The new music video from Dutch R&B artist Sophia “ASS OUT = TRASH OUT” is about saying goodbye to the negative people in your life.
Sophia is a Rotterdam-based singer, songwriter, performer, and producer. Sophia’s music is a mesmerising combination of her passion for the ’00s, combined with soft R&B vocals influenced by the likes of Victoria Monet, Snoh Aalegra, and Jazmine Sullivan, as well as her deeper, sad, James Blake-esque approach, acquired from her classical piano background. Her artistic maturity and elegance stem from her studies at the famed Rotterdam Conservatory of Music, while her honest themes touch on relatable, daily life events. Sophia explains, “I want to talk about real-life experiences. Not just about love and breakups. I am not afraid, to be honest. My music reflects that feeling. I play and sing directly from the heart.” Sophia’s music emanates subtle suspense and tension, allowing for surprises around every turn and breaking through walls.
Fragile, Sophia’s next album, is a nine-track collection that reveals some of her most emotional moments. Produced by Mick Langenberg, Jaimy Wilken and Martijn Ruytinx, Sophia reveals, “The album is called fragile because I am. The songs are fragile too. I’ve never been this honest in my entire life and it scares me to share everything with the world. But I have found (during this process) that there is strength in being fragile and vulnerable. It takes courage to be fragile.”
Every song on the album is inspired by a genuine storey from her life in the previous two years. From losing her absent father to falling in love for the first time, to being hurt and saying goodbye to the terrible people in your life while celebrating the ones that stayed, she goes through it all. The record, which covers a wide range of emotions, is the outcome of a difficult year. Sophia shares, “When the first lockdown came I finally had the chance to deal with everything that had happened. Instead of going to therapy, I went to a writers camp with my best friends and colleagues and wrote this album.”
Her song “Questions” exemplifies her ambition to make real, authentic music. It’s a song about losing a parent and having questions you’ll never get to ask. It’s difficult to discern how people truly feel in this day and age, thanks to social media. It might make you feel lonely or odd since you are not OK. The songwriter confides, “I want my music to be a safe place for you to feel seen and heard. As a queer female in this industry, I hope to be that example for others.”
Hoping to inspire others to be fragile, vulnerable and honest, Sophia wants listeners to know their feelings are valid; we don’t have to be strong all the time, we’re allowed to cry, we’re allowed to not be okay.