Interviews

Sofia Gillani: A New Face in Experimental Fun Pop

As she prepares to release more music, including a track this September, Sofia converses with us around her latest track “WYN”.

Despite its playful acronym, "WYN" (Without You Now) explores the aftermath of a breakup and what comes with moving on, capturing the eventual empowerment from finding oneself again, a sequel to her earlier release, "Bleed."

With a family deeply rooted in music and a penchant for pushing boundaries, Sofia continues to evolve, drawing inspiration from artists like Charlie Puth and the multi-faceted music culture of London. In our interview, Gillani reveals the story behind "WYN” and her journey so far making music and finding her ways as a fresh face in the scene.

Miriam Boulos: Sofia, let’s dive a little deeper into your latest single, “Without You Now.” The single is officially titled "WYN”. How do you refer to this single when you're talking about it?

Sofia Gillani: I named it “Without You Know” but I actually titled it “WYN” because “Without You Now” seems so heavy in the actual title. I'm all about making fun experimental music so I was like W-Y-N that's like a fun little twist for the new single. So I call it “WYN” to everyone else now so that when they listen to it, they're like, “Oh shit, it's ‘Without You Now’”, it's something deeper which is always a fun surprise.

MB: The single seems to be doing great! A lot of positive comments on YouTube gathering more than 6K views so far as well. Would you consider this new single a milestone for you?

SG: I always thought of “WYN” as a sequel to “Bleed”, as “Bleed” was just very therapeutic. One of those songs about those very long high notes in life and then “Without You Now” was the aftermath of that. Today, I think in my life, I'm definitely a lot freer, and that song has allowed me to be freer. But, I mean, in my career I'm progressing, which is always lovely. I’m glad to evolve alongside my music.

MB: Were there any influences that had an impact on you while writing it or while producing it?

SG: Right now, I listen to quite a varied genre because my family has very different musical tastes, especially my dad. But I think at that time, I was listening to a lot of Charlie Puth, which sounds weird because he hasn't really been around but he's always been an inspiration for me. He released his new album around the same time I was writing it. He’s really fun in his harmonies and pitch perfect. I was like ,“Hey, what's the worst that we can do? You know, like, what can we really put into this that will possibly be so bad? Let's just try all these different sounds, ” and that’s how “WYN” came out.

MB: Born and raised in London, how do you feel like the music scene there helps you thrive in your career or pushes your limits? I know London has a very intense environment when it comes to the music business, but also to the artistic side of it.

SG: I think it's very intense but at the same time because it is so intense, it's also very diverse and so there's always someone with new music, something to share, or a message somewhere in London all the time. There are so many musical opportunities in London as well that you can get yourself involved with. Also, being raised in that environment with my dad being a musician who was always going to these opportunities, it really allowed me to push the limit, like not just be in pop. I tried R&B sounds and stuff that I'd heard in different parts of London and meeting all these different people. So yeah, it is very intense, but it's such a journey to go on as well.

MB: Based on this diverse environment that surrounds you, how would you describe your sounds?

SG: I'd definitely say it's experimental. I've said that word like so many times, oh my gosh. But honestly, at the moment in my career I can't be confined to a genre because I'll always listen to rock or something and want to incorporate that. Granted, no rock songs yet!

I also tried rapping on “LEVELS”. That was something new. What else? Oh my god, I've done a little bit of R&B in some of my other unreleased songs, and I've got a release late September, that's very different to all my others.

MB: You come from a musical background with your dad who’s a musician. Was it always on your radar to become a solo artist?

SG: My dad is also quite experimental, if I'm really honest with you. He'd do a lot more drum and bass, but he was always really deep into music. He was definitely a support for my career. So yes, to answer your question, I always I wanted to have my own name as an artist. I knew that when I was really young. I would song-write all the time. Granted, at the beginning it was quite bad, but I've got the hang of it now. I've always been quite a loud person so when it came to writing songs and being able to express myself in that way it just came naturally.

MB: When was your starting point as a solo artist?

SG: Gosh, I remember I was doing loads of different covers. I did a few talent shows in school at the time. I was also doing a lot of covers, some Adele and other soul stuff. I was like, why not try this out myself? And then I recorded “Ain't A Game”, which was just this very bubbly, playful young version of myself. My first music video was an animated music video. I just wanted to start out like something joyful instead of something too deep and then get into a layer. And here we are with “WYN” straight off the lead!

MB: Yes and I actually find the cover art of “WYN” quite intriguing. It looks different than all your other covers.

SG: This one is more mature than the other ones. I'm a lot moodier, let's say, in the actual pose of it. If I'm really honest with you, that day, with my photographer, we were like, “How can we do something different?”. So, like, there's purple eyelashes in this cover, with white eyeliner and I'm doing this yawny pose. We wanted it to be a more like editorial. Genuinely it was something that we wanted to try to express a different side to me because some of them were really happy, with light colors. This one has way darker colors. It was a chemical shoot which was really sick, with different type of camera, all that good stuff. So it was just going with my photographer and trying something new.

MB: This new single is something new and it feels more grounded. To wrap it up, for someone who has never heard your music and is about to stream your new single "WYN," what brief description would you give them before they listen?

SG: I would say, if you want something new, if you want something that's both fun and intriguing to the mind with a deep message and if you want something that you can probably definitely relate to because I feel like everyone has had a time where they've had to cut someone out, this song will either help you heal, or just give you a fun song to listen to. What's the harm? Genuinely something new!