Sofia Valdes is an incredible singer/songwriter and a force to be reckoned with. At only 20 years old she grew up in Panama and has been influenced by music ever since her childhood. She first started to learn to play the guitar at age eight while writing her first song at age thirteen, which was about a ghost in her house named Kevin. Sofia cares deeply about her heritage, she is a latinx woman who is pushing the boundaries of what it means to be an alt/pop artist, with music deeply influenced by her multi-cultural musical heritage. In fact her great-grandfather was the legendary Cuban musician Miguelito Valdés, and her great-great grandmother was Silvia De Grasse. Growing up wasn’t the easiest for Sofia as she struggled in school, but her therapist had suggested that she should learn to play the guitar to help with her concentration. Little did she know that learning the guitar would help jump start her music career.
Sofia had studied at fine arts schools in both the U.S and the U.K . Starting out at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, Sofia thrived in the schools creative atmosphere. She would spend hours upon hours crafting new songs, while also expanding her lyrical palette and mastering the English language. Sofia wanted to move her music career even further, thus she ended up at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, founded by Paul McCartney. She felt miserably out of place there and suffered an even greater culture shock. “By the end of freshman year I was ready to drop out and go be a yoga teacher,” she says. “It was hell and I was so unhappy—but then it ended up all being worth it.”
Worth it in a sense that she would soon return to Liverpool and collaborate with fellow musicians who had really encouraged her to keep going. They even hooked her up with co-writing sessions in London. Things were really starting to take off for Sofia. She began posting her songs online for the world to hear. And they were heard by the right people as she garnered the attention of a music manager, which ended up with her traveling to LA to sign a record deal with Warner Records.
Sofia flew back home to Panama once the pandemic hit, where she would work remotely with producers to help bring her debut EP Ventura to life. Ventura features songs that she has been working on since her time in Michigan. The EP features a lushly textured sound that perfectly echoes the effusive emotion of her songwriting. The record is co-produced by Sofia and Oscar Scheller (Charli XCX, Connie Constance). The songs on the EP focus on romantic disappointment, but also holds a heartfelt expression. Valdés adorns her sensitive introspection with graceful guitar work and so many idiosyncratic details. , She points to an unexpected outcome of making the EP: a much more powerful connection to her cultural background. “The deeper I get into working on my music, the more I realize how much it’s connected to the music that people in my family were making a long time ago.”
The EP as a whole is set to release in February of next year, but Sofia just released her debut song It’s a dreamy track featuring Sofia’s soft angelic voice accompanied by a delicate guitar that makes you feel at ease. It almost feels like you’re dreaming. The lyrics are as just as good as they hold a personal meaning to Sofia. “Little Did I Know” today. I wrote ‘Little Did I Know’ coming out of a really dark place,” says Valdés. “The song is about a very close person In my life that I am not close to anymore. I’m able to reflect on the past and be relieved I got out of a toxic situation with a toxic person before things got worse.” Along with releasing the song Sofia also released a dreamy music video to accompany it, where she self filmed it in quarantine, check it out below!
If “Little Did I Know ” is any indication of how good this EP will be then you’re in for a treat. Sofia is already a brilliant singer/songwriter, when Ventura drops her career will surely skyrocket. Sofia is not afraid to push the boundaries and is someone who is very proud of where she came from. “I want everyone to know that my culture is amazing and that I’m so proud of it, and that everyone else should be proud of their culture too.” You surely don’t want to miss out on what Sofia has in store!
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