SOPHIE, Pioneering Pop Producer, Dies At 34

Pioneering pop producer, Sophie Xeon—better known under her stylized name, SOPHIE—died in the early hours of Saturday, January 30 after an accident in Athens, Greece.

“Tragically our beautiful SOPHIE passed away this morning after a terrible accident,” a statement from her label read. “True to her spirituality she had climbed up to watch the full moon and accidentally slipped and fell. She will always be here with us. The family thanks everyone for their love and support and requests privacy at this devastating time.”

Best known for her trail-blazing reinvention of the pop sound—achieved through an inimitable electronic production style—SOPHIE had become an icon of sorts for a couple of different communities. As an artist, her work was pivotal for ushering in a new tone, attitude and aesthetic in pop music. With frequent-collaborator, A. G. Cook, she helped forge the PC Music sound, which has gone on to be the bedrock for everything ‘hyperpop,’ from 100 gecs to Dorian Eletra, Kim Petras and more. Then, producing for the likes of Madonna, Vince Staples, Charli XCX, Flume and others, she helped bridge that sound into the mainstream pop current.

As a trans woman, SOPHIE also became an LGBT+ icon. After spending the first couple of years of her career in relative anonymity, keeping her appearance and identity private, she revealed herself for the first time in the 2017 music video for “It’s Okay To Cry.” 

By stepping out of the heteronormative framework that pop music usually adheres to, SOPHIE was not only changing the sound of pop music, but was challenging its cultural function. Rather than go along with the cultural assimilation that the genre typically encourages, SOPHIE turned it on its head, in effect transforming her work into a rallying cry, a source of strength and inspiration for those who don’t fit into the anachronistic molds of society. While she wasn’t the first artist to do this—and, thanks to her influence, she surely won’t be the last—she had a unique ability to channel her ideas into visceral musical expressions with a palpable sense of power and catharsis. 

Echoing this in a tweet from Saturday morning, the record label, Numbers—who worked frequently with SOPHIE—said: “SOPHIE was a true inspiration, the World has lost an icon of liberation.” In a way, SOPHIE was a liberator. Her image, her work and her influence not only forged an everlasting presence in the pop world, but lit a flame of strength and inspiration across the globe. For this reason alone, SOPHIE’s impact will live on, not only through the continued love and attention paid to her body of work, but through the thousands of artists whose path to finding their voice was lit by her light.

Listen to SOPHIE’s sole full-length release (and its corresponding remix album) below:

The image used in this article comes courtesy of SOPHIE’s website.