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Soko (singer)

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"SoKo" redirects here. For other uses, see Soko (disambiguation).

Soko
Soko at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival
Born
Stéphanie Alexandra Mina Sokolinski[1]

(1985-10-26) 26 October 1985 (age 39)[2]
Bordeaux, France
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • actress
Years active2002–present
Children1
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentVocals
LabelsBecause Music
Websitewww.sokothecat.com

Stéphanie Alexandra Mina Sokolinski (born 26 October 1985), known professionally as Soko (stylized as SoKo), is a French singer and actress. She released her debut single "I'll Kill Her" in 2007. It achieved airplay success in several European countries as well as Australia, peaking at number three on the Danish music charts, and was included on her debut EP Not Sokute (2007). Her debut studio album I Thought I Was an Alien was released in 2012 and contains the single "We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow", which achieved ninth place on the Billboard Hot 100. Ensuing years saw the releases of her second and third studio albums My Dreams Dictate My Reality (2015) and Feel Feelings (2020).

As an actress, Soko began appearing in a number of French productions in the early 2000s and earned a César Award for Most Promising Actress nomination for her role in the film In the Beginning (2009). She won the Courage in Acting Award at the Women Film Critics Circle Awards and the Best Actress award at the Mar del Plata Film Festival for her role as Augustine in the film Augustine (2012). She later appeared in the short film First Kiss (2014), which featured "We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow" and contributed to the song's chart success. Her role as Loie Fuller in The Dancer (2016) earned her Best Actress nominations at the César and Lumières Awards.

Early life

[edit]

Stéphanie Alexandra Mina Sokolinski was born on 26 October 1985 in Bordeaux, France to a Russian-Polish father and a French-Italian mother.[3] She has Jewish ancestry and said that "half of my family died in concentration camps" during the Holocaust.[4] She was raised Catholic "because they all denied their religion and what not", but she has stated that she feels "Jewish trauma".[4] She has five siblings.[5][6] Her father died of an aneurysm when she was five years old. The incident had a profound impact on her, influencing her to become a vegetarian and later a vegan.[1][7] This was followed by the deaths of all her grandparents and her godfather within the span of four years. She says that, as a result, she became "obsessed with death"[6] and developed abandonment issues[7] that were exacerbated by the fact that her single mother "wasn't emotionally available".[8] She has used the nickname Soko for as long as she can remember.[5] She began taking piano lessons at the age of five but described herself as a "very bad student" and stopped when she was 11.[9] She left Bordeaux for Paris at the age of 16 to become an actress and began writing songs while taking acting classes[10] at Cours Eva Saint-Paul;[1] she says she "picked up songwriting" when she was 20 and taught herself how to play guitar, bass, and drums shortly afterwards.[9]

Musical career

[edit]
Soko in 2009

In 2007, Soko achieved a hit single in Denmark with a personal anecdotal song, "I'll Kill Her", after the radio program The Black Boy Scouts began to promote it.[11] The song reached number one on the chart of the Danish version of the iTunes Store and was the number one song in rotation on radio.[5][11] The song also became a hit in Australia, being played on high rotation on Triple J radio;[12] it later placed number nine in the Triple J Hottest 100 2007 music poll. The song was also popular in Belgium being played by Studio Brussel, Radio 1 and Pure FM, and in The Netherlands, being picked up by 3FM radio station. In October 2007 her music was featured in Stella McCartney's fashion show in Paris.[13] She toured in the UK in late 2007 supporting M.I.A. on the KALA Tour. Since early 2008 she has also been played in Germany by 1LIVE, first only at night in 1Live Plan B but later, due to high demand, throughout the whole day.

Sokolinski has self-released one EP Not Sokute, and collaborated with The Go! Team and Cornershop, the latter on a song called "Something Makes You Feel Like". She has her own record label called Babycat Records and is signed to Because Music in France.

In 2010, her song "I'll Kill Her", was sampled by Cee Lo Green on his Stray Bullets mixtape under the track of the same name.

In 2011, she wrote a song and featured in the animated short film Mourir Auprès De Toi, which was co-written and directed by Spike Jonze.

