Texas Alt-Pop Artist southstate Shares Track-By-Track Insight to New EP, Late Night Texts

The end of 2021 brings the release of many “Best Of” lists but what about a new type of list with a track-by-track look at the EP of rising alt-pop artist. Intrigued? Then go ahead and keep scrolling.

Up-and-coming alternative pop artist southstate recently released his EP, Late Night Texts. The 3 song EP is a swirling combination of pop and 2000’s emo that sounds like MySpace music brought into the year 2021.

With music and a mission, the Texas native artist looks to correct any misconception that the Southern states (get the name now?) are without culture and diversity. southstate is fronted by multiracial and multicultural artist Sam Ma who creates music for “those who felt out of place” and don’t fit in the “boxes they are supposed to occupy.”

With the latest EP out now, southstate takes over as an All Access contributor for a day as he shares a track-by-track insight to the latest project. Get to know the new music and the talented singer and songwriter a bit better by checking out the full EP below.

“Springtime Allergies (Be Somebody)“

“‘Springtime Allergies’ is a song about FOMO – seeing the world go on around you and dealing with the existential anxieties about last year (if you know, you know). Overall, this is one of my favorite tracks off the record (jk, I love all the songs) because it blends a ton of genres – it’s got R&B inspired jazz chords with grungy distortion, and some layered pop vocals. This was the first song I started working on solo – I spent the year during lockdown learning how to record music, and started producing this song. Also, the music video was a ton of fun to make [check it out for some 100% real blanket ghosts], and I got to make a new friend while working on it.”

“Idwda” 

“‘Idwda’ is a song about anxieties and catastrophizing the normal ups and downs of getting older. It’s got a really indie vibe (sort of like Two Door Cinema Club or The 1975), but has punk arrangement and instrumentation – I worked on blending different genres on this song, to make every track stand out sonically. My favorite part of this song was getting to work with Ollie from Broadside. He did a phenomenal job, and it’s really cool to hear him on a track I created. 10/10 would do again.”

“Fastcars”

“‘Fastcars’ is a song about consumerism and appreciating the people who make you better (emotionally and growth-wise). This track has the most pop-oriented sound – I used a lot of layered samples (like the claps on the bridge), and a really sparse, small verse to help build dynamics. My friends Dan (Indego) and Caleb (Likecolors) helped create the sonic scape for the song. It was a cool experience to work with them digitally – we shared and sent everything through the cloud. One of my favorite things about this current point in music production is that long-distance collaborations have become easy to do, so I can work with my friends who are a world away.”

Conclusion

“Thanks so much for reading, and feel free to check out my merch store for some handcrafted, environmentally-friendly merch. Have a great week, and make sure to take some time to do something fun, that you enjoy. Anyway, stream my new record wherever you listen to music. Peace.” – southstate.

Stay connected with southstate by following along with his journey below:

Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Twitter | Website