With a sound rooted in classical discipline and wrapped in futuristic synthesis, Sophie Grey. is defining her self-styled Retro Electro.
Having already shared stages with the likes of Sting, Grace Jones and DURAN DURAN, the Californian Anglophile has collaborated with Trevor Horn for a studio reimagining of THE BUGGLES’ ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ having performed the song together at The Forum in London in the Autumn of 2025. This release coincides with a UK tour opening for the man himself this December. But before that, there is a brand new single ‘You Suck’.
Already a veteran of two albums, a mini-album and a bunch of quirky standalone singles set to be collected on a forthcoming album, Sophie Grey. embraces synth-geekery, robot companions, optimistic futurism and good old-fashioned pop.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK caught up with Sophie Grey. to talk about her fascination with “Yesterday’s Tomorrow” and adventures in modern recording…
You have described your musical universe as “Retro Electro” and it was the title of your 2024 album, what influences shaped your sound?
“Retro Electro” just came naturally… since I produce and write all of music, it’s very authentic. It has nostalgia and this futuristic modern sound waiting to be discovered.
At the time, you didn’t quite hadn’t quite developed the persona you have now which does look like you’ve been beamed down from the 1979 set of ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’, so how did that come together?
I’d like to say it happened naturally as well… the image definitely had an evolution to it but I wanted to express this other side of me. One of my music videos ‘Maybe Baby’, I revealed this discovery that there is this other version of me. In my name, there is this full stop on Sophie Grey. and I see this full stop as like a black hole that’s developing inside the music and creating this other universe and this galaxy that I’m entering. So that’s this other person that I’ve become.
Was this all tied in with the idea to cover ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’?
‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ is a song that I’ve always loved and highly respected. I knew I wanted to cover it. I have this live rotation… how it works is on tour, my robot companion File Collins is constantly rotating the cover I that perform. So I wanted to add it to the rotation to play it. It came very last minute, I only had a few days before I had to leave for a tour.
For the vision I wanted, I really felt ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ had this renaissance side to it to discover something new. It’s a timeless song so that’s how that my inspiration came to it. It’s a time when art had so much importance, the colours and the vibrancy, that’s what I wanted to channel. But it has a side that’s not familiar to us necessarily, it’s from a different planet so it has all sorts of different styles and fashion. It felt important to me that it was organic, to go with that pressure to recognise technology and the changes that are going on.
When you were opening for Sting at the London Forum, you were joined on stage by Trevor Horn to perform felt ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’, what was that like?
When Trevor came on stage, I was so honoured and it was super organic as well. I reached out to him and thankfully, he enjoyed my cover so wanted to be part of it. We really only did one full run through in soundcheck. It was perfect, he was very kind to me and it all kind of fell into place and that’s what we see now today.
And now you’re recording a version of ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ with Trevor, what has it been like to be in the studio with him? How has it been to relinquish some control as you usually self-produce?
I usually work alone but I’m not opposed to collaboration at all. Trevor Horn is one of the greatest of all-time I would say in production. I would also say he’s one of the very few producers where he will hear a song, then he will work on it and you cannot believe it’s the same song by the same person. He’s just got this range of creativity that really inspires me.
What we are doing with the live performance is the chance to broadcast it everywhere, not just YouTube. It’s been a thought process for both of us because there is something beautiful about it, just being on YouTube with that one live performance and seeing it in the flesh and online on YouTube. We talked about what we wanted to do with it in the future. The song is quite perfect as is.
Claudia Brücken of PROPAGANDA told me she demoed a cover of Dee D Jackson ‘Automatic Lover’ with Trevor Horn many years ago, that song would suit you down to the ground, you should ask him about it… but are there any other covers you’d like to try?
I have several covers that I have worked on, there’s some DEPECHE MODE and I’ve already done ‘Everything She Wants by WHAM! That was on my bucketlist because I’m a huge George Michael fan, but that song really speaks to me in the production and the passion in his voice so I was really excited to do that one. I’m working on a few brand new ones for the tour that I’m debating whether to add into the rotation. One that actually floats into one of my original songs is ‘Music’ by Madonna which I have always loved, that was fun to replicate.
You are going on a UK tour opening for Trevor Horn, how are your preparations going, what can those who show up early expect from you?
It’s a new set, I’m very particular about what I perform at any concert. Everything is very precise to me, I still have a setlist that I’m working on.