Her debut album, I Thought I Was an Alien, was released in February 2012.

In 2014, Soko's song "We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow" was featured in Tatia Pilieva's short video First Kiss. She was also one of the video's twenty subjects. After First Kiss went viral on YouTube, the song debuted at number 9 in the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on Billboard's Streaming Songs chart.[14][15]

In March 2014, Soko appeared in the music video for the song "Jealous" by Canadian electro-funk band Chromeo.[16]

In 2015 We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow was also used in an episode of the American TV series - Forever.

Her second studio album, My Dreams Dictate My Reality was released in March 2015, with its first single "Who Wears the Pants??" released on 7 January. The Sonic Seducer wrote that the album was darker than the previous releases and called it a "female version of early The Cure discs".[17]

Soko collaborated with The Brian Jonestown Massacre on a song called "Philadelphie Story" for their album Musique de Film Imaginé, released in April 2015.

In 2017, Soko collaborated with Residente on a song called "Desencuentro" for his debut solo album.[18]

In July 2020, Soko released her third studio album, Feel Feelings.[19]

Artistry

[edit]

Musical style

[edit]

Soko sings primarily in English, which she attributes to the fact that she mostly listens to music in English.[5] Her two favourite bands are the Cure and the Smiths, and the Cure's debut album Three Imaginary Boys is her favourite album.[9][20] She expressed her dream of collaborating with the two bands' frontmen, Robert Smith and Morrissey, whom she called "my gods";[9][21] she also referred to Smith as her "living hero".[22] Other inspirations include Conor Oberst,[7] Joy Division, New Order,[9] and Patti Smith.[22]

Soko has explored several music genres throughout her career. In 2015, she described her own work as "dreamy, punky, new wavey, raw, vital, emotional, very personal lyrics, sad but happy".[9] Her debut album I Thought I Was an Alien was described as "woozy lo-fi alt-pop" influenced by the works of Leonard Cohen and Daniel Johnston,[23] and was noted for its "demo-like rawness".[24] On the other hand, her second album My Dreams Dictate My Reality was labelled as "hi-fi" new wave,[25] goth-pop,[8][10] and post-punk.[24] Her third album Feel Feelings features her first song with lyrics in French and was compared to the works of Serge Gainsbourg and King Krule.[10][26] Her lyrics were characterised as "biting"[5] and "poetic yet immediately relatable",[10] while her "husky alto"[27] voice has been described as "throaty, confessional"[10] and "girlishly high-pitch[ed]" with a "raspy edge".[5]

Approach to acting

[edit]

Soko finds roles that require physical challenges to be the ones she enjoys the most. For the film On the Ropes [fr] (2007), she trained in boxing for a year with French champions. For The Dancer (2016), she insisted on not having a dance double and she therefore trained eight hours a day for three months. She believes that acting helps her have more compassion for things that are unknown to her.[1]

Live performances

[edit]
Soko performing at Loppen in Copenhagen, Denmark

Sokolinski has had sold-out concerts in Scandinavia, Britain, and Australia.[5] She performed at the Falls Festival at the end of 2008, the Southbound Festival and the Sunset Sounds Festival at the start of 2009. She has performed in the Los Angeles venues Henry Fonda, Troubadour, Bootleg Theatre, Spaceland, and Echoplex, and has played in support of Peter Doherty, Babyshambles, Kate Nash, Nouvelle Vague, Daniel Johnston, Foster The People, and Johnny Borrell. In San Francisco, she performed at Bottom of the Hill on 15 June 2012.

As a live performer, the singer acts unpredictably and never uses a set list; her backing band consists mostly of different friend-musicians at each show. She sometimes plays up to 3 hours by herself, in intimate and quiet venues.

Musical hiatus

[edit]

On 19 January 2009 Sokolinski stated on her Myspace page that she was quitting music and was 'dead', writing that she was scared of the music industry and wanted to return to acting. Despite having recorded a double album in Seattle, she was not willing to release it. In August of the same year, she declared that she was 'reborn' and writing songs such as "I'm So Ready to Be a Good Man" where she writes:

"in my battle with the demons I just had to die coz they're way too evil and I couldn't fight"

She later referred to the pressure of the music industry, before declaring that she was "having a new heart and being ready to be a new man".

