Sophie Delila
A Parisian-bred singer, pianist, guitarist, writer and producer, Sophie Delila is currently seducing Europe with her brand of soulful melodic pop.
Delila was born into a family of musical aficionados; her father, an accomplished piano player, even once had Ray Charles and Marvin Gaye round for dinner when Sophie was a baby. Growing up, Sophie was influenced by a lot of blues, jazz and classical music and early on she fell in love with Stevie Wonder as well as the Beatles.
She began playing the piano at age 5 and within a few years was racing home from school to write songs and record in her father’s home studio. So it’s not surprising that at 18 she won a scholarship to the revered Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.
After graduating she hit the New York City soul scene for a couple of years before moving to London in 2005 to take her career to the next level. Lured by London’s explosive music scene, Delila wrote, gigged and produced and in 2008 Delila landed a record deal with Universal.
Whilst working on her first album, Delila became increasingly sought after for artistic collaborations. Throughout 2009 she was one of the lead singers in the critically acclaimed band Nouvelle Vague, featuring on their last album as well as their live European tour.
She opened for one of her childhood heroes, Lionel Richie, at the Bercy Stadium last year, and more recently has been seen singing live with Plan B on Radio 1Xtra’s Live Lounge and the Shepherd’s Bush Empire.
The singer is also in demand in the fashion community, with the iconic French label Hermes enlisting Delila to help bring the brand to a younger, more hip generation. A key project tying in with this is a concert on the Liberty Music Stage at the Carnaby Street Festival later this year on June 5th. This preceeds appearances at UK music festivals including RockNess.
Her highly anticipated debut album, Hooked, will be released on 31st May. The album was co-written and co-produced with Sophie by Steve Booker, the man behind much of Duffy’s multi million selling album. In addition, an array of leading musicians and producers have collaborated on the record.