Our current obsession: French rocker Soko. She reeled us in with “Nervous Breakdown,” then stole our hearts when she let us question her about her insecurities. She’s an open book you’ve got to read.
Photo credit: BBGunPress
French actress, rocker, model and goth girl extraordinaire Soko is set to release her second album and eventually even tour, though there have been a few delays. She doesn’t need throat surgery, and she doesn’t have a dying animal on her hands — she’s just a perfectionist. At 27, she knows what she wants and she’ll keep working at it until she gets it. As a matter of fact, that’s exactly what her new album My Dreams Dictate My Reality is all about.
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“I try to live every day as if it’s my last,” she told us. “Sometimes I PMS too hard, so life gets weird… but, most times, I’m pretty content with everything I do. My new album is called My Dreams Dictate My Reality, and it’s pretty much how I live my life: Setting up goals and making them a reality!”
Seems uplifting enough, right? Interestingly enough, when you ask Soko to describe the upcoming release, positive isn’t exactly on the list of descriptors.
“Well, it’s pretty different from the first album,” Soko said. “Most of the songs were recorded live. It’s also a lot more Gothy, post-punk, ’80s-sounding.”
It may be a jog from her debut, but it still promises to be an excellent record. Despite postponing her North American tour to work on the album’s finishing touches, Soko is genuinely excited about the album. Her biggest reason: the all-star producer she was able to work with on Dreams.
“Ross Robinson, who is producing my record, produced The Cure, which is my favorite band and one of the reasons why I wanted to work with him,” she explained. “He made my bass sound like Simon Gallup (I hope! Ha-ha!), super chorus-y, hooky guitar riffs, a lot of atmospheric sounds. And Ross is the best at getting super heartfelt performances — no lies, just pure rawness. It feels so safe recording with him. I hope people can hear that in the songs. It feels like a full 100 percent reflection of everything that is me.”
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And who exactly is Soko? In one recent interview, she described herself as “self-destructive,” which we found a little hard to swallow. Especially with the rumors that she lives a fairly clean lifestyle free of meat and drugs.
“I’m destructive in so many other ways. Well, I think I’m a master at self-sabotage,” Soko admitted. “Could be from relationships to work. Sometimes I just feel very unworthy and feel like I need to prove people that I am s***. …That’s not well-explained. Sorry, my heart is racing. Talking about vulnerability, insecurities, makes me feel all weird, see!”
Pft. We’re writers, too. We completely understand self-sabotage. Writers surely invented the concept! While we know she won’t believe us, we think Soko is brilliant and can’t wait for you to hear the new album, which is tentatively due in the fall.
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