This is an accepted version of this page
Sophie | |
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.jpg) Sophie performing at YOLA DÍA festival, 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Sophie Xeon |
| Born | (1986-09-17)17 September 1986 Northampton, England |
| Died | 30 January 2021(2021-01-30) (aged 34) Athens, Greece |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Works | Discography |
| Years active | 2008–2021 |
| Labels |
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Partner | Evita Manji |
| Website | msmsmsm |
| Signature | |
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Sophie Xeon (/ˈziːɒn/; 17 September 1986 – 30 January 2021), knownmononymously asSophie (stylized inall caps), was a British music producer, songwriter, and DJ. Her distinctive musical style incorporates experimentalsound design, "sugary" synthesised textures, and undergrounddance elements.[7] She would help pioneer the 2010shyperpop microgenre.[3]
Sophie rose to prominence with a string of breakthrough singles led by "Bipp" (2013); these were compiled on the singles collectionProduct (2015). She concealed her identity early in her solo career, but came out publicly astransgender in 2017. The following year, Sophie released the studio albumOil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides, earning a nomination for theGrammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album. She worked closely with artists from thePC Music label, includingA. G. Cook andGFOTY, and also produced for acts such asCharli XCX,Vince Staples,Kim Petras,Madonna,Hyd,Itzy,Gaika, andNamie Amuro.[7]
Sophie died in January 2021 after a fall inAthens, Greece.AllMusic eulogised her as a "fearless trailblazer inelectronic music" who "bridged the mainstream and theavant-garde like few other artists",[7] whileRolling Stone credited her work with "revolutioniz[ing] the sound of undergrounddance and pop music".[8] Aself-titled second studio album, reportedly "nearly finished" at the time of her death and completed by her brother Benny Long, was released posthumously in 2024.[9][10]
Sophie was born on 17 September 1986 inNorthampton, England and raised there before her family moved to London later in childhood,[11][12] although sources commonly report that Sophie and her family were Scottish (her father was born in Scotland)[13] and that Sophie was instead born and raised inGlasgow.[14] Other sources call Sophie British.[15][16][17][13]
Sophie said in an interview published byLenny Letter, "[My dad] had brilliant instincts, taking me toraves when I was very young. He bought me the rave cassette tapes before I went to the events and would play them in the car and be like, 'This is going to be important for you.' [...] As soon as I'd heardelectronic music, I spent all my time listening to those cassette tapes. I'd steal them from the car."Pet Shop Boys andthe Prodigy were among her favourite acts.[13] After receiving a keyboard as a birthday gift, she became interested in creating new music.[18]
At the age of approximately nine or ten, Sophie expressed the desire to drop out of school to become an electronic music producer, but was not allowed to.[18] She continued to create music throughout adolescence, regularly announcing "I'm just going to lock myself in my room until I've made an album."[18] A half-sister asked Sophie to DJ her wedding; later she admitted that the half-sister "didn't know what I was doing in my room on my own" and had assumed she was a DJ. Around this time, Sophie learned to DJ in addition to producing music.[18][19]
Sophie's music career began in a band named Motherland, alongside bandmates Sabine Gottfried, Matthew Lutz-Kinoy, and Marcella Dvsi. She played live shows inBerlin and the UK during 2008–2009. She later collaborated with Lutz-Kinoy on a series of performance works.[20]
In October 2010, Sophie remixed theLight Asylum single, "A Certain Person", creating the Motherland Radio version, uploaded to Light Asylum'sSoundCloud page the following month.[21] In 2011, this remix was included on Light Asylum'sIn Tension EP as a bonus track for the CD release.[22] In 2012, this track was given a 300-copy release for club deejays on12-inch,45 rpm clear vinyl by independent labelMexican Summer.[23][24]
In 2011, Sophie scored the short filmDear Mr/Mrs by Dutch team Freudenthal/Verhagen.[25] Detroit deejay Jeffrey Sfire met Sophie in Berlin in 2013; the two formed the duo Sfire,[26] releasing a 12-inch vinyl discSfire on the CockTail D'Amore label. She vocalised on one song "Sfire 3",[27] which was later remixed byJohn Talabot in 2016.[28]
Sophie became involved with artists affiliated with thePC Music label after encountering Dux Kidz, a project betweenA. G. Cook andDanny L Harle.[29]
Sophie's debut single "Nothing More to Say" was released in February 2013 via the London-basedGlaswegian label Huntleys + Palmers.[23] The single, featuring vocals from UK singer Jaide Green, consisted of two mixes of the titular track (titled the "Dub" and "Vox"), as well as theB-side, "Eeehhh", which was initially posted on (and later deleted from) her SoundCloud in 2011.
