This Sunday marks one year since SOPHIE died. In that year, we’ve had new music releases from Charli XCX, Arca, Kim Petras, Shygirl, Lady Gaga’s Dawn of Chromatica, and even an upcoming album from 100 gecs. But none of that matters, because it will never be as good as SOPHIE.
SOPHIE is hyperpop. SOPHIE was hyperpop before it was even called hyperpop. SOPHIE pioneered this new genre — a radical blend of electronic music, pop, and the occasional use of physical objects. SOPHIE’s music was visceral, like the adrenaline rush of a three-minute rollercoaster ride. Listening to SOPHIE is like getting punched in the gut, and then asking to get punched again and again and again. It’s uncomfortable, yet so addictive.
The first time I ever heard of the Scottish-born artist — who preferred not to use any gendered or nonbinary pronouns — was in 2015, when I stumbled across Sophie Xeon’s SoundCloud. At the time and unbeknownst to me (I was too preoccupied with pretending to be indie grunge), Sophie already gained immediate attention with the 2013 single “Bipp” and the 2014 song “Lemonade.” Just to put it all into perspective for you, the top three songs of 2013 were “Thrift Shop,” “Blurred Lines,” and “Radioactive.” Sophie wasn’t just ahead of time, Sophie transcended time.
In 2017, Sophie released the full-length album Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides, and I finally made my way back to the artist after the realization that this was the same singer who told me, “However you’re feeling, I can make you feel better.” SOPHIE’s debut album swapped bombastic singles for intimate lyrics about gender, identity, and performance. With the release of the album’s single “It’s Okay To Cry,” SOPHIE came out as transgender.
“An embrace of the essential idea of transness changes everything,” SOPHIE said in an interview with Paper Magazine, “Because it means there’s no longer an expectation based on the body you were born into, or how your life should play out and how it should end. Traditional family models and structures of control disappear.” The album also marked the first time SOPHIE fans finally glimpsed at what the producer behind Madonna and Vince Staples actually looked like: high cheekbones, glossy red lips, and fiery red hair. On “Faceshopping,” SOPHIE says, "I'm real when I shop my face."
In a surrealist twist of fate, SOPHIE, at the age of 34, died from an accidental fall in Athens, Greece. Hyperpop artists like Charli XCX and 100 gecs paid tribute to SOPHIE, making it clear that both themselves and the genre wouldn’t be where it is today without the producer. “it’s impossible to overstate the influence sophie had on me and countless others, musically and otherwise,” 100 gecs’ Laura Les wrote in tribute. “we’re still going to be catching up to [sophie] for years to come.”
True to the artist’s spirit, SOPHIE had climbed up a balcony to watch the full moon. Forever it shall be known as SOPHIE’s Moon.