Photo: Manuel Haring
[Sofie](https://www.instagram.com/sofieroyer/) grew up surrounded by classical music, learning violin from the age of four. As a young adult, she DJed on serveral continents. Then, she moved to Vienna, sat down, and wrote her debut album “Cult Survivor,” which is set to release on June 26. “Cult Survivor” blend echoes of groovier times with modern pop sensibilities, making for an overall strong debut, and defining sound for the artist. We recently had a chance to catch up with Sofie, and to take a look at her latest video for “Guest.” Check out our conversation, and her new video, below.
**What inspired you to move from working as a DJ, to creating your own music and sound?**
DJing was never my sole profession, it was the one thing that I'd ended up being able to live off the most, but I grew up learning the violin, playing classical music. Then, through working at Stones Throw and Boiler Room, \[I was\] also engaged in a very different kind of music scene. I've always been making music. In terms of writing songs though, I would just hear them first. Or, I'd read a piece of text that I'd immediately hear a melody to, as is the case for "Guest," which is inspired by one of Paul Guest's poems, and the lyrics are adapted therefrom.
**You've moved around a lot, living between New York, London, Vienna, to name a few. You even said that you thought the album may not have happened were you not in Vienna at the time. How does your physical space affect your creative energy?**
I think space to one's self is so important! Whether we like it or not, we are impressionable, and every experience you have, every impression you go through in a day, will leave an imprint on you, or at the very least you'll have to process it. You don't have infinite creative energy at your disposal on any given day, so you have to choose where you'll invest it, and what experiences you'll have that will renew this energy.
**You've said that this record was written in response to some personal hardships. Was writing music helpful to you during that time?**
Creative output is the only thing I have that helps me get through life in general, whether that's writing music, painting, teaching myself new things on the piano or the violin, none of it needs to be outward-facing, so I'm honestly surprised this record is seeing the light of day!
**When you visualize a fan listening to your record, what does the scene look like? What would you like listeners to take away from your music?**
I'm a big fan of the whip test, which is really how I ended up knowing this record is done. So I guess driving and listening to it! Or lying down and listening to it. Or playing it for plants when you leave for the day. Or in your headphones when you're catching the underground. I wanted to stray away from the songs being too prescriptive, but rather, you're able to hear in them what you'd like to hear, and have the instrumentation provide a mood, a feeling. Also, in an ideal world you'll want to listen to it again in two years, in ten years; that would be ideal.
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