Sophie & Songs
What was it like to be a student studying music whilst also trying to get your name out there in the industry? – How has studying music affected your musical understanding?
From when I studied music in college, I found my coursework was a great way to motivate myself to build my skills in both performance and production. However, coursework was extremely overwhelming, and I struggled to find the time to work on my solo project whilst also working hard for my grades. I wouldn’t change my choice to have studied music, though, because it’s helped me to raise my understanding of composition, the art of performance and has helped me gain a lot of musical connections.
What got you into making music and specifically folk music?
I’ve loved music from a very young age: I have memories of dancing around the room singing ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ with my dad from when I was two years old, to learning to play ‘Song from Bridget’ with my mum on the ukulele when I was around 7. Singing and performing mean the world to me, and if I could do it every day, I would. I’m not quite sure how I’ve ended up making folk music, as the majority of what I listen to is rock and pop with a lot of other genres in the mix. I’ve found folk to be the only music I’m able to write freely without thinking too much about it and how it’s going to work with other instruments; it’s just me and my guitar.
Who are your main musical influences?
My musical influences change a lot, but my main ones at the moment have got to be Sofia Isella, Ok Goodnight (specifically their vocalist Casey Lee Williams) and Seb Lowe. All create very different sounds, but all are absolutely incredible music.
Have you got anything in the works right now that we can expect soon?
I have a few pieces of work at the moment, but how soon we can expect them is a different question. I produce and record everything at home right now, and, with my limited knowledge and skill with production, I’m struggling to get anything finalised to a standard that I think is acceptable. With regards to producing at home, I find writing is the easier part, although it’s still pretty difficult. I’ve got several songs that haven’t seen the light of day because they’re incomplete or just aren’t up to my usual standards. Recording is fun but extremely hard work and I need a lot of motivation to manage to get any done; the actual recording part is fine but getting the best take and then all the editing afterwards as well as trying to compose extra instruments is so difficult and more days than not I just give up, leaving behind a project until I can come back to it with fresh ears.
What is the story behind your song ‘Love betrayed me’?
‘Love betrayed me’ is honestly quite funny, the more time that passes since I wrote it. I was in a very bad place and struggling with communication in my relationship at the time. I got it in my head and wrote this just a day after I thought everything had finally become clear, my anxiety overwhelming me and leaving me feeling like I couldn’t breathe right. This song became an expression of my anger and was almost like my voice of reason, trying to snap me out of the little delusions I’d trapped myself in. ‘Love betrayed me’ is a reality check up until the last chorus. A drastic change to the first two lines, flipping the song from a rational place of rage to one of hope and longing, almost childlike in a way: “Do you love me, do you love me not? Because I’m getting sick and tired of all these anxious thoughts.” Honestly, I could ramble on about the way I interpret my songs for hours, especially this one. I love getting to analyse writing and go over the potential meanings because a lot of the time, I still haven’t fully understood what I was writing about, or even better, the meaning of the song changes with time, and I get to look at it in lots of new ways.
What does performing your music mean to you?
Performing, in my experience, can be almost euphoric, especially if I’m feeling confident about my setlist. I’m usually extremely nervous and pessimistic before I go onstage, but once I’m there, I’m having such a great time getting to sing my heart out. Whether it’s covers or originals, in a band or on my own, I have so much fun performing, and I would love to get more opportunities to be able to do it much more frequently.
What’s next for you?
I have absolutely no idea what’s next for me. I’m trying to figure out everything all at once for both my personal and musical life. I hope that I’ll get to perform a lot more gigs, write hundreds of songs and release them (with good quality production of course), but I know I struggle to stay motivated and have been in a slump with anything musical for months now, but I’m hoping to bounce back soon. Ideally, I’ll be better than ever when that happens.
Find out more about Sophie & Songs here; https://www.instagram.com/sophieandsongs/