Filipino actor-turned-musician James Reid has released a new music video for his latest single, ‘Soda’, which includes contributions from Nadine Lustre and Massiah.
The music video was released on Saturday, March 20, nearly two months after the funky single dropped. The music video sees Reid portray a character named Explorer. Explorer’s journey begins in a desolate future on the the land of Fukkawi in 3038.
Explorer begins searching for an energy source, before he runs into bandits and a mysterious Queen, portrayed by actress-model Francesca Taruc. She hands him a token, and he’s teleported back in time to Earth II in 3035.
He eventually finds a vending machine, and uses the token handed to him by the Queen, and is once again teleported to an unknown land, where he finds a cyborg version of the Queen.
Watch the music video below.
According to Rappler, the 27-year-old artist said the song showcased a “new sound” that he started crafting last year. Describing 2020 as a “very heavy” year, Reid said he wrote the song during quarantine.
“It became a time that I was very introspective and I guess this song is a reflection of that insight, of learning to turn these negative things into positive experiences,” Reid said in a press conference.
On the theme of the track, he explains it is “to have an open mind, to see the light in things, learn to see your own darkness as a teacher and just to be present enough to make the most of life’s surprises”.
Reid also noted he enlisted singer Nadine Lustre, and Filipino-Ghanian R&B singer Massiah – real name Hassam Morton – for ‘Soda’. Both artists are his fellow collaborators and signed to his label Careless.
“They helped me with a couple of lines, like Nadine wrote the line ‘don’t lose the stars in your eyes,’ which basically means don’t give up, don’t lose hope,” he said, adding Massiah contributed a verse.
Reid also plans to work on an album for 2021. He noted that Lustre, who released her debut album ‘Wildest Dreams’ last year, will be releasing more material soon, while Massiah is expected to release an album.
“We have a few surprises coming, especially in the first quarter.”
Reid released his debut self-titled EP in 2013, and his second EP ‘Reid Alert’ launched in 2015. In 2017, he dropped his full-length album ‘Palm Dreams’ after founding his record label Careless. Last year, he featured on Nadine Lustre’s song ‘Complicated Love’ from her album ‘Wildest Dreams’.