Two years after her latest album, Sofie Royer returns with her sophomore album, Harlequin.
Sofie Royer
Born in Wien to Austrian and Iranian parents, Sofie Royer, aka Sofie is one of the names that are rising in popularity on the web. The singer-songwriter, clocks in almost 200 thousand listeners on Spotify, where her single Abeja, released on Stones Throw in 2016, has almost 17 million plays. The song was part of the singer’s compilation SOS Tape. Sofie Royer is also known as a DJ and an original member of Boiler Room.
Harlequin
The singer returns after two years since her latest album release, Cult Survivor. The title for the new collection is Harlequin. The album embraces some of the singer’s biggest interests and passions. This includes Wien’s opera, ballet, baroque lyricism of cabaret and medieval performances and the court jester. The singer released an unexpected mixture of influences that come together in a formal but touching work of art. Theatrical and scenographic, Harlequin is a great representation of Sofie’s personal fusion of interests and the singer’s versatility. This same versatility is also proven during Sofie’s performances, where she adopts the visual aesthetic and gestures of the court jester, clown and cabaret artist.
Unfortunately, the release of Harlequin was accompanied by the saddened passing of a close friend of the Royer: Christian Hummer.
Christian was a best friend, former lover, and my very first bandmate. We shared the same affinity for baroque music and spent countless hours playing Bach concertos on the violin and piano together. he is the only other person than myself featured on my first album Cult Survivor, and many of these songs i would write for him and we’d play them together in the basement of my art university.
Sofie commented the release of her album, mentioning the most important name to take part to the production.
“It is impossible for me to write about the release of my album Harlequin without mentioning Christian Hummer, whose fingerprints are all over the album,” she says, mentioning Hummer’s vocal on both “Schweden Espresso” and “Someone Is Smoking.”
She added:
Learning of his death irrevocably broke my heart in a way i didn’t know possible. I dedicate this record and tonight’s performance to him, and I know his spirit will live on in the beautiful legacies he left behind in the peoples lives he touched and in his prolific musical output.”
