RS: I also noticed in your live performance you jumped over to play keyboard, you played a bongo, and then you played- was it a dulcimer?
Sophie: Yes, that was a banjo. It's interesting you said dulcimer, I've never played one but that's beautiful. Do you mean the banjo?
RS: I guess it was a banjo.
Sophie: It sounds like a dulcimer, that's really beautiful. I really love to stand up to sing without playing because I feel that is actually the most fun, because I feel freer and I never really consider myself a good musician. However, when I've written a song on an instrument and I really feel comfortable enough, I will play it through the song. I jump around on instruments writing all the time. I still have yet to write on cello and some things like that but I haven't really gotten to the point on cello where I feel like a song is ready to come out yet.
RS: I saw you perform with live musicians, have you every performed in a nightclub setting where you've sang to tracks as opposed to live instruments?
Sophie: No, I've always been scared of it but I would totally do it. Actually when I was supposed to go to Japan, which I never did, I practiced singing to track and I always thought it was easy. I mean it's really easy and I would love to do it because of that. Although it would be new because I've never done it. I was hoping "Beautiful Girl" would take off in the clubs and then I would be able to sing live but I don't know if it's going to. I don't know what's going to happen with that song.
RS: Oh, great transition. I was about to ask you about some of your remixes for the dance page. For Beautiful Girl, you had Junior Vasquez do a remix, How did you find him and get him involved on the project?
Sophie: Well, Junior Vasquez is honestly someone who I'd heard his name and of course his work. Growing up in New York, I'd pop into clubs once in a while and he's somebody that everyone reveres. In my mind, he's the royalty of dance mixers and producers. I was always really thinking how come I never get to work with people with that? You know, that was like my story at Sony, like why don't I get to do alternative music? Because I am so alternative, why don't I get to do dance music? Why don't I get to do all the fun things that so many artists get to do? So now that I'm not on that label and on my own label, I hired these people call Fly Life (Carmen, Martha, and Peter), they're promo people and they're awesome. Carmen said hey, I want to get Junior to do a remix and I said "oh God, I'd be on my knees for that." So I gave Junior the vocals of "Beautiful Girl" and "Now I Lay Me Down", and he did them. I was so grateful because I love the remixes and I think they're so cool.
RS: He also did "Now I Lay Me Down?"
Sophie: Yes, he did one of Now I Lay Me Down.
RS: Oh, I'll need to track that down.
Sophie: It's really neat. Do you think Junior did "Right Beside You?" I'm not sure who did that one.
RS: I was also going to ask you about that. I have the CD single right here. Classic club mixes by Bobby D'Ambrosio and there's also a version on here by Hard Floor. But the mix I really liked was on the UK single which was done by The Grid. Do you have any memory of the Grid remix?
Sophie: No. This is really weird, but when I was on Sony they would never give me those things. They would have them done and it was like I wasn't included.
