Sophie Cates

You know that one friend who just makes chaos work for her (without seemingly breaking a sweat)?

Well, that's Sophie Cates in a nutshell.

The Boston-raised and Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, and producer pulls punchy pop out of a puzzle of raw acoustic guitar, glitchy electronic textures, alternative experimentation, indie rock, and even a little home-brewed hyperpop for good measure. As such, she gleefully disrupts the status quo on her 2022 independent debut EP, Basement Party. By osmosis, the music naturally absorbs her wild trip from a childhood in a seaside Massachusetts town to rave-hopping in Chicago to industry ups and downs to embracing independence and finding love (all by the age of 23).

"The vibe is sparkly and fun, but something's a little bit off," she smiles. "When I make pop music, it has a tinge of uniqueness and experimental energy. I'm not trying to do anything other than pop, but it ends up being the most authentic version of me because it's still out there and left-of-center. Lyrically, it's like I'm talking to a friend. It's not super broad; it has all of the little details. It creates a better scene in your head."

Born in Los Angeles, she moved just outside of Boston at five-years-old. She immersed herself in music, obsessing over everything from the musical Gypsy to Taylor Swift. During a five-week summer program at Berklee College of Music, she gained admission into an exclusive production course, honing her craft. Post-high school, mom and dad gave her an ultimatum, "You can either go to a music or art school and study business or go to a normal college and study music." In order to "be around artists," she opted to go to Columbia College in Chicago on a music business tract.

Between freshman and sophomore year, she signed her first publishing deal and relocated to New York. Under the name Silver Sphere, she gained early traction with her indie project yikes!, receiving acclaim from The Line of Best Fit, coup de main, and OnesToWatch in addition to gathering tens of millions of streams on the likes of "drinking games." Following a short spell in the major label system, she found herself quarantining at home with her family at the onset of the Global Pandemic. During this time, she picked up an acoustic guitar and composed the bulk of what would become Basement Party.

"Most of the songs were just written on my guitar, which I swear I hadn't done since I was 18-years-old," she recalls. "It was a blessing to be independent again and fully control how things were being made. I could write whenever I wanted and for however long I wanted. All of these styles meshed organically. It's the first time all of the sounds that I've been influenced by my entire life have come together — the pop, indie rock, and electronic."

Fittingly, she introduces the EP with the single "Nasty." Acoustic guitar creaks underneath off-kilter strings as her breathy delivery takes hold with a wish, "I want you to touch me, baby I just want to be nasty."

"I was sitting in my childhood bedroom in the middle of the Pandemic, and I fantasized about being at a bar and flirting," she admits. "As I met my boyfriend, the song became more specific. 'Nasty' set the stage for the entire project because it's super confident, straightforward, and mature. There's electronic drums, guitar, and reverbed folky vocals."

Elsewhere, the songstress wraps herself in warm nostalgia on "Cardigan" where she "looks back at memories in a positive way such as the beginning of a relationship." Then, there's "Girlfriend." She reflects on a past romance over uneasy guitar. Neon keys twinkle at the top of "Basement Party" before slipping into dreamy verses punctuated by the groan of bass. Her vocals spiral into a chiptune-style harmony on the hook, nodding to her time in the Windy City.

"Specifically, it's about when I lived in Chicago, growing up and being away from my parents for the first time," she recalls. "If I had to pick two words to describe my life there, they would be 'Basement Party.' I think of the EP as someone wearing a full sequined outfit in a grungy basement. It's what you would've seen me wearing at a rave!"

In the end, Sophie makes even the biggest mess beautiful.

"I fell in love with my favorite artists because they made me feel like I wasn't alone in my experiences," she leaves off. "I could relate to their words. I'd love for somebody else to feel the same way. I guess I just want you to feel like you're not the only one out there getting played," she laughs.