My show is about taking the audience to cyberspace, so it’s a journey and quite frankly, out of this world. It was created with much thought and through different dimensions, it’s a lot of fun. When I put on a show, I love to make someone smile, especially when you are opening. You have this beautiful opportunity to welcome people to your music which you don’t always have. I have a lot of fun doing that and I feel the show is catered to all people. I always get a fun reaction to all the dances. And there’s my robot companion who is helping me narrate and create the flow of the show. There’s lots of hidden gems here and there, there’s something constantly going on.
Your robot companion File Collins, what is he like when accompanying you on tour, does he have one of those software update habits or is he quite low maintenance? 🤖
I feel like some people develop an attitude on tour and he can be quite difficult sometimes, needing his own dressing room and all. But a robot companion is a being assigned to you at birth in the Retro Electro galaxy, someone who knows you really well. We spend so much time together and he’s a very musical robot. We get along and the show goes wonderfully together too.
This summer you shared billing with the likes of Grace Jones and DURAN DURAN, how did you find coping with large crowds that are not strictly there to see you?
That’s a great question because on the outside, it can seem almost intimidating and frightening to see how people react. But I have to remember that these incredible artists that I’ve opened for have incredible audiences. All of their followers and fans have really welcomed me with open arms and they’re into it. I feel like I haven’t had one of those moments where they’ve treated me badly, all of the fans have been really kind. I think that’s because the headliners like DURAN DURAN, Grace Jones and Sting, their fans are wanting something new and they’ve always been into diversity and change. So that’s where I come in and I feel really welcomed, that means a lot to me.
Your press release mentions a Synth-Axe, is that as in the rare strange looking guitar-like MIDI controller created in 1985 or another way of describing a keytar type instrument?
In my old show, I used to perform with a Roland AX synth so that’s what it would be referring to… that instrument is very cool. I am a fan of Roland but I also like other synthesizers. That one does look like an axe but it is very large and super heavy. I didn’t feel I needed that weight on me as I do my dances *laughs*
Have you ever tried a Moog Liberation, I’ve been told that it weighs a ton?
I haven’t tried one of those but I love Moog a lot, one of the instruments I’d love to try is the Minimoog because I love the song ‘Popcorn’, I’d love to have a play around with one.
So why did you choose the Roland Lucina as your new mobile keyboard, what were the practical and usability reasons that led you to choose that?
What I was looking for was something light enough to stay on my body… I would have the Roland AX on the entire old show. So with that weight on my left shoulder and the way I swing it back and forth because I like the idea of it being my weapon and going into battle traveling through cyberspace to protect myself, I landed on the Roland Lucina… it’s not necessarily got that “guitar” look, it looks like a keyboard. I liked that image.
Sometimes I have trust issues with computers and modern technology. There have been times when I used to bring a Roland drum pad to trigger my tracks and one day, it completely broke. So there’s always that chance… the Lucina has occasionally done me wrong. But I picked it because it has some really cool presets and easy for me to flip through because it lights up, so I can see where I am when I need to make a change because I go through several different patches during the show. Sometimes I’ll be flipping from bass to bell, so I needed to able to visually see that.
But as of recent, I’ve had some moments where during my solo, it completely transposes out of nowhere, I have no idea why! So one thing about the Lucina has been the troubleshooting, but it’s not like I’m able to get another one tomorrow, they’re all very pre-loved instruments. I chose it because was it was more like a keyboard… one of the reasons I originally started with the concept of a keytar was it’s visual. It’s very hard to engage the audience to show them what you’re playing when it’s flat and the hands are positioned like this *gestures playing keyboards*
I was thinking “what does a guitar have over a keyboard? Oh, you can really see what they’re playing” and that’s something I really wanted to incorporate to the show. So I play lots of synthbass and synth solos but also switch to piano sounds. I like to show the range of the Lucina as much as I can to surprise people.
What are your favourite tools for the writing process?
That’s a great question, I would say an acoustic piano which is ironic because a lot of my music is very digital. But it’s very important to me to be able to have a solid chord progression and I really believe in the song structure. I find a lot of creativity in the colours of an 88 key piano, that’s a primary focus of mine.
You’ve released quite a few singles like ‘Air’, ‘Lunar Highs’, ‘Cyberspace’ and ‘Your Code’ in the last 12 months, are these forming a long playing release or album and if so, how will it progress on your 2025 mini-album ‘Just Another Sonic Monday’?
I am creating this cyberspace world which will eventually be on an album. But I’m having a lot of fun premiering the unreleased songs in the live show, that’s something I’d never done before, I love to see the reaction of everybody. So the timeline of each release has been from the reactions to songs online or directly after the shows and that inspires me to have that as the next release. So the people choose and it’s been a lot of fun.