Its follow-up, "Bipp"/"Elle"—which had been released on SoundCloud as previews in the previous year along with a third track "OOH"—was released on another Glasgow based labelNumbers later that year.[25] "Bipp" in particular, featuring vocals from Sophie's former Motherland bandmate Marcella Dvsi, received considerable attention from music critics, toppingXLR8R's year-end list and placing 17 onPitchfork's.[31][32]Pitchfork later ranked "Bipp" 56 on its list of the best tracks from 2010 to 2014.[33]
In mid-2014, Sophie collaborated withJapanese pop singerKyary Pamyu Pamyu.[34] Also in 2014, she collaborated with A. G. Cook and the US-based artistHayden Dunham for the projectQT, co-producing the single "Hey QT" with Cook. The project included a fictionalenergy drink called the QT Energy Elixir. At Sophie's request, "Hey QT" repeats the drink's name forproduct placement.[35]
Sophie's next single, "Lemonade"/"Hard", was released in August 2014, with vocal contributions on the former from fellow musicianNabihah Iqbal[36] and model Tess Yopp and vocal contributions on the latter from PC Music artistGFOTY. Numbers released "Lemonade"/"Hard" as a 12" single.[37] Both tracks appeared on theBillboard Twitter Real-Time charts.[38] "Lemonade" and "Hard" placed 68th and 91st respectively on the 2014Pazz & Jop critics poll, and the single was included in the top ten of year-end singles lists byThe Washington Post,Resident Advisor,Complex, andPitchfork;[39][40][41][42] "Hard" was included in the top ten on lists byDazed andDummy.[43][44] "Lemonade" appeared in a 2015 commercial forMcDonald's.[45]
In March 2015,Charli XCX announced a collaboration with Sophie.[46] It was later[when?] revealed that the pair had worked on multiple songs for XCX's upcoming studio album.[47] In September 2015, Sophie's debut albumProduct was made available for preorder. The eight tracks listed were the four Numbers singles from 2013 and 2014, as well as four new tracks: "MSMSMSM", "Vyzee", "L.O.V.E.", and "Just Like We Never Said Goodbye". "MSMSMSM" was released on 29 September,[48] and "Just Like We Never Said Goodbye" followed on 15 October.[49]
In February 2016, Charli XCX released herVroom Vroom EP, produced primarily by Sophie.[50] It was later[when?] revealed that the EP would act as a teaser for XCX's upcoming album, which Sophie would produce. After the extended play's release, Sophie embarked on tour with Charli XCX to promotion new music. Sophie, along with A. G. Cook andHannah Diamond also involved with the EP, received cameos in the official video for the lead single, "Vroom Vroom". The video was premiered onApple Music and other platforms soon after.[51]
In late 2016, Sophie acted as an additional producer on Charli XCX's song "After the Afterparty" and cameoed in the single's official music video. Sophie also received production credits for two songs on XCX's 2017 mixtapeNumber 1 Angel,[52] and another for one song on XCX's second mixtape of 2017,Pop 2, released later that year.[53]
Sophie collaborated with producerCashmere Cat on several tracks from his album9, including "Love Incredible" alongsideCamila Cabello and "9 (After Coachella)" withMØ.[54]
In October 2017, Sophie released "It's Okay to Cry", her first new material in almost two years. The music video for the song was the first time Sophie's voice and image were used in a release. She subsequently opened up to the press about beingtransgender.[55] Later in the month, Sophie also debuted in live performance, premiering newly recorded songs from Sophie's second album with vocal performances byCecile Believe. The single "Ponyboy" was released with a self-directed music video on 7 December 2017. The third single from the album, "Faceshopping", was released on 16 February 2018 with a music video on 4 April 2018.[56]
On 3 April 2018, Sophie announced viaInstagram that the album was complete and that it would not be titledWhole New World as previously thought.[57][failed verification] On 1 May 2018, an interview withCrack Magazine revealed that the official album title isOil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides. It was released on 15 June 2018[58] by Sophie's own label, MSMSMSM, along withFuture Classic andTransgressive. The album prominently featured Sophie's own vocals.[16] In early 2018, it was revealed in one of Sophie's tweets that she had contributed to and producedLady Gaga'slatest album. In a video posted on social media, when asked, Sophie said: "Yes. I mean whatever, you know. I work on a lot of different things. If it comes out, then it's cool. You can never tell. But she's a really cool person."[59]
