Producer SOPHIE dead at 34

January 30, 2021 9:01 AM

Visionary producer SOPHIE died of a freak accident Saturday morning. SOPHIE first came to prominence for a series of astonishing singles (previously), and released her debut album, Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides, to rave reviews and a Grammy nomination in 2018; cuts included It's Okay to Cry, the music video of which also served as a coming-out announcement; [Photosensitivity warning]Faceshopping, another fascinating take on identity and presentation; and Immaterial, an excessively catchy anthem. Last July, she teased new material with her 20-minute HEAV3N livestream. RIP.
posted by rorgy (38 comments total)

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posted by Foosnark at 9:18 AM on January 30, 2021

Absolutely devastating loss. SOPHIE changed pop music forever

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posted by azarbayejani at 9:24 AM on January 30, 2021 [3 favorites]

♫
posted by tclark at 9:24 AM on January 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

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posted by oceanjesse at 9:29 AM on January 30, 2021

I saw somebody fall trying to take a selfie with the moon last night. It was just a few stairs. Be careful.

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posted by Mr. Yuck at 9:47 AM on January 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

Never heard of SOPHIE. Just listened to some of the links, particularly enjoyed the HEAV3N thing. RIP.
posted by SoberHighland at 9:50 AM on January 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

FUCK
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:17 AM on January 30, 2021 [2 favorites]

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posted by pianoblack at 10:32 AM on January 30, 2021

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I am extremely sad about this, for the extremely selfish reason that I loved their music.
posted by Going To Maine at 10:35 AM on January 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

Jesus christ this is horrible news. :(
posted by Frobenius Twist at 10:38 AM on January 30, 2021

To say a bit more: she was truly a once-in-a-generation talent, both a visionary producer and a phenomenal songwriter. As a (very amateur!) producer, my choices of musical gear have been directly inspired by what she did: it's not hyperbole to say that I've bought gear just trying to achieve the sounds of her snares on Faceshopping. But of course that was only part of it: she knew how to harness her incredible production abilities to write songs, not just beats. That's some next-level shit. Music suffered a huge loss today.
posted by Frobenius Twist at 11:16 AM on January 30, 2021 [18 favorites]

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posted by hat_eater at 11:23 AM on January 30, 2021

Devastating. Another previously I posted a while back with some interviews. She was a true visionary.
posted by HumanComplex at 12:19 PM on January 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

Terrible news. I didn't always like her stuff but she was clearly pushing in new directions...
posted by Hutch at 12:29 PM on January 30, 2021

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posted by acb at 12:44 PM on January 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

. such a talent and such a heartbreaking loss
posted by burr1545 at 1:24 PM on January 30, 2021

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posted by Amplify at 2:20 PM on January 30, 2021

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posted by Pendragon at 2:57 PM on January 30, 2021

💫
r.i.p.
posted by nikoniko at 3:13 PM on January 30, 2021

(Can a mod fix my broken closing italics tag after the album name? It's driving me a little nuts.)
posted by rorgy at 4:14 PM on January 30, 2021

Mod note: Fixed, thanks for flagging!
posted by cortex (staff) at 4:16 PM on January 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

Still haven’t really processed this, but probably won’t until I put on one of their albums again. Or listen to another perfect combination of pop sugar and abrasiveness. We’ve lost so much music, and they’ve lost their whole future. So young.
posted by Going To Maine at 4:30 PM on January 30, 2021 [2 favorites]

SOPHIE made pop music that sounded like it came from the future. This was a huge loss.

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posted by Rinku at 4:44 PM on January 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

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posted by mustard seeds at 4:59 PM on January 30, 2021

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posted by suetanvil at 7:39 PM on January 30, 2021

The Pitchfork article notes

"SOPHIE—who preferred not to use gendered or nonbinary pronouns, according to one representative"

so just an FYI going forward on pronoun usage.

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posted by paimapi at 7:58 PM on January 30, 2021

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posted by wats at 10:17 PM on January 30, 2021

We are supposed to sit there in space, but we are travelling at rocket speed dragged at high speed along to this ship we call earth. A full moon is something, isn't it.
posted by panaceanot at 11:00 PM on January 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

My heart hurts. SOPHIE deserved so much more time.

"People do think in binaries, and when you confuse what those are, they’re like, this is wrong. But this is what I’m here to do" Teen Vogue Interview.
posted by Chrysopoeia at 11:18 PM on January 30, 2021 [2 favorites]

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posted by filtergik at 3:28 AM on January 31, 2021

I had been meaning to check SOPHIE out and I'm bummed that I'm only doing so now.

We were robbed of a massive talent.
posted by pxe2000 at 12:10 PM on January 31, 2021

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posted by Faint of Butt at 12:43 PM on January 31, 2021

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posted by rhizome at 11:56 PM on January 31, 2021

There is beauty in everything SOPHIE touched.

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posted by Unicorn on the cob at 10:11 AM on February 1, 2021

Philip Sherburne at Pitchfork: “Remembering SOPHIE’s Radical Futurism”

Across a string of singles, a handful of collaborations, and one staggering album, the music of the Scottish-born artist combined pop instincts, uncompromisingly experimental musical ideas, formidable programming chops, and a self-presentation that was at once mischievous and movingly guileless. The result was a body of work that was essentially hopeful, like a roadmap to a better world in which to be vulnerable was, ironically, synonymous with becoming indestructible.

posted by Going To Maine at 11:10 AM on February 1, 2021 [1 favorite]

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posted by Kattullus at 11:52 AM on February 1, 2021

Sasha Geffen at Pitchfork with tributes from some other musicians: “How SOPHIE’s Music Inspired a Generation of Underground Artists”

Over at Resident Advisor, they’ve published a bunch of tributes from the site’s visitors: “SOPHIE: Fans And Artists Say Goodbye”
posted by Going To Maine at 3:39 PM on February 5, 2021

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posted by riruro at 4:03 PM on February 5, 2021