In Conversation With #189 - SOFT LAD
SOFT LAD - the recently-launched solo project of musician, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sophie Galpin (SELF ESTEEM, SOAK) - recently released her debut EP ‘MAXIMUM FEELS’.
She launched her solo career back in November with the highly-acclaimed single ‘Singapore’. It came after no less than fourteen years in the industry, playing for the likes of Tom Grennan, The Breeders, James Vincent McMorrow and Jessie Ware. Taking influence from Years & Years, MUNA, Shura and many more, ‘MAXIMUM FEELS’ sees Galpin relay - in a characteristically conversational tone - her unbridled experiences of queer love. From the luring beats and acute vocal harmonies of ‘Eyeroll’ to the tender balladry of EP closer ‘My Name’, SOFT LAD’s debut EP brims with carefully crafted slices of pop charting highs, lows and the life found in between.
She took a moment to talk to us about how the EP came together.
Hey there Soft Lad - how are you?
Good thanks! I’m just in the van on the way to play a show.
So your debut EP is finally here - how does it feel to have it out there in the world?
I’m so buzzing that it’s finally out, it feels like I’ve had to sit on it for ages so it feels good to release it into the wild!
It is called ‘Maximum Feels’ - what is the meaning behind that?
I feel like my songs are very emotional - even though they’re pop songs they have a melancholy edge and are a result of me processing my feelings right across the spectrum - so it’s that really. Feeling all my feelings in technicolour.
Where was the album recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the creative process you are happy to share with us?
I made the record with my producer Cecil at his studio in Leytonstone. We spent a lot of time going bananas in the shed just me and him. I remember we had been working on the song ‘Eyeroll’ all day and it was good but not feeling as vibey or as exciting as the song we’d done before so we had a break for dinner, I ate some sausage casserole, went for a walk round the block and when I came back I had the idea for this little piano riff that then became the vocal idea for the outro and it gave us that spark of excitement. So we suddenly started vibing again at like half nine at night. It goes that way sometimes!
What are the key themes and influences on the EP?
I think some of the themes are of course love, loss, unfulfilled potential and missed opportunities. Musically I have indie sensibilities but I’m heavily influenced by the music I was listening to growing up which is 90s and early 2000s pop. Lord knows I love a good hook.
Do you have a favorite lyric on the EP? If so, which one and why?
‘I’ll be rolling my eyes so hard I can see my brain.’ Just the image of rolling your eyes so hard at a situation that you could’ve foreseen if you’d thought about it for two seconds that your eyes go backwards in your head.
If the EP could be the soundtrack to any film - which one would it be and why?
Something gay and emo I guess. Still waiting for someone to commission me to soundtrack their series…
Now the EP is out there - what next for you?
I want to play as many shows as possible, I’ve recorded more music and I want to keep writing and recording so more of that. Onwards and upwards!