In August 2011, Soko announced the release of her first album I Thought I Was an Alien on 6 February 2012, on her website www.s-o-k-o.com and a 17 August 2012 show at the Bootleg Theatre in Los Angeles, CA on Facebook. She released her first single on YouTube 1 August 2011 entitled "No More Home, No More Love". Two other singles were released "I Thought I Was An Alien" and "First Love Never Die".

Acting career

[edit]
Soko during the 2013 Césars Awards

In February 2010, Soko was nominated for a César Award for Most Promising Actress for her role in À l'origine (English title In the Beginning), directed by Xavier Giannoli.

Personal life

[edit]

Soko became a vegetarian after the death of her father when she was five years old. She explained that it made her realise what a dead body was and she "didn't want to eat anyone's mom or dad or any living creatures".[7] She later transitioned to veganism, which influences her choice of film roles; she said that she would never shoot a scene where she has to eat meat "even if you paid me a million dollars".[1] Soko is a supporter of Black Lives Matter and delayed the release of her album Feel Feelings in 2020 so that it would not divert attention from the George Floyd protests. She considers that being a white ally means being "actively anti-racist".[27] She is straight edge[7] and dyslexic.[6]

Sexuality and relationships

[edit]

Soko says that she has always been comfortable with her sexual orientation and "did not really have to come out", not even to her family.[28] In March 2012, she stated that she was bisexual,[29] while she told W Magazine in March 2016 that "I've always been open with my sexuality, meaning I don't really care about gender".[30] In June 2020, she explained that she now considers herself queer: "I called myself bisexual then. 'Queer' wasn't yet an option. And slowly I realised that dating women made me feel so much more like myself, less oppressed, more equal and more empowered."[31]

Soko briefly dated American musician Ariel Pink and they remained friends for several years afterwards. They collaborated on Pink's album Pom Pom (2014) and Soko's album My Dreams Dictate My Reality (2015). However, in April 2015, she described her professional and personal relationship with him as "really hard".[24] She later dated American actress Kristen Stewart for two months before breaking up in May 2016.[32]

Soko said that she "always knew she would be a single mom" and would have a "non-conventional family".[28][31] On 30 October 2018, she gave birth to a son whose godfather is Australian musician Nick Cave. She experienced denial of pregnancy for the first six months.[33] She is raising her son with her partner Stella Leoni, whom she began dating in 2019.[28][34] Having moved to Los Angeles in 2008,[35] Soko moved back to Paris with her family in August 2022.[36]

Discography

[edit]

Albums

[edit]
Title Details Peak chart positions
FR
[37] 		BEL
(Vl)
[38] 		BEL
(Wa)
[39] 		SWI
[40] 		SWI
Rom.
[41] 		US
Heat
[42]
I Thought I Was an Alien 53 76 35 74 39 15
My Dreams Dictate My Reality
  • Released: 2 March 2015
  • Label: Because, Babycat
  • Formats: CD, Vinyl, Music download
 75 — 68 — — —
Feel Feelings
  • Released: 10 July 2020
  • Label: Because, Babycat
  • Formats: CD, Vinyl, Music download
 — — — — — —

EPs

[edit]
Title Details
Not Sokute
  • Released: 11 April 2007
  • Label: Believe

Singles

[edit]
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
FRA
[37] 		AUT
[43] 		BEL (FL)
[38] 		BEL (WA)
[39] 		CAN
Dig.
[42] 		DEN
[44] 		SWI
[40] 		UK
[45] 		US
[42] 		US
Rock
[42]
"I'll Kill Her" 2007 — — 3 54 — 2 — — — — Not Sokute
"I Thought I Was an Alien" 2011 173 — — — — — — — — — I Thought I Was an Alien
"First Love Never Die" 2012 130 — — 66 — — — — — —
"We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow" 61 51 — 39 66 — 60 145 9 3
"Love Letter" 2014 — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single
"Who Wears the Pants??" 2015 — — — — — — — — — — My Dreams Dictate My Reality
"Ocean of Tears" — — — — — — — — — —
"Sweet Sound of Ignorance" 2017 — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single
"Diabolo Menthe" 2018 — — — — — — — — — — Génération(s) Eperdue(s)
"Being Sad Is Not a Crime" 2020 — — — — — — — — — — Feel Feelings
"Are You a Magician?" — — — — — — — — — —
"Blasphémie" — — — — — — — — — —
"Oh, To Be a Rainbow!" — — — — — — — — — —
"Looking For Love" — — — — — — — — — —

