Soda

Condition Details: Please check all photos of the item carefully, as they form part of the description of the condition of the item. This PCM 1630 digital master tape from Metropolis Mastering is in excellent condition, professionally stored and clearly labeled. Dated 2nd July 1996, it was created for Mercury Records as an EQ’d Production Master, intended for both CD and 7" single formats.

What's Included: This listing includes the Original Tape Cassette in its plastic case, with full mastering documentation from Metropolis Mastering. The label confirms this as a produced master for catalogue number cia/cd1, featuring four tracks: Dragging You Into My Dreams (03:37), One Sweet Lie (03:01), U Broke My Heart (03:52), and Awkward (02:39). The tape was mastered at 44.1kHz and includes PQ coding for CD replication, making it a definitive source for Soda’s 1996 single release.

About the Item: Soda were a Britpop band from Hull, England, formed in 1994. They emerged during the height of the mid-1990s Britpop boom, blending melodic guitar pop with touches of punk and new wave. The group consisted of Ocean Reid (vocals), Liam Maloy (bass/vocals), Mike Milner (guitar), Chris Charlton (guitar), and Carl Lonsdale (drums).

Signed to Mercury/Fontana Records between 1995 and 1997, Soda released a few singles including The Young Own The Town (1995) and Inside (1996). Their debut album, Artificial Flavour, was recorded during this period but was shelved by their label and only officially released twenty years later in 2016.

Their music captured the bright, energetic sound of the Britpop era, with catchy choruses and jangly guitars comparable to acts like Ash, Sleeper, and Echobelly. Critics have described their songs as “a perfect time capsule of mid-90s guitar pop.” Despite strong material, Soda’s career was cut short by label setbacks and bad timing.

Today, the band enjoys cult status among Britpop enthusiasts, with their rediscovered debut gaining positive retrospective attention. Artificial Flavour stands as a snapshot of a band that could have been much bigger had things gone differently.