Imaginative Electronic Duo Sogen Signs to Nettwerk, Shares ‘You’ve Got Me’ Concept Album

 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 join the likes of Anomalie, omniboi, Bad Snacks, il:lo and MÒZÂMBÎQÚE in Nettwerk’s experimental electronic community.

Sogen’s journey began in late 2019 when they started exchanging musical ideas across the internet. 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 themes of nostalgia, AI, and humanity, 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. 

Visual contributions from NYC artist Alex Futtersak (Porter Robinson, Kid Cudi, Bladee) further expand the creative world that Sogen operates and builds within, subtly conveying the poignant themes and ideas of the LP with alluring and cutesy animations based on Sogen’s mutual love of early 2000’s era video games and graphics. 

“Musical composition has always been like a diary to us,” shares Sogen, “each song 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 over and over, 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 journey of the girl in the album’s narrative, emphasizing self-realization and acceptance of one’s past and not letting it hold you back.” 

Heavily inspired by video games and episodic anime, You’ve Got Me was assembled deep within the online world. The project was recorded/produced entirely 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 (listen HERE).

You’ve Got Me is available at all digital retailers here: https://sogen.ffm.to/youvegotme