SOPHIE, Evita Manji – Berlin Nightmare
The sudden loss of UK producer SOPHIE four years ago is one of dance music’s most painful tragedies. The Scottish born visionary was poised to change the face of pop and electronic music, with her singular sound and innovative approach to the art of noise making. SOPHIE’s loss was made even more unbearable knowing that she had left behind a much anticipated sophomore album in the making – a project that most of her fans came to accept as lost along with her.
The arrival of a mysterious Instagram account and countdown last month reignited hope, however, and now we are three singles deep into an unexpected new SOPHIE era. The officially released first single from the project, Reason Why, is a long-teased collaboration with Kim Petras which SOPHIE habitually played during her sets from 2019. It’s a track that fans have been asking for, but as it often is with much anticipated and previously teased material, the Reason Why that they got felt less impactful than the one they were used to bootlegging.
Of course, this is also a symptom of the often risky posthumous project – without the original creator present to guide its completion, the music often sounds unfinished or incongruent with the rest of their discography. Berlin Nightmare, the second single from the project – fairs slightly better. An acid laced techno banger, Berlin Nightmare squelches with an unease that feels familiar to SOPHIE’s work – a strangeness makes the track both difficult, and utterly captivating. The presence of Evita Manji, SOPHIE’s partner and collaborator, is likely to thank for this quality. Of everything that has arrived from the upcoming album, Berlin Nightmare feels most authentic to the truth of SOPHIE’s perspective of the dancefloor.