You are of this streaming generation where a lot of single tracks come out, but do you believe ultimately in the long playing format?
Absolutely! We’re in a very weird time because social media plays a really big part in music, but the music is there to accompany the videos, I’m talking about the 15 second clips. It’s a weird concept but I do truly believe in an album and I believe in lots of interludes, I find that’s part of the art as well, how each song flows into the other. That’s definitely on my radar and it will be coming. When it does, it’s going to be a story.
How do you find negotiating social media because as your profile increases, there are several downsides that can come with that?
It is one of those things where there are several cons and pros… I think I originally, I didn’t know what to think about it because in a sense, it can feel very false advertising and it can feel fake. That was something I never wanted to portray but the one good thing about it is that it does let me access a lot of people who may not have heard of me. I don’t even know how it happens but somehow, my video pops up and they’re like “I never even knew about you, but now I’d like to follow your progress”.
I think as time has passed, I’ve been able to build this very loving and creative online community that I’m able to chat with on Instagram or YouTube live. I can have full-on conversations with my phone but I know someone else is on there who is listening and we have a dialogue. It’s a weird concept but it feels very fitting for Retro Electro in that modern but also nostalgia feeling.
Do you have any favourites from your recent singles?
I would have to say I really like ‘Lunar Highs’, the production to me is very forward. The story is I wrote it literally on a full moon and I thought that must be a sign. I wrote it really quickly actually in one day, just sitting and looking at the moon. I felt like I should pay homage to it in the lyrics. The concept of it is you take that craziest night that you’ve ever experienced on earth but you imagine it 10 times crazier on the moon! That’s what I wanted to do, create in terms of feelings and dances.
It’s a little scary too! I love to be mysterious and the video also heavily focussed on the moon, it was very cold but we got it done. A lot of the video is at the beach, the tide and all that push and pull is part of what ‘Lunar Highs’ is about. I love them all but that one in particular, I had a fun writing.
You have a new song called ‘You Suck’ out, what was its genesis, was it inspired by personal experiences?
There’s always someone out there who you’ve had a bad experience with… *laughs*
‘You Suck’, and I like to say it in quotations because I never want anyone thinking I’m saying that directly, I wrote the song and production. I thought it was a really beautiful song, I had this melody and thought it would be funny to take this beautiful ballad and really rip into somebody. You know, that feeling of “I’m always nice because I usually take the high road but I really feel this way about you!”; it was all that anger of being polite and not saying what I really wanted to say to somebody! That’s what that song is about, anger hiding behind these most beautiful major chords, all this colour and bells twinkling behind, that’s what that juxtaposition is and how that song was created.
If you could step into a time machine back to whenever, is there a vintage synth you would have liked to have used?
I have to say the Minimoog, there’s so much I could play with there. But I also have an Omnichord which I’ve used in videos and what not but I haven’t yet been able to incorporate it in a live show or as a main focus in the song. That’s something I would like to dive deep in because even though synths do produce their own sound, you do really need to learn how to use it, just like the Theremin as well. Now that is a very complicated instrument to produce a good sound! *laughs*
Another instrument I would really love to maybe use is a Hammond organ and to see what kind of richness I could produce.
What are your hopes and fears as we head into 2027?
There’s really nothing I can do about the future as I much as I time travel, I can’t really tell what the future is. But all I know is that I love my music and I will continue to do what I love. I’ve been lucky enough to find people out there who are also enjoying the journey. I’m having a lot of fun and have been able to perform with some incredible icons who I have always looked up to, so I’m a very lucky person.
I’m really excited about these upcoming shows. I love the UK so when I got the call that I was coming back, I was so excited. I feel special pull to the UK and that’s something I really cherish. I’m always having a great time when I’m on stage and people can feel that in the energy and atmosphere.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Sophie Grey.
Additional thanks to Katie Byrne at What Katie Did Communications
‘You Suck’ is available on digital platforms now
The reimagined version of ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ by Sophie Grey. featuring Trevor Horn is released ahead of their UK tour this December 2026, dates include:
Leamington Spa Assembly (3rd December), Sunderland Independent (4th December), Edinburgh Queen’s Hall (5th December), Leeds O2 Academy (9th December), Liverpool O2 Academy (10th December), Bristol O2 Academy (11th December), Cardiff Tramshed (15th December), Birmingham O2 Institute (16th December), London O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire (17th December), Manchester O2 Ritz (19th December)
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Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
30th October 2026
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