In July 2018, Sophie revealed work on four new projects, including a newly released debut album, which were all going to be released that year. Sophie said, "I have the next one finished... I'm going to release four albums this year". In an interview withLenny Letter, Sophie said that she had done so much collaborating with other people that, "Basically, I've done a whole new album in the last two weeks." When asked to clarify whether this was a comment onEPs or albums, she stated that it would be "a mix". She had also been working withKim Petras, Charli XCX, andBibi Bourelly on new material within the year, as well as somerap collaborations in addition to the confirmed Lady Gaga collaboration.[60][61][62]
At the61st Annual Grammy Awards,Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides was nominated forBest Dance/Electronic Album, and Sophie made history as both one of the first openlytransgender artists to be nominated in this category and one of the three first openly transgender women to be nominated for aGrammy.[63] During a red carpet interview at the ceremony, she confirmed work on a remix album ofOil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides.[64] In July 2019,Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides Non-Stop Remix Album was announced as part of an exclusive 3-CD set that included the originalOil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides album as well as aclutch bag featuring its artwork.[65] The remix album was later released as two videos on YouTube on 29 July.[66] Sophie featured on the September 2020 single "Metal" byJimmy Edgar.[67]
In January 2021, Numbers announced a new single release pairing a remix of "Bipp" byAutechre with theProduct-era track "Unisil";[68] Sophie had previously stated that she wanted "NO remixes" of her music "unless it's Autechre"[69] and called them "my heroes."[68] The single was released two days before Sophie's death.[70]
AllMusic wrote that Sophie's "sophisticated,hyperkinetic productions" feature a "surrealist, blatantly artificial quality", typically making use of "sugary synthesiser textures, and beats drawing fromunderground dance music styles" as well as "experimentalsound design" and feminine vocals.[7]The Guardian likened her style to if "Aphex Twin had swallowed a 12-year-old girl'sSpotify account. Playful, syntheticpop music – songs about love, or just as often,fizzy drinks – pared back to an austere digital minimalism; sounds so crisp and trickly, they sounded likeCGI for the ears. And yet for all its foregrounded artifice, Sophie's work spoke of heartache and yearning; of human connection."[71]The New York Times described Sophie's work as "giddy fun, but [...] also an invitation to consider pop's pleasures, structures and gender expectations, and pop's commercial status as both a consumer item and an emotional catalyst."[72]Pitchfork credited her work with "mold[ing] electronic music into bracingly originalavant-garde pop".[16]Variety andThe New York Times described her work as pioneering the2010s style known as "hyperpop".[17][73]
Sophie primarily used theElektron Monomachine synth-sequencer andAbleton Liveworkstation to create music.[74] Apart from vocals, Sophie created originalsynthesised sounds from the elementarywaveforms by using the Monomachine, eschewing the use ofsamples.[38] Likening the construction of a track to building a sculpture out of different materials, she synthesised sounds resembling "latex, balloons, bubbles, metal, plastic, [and] elastic".[38][74][75]Tiny Mix Tapes described her production as "liquid metal or maybe thenoise equivalent ofnon-Euclidean geometry".[76] Sophie toldBillboard that the genre of music she produced was "advertising".[77]
Sophie's early visuals came from a series of colourful images described as "Homemade Molecular Cooking",[25] with the singles' cover art often depicting objects made from plastic or other industrial materials, an idea that originated from discussions withJohn Roberts, a fellow electronic musician.[78]
Sophie was described as a reclusive figure. Early in her career and prior to coming out as transgender, Sophie's real-life identity was the subject of press speculation. Her identity was concealed in interviews throughvoice masking, and by obscuring herself in press photos.[25][34] At oneBoiler Room show,drag performer Ben Woozy was recruited tomime a DJ set as Sophie while the artist posed as a bodyguard.[79] Asked about the choice ofSophie as a stage name in a 2013 interview, she responded: "It tastes good and it's like moisturiser."[25]
The music video for "It's Okay to Cry", released in October 2017, was the first time Sophie's voice and image were used in a solo release, with Sophie appearing nude from the bust up against a backdrop of clouds. This was widely interpreted as hercoming out as transgender.[55] Sophie confirmed a trans identity in subsequent interviews, also speaking of feeling boxed-in by labels and describing music as "my chosen method of communication" and self-expression.[80]
