SOPHIE & the Evolution of Hyperpop

Scottish music producer, songwriter and DJ Sophie Xeon, known by stage name SOPHIE, was one of the leading influences of the evolution of the music genre known as hyperpop. This highly experimental genre originated in the UK in 2010, and it is considered to be a ‘maximalist’ form of music. Hyperpop contains elements of electronic music, hip hop, pop, and dance music. It often has brash and overexaggerated melodies, and can feature many musical juxtapositions like cute and child-like music with vulgar lyrics. Mark Richardson describes hyperpop as “a cartoonish wall of noise that embraces catchy tunes and memorable hooks. The music zooms between beauty and ugliness”.  My favorite song of hers that I think is a perfect example of Richardson’s quote is Hard and Ponyboy. 

Sophie was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1986 and spent her childhood listening to electronic music with her dad and even attending raves together. She gained interest in creating music after receiving a keyboard as a birthday gift and became self-taught. Sophie knew she wanted to become an electronic music producer even when she was only nine or ten years old. She has collaborated with various artists such as Vince Staples, Madonna, Kim Petras, and Charlie XCX. As  for Sophie’s creative process, she liked to synthesize many different (and often opposing) elements into her music. She liked to mix sounds like “latex, balloons, bubbles, metal, plastic, and elastic” with different vocals and beats in the backgrounds. Sophie described music as “her chosen method of communication” and used it to express herself. She wanted her music to be like an all-immersive experience, and in an interview with Bomb magazine, she once said “It would be extremely exciting if music could take you on the same sort of high-thrill three-minute ride as a theme park roller coaster. Where it spins you upside down, dips you in water, flashes strobe lights at you, takes you on a slow incline to the peak, and then drops you vertically down a smokey tunnel, then stops with a jerk, and your hair is all messed up, and some people feel sick, and others are laughing — then you buy a key ring.”

Sophie was considered to be a private and reclusive person, and at the beginning of her career she remained anonymous before later revealing that she is a transgender woman. She often concealed her voice with voice masking and covered parts of her body, but in October 17, she released the music video to her song “It’s Okay to Cry”, which was the first time her voice and image were used in a release. Afterwards, she became very outspoken about her identity and often referred to it heavily in her music. Unfortunately, Sophie died at only 34 years old after an accidental fall from a three-story apartment rooftop while reportedly trying to take a photo of the full moon on January 30, 2021. Many artists and organizations paid tribute to Sophie afterwards–the International Astronomical Union even named a planet Sophiexeon in her honor. Sophie will always remain known as an artist who pushed the boundaries of pop music.