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Together singer Randa Leigh and producer/musician Brian Vincent are SOS. The Portland based duo formerly known as Shadows on Stars, have started a new beginning full of experimental, futuristic laid-back sounds, with Leigh’s vocals leading the way.
GroundSounds recently caught up with SOS for an exclusive interview to talk about their latest tracks, upcoming LP and more, check it out below.
For those just discovering SOS how did you guys get together and start making music?
We met in college and both had a love for R&B/Hip-Hop music. During that time we dabbled in recording together but didn’t really start focusing until several years down the road.
How did you guys decide on the name SOS aka Shadows On Stars?
SOS is who we are now and who we will continue to be. Shadows On Stars was the name of our first demo together. Since then we’ve grown a lot and decided to shorten our name as a reflection of our more targeted creative focus.
Can you tell us about the creative and writing process for your track “She Wants?”
We actually recorded three versions of She Wants before deciding on this one. The vocals came out right away, but the production went through a couple major overhauls. There is a write up about She Wants on the internet somewhere that compares it to a poorly shot Cinemax softcore movie. The guy may have been sneak-dissing us, but he actually confirmed the success of our approach. We wanted there to be as much texture and sexual tension as possible. Also, Cinemax softcore movies are awesome.
What do you guys enjoy most about Portland? What is one thing every visitor should see or do?
Portland? Hmm….. Coffee and food. If you visit Portland we strongly advise leaving the city for a day at the coast or in the gorge.
What is it about alt-R&B that attracts you guys to this sound?
We do not consider ourselves alt-R&B, nor did we set out to make an alt-R&B record. The fact that people are putting us in that lane is completely fine with us because there are a plethora of incredible acts emerging under that umbrella. That said, our music will continue to evolve and evolution is extremely difficult when you start out trying to fit a certain scene or genre. We’re not bound by anything except the pursuit of making the best possible music we can.
What music are you guys currently listening to?
We both have a wide range of tastes, but it’s summertime and in the summer we can always agree on some classic Mariah Carey.
What was the inspiration for your track “Youth In Decline?”
We were listening to a lot of Aaliyah and King Krule when we wrote this. In particular “One in a Million” and “Out Getting Ribs.” For some reason we felt like those two songs played nicely together. Then we wanted some tribal shit a la 808’s and Heartbreak, so we added that to the end sequence.
What can you guys reveal abut your upcoming album? What has it been like working on this project?
Our upcoming album is a statement piece for us. In many ways it feels like the first project we’ve ever released because we put so much time into figuring out what we want our group to be. Working on it was extremely difficult because we were forced to let go of some of our personal tastes in effort to develop a foundation that represents SOS. As mentioned earlier, we both love all kinds of music and that can sometimes make it difficult to focus our creative energy.
What’s next for SOS? What can fans expect in the future?
We will be performing quite a bit in the fall and have started working on an EP. Beyond that we have no idea what’s next. All that we know is that we’re going to push ourselves to make the best album of our lives.
