Sofia Evangelina
Sofia Evangelina recently released her latest single “Get Outta My Head”. Combining powerful vocals and catchy melodies, the new single was inspired from the feeling of falling in love.
“I began to imagine what it’d be like to begin to fall unwillingly and uncontrollably in love. I wanted to create a universal tale simple in nature, yet that depicted complex feelings,” she explains.
Produced by Jeff Dawson, “Get Outta My Head” feels like watching a movie. It’s captivating, edgy, dark and memorable.
The Dubai-based artist is surely an incredible vocalist who knows how to write good pop songs.
Stream “Get Outta My Head” now !!
Photo credit: Sierra Stone
Introduce yourself - what's your story?
Heyo, my name is Sofia! I'm a 19-year-old artist with an old soul, futuristic mind and urban spirit and I love telling stories with my voice. I'm Russian/French and born in Canada, currently based in Dubai.
When did you start singing?
I began singing when I began talking. I always performed for random audiences, so at 5, my parents pursued private lessons for me. I liked to sing but I was so bored with lessons so I quit and redirected my focus to something more exhilarating - extreme sports. It was not until 7 when I restarted my vocal lessons and my teacher discovered I had a "jazzy" voice. I was so offended, me a pop diva, a jazzy voice? Haha. But my teacher was very young, and relatable so I got hooked. I then continued to evolve through every form of vocal training - classical, gospel, and jazz too. That is while training and competing around the world for my sport. It was not unusual that my vocal coach would call me on Skype and ask the same routine question “where in the world are you now?” Good times.
I continue taking vocal training to this day, even though by now I teach vocals and have my own vocal coaching academy.
When did you start writing songs?
I began writing melodies when I was 7 but they were not normal sheet music compositions per se... I didn't know any music theory at the time as I spent most of my time training and competing in my sport, but I had all these melodies and stories in my head so I invented my own scriptures to jot these ideas down. Above the lyrics would be some form of squiggles and lines and shapes that only I could read. It was like "drawing" the melody down so that I could decipher it later. But, in the real world, I wrote my first "real" song at the age of 14.
What gave you the confidence to be an artist and release your original music?
Since I can remember, I knew I'd be an artist. I danced, I sang, I painted, I acted, and did voice-over work for Lionsgate animated series. And did I mention that I “designed” my own couture by cutting up my mom's scarves and modeling them in front of the mirror? However, traveling for my sport throughout my country and then, around the world and hopping through different schools, I had seen how my peers were experiencing the same issues despite their culture or demographic, issues like bullying and low self-esteem. This sparked an urge in me to create music to speak to my peers through lyrics they could relate to. That’s what I dedicated my first song to. As I grew and absorbed different dimensions and colors of life, my music evolved with me.
What was the biggest challenge when you first started?
The biggest challenges have been finances and working with people that don't deliver, you know this flakey kind who promise you the world and swear to take you to the top etc, but fail for many reasons. Sometimes they have an agenda or sometimes they mean well but don't have what it takes. I lost much of my precious time. So we decided to take everything into our own hands. Now we are building.
"Get Outta My Head" is your latest single - what's the story/inspiration behind this song?
I'm often asked whether the song is about someone special. Not really. It was during the first lockdown when I kept writing and writing, at some point I began to imagine what it’d be like to begin to fall unwillingly and uncontrollably in love. I wanted to create a universal tale simple in nature, yet that depicted complex feelings. I drew my inspiration from stories around me plus added my personality and projection.
I managed to manifest the subject of my song into my real life later on, but this is a different story. And a different song :)
Could you describe the songwriting/production for this project? Who helped you create it?
Musically, it began with this weird, trinket kind of melody that I was playing around with on the piano. I never thought it would be used for a song, cause it sounded so primitive to me, but my collaborator composer heard it and he was like “that’s dope” and then we added on this ‘James Bond’ kind of vibe and melody for the verses and the marriage was surprisingly seamless. Then “Get Outta My Head” was born and later evolved much upon during the studio production in Vancouver. I wasn't entirely satisfied with the mix. My Toronto friends and brother producer duo, Jovan and Ivan Jovanov, re-mixed and mastered the version you hear today.
What did you feel when writing this song?
Working on this song invited me into an exploration of the realm where the line between the dream, reality, memory, and desire is blurred.
What can you tell us about the artwork?
The cover is a shot from our editorial photoshoot dedicated to the single and the world of fantasy we created for it. It was captured by a creative art director and photographer Sierra Stone. We filmed in White Rock, British Columbia.
As an artist, what is the hardest part? And what is the best part?
The best part of being an artist is ART. Creating, writing, recording, and performing is what I live for. This is hard but deeply fulfilling.
The hardest part is the lack of financial resources. Being an independent musician means in addition to creating music, you need to become an entrepreneur, and learn how to manage time and resources.
What are your thoughts on today's music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
There's a lot of incredible music being made and some productions are just out of this world. However, I'm gonna keep it real. "Industry-wise" I don't like the direction Hollywood is going. I used to idolize Hollywood and dream of it nightly. The values have shifted and they are no longer towards art and authenticity for the most part.
if I could change one thing, I would take politics out of music. To 'normalize’ values in 'mainstream' music, it would brighten the future for the next generations...
What does singing make you feel?
Weightless and weighted at the same time. I can remove my every fear, tension, and pain through singing, and other times I can absorb all my emotions and wear them like a heavy chain, trust that you'll hear it in my voice. There's never a day where I can't sing, that'd be like asking me not to... um, breathe.
What's the best advice you've ever received?
In which area of life? (laughs), big question, so many. In music, as a kid, my mom told me that I was given a paintbrush in my voice and that it was my duty to paint a picture with my voice and tell a story for my audience. That changed my game, I believe that mentality is what turned me from a performer into an artist.
How's it like to live in a city like Dubai? How's the music scene out there?
Habibi, come to Dubai! I absolutely love it here, it's such an incredible city, bustling with vibrant energy and opportunity. It's not the biggest scene for music or the entertainment industry maybe, but it has so many artists from all around the world, which is uplifting.
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
Eating dessert for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (laughs). In all seriousness, Dostoevsky once said its beauty that will save the world. In our age and time, I believe it’s music that will save the world, or make it better because music has the ability to assimilate and spread throughout the globe and connect us all.
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