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Sophie
We celebrate a producer who embraced a dizzying, daring approach that made plenty of friends but took no prisoners
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Many of the musicians and producers we feature in this column reached the peak of their influence well before the turn of the millennium; typically it takes a few decades of graft to have the kind of resounding impact that warrants the title of ‘pioneer’. Sophie Xeon is a rare exception to this rule, a visionary artist that did more to shape the sound of popular music in ten years than many legends do in 50, before tragically passing away in 2021 at the age of 34.
Born in Glasgow, Sophie was introduced to electronic music by her father, who would take her to raves and supply her with dance mixes on cassette tape. At only ten years old, Sophie was asking her parents to let her quit school and take on electronic music production full-time; they didn’t allow it, but that didn’t stop Sophie from diving headfirst into music-making, spending most of her teen years that followed locked away in her bedroom tirelessly learning the craft.