We recently introduced you to the angelic vocals of Sofia Donavan. At only eighteen years old, she has been garnering the attention in the music scene, whether it be country, folk or pop. Her voice knows no genres, no boundaries, no limits. Just pure beautiful bliss when she sings. Now get to know her better with our new interview:
Music Junkie Press: Thank you for taking the time out to talk with us here at Music Junkie Press. Your music really brings in a fusion of pop, country, folk and much more. Can you tell us who are some of your biggest musical influences?
Sofia: Hi! While growing up my parents exposed me to a lot of the great songwriters from the 60s and 70s like Joni Mitchell, Dylan and James Taylor and as I’ve grown older I’ve only began to appreciate them more, this generation of songwriters was really like no other. Some more contemporary writers that have influenced me are Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Kacey Musgraves.
Music Junkie Press: Your song Note to Tennessee really tells a tale and with such emotion. Can you tell us what was the inspiration behind the song?
Sofia: The initial idea for ‘Note To Tennessee’ came about 2 years ago. I wrote it during a time when it really dawned on me how difficult it would be to achieve my dream of being a musician. From this feeling I got the idea to try and write a story about unconditional love as a metaphor for the fact that no matter how much you love or give to your passion you can still end having never ‘made it’ in the music industry. Then before I went into the studio I decided to change the chorus a little bit to create a more complete sounding song.
Music Junkie Press: I understand you are currently in college, how has it been going balancing your music and school?
Sofia: It’s definitely tricky at times because you have to be very disciplined with your spare time but it’s also been a lot of fun. When I’m in school I focus more on writing more songs and performing around the area so that as soon as my vacation comes I can go out an play more out of state gigs and record demos of new music. I’m lucky to go to a college that has a few venues where I can play informal and spontaneous shows. During busy times in school like finals week I’ve had experiences where I’d play a half hour set on my college campus as a study break, it’s definitely been fun!
Music Junkie Press: What are you currently working on?
Sofia: I’m really excited to gig more at the moment! I’ve spent most of the year working behind the scenes on the release of the EP so I’m really happy that people will finally be able to hear it! I’ll be focusing my summer on playing shows, promoting my new EP as well as travelling to Nashville for the first time, which I am really looking forward to. I’m also always writing new music even while I’m at school, that way I feel like I’m always working towards an end goal, but for now playing show’s is my main focus.
Music Junkie Press: Do you have a particular songwriting process?
Sofia: I’ll usually have an idea and record it onto my phone. Then when I have some time I sit with my guitar or by a piano and turn those ideas into songs. Until now I’ve always written the melody and the lyrics at the same time but right now I’m trying to change things up to see if changing the order of my songwriting process also has an effect on the kind of song I write.
Music Junkie Press: You began your career in music through covers on Youtube, which is one of the great advantages of social media. Do you ever find yourself having to disconnect from the digital world or social media?
Sofia: Youtube is a great way to both gain confidence and develop a thicker skin: two things that are incredibly necessary if you want to do anything in the music world. It allowed me to share my voice and later my original songs with the world from the privacy of my house. When your in your early teens, it’s pretty difficult to book any kind of gig so Youtube allowed me to feel like I was working on my music career without having my age hold me back. Nowadays my favorite forms of social media are Facebook and instagram because it gives any artist a way to develop a more personal relationship with their fans. When I’m on vacation I sometimes force myself to turn of my phone for a certain number of days. That’s really when you realize how dependent we’ve become on technology and while it certainly has it’s benefits it’s good to switch off once in a while.
Music Junkie Press: If we could peak into your Ipod, what artist or song might be most surprising for us to find in there?
Sofia: Probably the amount of opera I have on my iPod. I’m kind of a classical music nerd. It’s the best thing to listen to when you’re trying to stay awake at 2amwhen you’re finishing a paper!
Music Junkie Press: How old were you when you first started your passion for music?
Sofia: I have always loved singing and music. There are home videos of me as a toddler when I couldn’t even speak where I’m singing and making up words as I go! I started writing full songs and taking my music more seriously when I was around 12. I had back surgery to correct my scoliosis and a combination of a lot feelings and a lot of time gave birth to my passion for songwriting.
Music Junkie Press: If you could collaborate with any musician on a song, who would you like to work with?
Sofia: I think right now it would have to be Hunter Hayes. He’s an amazingly talented musician and songwriter and I couldn’t resist the idea of a good ol’ country duet.
Music Junkie Press: Can you bring us back to that first performance?
Sofia: One of my first performances that I remember was when I was about 8 years old and I sang ‘Where is Love’ from Oliver at an assembly in front of my entire school. I remember being petrified and the way my voice started shaking when I had to hold long notes. I wasn’t the most popular of kids so doing something like that in front of your peers was kind of like asking to be made fun of.
Music Junkie Press: We understand that you live in London part of the year and Vermont the other, can you tell us more about what are your favorite things from each place that you tend to miss?
Sofia: I miss the fact that in London you can walk anywhere and have access to anything you need. In Vermont you have to drive around a lot more to get food, or go shopping and honestly I’m kind of scared of it! But I love how beautiful Vermont is, and how secluded it is from busy city life it’s the perfect place to write new songs because you really don’t have many distractions.
Music Junkie Press: Do you have any preshow or pre-recording rituals?
Sofia: Right before a show, I like to warm up drink some water and then talk to my friends or my family who are there about anything but the show. I get pretty nervous so I like to keep myself distracted so that when I actually have to go on stage my body isn’t expecting it and I’m not super tense.
Music Junkie Press: Lastly is there something you would like to share with our audience and your fans?
Sofia: I just hope that you enjoy the EP and if you’d like to know a little more about me or what I get up to day to day you can like my page on facebook or follow me on instagram here:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sofia/263810403667965?ref=bookmarks
https://instagram.com/sofiadlafuente/
Also, I have gig dates and other exclusives on my websitewww.sofiaofficial.com
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Sofia has released her 2nd EP, Left To The Clouds last month and it is filled with emotionally driven songs that will awaken your senses and have you enjoying the moment or the pauses in life. Her song Rare as Gold is a personal favorite of mine as she captures such honest emotional vulnerability and then brings out this strong air of self confidence. Really a favorite of mine. Make sure to pick up the new EP, Left To The Clouds by heading over to iTunes here.
Visit her social media sites so you can stay up to date on the latest news.
~ Marisol
Information & Links:
- Website: www.sofiaofficial.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/sofia/263810403667965
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/SofiaDLafuente
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SofiaDLafuente
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