SOFIA MONROY TALKS PASSION

Interviewed by Culture Coast Talks editor Daniel John. Interview transcripts might have been edited for length and clarity.

'Passion' is here, written by you, Joel Isaksson and Oskar Nyman, whom you have surrounded yourself with on your other recent songs as well?

I got in touch with Joel and Oskar just over a year ago through Isabella Malinao. My manager. She already knew Oskar. Our very first session together resulted in 'Cautious', which later became my debut single. We instantly felt a connection, and I think we all knew then we could create something big and exciting together. It just felt right! I would say Oskar is my mentor and right-hand man when it comes to the music side of things, his vision for our songs is almost always the same as mine, which is incredibly important in our collaboration. Plus, he’s an extremely talented producer. After just one first session for a new song, he’ll already send me an amazing first draft by the time we get home. That’s so important for keeping the motivation alive and striking while the iron’s hot!

What is it that ignited the passion of this song?

The song is simply about sex and about passion. I find it tiring that female artists are often expected to sugarcoat lyrics about sex into something "romantic" and “pretty”, while at the same time as products we’re expected to capitalize on our sexuality. In that case, it’s meant to be looked at. Not truly identified with or listened to.

You've now gotten to celebrate at both Hilma and WayOutWest in the summer sharing, and celebrating, it with the audience?

The release party at Hilma was awesome! It’s always a bit nerve-wracking to perform an upcoming single for the first time, but having my talented best friend Rey Mayari on stage with me always makes everything more fun and high-energy! WayOutWest was magical, and getting the chance to perform there was completely surreal. Honestly, it still feels surreal. It’s a goal I’ve had for as long as I can remember, and I truly hope I won’t have to wait too long before I get to do it again.

Do you think it will be long?

At the moment, I don’t have any shows booked for the rest of the year. But hopefully something will pop up before it’s over! I’m really looking forward to next year though. If all goes according to plan I’ll be performing a lot. Being on stage and performing is the best part of all. Writing songs is great, but getting out there and sharing my work with people is always extra special. I absolutely love it!

This has been an interesting year to follow you. Especially for us who’ve been following you for a while. I am not sure if you’d agree with the wording, but it feels a bit like a rebirth or maybe more like you’ve found your place, arriving?

This past year has been the best one yet for me musically. I really feel like I have found my place. I have finally started releasing music and playing real shows, on my own terms, in a way that feels like a hundred percent right, the journey to here has been both amazing and challenging. In recent years I have spent a lot of time shut away in the studio, surrounding myself with people who give me strength and motivation, it took time, sometimes it was exhausting. But it was worth it. I have experimented with many different genres, and worked with as many producers and songwriters. Now it feels like every step I have taken has been necessary to shape the artist I am today.

Are there any particular artists and songwriters who have influenced your music and your own songwriting style?

Wow, there are so many artists and songwriters who have inspired me throughout my journey. I’ve always had a soft spot for soul. Both old and new. I have drawn a lot of inspiration from artists like Yebba and Nao as well as legends like Stevie Wonder, Prince and D’Angelo. I’ve also found inspiration in Mexican music, like mariachi, it might not be super obvious in my songs yet, but it’s there! Honestly, I am not entirely sure. It's such a hard question! A lot probably comes from the fact that soul has been such a big inspiration for me. It’s been very important that my songs have a certain depth, which I often find in soul music. Plus it’s just so groovy and powerful!

When did you start singing and writing pop?

I started singing around the same time I started playing guitar which I picked up when I was ten. It came very naturally to me! From then on I took, every, opportunity to perform. At every school graduation I can remember I got up and sang, and I also joined every local event I could find! The first song I ever wrote was called 'One for All, All for One' or 'En för alla, alla för en' in Swedish, which I submitted to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest try-outs when I was ten. I didn’t get in, unfortunately, but that didn’t stop my interest in music. In the beginning, I wrote songs about whatever felt relevant at the time, feelings, love, heartbreak, songs which, funnily enough, are still just as relevant today.

Those are still the things you write about?

My feelings and personal experiences are still what inspire me most when I write, it's important to me that my songs feel really real and genuine and my own emotions always do, naturally. Nobody is more than human, and that’s why it’s so important for me to be vulnerable and open in my lyrics. I think it’s vital to talk about what you’re going through, because you often feel like you are alone in it, when in reality, you’re not. When you open up, you realize there are so many others who feel the same and I hope that my openness encourages others to share too, because bottling everything up never ends well.

On 'Cautious' you wrote about self-doubt, about never really feeling like you're enough. Is that something you've felt a lot?

I tend to feel both "not enough" and "too much" at one and the same time which I talk about on 'Cautious'. That’s why it’s such a personal song for me, it’s about self-doubt. I think everyone feels self-doubt to some degree but what matters is confronting it and understanding where it comes from. You can’t do that without first accepting that it’s there. I don’t think you can ever completely get rid of self-doubt, it comes and goes, but I actually think it is necessary. It helps you reflect and grow as a person. The key is not letting doubt take control.

You have signed with a artist management that exclusively represents women?

Since the music industry is so male dominated, Femme Management has been an incredible help in my growth as an artist. Feeling the trust and commitment they give me, even though I am a “minority” as a young woman in the industry, has been huge. There’s always a risk of being steamrolled when you’re in such a vulnerable position, but with Femme, that fear is almost gone. They help me grow tremendously and not just as an artist but as a person. And I think it's really badass to work with such a strong group of people who are willing to take on such an important role in the industry and stand up for something so vital, people does tend to forget this sometimes but it can't be highlighted enough. I truly think it’s crucial to question why the industry is so male-dominated in the first place. Why is it like that? Femme is amazing. And the fact that they believe in me is fantastic!

Would you like to explore your music in Mexico?

I’ve wanted to explore my roots in Mexico for a long time, and you can already hear me starting to do that in 'Passion', which is partly in Spanish. I plan to go there soon to write music, and it would be a dream to even perform there while I’m at it. Hopefully it won’t be too long!

'Passion' is your third single this year alone, and often that mean's something's big coming, are you simply in a creative phase right now or is the plan for these singles to lead to an EP or maybe even an album?

I definitely have more things in the works! This year alone I’ve already released three singles which I never would have expected to a year ago. As things stand, I just want to keep releasing more singles. Of course, there is always the thought that it could eventually turn into an EP or album but we’ll see in the future!

Anything else before I let you go?

Really just thank you! Thank you for letting me make music and thank you to everyone who actually wants to listen to it and hear what I have to say! There’s more coming!