Sofia Gillani Q&A
for Overblown Magazine
“Unafraid, bold and adventurous.”
This is how newcomer Sofia Gillani describes her fusion of avant pop and soul songwriting, and her rapidly-growing discography only serves to back up the bold call. The London-based artist has been devoted to her craft since a young age, starting with musical theatre. Her love for performing translates directly into her powerful vocals, reflecting boldness and emotion throughout her range.
Gillani’s latest single ‘Read Your Mind’ utilises those daring attributes as she steps away from her previous sound and incorporates a garage production. The uplifting beat mirrors the lyrics which navigate the ups and downs of platonic love, managing different personalities and social situations. Not only is there a sense of relatability but there is also a message of self-improvement nestled between the lyrics and joyful production. Gillani’s dynamism as an artist is undeniable. While pushing her stylistic boundaries, the subject matter feels authentic and true to the emerging artist.
How would describe yourself and sound?
SG: I’ve always been a pop and RnB girlie and listened to quite a lot of sounds when I was younger. I just recorded more of a drill beat, the next single that I’m planning on releasing is more of a garage beat. I’m just playing with music here and there and redefining what music is to me.
Your journey as a musician started at the age of 9? And you were involved in musical theatre, can you tell me a bit about what spoke to you during that time and inspired you to make music and become a performer?
SG: I’ve grown up around instruments, we have a conservatory full of them. I loved musical theatre in the sense that it is quite bold, expressive and if you’re going to do musical theatre you will do it with a lot of emotion, a lot of commitment. I always knew that if I liked musical theatre, I’d like expressing myself as a singer/ songwriter. When I felt like I was expressing a stage of my life at that time, I would release it. Here we are with 11-12 singles, and a new one coming out. It’s been a journey, and I really enjoy the small victories along the way.
How would you describe your identity as an artist?
SG: Unafraid. Since I’m experimenting, I find myself really trying to push the boundary of what I think sounds good. Unafraid, bold and adventurous
Moving into your new song, ‘Read Your Mind’ – what made you decide to use a garage production?
SG: I was listening to a bit of Pink Pantheress at the time, and I thought how fun would it be if it did something light, airy and fun. I wanted it to be on an easy topic, easy beat. The actual message to ‘Read Your Mind’ is simply about platonic love and navigating social situations today. With everything going on today, with the song, I wanted to show that we can really feel our emotions. I think what’s so important is to work on ourselves before trying to project anything onto others, a self-improvement song in a way.
You mention how the song is about ‘building relationships and navigating different people’- how does the garage production builds on this theme?
SG: It so interesting what people like to present before you become friends with them and the garage beat initially shows a happy, hoppy beat. But when you get to the chorus there’s. more of a pop-y beat. As you go through the song and as you build relationships with different people, it gets deeper. In the second verse, I’m driving myself mad. You wouldn’t put that on a pop-y, fun beat, rather it becomes deeper and more complex. The song builds alongside the beat and the lyrics, it’s a journey.
In the lyrics, you show a great sense of self-awareness as you navigate the ups and downs understanding your significant other – is self-awareness something you consciously intertwine into your songs, or does it come naturally as you reflect on your own experiences?
SG: During songwriting I subconsciously draw on my own experience, but self-awareness in ‘Read Your Mind’ is conscious. As you guys hear more releases after ‘Read Your Mind,’ it will become clear that these are very opened experiences. Even though it factors into a part of my life, it’s very relatable. I think that self-awareness is something that we all have so consciously and subconsciously.
Discussing different emotions is a recurring theme throughout your music, how does this compare to your previous tacks?
SG: My last release was more spiritual, more harmonies and more produced. My other songs have much deeper emotions. But with ‘Read Your Mind,’ it had more focus on emotions themselves and the relationships with those emotions. I want to read you mind, I want to pause here and work out why thus emotion is making me feel like this.
What has the creative process been like in preparation for the track’s release?
SG: Well, my notes app is suffering because of way too many notes! It all starts on notes app and from there I build on whatever I was thinking at the time. Songwriting is one of my favourite parts of the creative process because that’s when you know your shaping your song in a certain way. When you’re recording, working with your producers, making sure it’s the sound you want – it’s such a fun and interesting process to have.
What can your new listeners and current listeners take away from your music? Is there anything you’d like to share with them whilst they anticipate the new song and future releases?
SG: One thing I’d like my listeners to take away is with whatever emotions you have right now or whatever you’re going through, just be aware that there’s more things coming and there’s always something new in this wide world. At the end of the day, with ‘Read Your Mind,’ I can’t read people, and neither can you and you should work on yourself. This life is about living and this life is about you so take it slow and take it as you will!
