Interviews

Sophia Fracassi: On Her Songwriting Journey and Latest Singles

Toronto-based artist, Sophia Fracassi writes songs to let it all out and make you relate. One of her goals as a singer-songwriter is to have a song in her promisingly growing discography for almost any situation you might be overcoming or going through.

Photo credit: Stella Gigliotti - on instagram @stellagigliottti

“I want to write about the things that are real and true in my life.”- Sophia Fracassi

Her newest single “Not the One” captures that self-empowerment boost after choosing to walk away from a toxic yet once comfortable situation, a reminder to make tough but necessary choices. With her raspy soothing voice, Fracassi continues to deliver vulnerable, punchy songs that are stripped down in nature. In a candid conversation, Sophia opens up about the personal experiences that shape her music, the evolution of her songwriting, and her future aspirations. As she delves into the inspiration behind her songs “Not The One” and “I Don’t Miss You,” Sophia gives us a glimpse of what fuels her creative process.

Miriam Boulos: You have this theory that’s written in your Spotify bio that says, “the things that hurt our heart the most for a moment is the best we can do for the world.” Honestly, this statement really resonates with me and my personal journey at the moment. But I wanted to know why you believe in this theory and how did you come to the conclusion?

Sophia Fracassi: I guess sometimes the pain of staying, now this isn't about being physically sick, this is about when you're in a situation that's toxic, it's making you almost feel sick that the pain of staying sick in a situation is worse than the pain of getting better. So, it's this idea that it hurts to have to move on and do the hard thing and choose better for yourself because sometimes what's better for yourself doesn't always feel the easiest. But it's also hard to stay in the situation and continue feeling like you cannot either be fully yourself or can't grow in your life if that makes sense. So, to me, I've been through lots of different situations in life where while I was in the situation, it felt like unimaginable circumstance. Like how am I supposed to move through this in my life and get past this and grow? But then, you know, sometimes it takes a while, sometimes it's years later, you can see the silver lining in the situation you were in or see how that hard thing ended up impacting you in a positive way later.

MB: Why exactly was it the main theme of “Not The One” if I may ask?

SF: I mean, we've all had situations like that. Sometimes it's a romantic partner, sometimes it's a friend, sometimes it's a family member, unfortunately, like all that kind of stuff. And as hard as it can be to have to put a boundary with that person or part from that person ultimately, for me, it ended up being very healthy. So, the reason that was that theme for “Not The One” was because I, again, lived through certain experiences where that was the case in real life and I wanted to write about it because I'm sure I'm not the only one that's experienced that.

MB: Your ability to tell stories through your lyrics really stands out. In your songs, storytelling is one of your greatest strengths. “I Don't Miss You” is followed by “Not the One” which feels like a continuation of the story. Did you write these two songs back-to-back with the intention of linking them, or did the connection between them evolve over time?

SF: don't know. I mean, they can…they can be swaps. I think I wrote “I Don't Miss You” first, but I wrote them really close together. That's cool that you made the connection though. So “I Don't Miss You” I wrote into the early fall/winter season in like November, December in camp. So, I would say they're definitely connected because I write a lot about my own life. So, when you kind of hear connections in my music, it's usually because it's either about the same situation, or it's about a similar time period. I will often be feeling a really deep emotion, I'll sit down, or I'll get in a session or something, and I'll just word vomit, let it all out. And so those two songs were written over a period of time where I felt like I was changing and growing and moving on from different things that I needed to let go of. So that's the connector between those two pieces of music.

MB: Your songwriting was compared to Taylor Swift's and Joni Mitchell’s styles before. How do you feel about these comparisons and how do you differentiate your own style from others?

SF: It's cool to have been compared to artists like that because people hold them in such high esteem and they're both obviously legends in the songwriting and music community. I'm very inspired by certain aspects of people's careers or the way that they write and then I sort of learn from them like a teacher. If you have a teacher, you don't necessarily like go in and do exactly what the teacher's doing but they're going to teach you how to word something in an interesting way. Joni Mitchell has so many interesting song concepts that not a lot of people think to write about. Both her and Taylor Swift have like gigantic catalogs of music. Like, if you have a situation, they've probably written about it which I think is really inspiring. I'd love to get to that point where I’ve got a song for anything you're going through. I find that really inspiring. The storytelling is really important to me because I just really value honesty. I want to write about the things that are real and true in my life.

MB: As you've transitioned from your debut EP to your latest single, how do you think your approach to songwriting changed?

SF: I think that the first EP that I put out was like my first step into the music world, and those singles were my first releases of music ever. Yeah, so in 2022, I released a full EP, but the first two singles for that EP actually came out in 2021.

So, it was like this long process of sort of like figuring it out, and I think over time, because I've been in the industry for just a little bit longer, not a long time, but a little bit longer, I've been able to write with a lot of different writers, whereas my first EP was almost completely solo written. I still love to write on my own, because there's something really special about that, but I have done a lot more co-writing over the last couple years. And I think it's just a really great way to learn. You can pick up on other people's writing styles and the things that they like to include in their writing process. So, all that kind of stuff has been like really great learning. I listen to a lot of music, so I pick up, you know, little bits and pieces from here and there. I also just think as a person in the last three years, I've worked really, really hard towards being as authentically myself as possible. So, I hope that that translates and shows in my music that I'm trying to write from a really real place about everything. And I also used to write a lot of sad songs, and now I write a lot more happier songs, too. So, I like the combo.

MB: Lastly are those two singles an indicator of an upcoming EP or album?

SF: Yeah, there will be, just to speak loosely about it, there will be a larger project coming out later in the year, which is really exciting. We've got another single on the way, so that's the official statement about that. Very exciting and I'm really, really excited about it.

MB: To wrap it all up, I know you said you've worked, and you continue working really hard as an authentic artist and singer-songwriter. You've already accomplished a lot in your music career, having toured with Amanda Marshall and having been featured on Spotify’s Fresh Finds playlist, I think, is a big achievement. What are your goals for the next few years?

SF: Oh man, that's a great question. One thing I really want to do more of, I loved touring last year, got to go across Canada, that was my first time doing a large tour like that, or really any tour. That's something that I have big goals for in the next couple years as I'm still in my youth. To travel the world hopefully and write in different places and perform in different places that's something that I really, really want to do. Also, just as a as a songwriter as well as an artist, I want to continue expanding my knowledge and continuing learning how to do more and just continuing to create music. That’s what’s most authentic to me.