SHE'S young. She’s bold. She’s doing it. Singer-songwriter Sophia Zuhri is transforming run-of-the mill music genres to make Britpop fusion of styles appealing to Malaysian music fans.
On Tuesday at the age of 17, Sophia has just produced her first single, after beginning her foray into singing and song writing at the tender age of 14.
Music has always been important to Sophia. Armed with her ukulele, Sophia usually finds herself drawn to writing real-life experiences into her music. The shy and modest Sophia is definitely more comfortable talking about her work than about herself.
“My lyrics mostly reflect how strongly I feel about a certain subject … out of habit, I would just pick up the ukulele and start strumming the melody or hum the tune into my phone,” said Sophia.
Her passion for music led her to a meeting with Malaysian renowned award-winning composer-songwriter-singer Ajai. It didn’t take long for Ajai to recognise Sophia’s immense talent. Hence, under his musicianship, he discovered that they both share a common thread – the fascination for great artistry and good music.
As a hands-on producer, Ajai said that Sophia’s talent is reminiscent of what he was as an aspiring singer-songwriter when he started dabbling in showbiz back in the 90s.
“There’s a bit of me I see in her (Sophia). Honestly, I don’t produce for just anyone. Sophia is an exception, she is in a class of her own and this made me agree to collaborate with her,” said Ajai, whose full name is Faizal Maas.
“I wanted to get better vocals out of her than she has ever done before or will ever do again,” he added.
The Sophia-Ajai collaboration spawned 'Game of Charades', the self-penned edgy Britpop tune, that arguably will be the next top tune on Spotify. The song reminds us that no one is perfect. And we should not judge others merely by their actions or appearance.
With 'Game Of Charades', Sophia hopes to provide enriching and engaging music for her fans in Malaysia. She also aspires for 'Game of Charades' to provide ample opportunity to expand her passion for song writing and become a household name to be reckoned with.
Currently, Ajai and Sophia are working on her first debut mini album of five self-penned songs, which is slated for release in the third quarter of 2021.
The 'Game of Charades’ music video, directed by Amani Azlin, was also launched on Tuesday. Fans can catch the music video on Universal Music Malaysia's YouTube channel.
The music video, which was filmed at UNI Studio LTE, also enlisted the assistance of Director of Photography, Nicholas Chin, Assistant Director, Farah Fadzil and last but not least, a talented styling team.
“It was a nerve-wrecking experience,” Sophia claimed, but the director and the crew members constant reassurance made her feel comfortable and ensured that the otherwise-shy Sophia would rise to the occasion.
Today marks another milestone for Sophia as she is officially a songwriter and lyricist signed under Universal Music Publishing Sdn Bhd.
'Game of Charades', distributed by Universal Music, is the first excerpt from her five-track album which is due for release in the 3rd quarter of 2021. – The Vibes, April 1, 2021
