“Lemonade” is the moment two different lanes in Australian R&B crash into each other and decide to stay there for a while.
On one side is Taka Perry, the Australian–Japanese producer who already had serious credits under his belt with artists like Ruel, Denzel Curry and a run of Japanese and global collaborations before he dropped his own debut EP KAKOMIRAI in 2022. On the other is BOY SODA, the Australian-Samoan singer from Terrigal who had been bubbling up through triple j Unearthed, early singles and LA shows, long before his Warner deal and later Soulstar album and ARIA win put him on official watch lists.
“Lemonade” lands as one of the key cuts from KAKOMIRAI, a 2022 project built around Taka’s future-leaning, electronic R&B production. The track dropped as a single ahead of the EP and quickly became the calling card: bright, elastic synths, a low-slung groove and BOY SODA gliding across the top with hooks that feel ready-made for repeat plays. Critics tagged it as a “bouncing electro-R&B track” and “addictively electric”, the kind of song that works just as easily in headphones as it does in a packed room.
The story behind it is as loose as the track sounds. Taka has said most of “Lemonade” was finished in about an hour on the same day he and BOY SODA first met, both of them landing on the same idea straight away and watching the song fall into place in real time. That chemistry is there in the recording: Taka locking in the bounce and little production tricks, BOY SODA leaning into the rhythm with a vocal that flips between smooth and cheeky without breaking stride. A self-directed video from Taka pushed that energy further, pairing the track’s sugar-rush feel with visual world-building that tied into the EP’s future-past concept.
In the bigger picture, “Lemonade” catches both artists mid-ascent. For Taka, it is part of the moment he steps out from behind the boards as a name in his own right. For BOY SODA, it lands in the early stretch of a catalogue that will later run through EPs, mixtapes and his Soulstar era, and you can already hear the melodic instincts and confidence that get him there.
MORE MOODS
Jasmine Khan Australia
Jasmine Khan runs Gameboy on the roof like a late-night message you meant to ignore but couldn’t. There’s also Coco, her chihuahua, turning the whole thing into a moment that feels like her actual life, not a press shot.
Milan Ring Australia
Milan Ring steps into her Guitar&B bag on BS and Hide With You, sliding from head-nod grooves with Che Lingo to a softer, piano-led escape hatch that feels almost private. Watching her sing, rap and thread those guitar lines through both tracks is like seeing the producer leave the control room and run the whole set in real time.
Ms. Thandi Australia
Ms Thandi pours The Eyes into the night, turning a “lust song disguised as a love song” into a rooftop slow burn, all side-eye, bass and easy confidence.
Taka Perry Australia/Japan
Taka Perry turns the roof into his own control room, flipping between instruments as he runs through Diamonds and Only U with Gia Vorne.