This piece was originally published in the November 2024 issue of Pandora Curated.
I, was that a teardrop in your eye?
I never thought I'd see you cry
Just know whatever hurts, it's all mine
It's okay to cry
– It’s Okay to Cry (SOPHIE)
SOPHIE, a groundbreaking pop producer and innovator, released a posthumous, self-titled album earlier this year. To understand the depth of her loss and her work, one must look back at her extraordinary life and career.
SOPHIE transformed pop music by seamlessly merging its infectious appeal with experimental soundscapes. Her work balanced cutting-edge innovation with profound emotional depth, crafting a space where the avant-garde meets raw, cathartic expression. Her sonic and lyrical stylings were the talk of the industry as she emerged at the vanguard of a movement revolutionising pop music, being recognised as one of the pioneers of ‘hyperpop,’ a sub-genre of pop music that hones in on divergent, radical soundscapes in pop music, that has achieved mainstream success in this decade.
Her starkly collaborative approach and musical philosophy transformed her from an underground name to an alt-pop icon. By working closely with a diverse range of artists and producers, she redefined what pop could sound like, infusing it with bold experimentation and personal vulnerability. This led her to work with industry-heavy hitters like Madonna, Vince Staples, Charli XCX, and Kim Petras. Sophie’s work with Charli XCX, particularly Vroom Vroom, brought me to her music. The song did much more than begin a new era in pop, remaining unabashedly bold, loud and unafraid to deviate from the mainstream sonically.
Born and raised in England, Sophie's fascination with music was apparent from a young age as she began to experiment with sound all through her adolescence. From her early days experimenting with sound to her emergence as a non-conforming voice in electronic music, Sophie continually redefined the form and richness of her craft, be it sonic, lyrical or thematic.
“For her, it was always about making something that sounds great,” recalls her brother Ben. As a teenager, she began to DJ, being drawn to more inclusive spaces to work on her music, veering away from the conventionally masculine club spaces. Her almost meticulous sound emerged here, as the painstaking detail she put into refining individual sonic spaces became a signature of her musical stylings.
SOPHIE's sound was characterized by its hyper-synthetic, abrasive, and ethereal qualities, blending elements of bubblegum pop with industrial beats and experimental electronica. Her work represented the frontier of hyperpop and experimental electronic music, while also existing at the crossroads of mainstream pop, and underground club culture.
Her production stood apart from the conventional, as synthesizers and other instruments were brought to life, transforming into vibrant, tactile soundscapes that felt almost alive.
At art school, her musical abilities flourished. This steady evolution continued when she moved to Berlin in 2009 where her exposure to experimental music broadened as she began collaborating with other artists. It was here that she co-founded Motherland, an indie project blending her experimental style with Berlin’s infamous indie-sleaze culture.
Back in London, Sophie now began performing, catching the attention of influential British record labels. 2013 marked the release of her debut single, Nothing More to Say/Eeehhh, followed by Bipp, her breakthrough single. Through its lush, flowing synths and seamless melodies, Bipp crafts an immersive soundscape that encourages deep introspection over purely sensory engagement— this is what makes her special.
A celebration of notions of fluidity and non-conformity, Bipp became an anthem of possibility and acceptance within several queer communities, marking Sophie’s first embrace of and by the queer culture at large. Dallying with underlying concepts like new forms of femininity, Sophie crafted an exhilarating assertion of identity on Bipp.
Sophie was propelled to iconic collaborations like Vroom Vroom with Charli XCX and A.G Cook. Together, the trio sought to challenge pre-existing cultural norms by transforming femininity into a tool for cultural exploration through a dissection of femininity along with the queer experience and body.
Vroom Vroom faced criticism for its provocative take on femininity, with some labeling it as sexist due to its hyper-feminine and often chaotic aesthetic. Critics argued that their approach risked reducing complex female identities to mere posturing, while others praised it for subverting traditional gender roles by presenting a bold, ultra-violent femininity.
Despite this, their work continuously reexamines convention and femininity, reimagining norms to create new spaces for exploration in a world that often limits creative expression.
For the next few years, Sophie continued to make genre-bending music. Her use of eccentric marketing strategies and several mainstream collaborations lent her significant credibility within the industry and solidified her within the nascent electropop space.
SOPHIE embraced consumerism aesthetics in her work, famously describing her music genre as "advertising" and compiling early singles into a project titled PRODUCT. She collaborated on Hey QT, a synthetic song for an imaginary energy drink, and her track Lemonade was used in a McDonald's commercial, blurring the lines between art and marketing.
