Sogen Shares Stories From Every Track Of Their Eclectic Debut Album “You’ve Got Me” – Out Now On Nettwerk

Nettwerk is thrilled to announce the signing of Sogen, an electronic production duo comprising Rick Goddard aka Kogane, currently based in Tokyo, and Auryn Waring aka Shinamo Moki, based between Shanghai & London. The duo joins the likes of Anomalie, omniboi, Bad Snacks, il:lo, and MÒZÂMBÎQÚE in Nettwerk’s experimental electronic community.

Keep Up with Sogen – Linktree | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Bandcamp

Sogen’s journey began in late 2019 when they started exchanging musical ideas online. Their mutual love for exploration and a shared disinterest in adhering to the confines of musical genre helped lay the groundwork for their eclectic debut album “You’ve Got Me,” out today via Nettwerk. Centered on nostalgia, AI, and humanity themes, “You’ve Got Me” tells the story of a female twenty-something developing a program that allows users to relive, alter, or erase past memories.

We had the rare opportunity to sit down with them and chat about some of the unique stories and overall narrative of the album, which we’ll dive into momentarily in the Track Listing Stories section. But before we get there, let’s unpack the visuals and artistic contributions a bit more so we have a better understanding of the context for this amazing release.

Visual and Artistic Contributions

The creative world Sogen builds within is further expanded by visual contributions from NYC artist Alex Futtersak (known for work with Porter Robinson, Kid Cudi, and Bladee). Futtersak’s animations subtly convey the poignant themes and ideas of the LP with alluring and cutesy animations inspired by early 2000s-era video games and graphics.

“Musical composition has always been like a diary to us,” shares Sogen. “Each song is a distillation of time, place, and emotion. With each track on the album being a collaborative effort, it feels like a surreal mashup of those elements, touching upon the central theme of memories and emotional revisits to the past, alongside the concept of altering these memories. Not being in a rush to complete the album allowed us time to edit the songs repeatedly, each change subtly detaching the ideas from their original meaning. We soon learned when to stop, realizing that pushing an idea too far can dilute it and erode the core idea. These personal experiences echo the girl’s journey in the album’s narrative, emphasizing self-realization and acceptance of one’s past and not letting it hold you back.”

Remote Collaboration and Production

Heavily inspired by video games and episodic anime, “You’ve Got Me” was assembled deep within the online world. The project was recorded and produced remotely, with Auryn working in Shanghai and London and Rick working in Vancouver, Mexico, and Japan.

“We were both in different parts of the world throughout writing the LP so we would just send the tracks back and forth online,” shares the duo. “This approach sort of summarizes our dependence on technology and the internet as we wouldn’t have been able to make the album without it.”

Both Goddard and Waring grew up inspired by the likes of Bibio, Four Tet, Gold Panda, and Aphex Twin, and have now proudly worked with their contemporary influences such as Daisuke Tanabe, Tomggg, and aus of Flau Records. Notably, Tomggg released a remix of “Empty Project,” the tenth track of “You’ve Got Me” on April 5.

Sogen’s Track Listing Stories (In Their Words)

Recently, Sogen gave Magnetic Magazine the inside scoop on the finer details of You’ve Got Me, fleshing out the intricate narrative arc and taking us through the making of each song. Check out what they had to say below”

1. Screensavers – 

We wanted the introductory track to sound like you’re digging deep into your childhood psyche with twinkly synths taken from a nintendo64 emulator and a childish topline which rapidly folds into a progressive post rock track overflowing with experimental textures. 

[Inside the girls bedroom. It’s a darkened mess lit up in places due to flickering computer controls, electronic modules and a hint of light occasionally seeping from an open bedroom window that’s blowing the curtains around. The girl is rummaging through her keepsake box and scrolling through her handwritten diary and, inside, finds her dad’s notes about a neural VR program he was working on. She has an electronic pink dog plushy called Dog-0 who explains the program, named ‘ You’ve Got Me’ ( the name of the LP ), allows its user to virtually revisit old memories and make alterations to them forever, reliving their precious moments or erasing those embarrassing mishaps that occasionally keep them up at night.]

2. Won’t Cry – 

Moody bells and chimes morph into a bouncy synth pop beat. We took a lot of elements from digital synth presets that were supposed to represent real instruments and put them through the ringer. A lot of Roland D50 samples arpeggiated and pitched beyond recognition as well as a wild flute solo in the finale. 

[Wearing the headset, the girl is playing back a sad memory of looking out of her bedroom window at a group of her old friends playing in a field with kites and large inflatable animal balloons. At 1:16 you can hear the field recording speed up and reverse. This is the point where she realizes she can delete parts of her memories and implement herself into new scenarios within those memories, hence the sudden shift in the musical mood. This idea is the basis of the album cover’s artwork. She puts herself outside, deletes the other kids and claims all the balloons for herself before letting them go and watching them float away. ]

3. Kinda Indecisive – 

Chopped up synth samples drop in and out of shoegaze fuzz. The track starts off with more chimes and bells alongside a stuttering sample taken from a previous version of the song. The title came about when we couldn’t settle on a direction to take the song and we ultimately gave up on that idea and just went with what felt natural. 

[Dog-0 explains that her dad entrusted this program to her so she could finish his work and help make the necessary changes that he couldn’t. After years of working in the field of technology and artificial intelligence he feels as though he might have slowly fallen out of touch with humanity and needs someone with a different outlook on life to make the right choices.] 

4. Keepsakes – 

One of the more calming and reflective tracks on the upcoming LP. Inspired by the flood of memories that come with discovering a box of keepsakes. Bittersweet nostalgia recorded to tape with dusty drum machines, yard sale keyboards and guitars all processed through the lens of experimental mixing and effects processing.

