Product, SOPHIE Review

It’s easy to over analyse the artist’s decisions. I spent Year 11 exerting most of my brain power over why Steinbeck never game Curley’s Wife a name and in college I’m doing exactly the same with London synth pop producer SOPHIE. Why would such a creative powerhouse whose contemporaries include AG Cook and J Pop starlet Kyary Pamyu Pamyu would name his album (SOPHIE is a he, confusing right?) such a simplistic and dull name as ‘Product’. Does it have a hidden meaning beyond it’s etymology from Latin productum ‘something produced’, neuter past participle (used as a noun) of producere ‘bring forth’? Or does the mind numbing poppyness of the album further relate to the over-simplification of everything for the masses to make it easier to forcefeed us dumb John Lewis adverts when November comes along? Or is it because ‘Product’ is a selection of singles released one by one, each individually being a ‘product’?

It is none of these. If you head over to http://shop.msmsmsm.com you’ll see that the debut comes in the form of many different product such as a puffa jacket, sunglasses, pair of heels and er… a dildo?

The beauty of SOPHIE is his simplicity, like watching a play by Brecht there is no doubt what it is all about. From the first 90s electro heartbeat of ‘Bipp’ you are transformed into his neon universe that includes chopped and screwed vocals and a simple thumping bass. ‘Elle’ and ‘Vyzee’ follow the same format, surreal Chipmunk vocals exploring issues even shallower than Rebecca Black but somehow SOPHIE manages to pull it off with the latter reminiscent of Wiley’s ‘Wearing My Rolex’ drenched in acid.

The beauty may be in the straight forward, but SOPHIE’s staying power definitely lies in the bass and wickedness. ‘Lemonade’ begins with a can of fizz being opened at full volume, then bumping into part mosquito part hard house you can’t help but feel compelled to dance to. SOPHIE’s irrational take on dance music is surprising and evocative, leading to tracks such as ‘MSMSMSM’ with some of the strongest bass of 2015 and a progressive track coming straight from outerspace. ‘Hard’, perhaps one of the most formulaic tracks of ‘Product’ takes the viciousness of MIA’s material and skews with 90s pop keys, creating one of the hardest and wickedest tracks by SOPHIE.