2017 saw Sophie rise to new heights, both creatively and commercially. The year marked the release of her standout single It’s Okay to Cry, signalling both a personal and an artistic turning point. The song, along with its accompanying video, marked Sophie’s introduction to the world as a transgender woman, showcasing an unprecedented level of vulnerability.
Banoffee, a collaborator and friend of Sophie’s, highlighted this moment as a courageous self-revelation that connected Sophie more deeply with her audience, resonating not just musically but emotionally.
It’s Okay To Cry established the emotional impact of Sophie’s artistry. The accompanying video is best described, as The Guardian put it, a “single shot of Sophie’s face & naked torso singing in front of a CGI, hyperreal image of clouds that turn to sunset and then night sky, and ends in a frenetically edited rainstorm of liberated nudity.”
Such vivid imagery infused a commentary on the physicality of queerness and the trans experience into Sophie’s art. Presenting a reflection of bodies that felt real, familiar and indicative of the trans experience, Sophie thereafter became a bastion of the LGBTQIA+ community.
With works like Where It’s OK to Cry and subsequent follow-up Faceshopping, Sophie forged a unique visual and sonic language that blurred the lines between authenticity and artifice. By transforming clichés and kitsch into powerful tools for expression, she invited us to reclaim the entire spectrum of gender history. While Where It’s OK to Cry affects as a tender ballad, Faceshopping embodies stifled aggression.
Later the same year, she released her debut album, Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides. On it, her music deftly dismantles discussions surrounding our “realness,” asserting that we are valid because we shape our identities through our expressions. This liberation extends to her sound, freeing the auditory experience and allowing our bodies and gender identities to flourish. Her work inspires a vision of a future where existence is vibrant and worth celebrating.
In her final years, Sophie continued to hone her creative process. This evolution produced tracks like Love Me Off Earth, which merge a searing intensity with euphoria to evoke joy in listeners. She passed away in January 2021 in Athens following an accident. The statement on her passing read—“Tragically our beautiful SOPHIE passed away this morning after a terrible accident. True to her spirituality she had climbed up to watch the full moon and accidentally slipped and fell. She will always be here with us.”
Three years after her tragic passing, a self-titled posthumous album by the late pop visionary has been released. Her labels Future Classic and Transgressive Records announced that while the album was near completion at the time of her passing, it was finished by longtime collaborator and her brother Ben Long.
Sophie’s family referred to the album as “the story of Sophie’s musical journey.” To them, the release is an ode and tribute to her desire and ability to connect with listeners through the medium of music. Ben revealed that Sophie left behind a repository of “literally hundreds” of unreleased tracks, with an evolving vision, alternating between abstract, experimental albums and more pop-oriented records, the latter of which she intended this to be.
The 16-track project crosses styles and genres, covering its sonic terrain through pop, ambient and techno music. While a good number of songs were fully formed, Ben’s familiarity with Sophie’s vision and creative process allowed him to finish those that only existed as sketches or drafts.
Crushing though her loss may be, Sophie’s legacy is thus marked by emotional terrain, catharsis and audacious creativity. One that resonates with those who find meaning in and connections to her music.
The Guardian keenly encapsulates this sentiment, writing: “Sophie has crafted a genuinely original sound and uses it to visit extremes of terror, sadness, and pleasure.” The posthumous album does so much more than turn the page on a significant chapter in Sophie’s remarkable career and simultaneously immortalize her artistry through sound, resonating deeply with fans and family alike.
“And I know you always said, "It's okay to cry"
So I know I can cry, I can cry, so I cry”
Edited by the Curated Editorial Team
Anish Paranjape (he/him) is a student of Political Science and the Associate Editor of Entertainment at Political Pandora. His research interests encompass global politics and its influence on various landscapes, as well as an interest in film, television, and pop culture.
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Keywords:
SOPHIE Music Legacy, Hyperpop Pioneer, Experimental Pop Sound, SOPHIE Posthumous Album, Transgender Music Icon, SOPHIE It’s Okay to Cry, Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides, SOPHIE Charli XCX Collaboration, SOPHIE Hyperpop Innovator, LGBTQIA+ Music Icon, Experimental Electronic Music, SOPHIE Gender Identity Art, SOPHIE Faceshopping Analysis, SOPHIE Queer Community Icon, SOPHIE Music History.
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