sophie-lou recently released her EP, ’It’s easy to be soft’, a love letter to vulnerability — a musical safe space built from diary entries and fearless emotional honesty.
Behind the artist moniker stands Sofie Emilie Maintz Thorsen. She produced ’It’s easy to be soft’ herself. It’s mixed by Nanna Schannong (Lowly), mastered by Alma Hede (De Må Være Belgiere), and released with distribution via Virgin Records.
The Copenhagen-based artist draws from a wide-ranging musical background. sophie-lou grew up surrounded by jazz and spent 14 years performing with the renowned Danish National Girls’ Choir (DR Pigekoret), while carving out her own sonic world through ambient and electronic music
We caught up with sophie-lou as the Danish artist talks about her latest EP and more!
How has the release of ‘How to Not Expect Too Much’ been received so far? Can you tell us about the song — its sound and theme?
I’ve received some really positive responses to How to Not Expect Too Much so far, and it has sparked some meaningful conversations with my friends about vulnerability and relationships.
I wrote How to not expect too much after a discussion with my partner, when I suddenly realized that I had projected many of my own insecurities onto him and our relationship. The feeling of being exposed while also being forced to look inward was extremely uncomfortable. I wanted to hide, but I also had to confront myself.
Musically, I wanted the song to capture that sense of frustration and confusion. I worked with noisy textures and detuned sounds that shift and wander like a stream of restless thoughts.
What’s your favourite track from your EP ‘It’s easy to be soft’?
That’s a really hard question to answer, it honestly depends on my mood. Sometimes I’ll be really connected to one song, and then after a while I’ll find myself drawn to another. Each track was written at a different time in my life, reflecting different feelings I had back then. I try to respect those versions of myself and what I was going through, even if I’m in a different place now. At the moment, I think my favorite might be My Dearest Friend, maybe because it has an autumn-like atmosphere that resonates with me right now.
It must be exciting to release your debut EP next month! Can you tell us about the meaning and making of ‘It’s Easy to Be Soft’?
I started working on It’s Easy to Be Soft at a time when I’d only written choral and instrumental music.
I discovered that I could convey emotion through songs, and that opened everything up for me, that’s how the project started.
The title It’s Easy to Be Soft plays with the idea that softness isn’t actually easy, but it can be, if you allow yourself to be open in your relationships. To me, it’s a reminder that strength doesn’t have to look like being tough, distant, or in control. Real strength can be emotional, gentle, and vulnerable — it’s something that grows through connection and solidarity.
If you could collaborate with any artist on a new track, who would it be — and why?
There are so many artists I’d love to work with, but right now I’d probably say Adrienne Lenker/Big Thief. They seem to have such an intuitive, in the moment way of making music, just improvising and recording everything in the room. I really feel like their songs capture that present energy, and I’d love to be a part of that.
You’ve performed extensively as an ambient electronic musician. Will you be touring with this new material? and how does the process change when you’re adding words to music, compared to purely instrumental work?
I have already been playing a bit with this material, it’s something different from playing instrumental music. I really enjoy being able to perform more with my body and really feel the songs I sing live. When I add words to the music, it feels more personal, and I feel like I am giving more of myself, which makes it all seem more meaningful.