Musician SOPHIE has died

Read our tribute to SOPHIE, an icon who shaped the worlds of pop and underground music and inspired a generation of LGBTQ+ club kids, here

Musician SOPHIE has died.

The groundbreaking artist passed away in the early hours of Saturday morning in Athens.

An official statement provided to Mixmag from SOPHIE's team says that SOPHIE died following a sudden accident.

The full statement can be read below:

"It is with profound sadness that I have to inform you that musician and producer SOPHIE passed away this morning around 4am in Athens, where the artist had been living, following a sudden accident. At this time respect and privacy for the family is our priority. We would also ask for respect for her fanbase, and to treat the private nature of this news with sensitivity.

"SOPHIE was a pioneer of a new sound, one of the most influential artists in the last decade. Not only for ingenious production and creativity but also for the message and visibility that was achieved. An icon of liberation."

Alongside the statement, SOPHIE's team requested pronouns are not used in this article and we refer only to the artist by the name SOPHIE.

The record label Transgressive, that put out SOPHIE's debut album 'Oil Of Every Pearl's Un-Insides', posted a statement on Twitter saying SOPHIE "accidentally slipped and fell" while climbing to watch the full moon.

Glasgow-born SOPHIE released on labels such as Numbers. and Huntleys & Palmers in and released debut album 'Oil Of Every Pearl's Un-Insides' on Transgressive Records in 2018. The album was nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album at the Grammys in 2019. Earlier this month, duo Autechre remixed SOPHIE's 2013 track 'BIPP'.

Numbers paid tribute on Twitter, saying "the World has lost an icon of liberation".

SOPHIE's experimental approach to pop music and use of vocal modulation to explore gender identity was pioneering.

Speaking to Billboard in 2018, SOPHIE said: “Transness is taking control to bring your body more in line with your soul and spirit so the two aren't fighting against each other and struggling to survive. On this earth, it's that you can get closer to how you feel your true essence is without the societal pressures of having to fulfil certain traditional roles based on gender.”

SOPHIE co-wrote Madonna's 2015 single 'Bitch I'm Madonna' - which featured Nicki Minaj - alongside Diplo, MoZella, Toby Gad and Ariel Rechtshaid.

SOPHIE has also collaborated with the likes of PC Music founder A.G Cook, Charli XCX and rapper Vince Staples in the past.

[Photo: Charlotte Wales]

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