On October 19, SOPHIE (who for the record is now using the pronouns she/her) dropped new solo material for the first time in two years since her singles compilation ’PRODUCT’, released through record label Numbers.
The emotional ballad “It’s Okay To Cry” may come as a surprise to people who are perhaps only familiar with popular and studio releases such as Lemonade, or her production work with artists such as Charli XCX. But given SOPHIE’s experimental diversity, it’s actually no surprise to see her drop this as a single.
In September, SOPHIE announced a live date on October 24 for the Red Bull Music Academy Festival LA, titled “SOPHIE Live Debut”. This led audiences to believe that new material was right around the corner. The word ‘live‘ suggested this could potentially be a new direction for SOPHIE, being that this is the same artist who previously used voice pitchers in radio interviews along with dummies to replace her during DJ sets. However, it’s clear that with this new single, she is feeling more brave and bold than ever. It’s worth noting that this is the first time SOPHIE has ever appeared (and more importantly sung) in a music video, presenting that this seems to be the beginning of a new, more defiant artist.
As the song progresses, so does the vehemence and intensity of emotion displayed through the stereotypical twinkling synths commonly used in her production, through songs such as “The Way I Am”, “You Keep Me Safe” and “Sacred”, with all of these (unfortunately) remaining unreleased.
There’s no doubt that she no longer feels the need to remain anonymous. This ‘Whole New World’ is in fact the beginning of the person she was born to be…
And finally after two years, she’s ready to share it with us.
After ‘PRODUCT’, she had kept quiet for a pretty long while. Although new material was constantly played during live shows, official releases never seemed to surface. Prior to “It’s Okay To Cry”, it was speculated that solo SOPHIE was no longer, and that she would go forward solely producing for other artists. She had gained quite a reputation for herself working with artists such as Charli XCX, framing pop music into a sound that was abrasive and experimental, yet so cohesive.
Now of course, pop music isn’t where SOPHIE’s production boundaries start and end. In June, Vince Staples released his album ‘Big Fish Theory’ with production credits by SOPHIE on songs ‘Yeah Right’ and ‘SAMO’. Wikipedia describes the album as ‘an avant-garde style that leans toward electronic club music genres such as house and Detroit techno’, as it combines the traditional American rap sound with UK garage. This was one of the first times we saw her step away from the pitched vocals and rubbery synths to produce something more hard-hitting and grinding.
Over the past two years, the material we have heard from SOPHIE has been predominantly club orientated through her collaborations with Quay Dash, Lady Leshurr, and Brooke Candy.
So some may wonder, why the sudden departure of sound? As artists, they should be allowed to explore different musical styles and directions to grow and develop as a creative. However, in SOPHIE’s case there is something much more personal and significant which seems to have directly impacted this shift in sound. She has recently begun transitioning into a female and her latest video – seems to be – the start of publicly becoming an artist, as opposed to a mysterious incognito who occasionally records demos and produces songs here and there. The video and song work in conjunction with each other as a ‘This is me, I’m back’ statement, and looking into the lyrics it’s clear what message she is trying to disclose.
She sings, “All of the big occasions you might have missed/No, I accept you and I don’t even need to know your reasons/It’s okay I think you sometimes forget I would know you best” and given her situation, it seems evident that this is old SOPHIE talking to new SOPHIE. Now, you could say this is perhaps analysing the lyrics themselves too carefully but given her complete distance from studio releases over the past two years, you have to wonder why it was in fact this song that was chosen as a ‘comeback’ single whilst acting somewhat as a rebrand. With this in mind, the last 20 seconds of the song include pitched female-like vocals repeating “It’s Okay To Cry” strengthening the idea that the song conceivably takes you through SOPHIE’s journey and ultimately, she is now who she was born to be.
A full-length debut album is expected from SOPHIE at least by the end of this year, with shows already lined up in LA and London (Dec 8). At the moment, it’s unsure whether unreleased gems will finally see the light of day, or if we’ll get an album where SOPHIE is at the forefront herself from start to finish.
But either way? It’s safe to say it’s going to be inevitably fundamental for the music industry.
By Nick Lowe