Sophia Danai
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Sophia Danai

Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada | Established. Jan 01, 2011 | SELF

Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada | SELF
Established on Jan, 2011
Solo Pop Soul

Calendar

Music

Press


"Grey Cup Festival 2014- Day Three"

Outside, the Redeye Empire, Sophia Danai, Humans, and The Boom Booms were doing their best at making fans dance with four varying styles. Redeye Empire came through with reggae rock sounds, Sophia Danai blew our minds with sweet sultry songs, Humans dropped some heavy beats, while The Boom Booms played their Philosopher Kings sounding songs. - Viesmag.com


"Sophia Danai | Cinematic Soul Siren"

SOPHIA DANAI | CINEMATIC SOUL SIREN

Words: Josefa Cameron | Photos: Brendan Meadows | Tue, 08/13/2013

If you can imagine a perfect balance between the sass of the Spice Girls and the depth of Aretha Franklin, it would be Sophia Danai. Not only does the sound of her voice pierce past your soul like a spear, but she also has as much energy and positivity as the sun. And the cherry on top; she sat down with ION contributor Josefa Cameron after a full day of work looking like a top model. Her debut EP, Wishing Well, is the type you want to wear out on repeat until you’re singing along. The backbeats are dark and the melodies are groovy. Think a West Coast sun kissed ease meets a New Orleans drawl. In reality, Danai hails from Langley, British Columbia, and between laughing about bad early 2000’s style and contemplating the meaning of a music career, we discover that Danai has matured into a grounded artist while finding her place situated between genres of music. - Ion Magazine


"Sophia Danai | Daytime Dreaming Exclusive Video Premiere"

SOPHIA DANAI | DAYTIME DREAMING [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO PREMIERE]
ION | Thu, 04/09/2015 - 23:24

With a new-found sense of empowerment as an independent artist, Sophia Danai is set to release her sophomore album entitled Love Royale. Heavily featuring Danai's strong production skills and powerful vocals, Love Royale is the result of the songstress spending the past few years travelling and collaborating with a variety of artists and producers.

Inspired by her time spent in the Los Angeles studio of Grammy award winning producer, Jon Brown [Pink, Meghan Trainor], Sophia's lead single "Daytime Dreaming" has an essence of old Hollywood glamour. “Jon’s studio is built inside the house that was once owned by Marilyn Monroe,” Danai recalls. “That classic Los Angeles vibe was with me every day we spent working there.”

With its compelling arrangement of music and lyrics, "Daytime Dreaming" tells a story of longing for something more and Danai's new single is perfectly accompanied by a dreamy, Cinderella-esque video.

Always evolving in her artistry, Sophia Danai is a talent to watch out for. - Ion Magazine


"Sophia Danai X Talib Kweli - The End"

Singer/songwriter Sophia Danai drops “The End” featuring Talib Kweli. The single comes ahead of her debut EP Wishing Well. The track is a haunting bundle of vocals and strings that envelopes the ear. Influenced by Nina Simone, Billie Holiday and Portishead, Danai is a dynamic singer with an obvious foundation in soul. Her performance is countered effectively by the rapid-fire flow from Kweli. Sophia Danai’s debut EP Wishing Well drops on April 23rd via The Hastings Set. Check the track below. - Okay Player


"Sophia Danai - Daytime Dreaming review"

Vancouver, BC – Vancity songstress Sophia Danai recently released her single “Daytime Dreaming” – from the Daytime Dreaming EP available here – ahead of her upcoming project Love Royale.

The accompanied video carries romantic, fairy-tale vibe with a creative art direction. Danai looks beautifully radiant and her sound is that of a modern classic.

The video for “Daytime Dreaming” can be found below and a remix version by The Dirty Sample can be downloaded and streamed here. - Hip Hop Canada


"Sophia Danai Shines on Wishing Well"

Wishing Well (The Hastings Set)


Sometimes you can tell, before you even listen to it, that you’re going to enjoy an album. That soul songstress Sophia Danai’s debut EP was produced by Chin Injeti was the giveaway for this one. With an impressive career as a recording artist; studio credits with 50 Cent, Drake, Eminem, and Pink, amongst others; and two Grammys on his mantel, the guy is a Vancouver treasure.

