“Play the track fast, not slow”: faster and sweeter with hyperpop.
Hyperpop pioneer SOPHIE’s brilliant legacy and impact on Brat Culture—self expression and experimental music.
artwork by Asher Stone.
SOPHIE was an architect of sound. Claiming the title of Hyperpop pioneer, SOPHIE created a maximalist landscape when approaching sound: layering glitches, distorting baselings, and hyperactivating melodies. Her music overwhelms the senses as she constructs a technicolor world, stepping away from the conventional boundaries of music. SOPHIE redefined sound through simply being herself, and her music has strongly resonated within the queer and trans communities. Although her lyrics don’t explicitly discuss these topics, SOPHIE’s individualism, personal deconstruction, and subtle lyrics highlight her feelings on sexuality and gender. SOPHIE defined artistry as something that does not know limits—requiring more synths, more autotune, more glitching, and more pitch-shifting.
Tracks like “Faceshopping” and “Ponyboy” are hallmarks for SOPHIE’s style, inputting harsh baselines and metallic textures to create a disorienting sonic space. In “Faceshopping,” SOPHIE deconstructs the name of the song by singing “My shop is the face I front/I’m real when I shop my face,” playing on multiple meanings of authenticity and self-image. In a more playful and lightweight sense, “Immaterial” harnesses melodic sweetness by lyrical repetition and even rhythms. As she sings about how she “could be anyone” she wants, SOPHIE becomes someone who is purely just herself, stripping away the conventional notions society tends to place on people. These songs unequivocally signify SOPHIE’s style as an artist, for she could manipulate and bend sound in any way that suited her.
Whether online, at the club, or from word of mouth, Charli XCX’s album Brat has permeated all aspects of today’s culture. Brat is a sugary, trashy collection of anthems that represent confidence and fun, filled with tracks designed to be blasted in clubs. The unapologetic boldness of Brat aligns with SOPHIE’s ethos, and her influence courses through Charli’s album. The influence of SOPHIE’s sound on Brat can be heard through texture vocals, fast-paced tempos, and blasting bases that create a sonic assault on the listener’s ears. Charli XCX expresses this self confidence with lyrics, “I’m you’re number one” and “It’s alright to just admit I’m the fantasy” on “Von Dutch.” On “Club Classics,” all Charli XCX wants to do is go to a club and dance with her friends:“I wanna dance to me/I wanna dance to A.G./I wanna dance with George/I wanna dance to SOPHIE.” Although Charli highlights her self-confidence intentionally repeating “I,” she still showcases the people close to her and who have influenced her music. Brat and Brat and it’s completely different but all still brat (the Brat remix album) embody the energy inherent to hyperpop, but both albums also have a softer, more sentimental side, specifically in tracks like “So I,” which is a direct tribute to SOPHIE’s “It’s Okay to Cry.”
photo by Charlotte Mooney.
Both Charli XCX and SOPHIE demonstrate the duality of balancing vibrant and maximalist sounds with emotional and introspective moments. SOPHIE’s “It's Okay to Cry” and “Just Like We Never Said Goodbye” delve into these emotions, and stand in stark contrast with her other tracks. Charli XCX mimics this duality of vulnerability in “So I,” singing, “your sounds, your words live on, endless.” Charli XCX also reflects on the influence SOPHIE has had on her music, which can resonate throughout the Brat albums, specifically as she sings, “When I make songs, I remember/ Things you'd suggest, ‘Make it faster’/ … (And I know you always said) ‘It's okay to cry’/ So, I know I can cry, I can cry, so I cry.”
Charli XCX’s exploration of textures, sounds, and electronic remixes are uniquely her own, but SOPHIE’s influence is clearly noted by Charli XCX herself and across her lyrics. SOPHIE’s impact on hyperpop—and on music as a whole—is immeasurable. Her fearless approach to sound and identity paved the way for artists like Charli XCX to experiment with textures and push boundaries. Pop music could be transformative, a way to explore who we are and who we could become. Her legacy lives on in every glitch, every beat drop, and every voice daring to be different.
edited by Campbell Conard.
artwrok by Asher Stone.
photo by Charlotte Mooney.