrative shows parallels to real life struggles against broken societal systems requiring constant survival. The collaboration aims to integrate Jae Soto's music into the gameplay to enhance the immersive experience.
The game was programmed by Nima Niazi and features artwork, storyline and sound design by Jae Soto. Additional storyline contributions are by Meg Gorel. Nima Niazi is a developer/musician based in New York. His background spans web development, game development, creative coding, audio programming, and music making. A student at NYU ITP, Nima uses these processing tools to design and code a wide array of guitar effects plugins, ranging from distortions and overdrives to delays, reverbs, and modulation effects.