Somerset House Studios Welcomes Electronic Producer, Songwriter & DJ SOPHIE
By Something CuratedGlory To Sound is a musical initiative founded by musician, DJ, broadcaster and Somerset House Studios resident Nabihah Iqbal, inspired by her love for diverse musical offerings. Through a series of events, talks, live shows and club nights, the aim is to experience and explore music from different perspectives, and to think about what it means. On the evening of 14 August 2019, hosted at Somerset House, Iqbal has invited electronic producer, songwriter, and DJ SOPHIE to share and discuss the music that is most important to her in front of an intimate audience. The talk and collective listening experience will be followed by a Q&A session.
Sophie Xeon, known mononymously as SOPHIE, originally hails from Scotland. She first moved to London, playing in a band called Motherland, before relocating to Los Angeles, where she is presently based. Traversing disparate musical spheres from underground dance music to major label pop, SOPHIE’s singular sound shirks convention and pushes familiar musical styles to their furthest extremes. At once uncannily familiar and boldly experimental, and across solo releases and production work for other artists, her music has developed a devoted following and made her in demand in recording studios and on dance floors alike.
Interestingly, in the past, SOPHIE decidedly remained anonymous for some time, concealing her identity in interviews by masking her voice or covering parts of herself. At one Boiler Room show, drag performer Ben Woozy was recruited to mime a DJ set while SOPHIE pretended to be a bodyguard. Today her hyper-flamboyant and subversive styling is a moniker of her meticulous visuals and spellbinding stage presence.
SOPHIE’s first single, Nothing More To Say released in 2012, established a concise vision from the get-go, but it was her 2014 single Bipp that took off in clubs across the globe. Quintessentially SOPHIE, it revealed her strikingly original approach to music making, which treats sound as sculpture, emphasising its physical qualities and ability to evoke extrasensory experiences. Sticky melodies, avant-garde sound design, and enigmatic vocals were hallmarks of PRODUCT, her 2015 singles compilation, which presented Bipp alongside other critically acclaimed solo releases like Lemonade and Hard.
Glory To Sound: Sophie runs from 6.45-8.30pm on 14 August 2019 at Somerset House Studios. Book tickets here.
Feature image: Still from SOPHIE — It’s Okay To Cry