Sophie Koh - sings, plays guitar and keys, wears dresses.
Ivan Jakic - sings, plays bass, wears a $9 haircut.
Phil Collings - sings, plays drums, occasional malhawk wearer.
Tim Reid -sings, plays guitars and everything else, likes long walks on the beach.
Influences
Beck, Roisin Murphy, The Eels, Elbow, Radiohead, Machine Translations, Neil Finn, Aimee Mann, Gillian Welch, Nirvana, Sheryl Crow, The Devastations, Jon Brion, Goldfrapp, Suzanne Vega, Bela Bartok, Jonny Greenwood.
PLEASE NOTE:
For all Booking and Management queries please contact Tom Collins Ph:0415 222 672 manager@sophiekoh.com
(this includes interview and promo related queries)
Do NOT use myspace to contact sophie regarding bookings,promo or interviews.
Sophie Koh - "Objects In This Mirror" Sophie Koh on iTunes
All Sophie's released music is also available to buy via iTunes Click Here for Silly Thing or Click Here for All The Pretty Boys.
Buying Sophie Koh CDs
Sophie Koh's album "All The Pretty Boys" and EP "Silly Thing" are available instores(Australia-wide) via In-Fidelity/Shock and also direct from the artist herself(ship to anywhere in the world) at www.sophiekoh.com
Sophie Koh Biography
"I feel like I've only met you ..."
She lives in Melbourne, but was born in New Zealand. Her mum and dad are from Malaysia, but she grew up in Singapore and New Zealand, and was "Unearthed" in Darwin. Her debut album is called "All The Pretty Boys".
Just who is Sophie Koh?
"I was always the new kid," she says, remembering her childhood. "I went to about eight schools."
She wanted to play everything on her debut album. "I've been playing classical piano since I was five and one of my hobbies was to learn different instruments. My parents couldn't keep up." She ended up singing and playing guitar, harmonica, keyboards, viola and accordion on the album. Though she doesn't claim to be a very good viola player, admitting, "The wonders of Pro Tools got me through!" And she was joined by some very special guests, including her collaborator/producer Richard Pleasance.
Sophie's songs are enticing, cute, exotic and memorable. There's some ache, some angst, and occasionally some anger. Add a dose of dreaminess, naivety and striking honesty and there you have it - All The Pretty Boys.
"I like to imagine pictures in my head when I write songs," Sophie explains. "The songs are not just about me. They're not all autobiographical."
"Anywhere, I'll go anywhere with you ..."
Sophie headed north after finishing uni. "I just wanted to get away," she says. She was Unearthed by JJJ in Darwin in 2003. It gave her the confidence to pursue a career in music. "I remember the first time Easily Broken came on the radio, I was driving my car and had some friends with me. I tried to turn off my CD player, thinking that I had left my demo CD in there, but, of course, I couldn't. The song was on the radio, it was unreal."
Sophie decided that music was what she wanted to do when she played Nirvana's Jesus Doesn't Want Me For A Sunbeam at high school. "I only knew three chords at that stage, but I could play that song."
She was 15 when she wrote her first song. It was called "Through A Closing Door". "I'd left New Zealand and moved to Melbourne," she recalls. "A friend gave me a poem. I think he had a crush on me, the poem hinted at that." Alone in Melbourne, Sophie had no furniture and no radio. But she did have her guitar, so she put the poem to music. "And it was crap," Sophie laughs. "It was a crap song."
Some songs from the time survive, however, and can be heard on All The Pretty
Boys, which Sophie made with producer Richard Pleasance over a four-year period, "though we probably only spent a total of four weeks in the studio". Sophie and Richard met in 2000. "Richard is one of those rare people in your life who believe in you even more than you believe in yourself. He is a mentor, with a wonderful ear for production."
"I love working in the studio," Sophie says. "I wish I had my own studio. I love listening to other people's records. If I'm stressed or upset, I'll put on my headphones and listen to a Neil Finn album and hear all the little things that happen on the record. That's what I want to do - make records sound interesting."
Sophie also loves playing live. "The most enjoyable thing is being in the studio, with the headphones on and singing to a track that I've put down. The next best thing is playing live. It just makes your day when you're connecting with an audience."
In the past year, Sophie has supported acts such as the Go-Betweens, The Eels, Pete Murray, Alex Lloyd, Paul Kelly and Ember Swift.
Hey there Sophie, I'm playing at The Wesley Anne on Friday night with Emma Heeney and Eva Popov if you feel like popping in. Hope to catch one of your shows again sooon!
hey sophie, ive never seen you live but i have your album and i just wanted to tell you that u have a really beautiful voice! i love your songs, especially Silently Sleeping, Fall into Space and I See Mama :) ♥ amy x
I hadn't come across you until your show at the Festival Theater in Adelaide yesterday. Thankyou so much for sharing your new songs. I really enjoyed them all.
All the best with the work on your new album and I look forward to catching another show soon.
