Singer-songwriter Sophie Auster is thrilled to release her new single “Hey Girlfriend” off Sophie new EP, Dancing With Strangers that will be released May 6th
“I wrote Hey, Girlfriend about deep attachments between non-sexual female friends that include attraction, jealousy, and love. There is no word in English for a passionate non-sexual friendship between women. Scholars have a term called “Romantic friendship”, but it is not widely known or used in popular culture. I wanted to write this song about the feeling of loss after I drifted apart from my best friend growing up. I think it is a story that almost every woman in the world can relate to, but to my knowledge, there aren’t many songs written about it.” Says Sophie
What’s your story as an artist?
I started singing when I was eight years old in the school choir, and one day, our conductor walked through the lines of children and listened to our pitch. She singled me out and made me sing the song in front of the entire class. I was terrified, but after I managed to get through the song, she made me the choir soloist. I think being told you are good at something you didn’t even know you were good at, made me feel special. This teacher started giving me lessons after school and I fell in love with music and performing. As I got older I began writing my own songs and performing at small jazz clubs around New York City. When I was sixteen years old I recorded an album with a Brooklyn based band, One Ring Zero, and together we collaborated on a collection of songs. I didn’t intend for it to be for public consumption, but a friend of the family heard the album and said that she knew someone who know someone who might be interested in releasing the record. Two years later, the album; meant as a stocking stuffer, came out on Naive Records via France. I began touring and playing shows abroad and dived into the turbulent waters of the music industry. Since then I’ve been signed and unsigned. I’ve produced things myself and collaborated with amazing producers. During the pandemic I worked remotely with multi instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer, Nick Block. We managed to pretty seamlessly work together over zooms and FaceTimes and I am really pleased with the new material we’ve created together during such a challenging time. I’m also very excited to be going back on tour in May in Europe.
What do you want your music to communicate?
I think what’s most important to me is that people can have a cathartic moment when they listen to the music I’m making. What’s beautiful about making any kind of art is that your personal story, struggle, or joy can be interpreted and relational to someone you don’t know. Someone said to me recently that after she saw me perform, it inspired her to be more herself and take risks. This was very touching to me.
What are some sources of inspiration for your storytelling?
My own life and the movies, books and poetry I’ve read. All these different influences throughout my life sew themselves together into a big inspiration quilt and sometimes I don’t even know where I’m pulling things from, but they’re there.
Who is an artist that you look up to more than others today?
I’m very impressed by Yebba and her new album. I think she has a remarkable voice and story. She took the painful death of her Mother and turned it into a work of art, and it’s actually a cohesive album. There is so much focus on singles and output today that we have lost a lot of the story telling that you once got from albums. I think she has done an amazing job of making something that harkens back to an older sound, but with updated production. I also think that it’s a mature sound that isn’t necessarily for twelve year olds on tiktok.
What’s the record or artist that made you realize you wanted to be an artist?
I think it was Roberta Flack and her Killing Me Softly album from ’73 that did me in. I loved her voice and music so much. I thought to myself that I wanted to sing like her when I was older.
Tell us about your latest release and how it came about?
I was submitting song after song to my old label for many months, and only getting lukewarm responses, so I decided to leave the label and release them on my own. I’m pretty good at pivoting when things aren’t working. A lot of people will tell you they know better than you, but part of being an artist is believing in yourself and only listening to the people you deeply trust. After sitting on a lot of music for a long time during the pandemic, I decided to release my top three favorite songs, one after another. My idea is to constantly be creating and releasing right now. Let’s Get Lost, the first single to come out, was written during lockdown and it is about the desire to be back out in the world again. I imagined losing myself in a debauched night out and making no apologies. There is a melancholic undertone to the song, but overall it is about desire, taking back your autonomy, and being many things at once.
What inspires your sound?
I have a wide reaching musical palate. I like lots of different artists and genres, so I think I’m a mash up of the music I grew up listening to and with the help of collaborators, I’m able to bring the sound more up to date. When I first studied music and voice, I learned all the songs from the American songbook, jazz standards, and classical. I think whenever I’m writing these old American standards creep in as inspiration.
What’s your favorite tune of yours?
I think my favorite is always my most recent, so I’ll say Let’s Get Lost.
Where are some things you really want to accomplish as an artist?
I’d love to write the theme music for a tv show, have a completely sold out tour, and do a duet with Cher. 🙂
Favorite lyric you ever wrote?
“I get so tired of working so I don’t work at all. “
Was there ever a moment when you felt like giving up?
Yes. All the time, but I don’t. No musician goes into this world thinking they will have to be their own promoter, social media guru, manager, and agent. Even if you have a team assembled, there is so much pressure to constantly be putting out content and music. I think it’s important for everyone to remember that we all have different paths and ways of achieving what we want. There is no one size fits all solution for being an artist.
What is the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
Don’t do anything you don’t really want to do.
Where do you think the next game changer will be in the music industry and entertainment scene?
I think more and more artists are realizing that they have the power to control their own careers and are not signing away their catalogs to publishing companies or labels. I think there will be more and more social media platforms popping up in the future to capitalize on the strength of things like tiktok for artists. Time will tell!
