SOPHIA

Image by Kate Milne

DAMIAN ROBINSON TALKS TO THE HOTLY TIPPED SONGWRITER ABOUT THE RELEASE OF HER DEBUT EP

A little like a football team scoring early, an accolade arriving early into a musician’s career can often bring more pressure than was needed; whereas the musician was initially free to explore their identity without worry, now it can often feel like they have something to lose.

Rising to the challenge, Sophia – who was tipped as one to watch for 2021 by BBC Introducing in the North East – sees off all potential pitfalls with the sparkling coming-of-age debut EP Hometown, released on 29th October. Leading with the folky title track, Hometown (the EP) is a collection of honest, often heartbreaking, pieces of music which pay no respect to any playing-it-safe impulses.

“The EP’s a real push for me,” confirms Sophia when explaining her creative process for Hometown. “I’m trying to be really honest with the record and I’m trying to not hold anything back. Sometimes in life I feel like I try to put a ribbon on things, but I wanted these songs, and these stories, to be very very honest, very personal and very truthful.”

Picked up over six folky, melodic pop-infused tracks, Hometown not only tells the artistic truth of Sophia, but it also pushes her into new sounds and new creative ventures. “I wrote four songs with Eddie Scott (Picnic/Write Your Song) which was a new experience for me, and in some ways felt a little like therapy; we’d sit and talk about situations and then slowly once we had a theme we might stop and I’d come up with the lyrics and then bring them back and we’d shape the songs more. I wanted to work on the lyrics alone in most cases though, as I felt like I needed to do that my myself.”

I WANTED THESE SONGS TO BE VERY HONEST, VERY PERSONAL AND VERY TRUTHFUL

Turning the finished tracks into aural gold was another ace-in-the-sleeve (and protector against all ‘hot tip curses’), producer Alfie Cattell (Moodbay), who brought extra support to the project. “I worked with Alfie to explain the sound I was going for and I totally believed in his judgement, which helps because when the songs are personal to you, and you’re trying to be honest, it can be hard to distance yourself from what you’ve written.”

Taking the EP out on the road is the next step for Sophia, with a headline show at Newcastle’s Little Buildings on Friday 19th November being an immediate highlight. “Eddie’s going to be playing guitar and we have live bass and drums as well, so once we start rehearsing we’ll have a better idea of what we’ll be playing at the launch and how we will approach our live shows.”

Looking for the type of creative growth that can spur her career forward, Sophia may well be picking up other accolades in the future, and she’ll be taking it all in her stride.

Sophia releases Hometown on 29th October. She plays Little Buildings, Newcastle on Friday 19th November www.facebook.com/sophiamusicukk