[After reading through the program notes and documents she can’t seem to work out why her dad would consider it incomplete. Dog-0 confirms that there are no bugs or issues so the girl decides to do some more digging and dives into more memories, scanning for bad ones to clean up. The screen shows that you can manually scroll through the dates of your memories based on emotional peaks and troughs.]

5. Genuine Small Talk – 

An fx drenched track which builds into a chorus of euphoria. Genuine Small Talk is the good type of small talk. You know when you meet someone that you barely know and you have to create some small talk in an attempt to clear out any awkwardness? That’s the bad small talk. Genuine small talk is when you’re with a new friend that you’re genuinely curious about. We wanted to capture that curiosity. 

[The girl revisits an awkward memory of when she tried to ask a classmate on a date but she couldn’t pluck up the courage to do so and regretted it ever since. She tweaks the event and this time, asks and is overjoyed when they say yes. Dog-0 interrupts and explains to her that the program is now generating alternate memories and if she wishes to continue then it will save over the real memories of what happened that day. She ignores his message and the two decide on going to the fireworks showing later that evening (recordings of fireworks being set off are audible in the tracks final chorus). ]

6. Omiyage – 

This song was started on an airplane to Sapporo while Rick was going to visit his friend. Omiyage is a gift that you bring either back home with you to share with your local friends, or you bring with you when you visit friends/family. 

[The girl is so overjoyed by the project’s success that she insists on fast traveling through past memories to find the perfect virtual souvenir to give to DoG-0. She settles on choosing a Dog-0 keychain from a fairground game that her dad took her to on her 11th birthday. She couldn’t win the prize back then but this time she can alter the memory and she does so with ease. It’s a target practice, balloon popping game and she hits every target perfectly. Dog-0 is amused and touched by this gift and he leaves her to continue her virtual journey. ]

7. I Feel Safe – 

A romantic track to sum up the feeling of the title. Lots of warmth and sparkle, tape crackle, crisp percussion, soothing, alluring vocal synths. 

[Her calendar shows that she is supposed to be seeing friends this weekend. The girl decides instead to stay at home with her VR headset. She deletes ALL of her negative memories to make space for her new unexplored ones and she spends the whole weekend having fun seeing how these different events turn out. ] 

8. September 4th – 

We wanted a track that’s much darker in its tone from previous tracks but still maintained that same sense of exploration and unconventional creative energy. Clattering drum machine improvisations, 80s synth solos and warped vocal samples all merge into our take on dark electronic pop. 

[ When scrolling through her memory bank timeline she finds a missing diary entry on September 4th and this leads to questions of how and why this happened. Dog-0 reminds her that the program was made to automatically erase any negative memories that she had experienced. When she digs up her handwritten diary she discovers the date was the last day she saw her father and it wasn’t on good terms so it was wiped. This is the turning point for her and has her questioning if the program is flawed. ] 

9. Banjo Falls – 

Inspired by a moment of tranquility and reflection by a waterfall, Banjō Falls (萬城 の滝), in Shizuoka, Japan. This track tries to capture a sporadic mindset which gradually turns to peace in the form of a sprawling ambient atmosphere utilizing field recordings that Rick made at that very waterfall. We merged some of our favorite elements from prog rock, math rock and synth ambient to bring this multifaceted instrumental idea to life and we’re super happy with how it turned out. 

[The girl looks over at a photo she took at Banjo Falls and puts her headset on transporting her to a virtual reproduction of her memory there. She and Dog-0 sit on a rock overlooking the waterfall. In her anger she throws a stone at it but the stone glitches out and is erased before it can impact the water.]

10. Empty Project –

The title refers to an empty document, a blank page or in this case, a clean start. Light, sparkly and optimistic with a sound palette assembled from all the previous songs on the LP. 

[The girl decides to rebuild her VR memory bank from scratch, building it from all the handwritten pages, drawings and photographs from her keepsake box. Memories from all across her past swim around her head in a digital blur and Dog-0 agrees to re-upload all of the bad memories again.] 

11. I’ve Got You – 

The namesake of our debut album as well as its final track. A post rock ballad put through our blend of modular synths, twinkly samples and percussive foley. We wanted a poignant soundscape of all the nostalgic sounds from the childhood 

video games we played as well as bands and musicians we listened to with the goal of having an album closer that reflected its main theme: your past does not define your future.

[The girl decides to remove the patch which allows its user to edit and delete parts of their memories and posts it online, renaming this new, completed, program from ‘You’ve Got Me’ to ‘I’ve Got You’. She puts the headset back on, and she and Dog-0 both look outside of her bedroom window, revisiting the old memory of seeing her friends play outside with their balloons on the front cover of the album, this time with a smile. “If every negative thought, event or flaw is patched up or deleted then do you think I’ll still appreciate the good times or will I take them all for granted?”. She asks Dog-0. ]

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the central theme of “You’ve Got Me”?

How was the album produced?

The album was produced entirely remotely, with the duo working from different parts of the world and exchanging tracks online.

Who are the influences behind Sogen’s music?

Sogen draws inspiration from artists like Bibio, Four Tet, Gold Panda, and Aphex Twin, as well as their contemporary influences such as Daisuke Tanabe, Tomggg, and aus of Flau Records.

What visual elements accompany the album?

NYC artist Alex Futtersak contributed animations that convey the album’s themes, inspired by early 2000s video games and graphics.

Conclusion

“You’ve Got Me” by Sogen is now available at all digital retailers. With its unique blend of electronic music and thought-provoking themes, Sogen’s debut album promises to captivate listeners and take them on a journey through the intricacies of memory and emotion.