I had a video call with the lovely Sophie Irving, a singer from London who has recently moved to Manchester. She started releasing music at the age of 14 and then took a break from for a while until 2022 when she released her single ‘Do you have pictures’. Her latest single ‘I’ll Build You A Home’ is out now which she describes as, ‘much more the direction I wanted to be going in’ referring to the Folkier sound and more emotive lyrics. As well as the exciting news of a new single she is also currently working on an upcoming EP!
Sophie studies Classical music at Manchester university. At university she does Opera singing which she loves but it’s very different from the folk stuff she does at home as a hobby . She’s not yet sure exactly what her future will look like although it’s clear that music is her passion and that will be reflected in whatever path she chooses. ‘I’d really love to go into film composition, so that’s kind of the big dream’. She speaks fondly of Manchester and the sense of community between creatives there, ‘I’ve been to some of the best gigs I’ve ever been to in Manchester and they’ve been free entry’.
As well as being a talented musician it’s clear that Sophie also has a gift when it comes to song-writing. ‘I’ve always been very into writing and I’ve always found it quite difficult to express my emotions. I have very bad ADHD, thoughts come at me and I don’t know how to articulate them, art is a great medium of expression for me’ Sophie explained to me. She does a lot of painting and installation stuff as well as music as she believes it’s the most honest you can be with your emotions. She sees her creative work like diary entries, ‘I don’t have a diary, but I’d say my songs are probably like the closest I could get to it’.
Her music is incredibly honest and emotive, which she says helps her get through difficult situations. She is massively inspired by artists such as Adrien Lenker who write about raw personal situations. She hopes that by being so honest in her music she can help someone feel a bit more comfortable with how they are feeling. ‘It’s a very beautiful thing in that way but it’s also absolutely terrifying everytime I release a song’.
‘I’ll Build You A Home’ is a stunning song about the right person, wrong time feeling, ‘the feeling of wanting to give this love so badly to someone and hoping that they come back when you’re ready for it, and when they’re ready for it. It’s not about just one person, it’s changed a lot because it’s been in the works for a year and a half’. It took a lot of work to get the song to the released version and she was lucky to meet a producer https://www.instagram.com/mosslouis_/ (Louis)who she felt could bring her ideas to life. ‘I remember really clearly saying to Louis that I had a demo to a song I wanted to be out that Friday. He listened and told me that was a terrible idea and that I needed to give it the time it deserved, so we worked on it together for the next 4 months or so’.
The music video is filmed where her parents now live in Scotland. The video is shot in the places she has taken the people she has been in love with to. ‘We tried to create a video from what it might look like from their perspective. As like the concept of memory, kind of through their eyes so that it feels quite nostalgic’. Just from watching the video you can tell how much the surroundings mean to her and the song, and just how much of herself she has put into this.
Sophie has recently started in a band called Chimaera and they performed in their first gig not long ago after only 2 rehearsals! She is excited to perform live more in the future both as a solo artist and as part of a band. Sophie will also be releasing her EP in the next few months which is currently in the making and includes some songs she is very excited to share with the world. We can’t wait to see what Sophie does next and I’m sure as soon as you listen to her music you will feel the same way!
Follow her on instagram https://www.instagram.com/sophielouiseirving/ and listen to her latest single on spotify you can also watch the music video on youtube which we have included above!
Photos by @jazcharlesworth
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