Intro
SOPHIE, the late musician, born and raised in Glasgow, initially made her mark as a producer. Over time, she earned critical acclaim and came to be recognised as a visionary in the music industry. SOPHIE collaborated with renowned pop stars like Charli XCX and Madonna and became a “critical darling” with her unique breakcore music style.
In 2013, SOPHIE made her debut on the Glasgow-based label Huntleys & Palmers with the release of a single. Her breakout hit, “BIPP,” featured breakcore-inspired dance-pop with heavily distorted vocals that left listeners wondering whether the singer was male or female. Despite the ambiguity, the track received critical acclaim, with one XLR8R reviewer calling it a “fascinating proposition.” People quickly recognised SOPHIE’s eccentricity and weirdness as her biggest strengths.
Afterward, she embarked on collaborations with notable artists from PC Music, including A.G. Cook and Hannah Diamond. Known for its hyper-pop sound, postmodern aesthetic, and maximalist production, PC Music is widely regarded as a genre despite being a London-based label.
SOPHIE’s sound
SOPHIE’s track “LEMONADE” was used in a McDonald’s commercial for, you guessed it, lemonade. The audio is undoubtedly ideal for advertising; it is bright and futuristic, and the vocals add a lighthearted touch that makes a perfect soundtrack to watching people sip lemonade.
Identifying a song by SOPHIE is relatively simple. Her signature style incorporates “pitched-up vocals” and “cute dance rhythms,” and the production is consistently characterised by its bold and “brash” sound. And despite its “sensory-overloaded” sound design, SOPHIE’s music remains highly enjoyable to listen to.
“When you listen to SOPHIE, you stop thinking and start listening to your body. It’s molecular.”
“Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides”, when said out loud, actually means “I love every person’s insides”—reinforcing a theme of queer acceptance, as SOPHIE is queer herself. The album exudes confidence, with her vocals singing “quiet but determined” on each track.
The sound design is spectacular—an “audioscape odyssey”, described a reviewer. The slower songs are trance-like, especially those with unpredictable structures like “Is It Cold In The Water?” and “Whole New World/Pretend World”. The upbeat songs lean more into hyper-pop territory, like “Ponyboy” with its distorted drums that sound almost like they’re puking into your speakers. Paired with erotic lyrics like “I treat him like a ponyboy”, it’s like BDSM if it was a song.
SOPHIE’s stand-out moment on the album can be found in Track 8, “Immaterial”. It’s that one song you anticipate for in the club, and when it’s finally played, you know it’s time to go all out. The hook is catchy and uplifting, and the choir of her pitched-up vocals creates this sense of unity as though you’re supposed to feel like you’re not alone. Lyrically, SOPHIE sings about gender euphoria, “I can be anything I want / Immaterial boys, immaterial girls / any shape, any form”. “Immaterial” is a celebration of queerness and trans identities, and it sounds exactly like that.
Bibliography
Staff, X. (2019) XLR8R’s best of 2013: Tracks (25 – 1), XLR8R. Available at: https://xlr8r.com/features/xlr8r-s-best-of-2013-tracks-25-1/ (Accessed: 27 November 2023).
Yono, D. (2021) What I’m listening to: ‘Oil of every pearl’s UN-INSIDES’, The Michigan Daily. Available at: https://www.michigandaily.com/music/what-im-listening-to-oil-of-every-pearls-un-insides/ (Accessed: 28 December 2023).
Lin, Y.-C. (2023) Sophie: A beginner’s guide to a hyperpop mystery, Red Bull. Available at: https://www.redbull.com/us-en/sophie-a-beginners-guide (Accessed: 28 December 2023).
Sharp, E. (2022) PC Music releases ‘PC music volume 1’ compilation, Red Bull. Available at: https://www.redbull.com/us-en/pc-music-releases-pc-music-volume-1-compilation (Accessed: 08 December 2023).