SOPHIE, the Scottish electronic producer and DJ who pushed pop into newly experimental and avant-garde territory, has died after an accident at the age of 34. On January 30, the artist’s labels Transgressive and Future Classic co-tweeted a statement that read, “Tragically our beautiful Sophie passed away this morning after a terrible accident. 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.†According to Pitchfork, SOPHIE died around 4 a.m. in Athens, Greece, where she had been living.
SOPHIE first broke out in the early 2010s with keyed-up songs like “BIPP,†which landed on Vulture’s Best Songs of the Year list in 2013. After following up with the “Lemonade/Hard†single in 2014, SOPHIE’s debut album, Product, debuted in 2015. The following year, SOPHIE brought their PC Music sound to the production on Charli XCX’s Vroom Vroom EP. SOPHIE’s 2018 sophomore album Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides, which featured the single “It’s Okay to Cry,†earned a Grammy nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Album. More recently, SOPHIE collaborated with fellow experimental trans artist Arca on “La ChÃqui†in 2020. The Saturday morning statement from SOPHIE’s labels ended with a call for privacy at this devastating time.