Choosing Sophie Jamieson

• 1 Addition 03:38
• 2 Crystal 05:16
• 3 Downpour 04:10
• 4 Sink 02:45
• 5 Fill 05:01
• 6 Empties 02:29
• 7 Runner 03:19
• 8 Violence 04:10
• 9 Boundary 03:55
• 10 Who Will I Be 03:25
• 11 Long Play 05:50
• Total Runtime 43:58

Info for Choosing

Released via her new home at Bella Union, Sophie Jamieson’s Choosing is a strikingly personal document of a journey from a painful rock bottom of self-destruction to a safer place imbued with the faint light of hope. Focusing on the bare bones of each song and taking inspiration from the direct and melodic work of songwriters such as Elena Tonra, Sharon Van Etten, and Scott Hutchison, it’s an album that sings openly of longing and searching, of trying, failing, and trying again – and always and throughout, the strength of love in so many varying forms.

Following on from the pair of EPs she released in 2020, Choosing finds its own shape by a subtle reforming of Jamieson’s sound. Where those EPs flirted with playful experimentation, here the overriding sound is both organic and simpler – live drums, bass, cello, and piano are used across the album – allowing space for Sophie’s mesmerising voice to take the spotlight, the songs delivered with the most direct and intimate impact.

Sophie Jamieson

Sophie Jamieson
is a London-based songwriter who delivers intimate, visceral and uncomfortably honest songs. She explores the dips and troughs of mental health, uncompromising examinations of loneliness and pain, but always with an underlying strength that promises hope, and growth.

Sophie released her first EP, ‘Where’ to critical acclaim in 2013. A botched recording experience and a personal breakdown contributed to a withdrawal altogether from music for four years, in which she trained as a cocktail bartender and thought she’d never make music again. In 2019 however, something changed, and the songs started coming. Since then, Sophie has released two EPs, ‘Hammer’ and ‘Release’, which examine depression, coping mechanisms and isolation, as well as the effort to rescue oneself.

Her debut album, ‘Choosing’, will be released this winter on Bella Union. Following on from 2020's EPs, it aims to close this chapter by looking at self-destructive behaviour straight in the face and grappling with it more uncompromisingly than ever before. It's about trying, failing, and trying again, to pull yourself out of a downward spiral, choosing yourself and allow yourself to live.

“The title of this album is so important,” Sophie explains. “Without it, this might sound like another record about self-destruction and pain, but at heart, it’s about hope, and finding strength. It’s about finding the light at the end of the tunnel and crawling towards it.”

This album contains no booklet.