SOKO SHARES NEW SONG AND VIDEO “BEING SAD IS NOT A CRIME” Taken from her new album, due out in Autumn

by the partae January 21, 2020

written by the partae January 21, 2020

New album due out Autumn 2020 via Because Music / Caroline Australia

Los Angeles-based French singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Soko, has released her new single “Being Sad Is Not A Crime,” alongside a fantastical music video directed by Gilbert Trejo. The song is from her third album, which will be released in the Autumn via Because Music / Caroline Australia. Recorded in New York with producer Patrick Wimberly (Solange, MGMT, Chairlift) and mixed by Chris Coady (Beach House, Slowdive) the track is an honest look at the ups and downs of natural emotions, even the uncomfortable ones.

“Why should we have to pretend smile and put filters on everything?” asks Soko. “You shouldn’t have to apologize for having emotions. As long as you’re not hurting anyone, all emotions should always be welcome. I wrote the song feeling very hopeless, but wanting the music to sound very happy and comforting.”

Directed by Soko’s friend Gilbert Trejo (Pixies, Diiv, Starcrawler), the clip for “Being Sad Is Not A Crime” was shot at the historic Bob Baker Marionette Theater in Los Angeles.

Soko says, “It was my first time not directing my own music video and Gilbert made it an easy transition every step of the way. I had wanted to create something at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater for a long, long time, and wrote the entire treatment hoping they would let us shoot there! It was an important video for me: tackling the struggles between having to keep working feeling like a puppet, but also just wanting to be a mum and take a break for a second.”

As the title suggests, the video explores the societal pressure to always put on a happy face. But, it also highlights the struggles of being a working mother and the lack of adequate support systems. In the video, set in a not-so-dystopian-future where emotions aren’t allowed and controlled by the government, Indigo Blue, Soko’s baby, joins her at the theater, joyfully exploring backstage, sharing tender moments before she has to return to work. Indigo is wrested from her arms and tucked away backstage watching his mom’s performance on a monitor waiting for her to be done. As Soko has a moment of sadness about this whole situation, the theater is raided by the SAD Patrol.

Noting that it was Indigo’s first time in front of the camera, Soko explains, “It was a very special moment captured by a very special friend: Alexis Zabe (Florida Project). He was the director of photography on the video, filming Indigo with so much love. Our babies are the same age and friends since the womb, so it felt very natural and safe and magical to do this project all together.”

Soko made her full-length debut with the 2012 album I Thought I Was An Alien, which Stereogum praised as “gorgeous, ethereally plaintive.” The track “We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow” was featured in Tatia Pilieva’s video “First Kiss.” After the video went viral, the song entered the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and topped Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart.

Her sophomore album, My Dreams Dictate My Reality, was released in 2015 and landed her on the covers of such magazines as NYLON, Dazed, L’Officiel and At Large, to name a few. The album included such songs as “Who Wears the Pants??” plus “Monster Love” and “Lovetrap,” which featured Ariel Pink. Pitchfork observed, “brimming with nervy, post-punk verse, defiant swagger, and the blackest of humor – [My Dreams Dictate My Reality] feels like her proper coming-out party.” Soko has also collaborated with such artists as Ariel Pink, Beach Fossils, The Brian Jonestown Massacre. She received her second César nomination for her lead performance in the 2016 French film The Dancer.