Toronto’s Sophie Powers is on the fast track to fame. At the age of 18, she has two years as a professional musician under her belt and a blossoming deal with Atlantic Records, where she’s already released a pair of singles — and counting — on the label: March’s “Nosebleed” (which we raved about), and most recently “Better on Mute,” which dropped earlier this month.
The genre-defying hyper-pop-meets-post-punk (or whatever “manner of contrived portmanteau,” as her bio puts it) artist is now taking her show on the road, supporting Scene Queen‘s Bimbo Beta Pi Tour across a series of dates around the Northeast. The run includes a Boston show tonight (November 20) at the Paradise Rock Club, a room she’ll likely be headlining on her own very soon.
Ahead of her hometown show in Toronto last week, Powers took some time to chat with Vanyaland about her experience as a teen with feelings, her fashion ambitions, and dealing with dudes on the internet.
(Note: the following interview has been edited for length and clarity.)
Vanyaland: So you’re on tour right now. How’s that?
Sophie Powers: I am! First day, actually. So let’s hope everything goes good. I love touring, though, so I’m excited.
And you’re on tour with Scene Queen — you guys have similar approaches to your performance and to your presence as musicians. What’s it like touring with them?
Scene Queen is so awesome, so talented. I actually opened for Scene Queen twice a year ago, so to see where they’ve come now from when I was first opening for them is crazy. And I’m proud of them.
Your site describes you as a sort of “avenging angel.” Tell us more about that.
Well, it’s a bold statement. Listening back to myself, I’m like, ‘wow, I really said that?’ But it’s true in the sense that I was invalidated for so long about my emotions and writing songs about those emotions. Validating myself through that songwriting process is one of the most powerful declarations I’ve ever made, of anything in my life.
And that’s why I really want to vouch for young people. Your emotions are just as valid as an adult’s or an older person’s; everyone’s emotions are valid. I think that’s where I come from [as an artist]. When I use the term reclamation, it’s more of an emotional standpoint.
What does it mean to you to be a young woman and a young person reclaiming your space in the industry, especially as someone who became a professional musician at 16?
Obviously, there are some amazing benefits. I met so many other women and female artists and I felt very supported on that end by them. Women are so awesome, dude.
But yeah, I also had my fair share of challenges, I think, just being online. If you’re a girl, whether you’re doing music, whether you’re in corporate spaces, whether you’re in another industry, whatever it is you do, your online presence… it feels like there’s so many eyes on you no matter what. No matter if it’s your family, or your friends, or the public. In my situation, it’s random dudes in their mom’s basement online, but nevertheless, I just keep calm and carry on.
You have a really specific visual aesthetic that you go for, both with your website and through your aspirations for fashion design. How would you say that the visual arts have affected your approach to music, if at all?
Sophie Powers: Oh, it affects everything. Fashion and music to me are so intertwined, especially because I get synesthesia. So I see songs in colors and textures, everything to do with my five sense. So it’s a pretty crazy experience taking a song from just a song to creating a whole world around it.
I almost like to think of each song being a different character of myself and a different superhero. And that superhero lives in their own world with their own look and everything. So that’s why my mom’s last name, Powers, felt very fitting to me [when choosing a stage name], because it’s like a comic book of myself. Is that narcissistic to say?
Tell us about your musical process, especially since you mentioned that synesthetic experience and being able to see your songs as characters. What does your process, from concept to release, look like for you?
My favorite part about the creation is bringing the vision to life, with the colors and the music videos and the visuals and the content surrounding the song. I shouldn’t say it’s my favorite, but I grow to really enjoy the journey rather than the destination. And that might sound cliché, but as an artist, you’re in the room focused on writing, but especially in such a content-driven world, we don’t often take the time to think, “okay, but what are people going to like about this? What’s going to catch your attention if you’re just scrolling?” What is it about the song? Is it a really catchy synth? Is it chances you’re taking with the lyrics? Are you rage-baiting people?
And that obviously is more of a marketing brain that’s kicked into my music, dealing with social media, but I’ve learned to really enjoy it. I used to hate it. I used to just want to make art. Now I’ll freestyle in the studio. That’s where I focus on the art. After the song is finalized, that’s where I focus on the creation of the content. Business brain, I guess.
What do you hope people who listen to your music take away from it? What do you hope catches their attention?
I hope that I invoke a very strong emotion for them, whether that be anger, or extreme sadness, because music for me was always a shoulder to lean on when I didn’t have someone to physically lean on. I want my music to be that shoulder for someone else. Whether it’s to vent, like “I hate the world,” or whether it’s leaning on [the music] like “oh, I hate the world” in a sad light. It’s very different. That [sentence] means the same thing, but it’s very different. So to me, that is what means the most, that people are able to get that out of my songs.
So you play Boston [tonight]. What do you hope people catching your set get from your live performance? What can they expect?
I hope they give me a chance, because as an opener, you’re playing an away game. You’re not the home team. So for me to be able to share and connect with them is all I can ask for. Maybe they’ll see some standup comedy [from me] and say, “I’ll support her for her standup comedy career, not music.” That’s fine, I still appreciate the support. I talk way too much on stage, but I do love having banter with the crowd and creating a connection and getting to know people. I’m an extrovert, so it’s just my element. And yeah, [I hope that] we can just vibe together and enjoy the music on both those levels.
SCENE QUEEN + RIVALS + SOPHIE POWERS :: Monday, November 20 at Paradise Rock Club, 967 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA :: 7 p.m., all ages, $25 :: Event info :: Advance tickets