Sofie Royer by Kyle Keese
Harlequin is the new album by the multi-hyphenate artist and singer-songwriter Sofie Royer, out 23 September on Stones Throw. Harlequin showcases the Viennese—and former-Los Angeleno—musician’s passion for her native city’s opera and ballet traditions as well as the baroque lyricism of cabaret, medieval performances and the court jester. Blended with nostalgia for early aughts reality television and American mall punk subculture, Sofie’s second album for Stones Throw presents a montage of peculiar characters, vernacular settings and mysterious chronologies that are as theatrical as they are musical.
Hidden just beneath Harlequin’s surface is Sofie’s interrogation of her journey between adolescence and adulthood, a central theme that has carried over from the songs of her debut album Cult Survivor. “I feel permanently stuck in the coming of age novel, like The Catcher in the Rye or Franny and Zooey,” she says. The albumnot only weaves a rich tapestry of the city of her adolescence but hints at her nostalgia for a place that may or may not have ever been real—what she calls the “snowglobing” of her teenage self.
Harlequin’s collection of personal songs also captures Sofie’s time spent in American cities. Her new song “Feeling Bad Forsyth Street” shares a glimpse into a brief period in New York City where she was “trapped after trying to pay off a personal debt accrued at the racing track”. Sofie sets the scene: “I’ve lost my appetite I’ve messed up again, messed up big time and I don’t know how I’ve ended up in this state again but all I know is buckle up chin up tough it out because it’s me against me against the rest of the world baby.” The song is also accompanied by a video created by Sofie and cult film maker Eugene Kotylarenko (Spree, Wobble Palace), and stars actors Vishvam Velandy and Peter Vack, Curtis and KJ from the Ion Pack, model Dagsen Love and many others. “Feeling Bad Forsyth Street” follows Sofie’s latest releases “Baker Miller Pink” and “Schweden Espresso”.
During the making of her new album, Sofie experimented with her own identity through the act of dress-up. From the album’s artwork through to her live performances, she adopts the visual aesthetic and gestures of the court jester, clown and cabaret artist. Sofie says: “When I was alone a lot, I started painting my face like a clown, inspired by Pierrot. Then, when I FaceTimed my friends, they would laugh; and we’d have a really good time. So, I decided to take that to the stage. When I did my first live concert, I dressed myself and my band as clowns. It felt like a protective armor from my regular self. I didn’t feel as vulnerable onstage.”
Sofie Royer was a student of violin at the Vienna Conservatoire before breaking away from the institution to live between New York, London and L.A., where she became known as a DJ and an original member of Boiler Room. During her time in L.A., she worked at Stones Throw and brought artists including Mndsgn and Stimulator Jones to the label, as well as releasing her compilation Sofie’s SOS Tape in 2016. She released her debut album Cult Survivor for Stones Throw in 2020.
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Listen/Watch “Feeling Bad Forsyth Street”:
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