Image courtesy Ben Long
SOPHIE’s brother has revealed that he is in possession of “literally hundreds” of unreleased tracks from the late producer. In an interview published by Billboard, Ben Long discussed the “vaults” of unreleased material, and his plans for the music.
Reportedly, the material features tracks in various stages of production, from first sketches to final mixes. Most of the material intended for SOPHIE’s follow up to 2018’s Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-insides forms a part of this, an album which Long says requires nothing more than “finishing touches.” Long has been an integral part of SOPHIE’s production team, first as a live engineer and then a mixing engineer on her recorded material. SOPHIE shared much of her creative process with Long, and thus Long is certain he would know what the late producer would want released and how she would want it finished. He says, “I don’t want to be like, ‘We’re going to put everything out,’ because sometimes SOPHIE didn’t want it to or it wasn’t finished. But it was quite clear with a lot of songs, just from the fact that we had been working on them and mixing the album, that I know the direction a lot of things were supposed to be going.”
The process of releasing the material requires approval from multiple parties however, including the rest of SOPHIE’s family and her labels, Australia’s Future Classic and Transgressive Records in the UK. Long stated he is also open to help from SOPHIE’s friends and collaborators in finishing the music, stating “There are a lot of people out there who SOPHIE really trusted and who knew SOPHIE’s vision. I feel like it’s not just on me.”
SOPHIE passed away earlier this year after a tragic accident in Athens. The visionary producer was integral in shaping much of today’s trends in pop and electronic music, and was an advocate for transgender rights. Friends of SOPHIE recently hosted an art auction in her honour called God is Trans, the proceeds of which were donated to trans rights organisations.