Guest performances

[edit]
Title Year Album Other artist(s)
"Gunhild" 2010 Who Killed Harry Houdini? I'm from Barcelona
"Why" 2016 Washed Away Rooney
"Desencuentro"[46] 2017 Residente Residente
"Keep You Close" 2018 Pink Cloud Launder
"Diabolo Menthe" Génération(s) Eperdue(s) —
"Obsession" Non-album single Sam Spiegel
"Become" 2022 Happening Launder

Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2003 L'escalier Béa Short
P.J. Anouchka TV series (1 Episode)
Action Justice Léa Franqui TV series (1 Episode)
2004 Au secours, j'ai 30 ans ! Chloé
Ben et Thomas The girl Short
Clara cet été là Zoé TV movie
2005 Palais royal! The hairdresser
On s'appelle Various TV series (4 Episodes)
2005-08 Commissaire Valence Camille Valence TV series (3 Episodes)
2006 Girlfriends Manon
Madame Irma The high school girl
Les irréductibles Lucie
Oh ! Ma femme Clémentine Short
Poésie del amor Margot Short
Louis Page Lydia TV series (1 Episode)
2007 Dans les cordes Sandra
Ma place au soleil Sabine
Ma vie n'est pas une comédie romantique Lisa
Les diablesses Denise TV movie
2008 Adrien Sandra TV movie
2009 In the Beginning Monika Nominated - César Award for Most Promising Actress
2011 Mourir auprès de toi Mina Short
2012 Augustine Augustine Mar del Plata International Film Festival - Best Actress
Women Film Critics Circle - Courage in Acting Award
Nominated - Lumières Award for Most Promising Actress
Nominated - Prix Romy Schneider
Bye Bye Blondie Young Gloria
Fat Bottomed Girls Rule the World Joséphine Short
2013 Friends from France Carole
Her Voice of Isabella
2014 First Kiss Marianna Palka's Kisser Short
Artbound TV series (1 Episode)
2015 Always Worthy Alvin
Hi How Are You Daniel Johnston Dream Laurie Short
I Still Chose to Stay Woman Short
2016 The Dancer Loie Fuller Nominated - César Award for Best Actress
Nominated - Lumières Award for Best Actress
The Stopover Marine
2020 A Good Man Aude
2021 Little Fish Samantha
The Blazing World Margot
Mayday Gert

