Throughout the course of a year, DTLA-based multimedia artist sophie meiers (they/them) has steadily released collections of interconnected music they call portals; a trilogy of EP’s with each one encapsulating its own distinct sound, world and visual aesthetic. Today, they reach the final stretch of their ambitious project with the third and final portal, crawl__space out now via Epitaph Records.
“To be able to capture a moment with sound is — in itself — magic,” sophie muses. “Vivid stories can be etched into airwaves forever. Music is a universal language — the ability to freeze time. It’s an exploration of the meaning of human mortality.”
LISTEN TO THE ‘crawl__space’ EP HERE
The first invitation to sophie’s universe was the dreamlike world of ‘shine__space’ (May 2023). Sonically, the first portal revolves around cutting sequenced synths, arpeggiators, and resampled audio — vocal chops reminiscent of a digital age. Drenched in chrome and reflecting blue and purple light, sophie describes shine__space as the gateway; the space outside of the house past the windows and the sky. “When I listen to music, I see and experience vivid imagery — sounds have smells, environments, and textures to me.” This is the main inspiration behind their portals — to be able to translate the elaborate visions in their imagination into the real world. Threaded with surreal, euphoric stories that suspend you in an anodized environment — shine__space invites you to observe these preserved moments through an out-of-body experience.
Leaving behind the artificial wonderland, sophie then leads us into the plush environment of spark__space (August 2023). Representing warmth, organic matter and the worldly, in reference to their 3-part project being a “house”, sophie says spark__space is “the structure, the building, the living room”. It feels like flushed cheeks, comforting fabrics, and delirious longing, with songwriting that explores the nuances of mundane human experiences: the feeling of lust, attachment, devotion, and change. sophie explains, “If the character for shine__space is a posthuman reflection of myself, spark__space is the most stripped back, primal version of who I am. Open, vulnerable, material.” As the project winds to a close, you will find yourself at the end of a long, narrow hall — where a stairwell leads from the comfort of the flame into a darker, shrouded basement.
Painting a disruptive picture of sickness, perversion and self-destruction, sophie views ‘crawl__space’ as the place where secrets go to hide. Sonically, the final portal centers around distorted guitars and crushed drums with haunting vocals colliding with morbid lyrics. Fascinated by the mysteries concealed behind day-to-day life, sophie set out to explore the darkness behind that veil, stating, “I want to talk about the parts of humans’ lives that we don’t begin to admit to ourselves — dirtiness, sickness, struggle, immorality, perversion.” The final piece the dark new project embodies the muck and grime inside of us all — confessions of obsession, self-destruction and violent fairy tales. Winding down with a somber lullaby, sophie guides you to the end of the basement where you find a window shaped like you.
“the ominous atmosphere of crawl__space is owed just as much to its entrancing soundscapes. From the frayed edges that twist their hazy vocals to the distorted and heavily shuddering industrial electronica that crackles forebodingly within.” – Grimy Goods
Buckle in, and step into the first doorway of this alternate universe. It’s everything you never imagined.
‘crawl__space‘ Tracklisting
LISTEN TO THE ‘spark__space’ EP HERE
LISTEN TO THE ‘shine__space’ EP HERE
Hailing from a small mountain town in Colorado, sophie meiers became obsessed with music at a young age, propelled by the myriad of resources that the internet holds. They left home at 15, paving their own way through creative ingenuity and a DIY mindset that carries into their art and work ethic. Existing on a plane all their own, sophie has created a surrealist alternate universe for their art to live, melding their passions for writing, visual artistry, and producing with an aesthetic uniquely theirs. Their experimental production, sultry vocals, and lyrical honesty have garnered them 700K monthly listeners, with their talents recognized and celebrated by Nylon, The FADER, PAPER Magazine, Billboard, Consequence, i-D, Lyrical Lemonade and more.