On 30 January 2021, at the age of 34, Sophie fell three floors from the rooftop of a building inAthens, Greece while attempting to take a picture of the full moon.[81] She died at around 4:00 AM.[82] Sophie's partner,Evita Manji, said that "it took the police and fire brigade around 90 minutes to get her out" before their arrival at the hospital.[83][84]
Artists includingRihanna,Sam Smith,Vince Staples,Charli XCX,A. G. Cook,Flume,Arca,Benny Blanco,Finneas,FKA twigs,Jack Antonoff,Rahim Redcar andSLANDER expressed their condolences on different platforms.[85][86][87][88][89][90]
On 4 June 2021, Sophie's brother Benny Long announced plans to release some of her unreleased work.[91]
On 16 June 2021, theInternational Astronomical Union announced that the minor planet1980 RE1 was given the permanent name Sophiexeon.[92]
In March 2022, Charli XCX dedicated her albumCrash to Sophie.[93]Caroline Polachek's song "I Believe", which deals with ideas around immortality and legacy, is inspired by and dedicated to Sophie.[94] "Sweetest Fruit", fromSt. Vincent's 2024 albumAll Born Screaming, opens with an ode to Sophie.[95] Charli XCX'sBrat (2024) also includes "So I" that is "a knotty exploration of her grief about SOPHIE".[96][97] A. G. Cook's song "Without" expresses dealing with the loss of someone you love and interpolates Sophie's "Bipp" within the outro.[98][99]
At the65th Annual Grammy Awards, Sophie's former collaboratorKim Petras became the first transgender artist to win the award forBest Pop Duo/Group Performance; during her acceptance speech, she credited Sophie for paving the way for her.[100] While accepting herBritish Dance Act award at theBrit Awards 2025, Charli XCX mentioned Sophie in her speech, among other artists she had been influenced by, calling Sophie "someone who none of [them] would be [there] without".[101]
On 21 June 2024, a video was uploaded to Sophie's YouTube channel titled "@MSMSMSM_FOREVER", containing an hour and three seconds of silence and listing dates and times around 24 and 25 June in five different time zones.[102][103] Three days later, it was announced thata posthumous self-titled album, produced by Sophie and Benny Long, would be released on 27 September via Transgressive and Future Classic. "Reason Why" featuring BC Kingdom and Kim Petras was officially released as a single.[9][10]
On 17 September 2024, aGoogle Doodle commemorated what would have been Sophie's 38th birthday. An accompanying video uploaded toYouTube Shorts, titled "Celebrating Sophie Xeon", uses her track "Immaterial" fromOil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides.[104][105]
On 18 June 2025, Numbers rereleased herPRODUCT compilation as a 10 year anniversary including 2 new tracks "Get Higher" and "Ooh".[106][107]
| Award | Year | Nominees | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIM Independent Music Awards | 2018 | Sophie | UK Breakthrough of the Year | Nominated | [108][109] |
| Innovator Award | Won | ||||
| Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides | Independent Album of the Year | Nominated | |||
| 2020 | Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides Non-Stop Remix Album | Best Creative Packaging | Nominated | [110] | |
| 2021 | "Sweat" (Sophie Remix) | Best Independent Remix | Nominated | [111] | |
| Grammy Awards | 2019 | Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides | Best Dance/Electronic Album | Nominated | [112] |
| Libera Award | 2019 | Best Dance/Electronic Album | Nominated | [113] | |
| Q Awards | 2018 | Sophie | Best Solo Artist | Nominated | [114] |
Sophie: I wasn't really growing up in London from a young age, but then family moved here at a later date ...Iqbal: ... because you were in Northampton before that ...Sophie: ... yeah ... that's where I was born.
[She] loathes being asked any personal questions (although I discover that [she] grew up in Northampton and began making music while studying sculpture at university in east Berlin)...
Sophie was born and raised in England, the second-oldest of four siblings. It is commonly reported that Sophie and her family were Scottish; although Ben, the second youngest, says the family 'do have a Scottish connection', their father having been born there, he and his siblings stop short of confirming where they actually grew up, as Sophie often obfuscated details like this. 'We don't want to feel like we're not doing what she would want,' says Emily, the youngest Long sibling. 'She wanted to reach as many people as possible, and that idea of universality is sort of tied in with her not wanting to be defined so rigidly.'
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