Grammy-nominated avant-garde singer Sophie dies at 34

Grammy-nominated avant-garde singer Sophie dies at 34

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Grammy-nominated singer and producer Sophie Xeon whose pioneering work combined sweet pop melodies with mechanical noises in a genre now known as hyper-pop, died in a climbing accident in Greece on Saturday. She was 34 years old.

“True to her spirituality, she climbed to see the full moon and accidentally slipped and fell,” says a statement from her label announcing her death. “She will always be here with us.”

Also inspired by pop music and the overwhelming industrial sounds of artists like Autechre, since the release of her first single, “Nothing More to Say”, in 2013, Sophie’s influence was quickly evident in the most adventurous realms of the pop world. Within two years, she was working with Madonna on her meme-generating song, “Bitch, I’m Madonna”.

From his 2018 debut album, “Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides”, Variety he wrote: “Sophie combines sweet melodies and pop sounds with an absolutely hideous noise – creaking, ringing, high-pitched, bubbly, clumsy, unpleasant and high-pitched sounds, wildly self-tuned voices – to create a form of pop music that, if not entirely new, may never before have been presented in such an extreme way. “

British singer-songwriter Charli XCX, who had been pursuing a successful but more conventional pop career, abruptly changed direction with the release of her 2016 EP produced by Sophie, “Vroom Vroom”. Charli, who was awarded AG Cook VarietyThe Hitmakers Innovator award in December said that she has long sought a more aggressive pop sound in her music. “It was only when I met Sophie and then AG that I finally found what I was looking for,” she said. “We immediately spoke the same language – we didn’t even need to talk.”

This sound has spread rapidly in recent years through artists like 100 Gecs and artists on Cook’s PC Music label, and Sophie’s influence can be heard on virtually every artist on Spotify’s Hyperpop playlist.

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, as Samuel Long, in September 1986, she attended local raves as a child, started DJing and producing as a teenager and, in 2013, started releasing agro-electronic singles like “Nothing More to Say”, “Bipp / Elle ”and, a year later, the strangely frantic classic from the dance floor“ Lemonade / Hard. ”In 2015, she was working with Madonna, Charli XCX and, later, Los Angeles rapper Vince Staples on her album 2017, which polarized the audience, “Big Fish Theory.” While she was initially a recluse and performed concerts in dim lighting or in a DJ booth, she turned out to be a transgender.

Sophie then focused on her own work, launching the frighteningly elegant “Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides” in 2018, which earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Electronic / Dance Album 2019. Her most recent work was collaborations and remixes with artists who think like Ark, Cashmere Cat, Brooke Candy and Shygirl.

The tributes were poured out early on Saturday as word of Sophie’s death spread. British vocalist Sam Smith wrote on Twitter: “Moving news. The world has lost an angel. A true visionary and icon of our generation. “

Chic legendary producer and co-founder Nile Rodgers wrote, “#RestInPower SOPHIE! You were one of the most innovative, dynamic and warm people I had the pleasure of working with in 2019 @southbankcentre. “

Producer and musician Jack Antonoff, who has worked extensively with Taylor Swift, Lorde, the Chicks and others, wrote on Twitter: “For me, Sophie’s genius was how she took this concept of bigger, brighter, brighter, a tool that so many have used cynically, and made it brilliant and challenging. “

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