Where are you currently based and what is the music scene like there?
I’m currently based in the Netherlands near a town called Eindhoven. The music scene in Eindhoven is mainly Dutch pop/urban music but we have a lot of Electronic music festivals in The Netherlands, especially in summer.Some great colleagues in the music scene are from Eindhoven as well.
How did you first start playing music/DJing/Producing?
I had to do a school project when I was 15 with the purpose to develop skills and interact with people. I played piano since I was a little girl and I loved it, so I definitely wanted to do something with music. And I found that with djing and producing you can create such an intimate connection with people, which I thought was amazing. I got the chance to play at a local pub in my village. It was so fun and there were some people who asked me to play at a little festival and those little festivals became bigger and bigger, and then I met my manager and everything went so fast after that. Just a rollercoaster, but I love it…
What’s been happening recently?
I just released my track ‘Roll Up’ on Heldeep Records and have a few other tracks ready to go! I recently got back from India playing at an awesome festival for 20.000 people and for the rest of the year, I’m playing at Mysteryland, Summerburst and a many more awesome festivals!
Your new track ‘Roll Up’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting for this track?
When I play in clubs, I sometimes love to switch my sets up with some groovy house tracks especially when I feel like the crowd wants that kind of music, but I didn’t really have any track with that sound yet. So with Roll Up I found a mixture of energy and of a groovy house track that will fit perfectly into my set.
How did you go about writing Roll Up?
A friend of mine had an awesome analog sample, which is the lead sound you hear in the drop. I started playing around and tweaking the analog sound and after a while I was very satisfied with it and decided that it would work perfectly as a lead sound, which you now hear in the drop. I started building the rest of the track around this lead sound, because I found it so cool that I wanted it to be the main focus of the track.
Where and when did you record/produce and who with?
I started producing this track in the summer of last year, I was playing in a lot of awesome clubs, so my music style was a little more clubby and groovy. What I really missed in these sets was a track like Roll Up, so I started working on it and I actually premiered the first version in Docks, which is a club in Hamburg. People loved the track so much that we worked on it a little more together with, James Erickson, and that is the track you hear right now.
What programs/equipment did you use?
I tried about every program production-wise and ended up with Ableton Live. It has such an easy workflow and I love the plugins from Ableton itself. Djing-wise I have always used Pioneer, very easy to use and it is super universal wherever you go in the world.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
At the moment I love to listen to Billie Eilish and Rosalia, they are both so talented and original.
What do you like to do away from music?
I love to do sports, which really clears my mind and makes me feel super healthy. I even started my own little fitness blog, which is updated weekly on my socials, called Beyond Fitness.
Please tell us about your experience with working with and being a part of the Heldeep family:
I’ve met Oliver Heldens a few times now and I love him as a person and artist, so I am really happy to release on, and to be part of the Heldeep Family. I think it’s great to work with them and also be inspired by their sound and vice versa.
You have a summer tour coming up, where are you headed?
So far this summer I will go to Germany – Airbeat One, Sweden – Summerburst, France – Electroland, and The Netherlands – Mysteryland to name a few. Half of my time I am in Asia and this year I am also going to South America. The schedule so far is already insane! I really can’t wait!
How do you prepare for live shows and what do you most enjoy about playing live?
What I always do is check the hit lists of that country, and then I will make some specific mashups and edits from tracks that are famous in that country. What I also do is I adjust my intro to the energy of the crowd. I think that the people like to hear that and then I just go with the flow. I look at the crowd, sense them and feel how they are reacting. What I enjoy most about the sets is the contact with the crowd, I love to see when they are enjoying, smiling and dancing that is seriously the best feeling in the world.
What do you find most challenging and rewarding whilst being on tour?
The most challenging experience is flying and the airports because there is so much waiting and standing in lines, pffff…. What is crazy challenging is when you have done a super cool gig for a few thousand people, which gives you crazy adrenaline and that moment when you are back in your hotel room a few hours later, alone with no sound. It’s always such an anticlimax. The most rewarding on tour is meeting different people from so many different cultures. It is such a privilege to meet everybody, perform for the crowd, making music, shows and to have so much fun with all the people
What’s planned for 2020?
So far INSANE festivals and clubs around the world and so many tracks! I can’t wait to show you guys everything.
Favourite food and place to hangout?
My favorite food is definitely gluten and lactose free pizza with crazy amounts of toppings. But I am definitely a NO pineapple on my pizza person haha.
My favorite place to hang out is at home with friends, chatting, playing games or watching a movie together.
https://www.instagram.com/sophiefrancismusic
