SOPHIE's Visionary World

“Hi Sophia, I’m SOPHIE. I’m a pop star” said SOPHIE in a conversation with Sophia the Robot on the future of creativity. In the interview, SOPHIE defined music “sending and receiving vibrations,” reflecting SOPHIE’s pioneering spirit of breaking down musical structures to their core, in doing so capturing complexity within simplicity and simplicity within the complex. Take SOPHIE’s single “BIPP,” a song that completely changed dance music. The single borrows the structure of house music, with the bass-heavy thumping of dubstep, but lacking hi-hats as typical of the genreー making it a musical anomaly. Uniquely, “BIPP” does not sample any other records, SOPHIE had invented all of the sounds herself on the synth. The result was a song that was familiar yet completely original; like a radio hit from a parallel universe. Most of all, “BIPP” was endlessly danceable. SOPHIE’s philosophy was an experimental reimagining of pop and dance music to create music that was at once accessible and avant-garde. The artist’s mind was a musical shear that unveiled the latent beauty of pop, a momentary glimpse at the miraculous light beyond our conceived notions of music, art, gender and being. 

SOPHIE was best known for cultivating hyper-pop, a genre that takes the fundamental elements of pop music and elevates them; as made popular with artists like 100gecs, Charli XCX, Slayyyter and Rina Sawayama. SOPHIE was a member of P.C. Music, a record label and art collective founded by A.G. Cook. She worked with P.C. Music to produce the pop star QT, a caricature of bubble gum pop whose sole single, “Hey QT,” advertised a fictional drink of the same name. While the project was scrapped, it caught the attention of Madonna, who asked SOPHIE to produce “Bitch, I’m Madonna.” Buzz was gradually generating around SOPHIE, who, before even having released a solo album, had racked up an impressive array of credits, producing for artists like Vince Staples, Let’s Eat Grandma, Charli XCX, Shygirl, Kim Petras and Madonna. SOPHIE worked with established pop musicians, producing a distinct style, though it was often dismissed. Take Vroom Vroom, Charli XCX’s 2016 EP produced by SOPHIE, which was initially scrutinized by the media, but has since become a staple in hyperpop. SOPHIE’s style was inimitable, striving to create her own vision even in the face of backlash. 

Despite their poppy nature, SOPHIE’s songs nurtured a profound tenderness. Like in “JUST LIKE WE NEVER SAID GOODBYE,” a 2015 single that chronicles a rekindled love. The fuzzy synths cyclically grow and shrink in intensity, building up never providing relief. The result is a bittersweet love tune, devoid of a conclusion or acceptance. “LEMONADE” is another standout track that divides itself into two distinct segments: the sticky and saccharine bass-filled section where SOPHIE repeats in a pitched-up voice: “Lemonade, L-L-Lemonade,” contrasted with the upbeat and effervescent portion where SOPHIE sings: “I hope you'll understand / I never meant to hurt you / It wasn't in my plans.” Sonically, the song is fascinating, somehow SOPHIE managed to perfectly capture the sound of opening a can of soda with just a synth. Thematically, “LEMONADE” revels in the juxtaposition between playful catchiness and a sincere apologyー crafting a portrait of a black-and-white relationship where serious subject matters are approached with ingenuity. “JUST LIKE WE NEVER SAID GOODBYE” and “LEMONADE” were both tracks on SOPHIE’s singles compilation album Product, along with other hits like “VYZEE,” “L.O.V.E.,” and “MSMSMSM.” 

The cover art for these singles features colorful 3D rendered alien shapesーwith formless, foreign entities serving as SOPHIE’s visual identity for much of her career. For years, SOPHIE’s identity was obscured. It wasn’t until 2017, with the release of “It’s Okay to Cry,” that the world was finally introduced to the person behind SOPHIE. In the music video SOPHIE sings and emotes, shot from the shoulders-up with the camera’s focus on SOPHIE the entire duration of the videoーunwavering, uninterrupted and free. Even though “It’s Okay to Cry” is regarded as SOPHIE’s most conventional song, it doesn’t feel like conformityーif anything, there is something subversive about an experimental artist like SOPHIE taking the time to write a more traditional and heartfelt ballad. The song and music video is stripped down, as SOPHIE sings in an unmodified voice where she shines as her unequivocal self.

