Overview

In 2011, Paula Abdul briefly dated Cascine label founder, Jeff Bratton. Finnish duo Mikko Pykäri and Sami Suova (aka Shine 2009) were one of the artists on the Bratton’s labels’ roster.

When Shine 2009 was working on their full-length album during the fall of 2010, Sami asked Bratton if Abdul would guest on ‘So Free.’ Their sound resonated with Paula personally and she thought it would be a fun project to be a part of. She liked what she heard and was excited to get involved.

The song was recorded in Helsinki and then shared with Abdul in the United States. Sami and Mikko mapped out the vocal parts, Paula recorded them in LA, and then emailed the files to Finland.

Jeff managed communication with everyone, and once the vocals were mixed into the track by the band, the edits were reviewed until the final version was completed.

Paula Abdul’s collaboration with Shine 2009, “So Free” is a pleasant dance track with a bit of a retro feel – it wouldn’t have been out of place on her 90s albums. A funky house track with a touch of acid jazz, “So Free” has more rhythm than most “dance” tracks out there now.

The video was directed by Santtu Mustonen. Editor & DOP: Iiro Hokkanen. Although Paula’s background vocals are featured in the video, she does not make an appearance.

Realism was released on Expo Records in Finland in 2011 and on Cascine Records in the United States.

On September 6, 2011 Cascine released the Jensen Sportag of "So Free" as a free download on Sound Cloud.