To mark ten years since electro pioneer SOPHIE’s ground-breaking singles collection PRODUCT, Numbers are celebrating with a special edition featuring eleven songs.
SOPHIE was a seminal British music producer, songwriter and DJ who had a major influence in shaping 2010’s hyperpop genre, most notably with her collaborations with artists such as Charlie XCX, Madonna and A.G Cook. Her signature sound was defined by metallic textures, elastic bass lines, higher pitched voices and a unique blend of synthetic and emotional textures.
The original collection, which features such classics as opener 90’s influenced opener BIPP, playground chant-like earworm of LEMONADE and the squelchy electro-house of VYZEE, brought a breath of fresh air to the UK dance-pop scene at the time.
Other highlights include ‘HARD’s chiming synths and rippling bass, which are again set against wide spaces of unnerving silence and ‘JUST LIKE WE NEVER SAID GOODBYE’ an anthemic juxtaposition between sweet vocals and menacing synths.
The three bonus tracks include the previously unreleased ‘UNISIL’, ‘OOH’ and ‘GET HIGHER’
‘GET HIGHER’ combines SOPHIE’s signature pitched-up vocals with crazy drum samples panning across the mix. It was born during sessions in 2013, when SOPHIE’s beat was introduced to the vocalists Cassie Davis and Sean Mullins. The track feels like a visionary precursor to Charlie XCX’s ‘Vroom Vroom’.
Cassie Davis said of the experience:
I remember being really impacted by the way Sophie had what I can only describe as a concern for how the song would make people feel, it seemed so important that people who might be feeling alone or maybe misunderstood would hear this and know that they were in-fact not alone in what they were going through, that the song should bring some comfort and uplift in its own way.
on ‘OOH’ which SOPHIE herself describes as
high-tech club dance pop
she reached out to X-Factor contestant Jaide Green, which culminated in a catchy hook laden song with her unique blend of smooth, sliding synths and sugary lyrics.
‘UNISIL’ on the other hand is a mish-mash of futuristic sounds, industrial guitars, metallic elements and glitchy production, which reinforces the experimental nature of SOPHIE’s music.
SOPHIE‘s real revolutionary talent was in exploring the boundaries between pop as an art form and as a commercial product. The strength of songs on this re-issue shows us just how big a void the tragic death of SOPHIE left in the world of electro-pop.
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