Who is SOPHIE?
“SOPHIE” also known as Sophie Xeon, was a musician and music producer from Glasgow, Scotland, that was known for her evolutionary stylings within the hyperpop, dance and electronic genre. The art-pop icon herself even produced songs for high grazing artists such as Madonna and Charli XCX. During the 61st Annual Grammys, Xeon was even nominated for best dance/electronic music for her debut album Oil of Every Pearls Un-Insides. Sadly, this would be her last grammy nomination as she died on Jan. 30, 2021 at the age of 34. She died in Athens, Greece, after falling off a three-story balcony while trying to get a good angle of the moon. From then on, friends and collaborators have paid tribute to the late artist such as Charli XCX on her pop-hit album Brat with the song “So I.”
How is She Relevant Now?
Throughout her career, Xeon broke walls within the music and trans community by being the first trans woman to be nominated for best dance/electronic music at the Grammys. Even now, several years after her death, songs from her debut LP trend on social media, keeping her influence circulating. Furthermore, capitalizing on this prominence, her record label just released her posthumous album titled Sophie, which was mostly recorded before her untimely death and which has since been completed by her siblings Benny and Emily Long. The album came out Sept. 27, 2024 (Sept. 25 for streaming) and included the 4 released singles “Reason Why,” “Berlin Nightmare,” “One More Time” and “Exhilarate” along with 12 other previously unreleased tracks. Undoubtedly, Xeon made waves within the short time she had on Earth, and her legacy lives on within collaborators and the music itself.
Album Review, 10/2/2024
First, an overview. The album has been described as genre-hopping through territory familiar to fans of Xeon’s previous album while also exploring other genres like trap and rap and using the essence of retro pop. Unusually, the album doesn’t feature Xeon’s voice, rather pulling together a vast variety of artists to supply vocals on the tracks. From the dark and eerie intro to the heartfelt final tracks, fans and critics alike were satisfied with the project.
Now, with all the research I had completed before listening to the project itself, I was anticipating a totally different sound. I decided to not listen to any of the singles and go in blind, but I think this was a good decision because, though I was expecting more of a lighter and bubbly pop album, I think the final product felt ambient, almost hazy. This album feels like the listener is stuck in an endless space of darkness. From the haunting electronic sound of “Berlin Nightmare” and “One More Time” all the way to the club sound of “Reason Why” and “Live My Truth,” the album seems to display a wide spread of artistic ability that I think is stronger than that of her Grammy-nominated debut.
The one critique I have, is that some points in the album lose a bit of the SOPHIE essence that I was looking for. With the use of different artists, I was kind of missing the distorted electronic voice that I was expecting. Other than that, I think the album is actually quite good. It’s not all particularly for me, but I completely understand the vision, the ideas and sound of the album, which makes me better appreciate the project. In other words, the album is so messy and unsettling that it is enjoyable and revolutionary for pop music. I think this album just re-established that SOPHIE was truly a pop pioneer, even if her life was sadly cut to a halt. Overall, this album is about a 7.8/10 and a perfect end to an admirable career.
Sources:
Articles:
- https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/sophie-honored-with-google-doodle-1235777265/
- https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/music/who-sophie-xeon-google-doodle-art-pop-charli-xcx-b1182503.html
- https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-01-30/sophie-grammy-nominated-scottish-musician-dies-at-age-34
- https://www.vogue.com/article/sophie-posthumous-album
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