Though Injeti’s hand is noticeable throughout Wishing Well’s nine tracks of trip-hop and summery soul throwbacks, Danai’s lovely voice shines on its own. Add cameos by Shad and Talib Kweli and the net result is a suitable score for upbeat, toe-tap, finger-wag dancing as well as slow, smoked-out swaying. Wishing Well is well worth a listen. - The Georgia Straight


"MANDY-LYN X SOPHIA DANAI"

No strangers to ION, both photographer Mandy-Lyn Antoniou and singer Sophia Danai and have crossed the pages of our magazine; so of course when we were asked if we wanted to exclusively share the work they created together, we most certainly said yes.

Known for her ‘all natural’ nude portraits of young women, Mandy-Lyn is currently working on her first hard cover book of 35mm photography entitled PLAY, which will feature 88 pages of erotic analog portraits of ‘natural women in their element.’ PLAY is an intimate, super-natural experience with female sexuality where Mandy-Lyn observes her nymph-like female muses running free in the wild in British Columbia’s Paradise Valley.

The images that Mandy-Lyn took of Sophia on one of Vancouver’s beaches are just what Mandy-Lyn’s photos seek: to express freedom, mortality, and spectacularly vivid beauty—which perfectly harmonizes with Sophia’s sultry Electro-Pop.

You can catch Sophia this Sunday at The Drake Underground in Toronto where she will be performing her latest single Daytime Dreaming in anticipation of her upcoming album Love Royale which is set to be released in September. - Ion Magazine


Discography

Wishing Well EP (2013)
Wish You Well EP (2014)
Daytime Dreaming EP (2015)

Dope Sick (2012) - Judgement Day (Madchild ft Sophia Danai)
The Closers (2012) - Slumber (Sonreal & Rich Kidd ft Sophia Danai)
Lawn Mower Man (2013) - Nature of The Beast & It Gets Better (Madchild ft. Sophia Danai)
The Reverb (2014) - I Don't Know Where You Are (Chin Injeti ft. Sophia Danai)
On One (2014) - (Madchild ft. Sophia Danai)




Photos

Bio

Meet Vancouver’s rising vocal talent, Sophia Danai, whose voice is as honest as her lyrics with a sound that ranges from alternative r&b to sultry electro-pop. Okayplayer dubbed her a mix of Billie Holiday and Portishead, adding that she’s a "dynamic singer with an obvious foundation in soul”. After leaving her first record-contract with The Hastings set due to creative differences, Sophia went back to school to enhance her skills as a producer and sound engineer so she could have more control over her creative process and further explore her artistry.  With a new found sense of empowerment as an independent artist, Sophia has created a new record in which the raw beauty of her voice takes centre stage. Her debut album, Love Royale, set to be released in February 2016, is an evocative collection of songs intended to take the listener on an introspective journey.  Sophia has spent the last two years honing her production skills, and collaborating with a variety of artists and producers such as Grammy award winning, Jon Brown (Meghan Trainor, Pink) and Vancouver's own, Matt Brevner. Inspired by Brown's LA studio, built inside one of Marilyn Monroe's early homes, Sophia's newly released single and music video, Daytime Dreaming, has an essence of old hollywood glamour. With its compelling arrangement of music and lyrics, Daytime Dreaming tells a story of longing for something more.
With the release of her first EP, Wishing Well, 2013 was a breakthrough year for Sophia. Wishing Well was produced by grammy award winner Chin Injeti, and featured Talib KwaliShad and DJ Khalil. Her song, "Higher Baby", was licensed to Appleton Rum for a nation wide advertising campaign, and she garnered two Juno nominations for her work with Madchild, and rising stars SonReal and Rich Kidd. Sophia, a dynamic performer, has shared the stage with Aloe BlaccQuadron, and De La Soul. Other notable performances include last year's Manifesto Festival in Dundas Square Toronto, and the 102nd Grey Cup Festival in Vancouver.
Sophia, always evolving in her artistry, is a talent to watch for. Look out for her touring across Canada and the U.S. in support of Love Royale.
"If you can imagine a perfect balance between the sass of the Spice Girls and the depth of Aretha Franklin, it would be Sophia Danai. Not only does the sound of her voice pierce past your soul like a spear, but she also has as much energy and positivity as the sun."  - ION MAGAZINE.

Band Members