Sonia Stein passionately reveals an emotive and soulful voice on her debut EP Symbol. With the bare and touching honesty required of an authentic songwriter, Stein could be the originality pop-music is crying out for.

We catch up with Stein as she writes and records her debut album with Liam Howes of FKA Twigs, Marina & The Diamonds, Lana Del Ray and Jessie Ware. Perhaps Stein could be about to be pop’s most sensitive soul since Amy Winehouse…

From your birth in Berlin to growing up in Warsaw, and later living in New York and Boston, what brought you to London?
I was living in New York right before coming to London and had hit a creative dry spell. I had a few trial sessions set up with teams and producers in London which went amazingly well, so the switch wasn’t hard to make.

How long have you been creating your melodic pop sounds for? When did your exploration as a singer/song-writer begin?
I started writing at 15 and always had very pop tendencies and sensibilities melody and lyric wise. I started trying to put production to the lyrics gradually with many different people from the age of 18, and it was a slow discovery process based on trial and error.

How would you personally describe your sound in just one short sentence?
When asked by strangers who don’t know who I am I usually just go for “atmospheric alternative pop.” I sometimes add the term singer-songwriter in there, but it’s a very hard question to answer and I’d rather make people pop some headphones in and play them a song.

‘Demented Minds’ is said to be impressively and creatively innovated by your own your own body and mind. How was such an emotively atmospheric soundscape created using no constructed instrumentation?
Liam used a ton of amazing tricks to make this work. Some of the vocals, for example the ‘dum dums’ are samples used as midi. Some parts like the ‘ah’s’ and ‘mm’s’ are sung and layered. Other vocals are put through filters and sound more like guitars. Drum wise we tried many different sounds, tapping many different parts that we thought would have a resonant sound. We also used a lot of beat boxing sounds that I recorded one by one.

What’s it been like working with the prestige of London based producer Liam Howe, who’s worked with the likes of FKA Twigs, Lana Del Ray & Jessie Ware?
It’s been really great. Liam is super down to earth and really humble and I never felt intimidated by the list of amazing female artists he’s worked with. He always made it feel like we are creating something different that’s just for me.

You are currently writing and recording an album with Howes. What can we expect from the record and when are we likely to see its release?
I recorded and wrote at least 25 different tracks with Liam that are all strong contenders for the album. I’ve also recently been working with a friend of mine and very talented producer Ben Jones, and both will eventually end up on a record. You can expect a lot more of emotional me and a few elements that I’m very excited to introduce in the near future.

Your words and your vocals appear to be genuinely heartfelt. Do you feel it is important for pop artists to concern themselves with honestly emotive lyrics? Should the craft bare the soul?
It’s very important to me. If I don’t feel it, I don’t want to sing it. There are many different approaches to writing so I can’t speak for other artists, but I think people are drawn to genuine emotion and the songs that truly last are all written from a very real place.

You do not seem afraid to bare the consequences of heartache in your tracks. Where do you often take influence from in writing? Are you fearless to explore your own romantic life in your lyrics?
Everything I write is pretty autobiographical. Occasionally I draw from the stories and lives of my friends as well. I wouldn’t say I’m fearless, but writing about my own life never felt like a choice. It was the only way I could process certain things. There’s an anxiety that comes when the songs are released but it’s usually very worth it.

Due to your soulful voice and such sensitive lyrics, it’s easy to compare your talent to that of the passionate and powerful voice of Amy Winehouse. But who do you take inspiration and influence from? And whose music would you liken yourself to?
I never know who to compare myself to sonically. Emotionally, I’m extremely flattered by the recent Amy Winehouse comparisons because she was so raw and so vulnerable.

Sia is someone who usually writes a lyric that I wish I had written or can pull off being so desperately sad so gracefully. Other people I’m inspired by are Regina Spektor, Fiona Apple, Lianne la Havas, Joni Mitchell and Nina Simone.

With your debut EP Symbol out now for us to enjoy in the meantime, and with an anticipated album on the way, where can we catch your poignant sound live?
I have a show coming up on the 4th of September at The Troubadour and an acoustic one at The Star in Highgate on the 20th.

Huge thanks to Sonia for answering our questions – listen out for her track ‘Demented Mind’ on the Gigslutz Girls’ New Music show tomorrow night on hoxtonradio.com, 7-9pm!