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e Schütz, Violaine (7 March 2022). "Rencontre avec Soko, actrice et chanteuse à l'aura punk" [Meeting with Soko, actress and singer with a punk aura]. Numéro (in French). France. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  2. ^ Notice de personne "Sokolinski, Stéphanie (1985-....)" (in French). 6 January 2003. Retrieved 4 August 2023. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Beauvallet, JD (13 March 2012). "Les démons de Soko" [Soko's demons]. Les Inrockuptibles (in French).
  4. ^ a b Ntuen, Koko (2020). "SoKo dives into the rebirth of the ego and mental healing in new album". LadyGunn. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Maslin Nir, Sarah (5 July 2007). "Soko: sweet tunes with dangerous lyrics". The Times. UK. Archived from the original on 27 July 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Tredez, Florence (24 February 2012). "Soko : la nouvelle Björk ?" [Soko: the new Björk?]. Elle (in French). France. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Soko and Lime: The Acid-Sweet Indie Singer Talks Singing, Acting, and Kissing Asia Argento". AfterEllen. 28 June 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  8. ^ a b Berman, Stuart (24 July 2020). "This Queer French Singer Will Make You Cry". The Cut. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Soko". Issue. 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e O'Brien, Jon. "Soko". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  11. ^ a b Meesenburg, Thomas (2 May 2007). "Soko kommer til Danmark" (in Danish). Soundvenue. Archived from the original on 15 January 2008. Retrieved 14 October 2007.
  12. ^ Mathewson, Catriona (5 September 2007). "Down Under MySpace hit for French singer". The Courier Mail. Archived from the original on 16 June 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2007.
  13. ^ Trebay, Guy (5 October 2007). "Why It All Looks So Easy, and Why It Isn't". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  14. ^ Video Archived 15 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Youtube
  15. ^ Viral first kiss video Archived 12 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Billboard
  16. ^ Jealous Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Huhmagazine
  17. ^ Pilgrim, Thomas (2015). "SoKo: My Dreams Dictate My Reality". Sonic Seducer (in German). No. 3. pp. 101–2.
  18. ^ Residente feat. Soko, Desencuentro, retrieved 4 April 2017
  19. ^ "Soko: Feel Feelings - Album Review". Vinyl Chapters. 12 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  20. ^ "High 5: Soko". Rookie. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  21. ^ Max, Angélique. "Interview with French musician, SoKo". Manhattan Fashion Directory. Archived from the original on 27 March 2015.
  22. ^ a b Parslow, Laureen (1 April 2015). "Soko : "Je suis autodestructrice"" [Soko: "I am self-destructive"]. Madame Figaro (in French).
  23. ^ O'Brien, Jon. "Soko - I Thought I Was an Alien Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  24. ^ a b c Berman, Stuart (22 April 2015). "Adrenaline Addict: Inside Soko's Manic Pop Dreamworld". Pitchfork. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  25. ^ Roberts, Randall (28 February 2015). "Soko mines '80s new wave on 'My Dreams Dictate My Reality'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  26. ^ Kölsch, Florian (10 July 2020). "Review: Soko - Feel Feelings". Musikexpress (in German). Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  27. ^ a b Studarus, Laura. "Soko Explores Her Feelings". Grammy. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  28. ^ a b c Kenig, Ariel (19 June 2020). "Soko: "Je n'ai pas vraiment eu à faire de coming-out"" [Soko: "I didn't really have to come out"]. Mixte Magazine (in French). Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  29. ^ Santucci, Françoise-Marie; Despentes, Virginie (19 March 2012). "Bye Bye Blondie, bonjour Despentes". Libération (in French). Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  30. ^ Petrarca, Emilia (28 March 2016). "Soko on Modern Love and What Goes Down in the DM". W. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  31. ^ a b Spiller, Lara (26 June 2020). "Who I Am, Really: SoKo". The Nue Co.
  32. ^ French, Megan (5 May 2016). "Kristen Stewart Splits With Girlfriend Soko". Us Weekly. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  33. ^ Soko (15 February 2019). "French Actress Soko Shares Exclusive Photos From the Birth of Her First Child". Vice. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  34. ^ Han, Holo (14 February 2020). "Soko : Première couverture de magazine avec son fils Indigo Blue" [Soko: First magazine cover with her son Indigo Blue]. Purepeople (in French).
  35. ^ McKenzie, Lesley (15 August 2014). "Decked Out: Soko's "Not Normal" Everyday Style". The Hollywood Reporter.
  36. ^ Soko (26 October 2022). "37 today and living my best life and my inner child is definitely at play..." Instagram. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022. We moved to Paris 2 months ago
  37. ^ a b Hung, Steffen. "lescharts.com - Discographie Soko".
  38. ^ a b Hung, Steffen. "ultratop.be - Discografie Soko". Ultratop.
  39. ^ a b Hung, Steffen. "ultratop.be - Discographie Soko". Ultratop.
  40. ^ a b Hung, Steffen. "hitparade.ch - Discographie Soko".
  41. ^ Hung, Steffen. "lescharts.ch - Discographie Soko".
  42. ^ a b c d "Soko Chart History". Billboard.
  43. ^ Hung, Steffen. "austriancharts.at - Discographie Soko".
  44. ^ "Hitlisten.NU". Hitlisten.NU.
  45. ^ "CHART: CLUK Update 22.03.2014 (wk11)". zobbel.de.
  46. ^ Pareles, Jon (20 January 2017). "Residente Chases His Muse, at the Genetic Level". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
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