We can’t talk about SOPHIE without talking about her unapologetic trans-ness. For so many people, this representation of an outspoken transgender and gender nonconforming person was momentous. SOPHIE felt no need to hide her identity nor felt the pressure to conform to a society’s expectations for trans people. She celebrated the beauty of being transgender while also acknowledging the hardships they faced as a community. Furthermore, SOPHIE often broke the barriers of the gender binary. Gender, to SOPHIE, was something viscous and amorphous, constantly subject to change and renewal. Take “Immaterial,” off OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-SIDES, a jubilant anthem to the beauty of transformation. (“I was just a lonely girl in the eyes of my inner child / But I could be anything I want and no matter where I go / You'll always be here in my heart / Here in my heart, here in my heart” sings guest singer Cecile Believe). In SOPHIE’s vision, transness was to be celebrated for its. When a reporter asked SOPHIE if she believed in God, she responded “Yes. God is trans.” 

OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-SIDES, SOPHIE’s 2018 debut and only album, proved to be a monumental achievement. Unlike her earlier singlesー which were in themselves compact, one-off “products” ー an LP gave SOPHIE the opportunity to synthesize a transcendent musical universe. The album begins with “It’s Okay to Cry” before immediately nose diving into “Ponyboy” and “Faceshopping.” “Ponyboy” sings about sexual domination, set to an industrial rave mix. “Spit on my face / Put the pony in his place,” sings a distorted, demonic voice. “Faceshopping” is equally as aggressive, as Cecile Believe (once again) sings the notion of choosing who you get to be (“I’m real when I shop my face”.) The music video for the song shows a digitally rendered SOPHIE being cut up and distorted, as various close-up images intercut at an aggressive speed. 

Throughout OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-SIDES, sounds and images morph and remorphー giving the album a feeling of formlessness. Like in the transition between “Is it Cold in the Water?” and “Infatuation,” where the chord sequence mutates from droning synths to a chorus. There is a sense of continuity present throughout the album, where motifs repeat themselves in infinitely new iterations. Music, to SOPHIE, becomes a vessel of self-discovery. As the lyrics of “Infatuation” beckon: “Who are you? / Deep down / I wanna know.” SOPHIE is reinvented through her use of melody, rhythm, and noise. The two non-vocal tracks, “Not Okay” and “Pretending” feel like a physical breakdown and rebuilding of a figure, as “Not Okay” sees SOPHIE deconstruct clips from the preceding tracks and the “Pretending” gradually reforms itself like sand sifting through a wave. All this build-up leads to the aforementioned “Immaterial”, an enlightening beam of a song. Not only is the transformation at a personal level, but SOPHIE welcomes a collective change in “Whole New World/Pretend World,” which sees a return to the industrial sound featured earlier on in the album and a gradual mix into sweeping, ethereal drones. While SOPHIE alludes to this new world as being synthetic, that doesn’t necessarily detract from its significance. SOPHIE embraces it as a portend of a changing tide. “Progress / Pushing through the mould / Tracing with my fingers / Waking up / Wanting growth.”

SOPHIE’s music is a mimesis of catharsis, putting to sound emotions that are intangible. Which is why writing about SOPHIE’s music can often prove challenging; I fear mislabeling her music. At a personal level, SOPHIE’s music changed the way I viewed pop, dance, and electronic, allowing me to reevaluate the process behind creating and listening to music. SOPHIE’s death was one of the few celebrity deaths that has truly had me in grief, and her loss truly felt like one for the future of music and humanity. Still, despite the grief, it’s most important to celebrate SOPHIE’s life. In many ways, SOPHIE’s world will continue to live on. We’ll hear her influence on future artists, dance to her in the club, and be thankful for her outspoken activism. As A.G. Cook said about SOPHIE in his tribute: “she approached every topic with the love, care and intensity of someone who has truly lived.” SOPHIE’s music was a glimpse into a visionary worldーit thus becomes our job, as fans and lovers, to uphold that vision and strive for brilliance and to be unequivocal in all that we do.