SOPHIE, Experimental Artist and LGBTQ Icon, Has Died in an Accident
SOPHIE, the Scottish, avant-garde musician has died from an accidental fall early Saturday morning, according to a representative. On January 30th at 4:30 am, SOPHIE died in Athens, Greece where the artist had been living. She was 34.
Record labels Transgressive and Future Classic said in a statement, “True to her spirituality, she had climbed up to watch the full moon and accidentally slipped and fell. She will always be with us.”
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, SOPHIE was introduced to electronic music at an early age. The artist’s father shared cassettes full of electronic music and they would go to raves together. These formative years were instrumental in solidifying SOPHIE’s passion to become an electronic musical artist.
SOPHIE began to make waves in the European club scene of the early 2010s. After meeting with Dux Kids, a duo comprised of A. G. Cook and Danny L Harle, the artist became involved with the PC Music label and their artists. 2013 saw the release of SOPHIE’s first single “Nothing More to Say.” The house track featured the prototype sound of what SOPHIE would later explore in more unconventional methods across trap, ambient, and hyperpop genres. This evolution in sound received more recognition on the track “Bipp” which made several top placements in year-end lists across a variety of publications. This track and other singles from this time would eventually be part of the SOPHIE’s first compilation album PRODUCT which featured tracks “L.O.V.E.” and “Hard”.
In 2018, SOPHIE released her debut album Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides; a daring feat of avant-pop, industrial, and electronic music. The album garnered the artist more attention and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Album. The song featured singles “Ponyboy” and “It’s Okay to Cry” while the song “Is it Cold in the Water” would be later remixed by Flume and Eprom and featured on the former’s Hi This is Flume mixtape. SOPHIE also continued to innovate with incredible collaborations and production/songwriting credits on tracks with Charli XCX, Vince Staples, Kim Petras, Cashmere Cat, Arca, and Madonna. SOPHIE also contributed music to the Cyberpunk 2077 soundtrack and recently started a new duo project with Juliana Huxtable called Analemma.
An outpour of support and grief have come from various artists and colleagues of SOPHIE. This includes statements from Christine and the Queens, Sam Smith, Rina Sawayama, Kelly Lee Owens, SG Lewis, and more.
SOPHIE’s representative wrote in a statement, “At this time, respect and privacy for the family is our priority. We would also ask for respect for SOPHIE’s fanbase, and to treat the private nature of this news and sensitivity.”
