By Kristi Alexandra
@kristialexandra
Since her last album, Sophia Danai has taken a lot of risks. We last heard Danai on her 2016 album, Love Royale, in which she made allusions to the undoing of her one-year marriage.
Two years later, the Vancouver-based singer is a little more independent, and a whole lot more forthcoming. With her new single and video “Guns and Gold” coming out hot on the heels of the cathartic “Come Thru” video release, Danai is on a roll with no signs of slowing.
“I’m independent and self-managed, so sometimes it’s really overwhelming but I’m feeling like I’m seeing the fruits of my labour,” she tells Loose Lips Mag over coffee.
“I have a pretty good idea of how I want things to look. I know my taste and I know what I want, and I can communicate it comfortably. I don’t feel bad anymore to ask for what I want. I’m not afraid to offend anybody, and it took me a while to get rid of that [feeling],” Danai reveals.
Risky? Yes. Safe? Not entirely. But, she maintains, “it’s a very empowering place to be.”
And if you’re seeking self-empowerment, look no further than “Come Thru,” a single from her upcoming EP Real Lies.
The video starts out at a party where Danai is performing a karaoke version of her song, while B-roll chronicles the relationship’s trajectory from its infancy to its eventual violent demise. It culminates in the symbolic shattering of the guitar purchased on “the honeymoon from hell.”
The song itself starts out genteel with its brightly tuned guitar licks, and crescendos into its almost-jarring, powerhouse chorus.
“When you gonna come thru/ Come and get your goddamn shit/ Out my goddamn way,” Danai wails with a raw quality. Her voice is more bare and vulnerable than the sweet and sultry vocals heard on 2016’s Love Royale.
It’s a cathartic realization of feminine anger, and her audience is here for it.
“My voice grew and it opened to this whole new level, and I was able to start writing songs that I would never have been able to sing before,” she admits.
“As my voice grew, my songwriting was able to grow with it. I was able to write ‘Come Thru,’ and it’s my favourite to perform live. Even though it’s such an aggressive song, it’s such a liberating feeling. It can be about any situation: it’s more about the claiming of space and boundaries, and in whichever way that means [for the listener].”
Next up, you can catch Danai’s single “Guns and Gold” when its video release goes live on Aug. 24.
“‘Guns and Gold’ is kind of like a personal walk out song,” Danai explains, detailing her surprising newfound affinity for MMA.
“It’s all about getting up after you’ve been knocked down, and just getting what you want out of life. It’s like you get knocked down nine times, but you have to get up for ten. It’s about the ‘no’s you get in the industry… it’s really hard to make shit happen when you don’t have a support system for a plethora of reasons and it’s kind of up to you to break down those barriers.”
Watch Sophia Danai break down her own barriers during her performance at Safe & Sound Music Festival at New Westminster’s Pier Park on Friday, Aug. 24. You can buy weekend passes here.
Kristi Alexandra is an unabashed wino and wannabe musician. Her talents include drinking an entire bottle of cabernet sauvignon, singing in the bathtub, and falling asleep.
