Sophie Delila
Sophie Delila is back this summer with her brand single Bound To Fall as well as a third studio album.
We caught up with the singer/songwriter to chat about the new track, how it introduces us to the rest of the album and what lies ahead.
- You have just released your new single Bound To Fall so what can fans expect from this new track?
It is a very personal song, like most of my songs, and it is about living life on the edge and how to cope with it.
But it is also about learning from your mistakes and keeping your feet on the ground. It is just a very emotional song.
- It is personal it is emotional so how would you say it compares to the sound of the music that you have made before?
It is so hard to compare as I don’t think about it. It is still taken from my experience and so, in that way, it does fit with what I have done in the past.
Stylistically it does feature more piano and the beats are also quite different. I guess it is going towards something that is more my style rather than kind of belonging to any specific genre.
- And how are you finding the response to the track so far - it does seem to be going down well?
So far it has been great. I played it at a show at the Jazz Café last week and people really did seem to like it and I got some great feedback. People seem to like it and that is great.
The show went really well and the crowd was responding greatly. I had lots of fun; for me that is what it is all about.
It was great to play the songs from the upcoming album as well - they are all new songs and so when fans come and listen to songs that they don’t know it can be a challenge. But it did seem to go well and that is very encouraging for the record.
- The new album is just around the corner so how does this track introduce us to the rest of that record?
The record is very eclectic in the sound. The record is very rhythmic - that is what you find in Bound To Fall; it is piano based and it’s personal but it also has got a good beat going a long with it.
I always need something, even if it is down tempo track; I need drums or something going on rhythmically.
So stylistically there are a lot of emotional songs but there they are not going to be just piano and vocals; they are also trying to reach inside you with a strong sound.
- This will be your third studio album so how do you feel that you have developed as both a musician and a songwriter between your debut and this record?
Again I don’t really think about these things. But I think that it just goes with evolving in life; certainly I have more experience and so I do craft my songs a bit differently.
It is always a different process when making a record and I am always discovering new processes from writing and recording.
This one was more about writing on a piano - sometimes a guitar - but it really was song first and then putting a track together for it.
Whereas the previous record there was more building of the track while writing; it was all happening together. So in that sense it took longer - which can be a great thing - but with this album the writing was more spontaneous.
- As you say you have gone through a new and different process when putting this album together so how did you find that process?
It took a long time, although the songs were written quickly (laughs). I think when you write the songs first and then find the right way to arrange them and that can take time.
So I found it interesting and I learned a lot; because it took a long time I definitely learnt patience (laughs).
- Who has served as producer on this record?
There were quite a few people involved and I have also produced a few of the tracks myself. Dan Black, he is a singer/songwriter as well, and I wrote with him and then he produced the songs that we wrote together.
There is a group of producers called The Suppliers - they are from Denmark but are London based - and we also wrote some tracks together. I produced about half of the tracks I would say. So there was a good team of people involved.
- How much do you enjoy the producing aspect of making an album - quite a lot of musicians do throw themselves in while others stay well away?
I have always recorded myself and so it is quite a natural thing for me. I learnt to do it quite early - I wish I could not do it sometimes (laughs).
Also it is a great thing to be able to move forward and do it yourself and be able to express your ideas and get things done how you imagine them.
I like doing it but I also like not doing it and letting go. If I work with other artists I am in charge and so I can fully express myself. So I do enjoy being on both sides.
- The album release is just around the corner so what shows have you got coming up this summer?
I am playing Wilderness on August 8th and that is going to be great. But I don’t have set dates at the moment for the summer - it is going to come late summer or in the fall. I can’t wait really because I love being on stage and doing shows.
- So where did your love of music start and what artists/bands were you listening to as you were growing up?
There was lots of soul music. As a young kid you are influenced by the charts and then you become a bit of a rebel. My parents were big music aficionados and so I was introduced to soul classics and blues classics.
Steve Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Ray Charles were the main influences growing up. But then there as neo-soul music, break-beat, hip hop and rock; mostly soul was my main influence.
- How much is the music that you are making now influenced by the music that you were listening to back then?
I think it influences you more in the beginning and I think that this record is less influenced by it. I think I have been influenced by those artists in my previous records - especially the first mix tape that I made - where as this one is more about finding my own sound.
The influences get so deep that they might not be as obvious in the music that you make. They influence you on a deeper level rather than just the style of music that you do; it is more the intention, the message rather than the form.
- You won a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston so how was that experience? And what were the mains things that you learnt that you have been able to take forward in your own music?
It was an amazing experience and it was quite a discovery; I discovered jazz and gospel and that opened up a lot of doors creatively and helped me find my voice.
It is always tricky with music school because you don’t learn how to be an artist - you can learn theory and practice. So I guess I did learn the discipline and the existence and history of jazz; so I did learn a lot about music in general.
Now in terms of creating it is a different story because you are your own school of being an artist. I have learned a lot being in studios as well. It is always great to know a bit of theory to be able to communicate with other musicians and producers and know the technical sides of things.
- You have released your debut album back in 2005 and so you have been in the industry for nearly a decade so how have you see the industry alter and change in the time that you have been in it?
It is really hard to measure that. There has been the internet and all the platforms - they have been around for longer but they really did kick in at that time. I think that is a good thing that people can access music easily.
It is a great thing from an audience point of view that people can discover music easily and listen a lot of music - it is very present. But it does make it more difficult for artist (laughs).
If you are making music, writing songs and singing you are doing it because you love doing it and I think that that is good for the art itself as you get to do the real thing and you get to do the music that you want to do. But it is hard for most artists to live off it. But it is very good for the creative side of things.
- Finally what is next for you going through the rest of this year?
Well I am pretty much done with the album now; I will have to find something else to do (laughs). I will be doing a lot of writing this summer.
I can’t wait for the live shows that will be coming up at the end of the summer. So it’s just more songs for me and maybe some side projects as well as I want to explore a few things.