Sophie Ellen's Late Night Tales

I have been brought up in a house of music. Motown and soul music mainly. My mum would play lots of Sam Cooke, and Diana Ross, and when my parents split up at an early age I was shown a world of different music by my Dad. He is the coolest man ever, and I thank him for introducing me to music like Lemon Jelly, Nightmares On Wax, Massive Attack, Ninja Tunes Records, Coldcut, really interesting exciting music that none of my friends were listening to. I was about 6 or 7, and he showed me Nirvana and Foo fighters and I began to be very interested in rock music that stuck two fingers up at the world, and I enjoyed the moodiness of it all. The ambiguous way in which the songs meandered revealed another side to my own musicality. Anyway, about 14 years old my dad gave me a guitar he had bought and decided he no longer wanted to play. That's where it all kicked off. I learned 7 nation army as soon as I got it, and i thought I was the coolest person on earth! I got good at guitar but didn't really sing to be honest, because my voice was too weird and I couldn't keep in tune. I like to think that's changed...
So that's how I got into music, in a very very small nutshell. These days I would say that all that stuff was essential in the creation of my songs. I make moody, provocative music. Lyrics are important to me and I would never write a song that I didn't mean. I have extremely basic recording equipment and not enough money to improve it, but I make the most of what I've got! I don't take life too seriously. I cannot recall the amount of times my old school teachers and various people have told me I'm far too laid back for my own good. But I like it that way, just chillin'.

I have so many musical influences, and I listen to a huge range of stuff but my main influences are : Adele, Radiohead, Fink, Massive Attack, Jamie Woon, Bonobo, Ninja Tunes, Chelsea Wolfe, Thom Yorke, Cinematic Orchestra, Glen Hansard, The Strokes, Mr scruff, Micachu, Rage Against The Machine, Editors and Portishead.

I'm very different to what you might have heard or seen before. I can't really think of anybody I sound like, probably because my influences are pretty broad. I've got more thoughtfulness and meaning to my music than the shit like Kesha that is out now. That music means nothing. In 20 years time people won't understand what her music is about, whereas with my songs I feel as if they talk about the most basic form of humanity. That sounded pretentious, oh god. I couldn't tell you why I'm any different from other artists out there, it's for you to make up your own mind, you don't want me forcing you to think a certain way.
Make of me what you will....