“Welcome to the Chaos and Commotion era, keep your arms and legs inside the ride and please fasten your seatbelts!!” With this warning yet playful statement, alt-pop singer Sofy introduces us to Chaos and Commotion, her new mixtape. Compressed in half an hour and nine tracks, she takes us on an emotional rollercoaster reflecting on the last year and a half of her life. Ready to let yourself go?
The Leicester-born artist has lived it all in the past months, and those experiences are the main inspiration behind the lyrics. The nine tracks, from the opening Yoyo to the closing Supermarket, are full of dichotomies, contradictions, juxtapositions. But I guess that’s life, isn’t it? As a true artist, Sofy has encapsulated all of this for listeners to connect with. “Each song expresses a different part of me and the rollercoaster period of time that this record represents; falling in love one moment and out of love the next, going from feeling like I’m on top of the world to feeling like the world is moving without me, frustration and hope and anger and humour. I’ve lived, breathed and been totally engrossed in this world for the last year, so I just hope everyone straps in and enjoys the ride with me,” she explains.
And, oh boy, on a wild ride she’s taken us! But more especially, she’s taken herself on a new adventure, especially sound-wise. We can feel it from the get-go in Yoyo, which couldn’t be anymore aptly titled. Through thrashy guitar riffs and slurry vocals, Sofy explores a new, more rebellious sound. As she comments: “It definitely feels like an evolution of my sound, so I immediately wanted it to be Track 1 on the mixtape because it’s a bit of a statement.”
Despite other songs like Socks, Breathing Exercises, Wet Paint, No Drama or He’s Not You sound pretty different from each other, there’s still a cohesive feeling that ties them together. A common thread: a life worth living, its implications and consequences, and the experiences you gain along the way.