Welcome back to another ‘Sit In On Friday’ interview series where we feature talented artists and their captivating “live” performances. In this edition, we had the pleasure of interviewing SOFY, an exceptional singer-songwriter hailing from Leicestershire.
SOFY infuses her lyrics with wit and joy while remaining authentic to herself. When faced with furlough, SOFY embarked on a new path, embracing music as her creative outlet. Driven by her innate attraction to melodies, she transitioned into her artistic persona as ‘SOFY’. Her music exudes poetic optimism while retaining a touch of realism in her storytelling. Blending elements of indie, pop, hip-hop, and soul, her sound is truly captivating.
We had the honor of interviewing this promising young artist for Title Mag, delving into her roots, personal identity, and songwriting process. At Title, we place great emphasis on the significance of staying true to oneself, art, and identity. We asked SOFY about her True Identity, to which she responded, “Still figuring that out, I think we all are! But if I was to sum up the things that make me feel the most like me, it’s writing songs, being around other people, and not taking life too seriously.”
At Title, we emphasize the importance of staying true to yourself, your art, and your identity. What would you say is your True Identity?
Still figuring that out, I think we all are! But if I was to sum up the things that make me feel the most like me, it’s writing songs, being around other people and not taking life too seriously
At what age did you first start making music?
I’ve always liked making noise. When I was a kid my brother and I would print out all the words to our favourite songs and put on shows for my parents, so it’s always been there. But I only started pursuing music seriously a lot later on, at the age of 23 when I was furloughed during the pandemic. I totally fell in love with songwriting and haven’t looked back since.
How has your music progressed since then?
I’ve definitely become a lot more sure of myself and my abilities to push the boundaries when it comes to writing. I didn’t go to music school or anything and I don’t know any music theory so at first I was worried that I wasn’t doing it right or wasn’t following the rules. When I stopped caring about what you’re ‘supposed to do’ and just decided to write what came naturally to me, it started getting really exciting. I had this realization one day that music doesn’t always have to be profound or poetic – it can be funny and silly or whatever the fuck you want it to be. For me, it’s super important that I write in my own voice, so if I can’t imagine myself saying a line in real life to my mates then I won’t put it in a song.
Did your hometown influence your musical journey at all?
I grew up in a small town in Leicestershire, so a lot of my early musical memories are of going to gigs in Leicester with my mates when we were teenagers, sneaking in a hip flask of whatever spirits we’d managed to steal from our parents’ booze cupboards that week. I was really into indie music back then so we used to go and watch random bands at ‘The Cookie’ and the ‘O2 Academy’. I remember they all used to bring SO much energy to stage even when it was a small room which is definitely a rule that my band and I bring to our live sets now – we treat it like a headline slot at Glasto no matter how many people are listening.
What’s your songwriting process like?
It totally varies. Sometimes I’ll go into a session with a concept in mind and we’ll build around it, or sometimes we’ll go in without anything specific in mind and someone will start playing a guitar riff or something and then the song just sort of grows around it. I still find it totally magical how you can start a day with nothing and a song just arrives out of nowhere – that’s one of the things I love most about writing and that I’ll never get bored of.
What is the meaning behind your artist name SOFY?
It means I couldn’t think of an interesting artist name so I just decided to spell my real name differently and style it in capitals to piss off everyone who has to write press releases about me.
What are you currently working on that we can look forward to in the near future?
My debut EP will be out in January which I am buzzing about, and there will be a couple of singles coming out before then. I honestly have a whole dropbox overflowing with music that I can’t wait for everyone to wrap their ears around – next year is going to be very exciting!
What are your creative goals for the next few years?
Keep writing music that feels like me and more importantly to keep having as much fun doing it as I am now.
Do you have any advice for upcoming artists trying to show their true identity in their music?
Fuck the rulebook, write about whatever you want and just enjoy the process. Don’t overthink it.
