A Conversation With SOFY; Bored In Colour (Pt.2), Football Shirts, FIFA Soundtracks & More

Photo: @vzavz

Words:  Jozef Kostecki

In the early months of last year, SOFY released her first five track EP. February 2022’s Bored In Colour (Pt.1), marked the first full release of SOFY’s music career, the product of a six-month journey that began with the release of hit single Strawberry Milkshake in September of 2021. The EP marked the start of a wild year for SOFY, with headline shows, a busy festival season, and a feature on the FIFA 23 soundtrack all just some of many milestones SOFY and her band managed over a wild 12 months. 

However, as the title of that first EP suggests it marked just the halfway point of SOFY’s ‘Bored In Colour’ releases, with (Pt. 2) now available on all major music streaming platforms. It’s a 6 song, 19 minute journey that picks up right where SOFY’s first EP left us, matching the first entry beat-for-beat, keeping up that same tempo, charm and relatability that comes with any of SOFY’s releases. 

A few days after Bored In Colour (Pt.2) hit the web, SOFY took the time to speak with us about her latest release, her 2022, life as an independent artist and more:

I - Almost a year on from your first EP,  how does it feel to now have both parts out in the world? 

SOFY - “It feels good. It feels like a nice way to round off that first chapter of my career having both parts out, and now I’m looking forward to the new stuff to come as well.

I - With the 11 months between the EPs being so crazy, do you have a favourite moment?

SOFY - “We had some really good moments last year, especially around festival season. Playing Glastonbury, that was wicked! Leeds, Truck, and Latitude obviously. All the festivals that we played, we had the best time. So it’s either that, or getting on the FIFA soundtrack with ‘Big Talk’, as that was such a bucket list thing for me. It’s hard to think of one, there’s been so many moments.” 

Despite sharing a name both parts of Bored In Colour both undeniably work as standalone projects. However, with the overriding theme of life in your 20s in the social media age, does SOFY see both halves as one completed project now they’re both out?

SOFY - “I think if you listen to them in order then you’ll definitely see the progression, and me developing as a songwriter for sure. They were written as this one body of work, but they were written over the space of my first year of writing songs. With the first song I’d written, I just put them out, and that was the first project.

“It’ll be interesting if you can see the way my music is taking in me developing and becoming more confident as a songwriter. So I think if you’re really listening critically like that, then maybe. But other than that, I think sonically they’re all quite an eclectic mix anyway, so it shouldn’t really matter how you listen to it, and they should all feel cohesive together.”

I -  Do you have a favourite song off the new EP? 

SOFY - “Probably Fiesta, it’s just a fun underdoggy one that I like playing a lot, and it was really fun to write. It just kinda sums up the whole SOFY vibe, it’s a bit silly and it’s one of those ones where you can imagine everyone singing in the car on the way to a festival. I also love Big Talk, it‘s been a bit of a game changer for me, so I’ll always love Big Talk, it’s my baby.” 

I -  With how important social media platforms are, have songs like Big Talk help you crack TikTok?

SOFY -  “I’m still getting to grips with TikTok, ‘BTW’ the slow, sad one actually did really well on TikTok which I was surprised about. Big Talk does good on TikTok, whenever I hashtag it with #FIFA23, I get all the FIFA boys who recognise it as a song from there.

“I’ve definitely got more comfortable with TikTok than I used to be, but it’s hard out there being an independent artist, it does feel at times like you’re at the mercy of the social media algorithm.” 

I -  Even though life as an independent artist can be difficult you now have over 100k monthly listeners on Spotify, with multiple songs clearing 500k streams. With everything that’s happened over the last year, did you believe everything you’ve achieved so far in your time as SOFY, could have happened this quickly?

SOFY - “Yes and no. I’ve always had a lot of belief in the project, and always thought the songs were really great, so it’s nice to see that other people also think they’re really great. 

But, I don’t think I was necessarily expecting people to latch onto it this quickly.”

“To be honest, for me I’m always looking into the future, I’m the kind of person who can never really be satisfied with stuff, and taking stock of what I’ve done, so I’m always like, ‘ I want more.’ I’m kind of in that mindset right now, where I need to be better at taking stock of what I’ve done, so it’s really nice to take the time to do that.” 

With a little over 18 months under her belt as an artist SOFY has quickly developed a close relationship with her audience. Several sold-out headline shows lay in her rearview mirror, with more seemingly destined in the near future. The key to this has been SOFY and her band’s relationship with their audience, they get one another, a feat best shown by the band’s willingness to try out new songs months in advance of their release. Taking that chance can be a huge risk, but what did SOFY make of the crowd reception to her then unheard tracks?

SOFY - “Really good! You always wonder how people are going to connect with a song, because it’s a big ask to try and get people to connect with a song live, when they’ve not heard it before.

“Fiesta always goes down really well live, and Just Mates, another one of the new ones is really great live as well. But L-Plates, the newest track we’ve actually not played live before. That one we, me and Ed, my producer who’s also the bassist in the band, wrote with a big festival tent in mind, so I’m really excited to try that one out this Summer.” 

I - On the topic of your live shows, you tend to play in a variety of retro football shirts. How did that come about? 

SOFY -  “This is a really random one, there’s actually no real reason. My first live show was in the Euros in 2021, and I was on the England hype in a very big way. I didn’t know what to wear so I was like, ‘Oh I’ll just wear an England shirt, it’ll be funny, everyone’s talking about football.’ Then it kind of stuck, and I’ve just collected loads of retro football shirts along the way, and it’s just sort of become my signature look.” 

I -  How would you describe SOFY to a first-time listener? 

SOFY -  “I’ve usually described it as imagine if Lily Allen and Blur walk into a bar, and then there’s someone playing some OutKast on the speakers. That’s how I would describe it.” 

I -  With the EP now out, there’s 11 months left of the year, so far you’ve already been announced for Liverpool’s Sound of the City, as well as having a London headline show set for next month. What else have you got lined up for the rest of 2023? 

SOFY - “So, I’ve got those two shows and hopefully more in the pipeline, but nothing set in stone at the moment. Then I’ve got a whole load more music ready to go this year, I’ve got a whole mixtape that I’m hoping to drop this year. This is only the tip of the iceberg, what I’ve got out now.”