Q & A: Singer-Songwriter Sochei on her Path to Pursuing Music, her Self-Titled Album & Goals for 2021

With soulful vocals that deliver each lyric with deep emotion and a tasteful acoustic blend of pop instrumentals, singer-songwriter Sochei (Sonia Eidse)’s music will draw you in from the start. Hailing from Winnipeg, Manitoba, the Métis artist has previously “performed at Shine On Fest, as an Emerging artist for Indigenous Day Live, and is returning performer at the Sakihiwe Festival” (Sochei).

In June 2020, she released her self-titled  9-track album, “Sochei” which offers an array of touching and relatable songs about love, heartbreak and commitment. “Produced by Rusty Matyas (Imaginary Cities, The Sheepdogs), it features layered hooks and harmonies, adding a fullness to her intimate, acoustic sound” (Sochei). Her single off the album, “Only You” was also featured on the Indigenous Music Countdown.

Recently, I spoke with Sochei about her path to pursuing music, her self-titled album and goals for this year.

Kyla Pearson: For those who are unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us a bit about your path to pursuing music? What made you both want to become an artist?

Sochei: Like most music artists, my love for music started very young and grew with me I began vocal training at age 8 and tried a variety of genres, from country to musical theatre. As a child, I performed regularly.

Though I also had a passion for writing, I only started making songs as a teenager, after teaching myself a few chords on the guitar. After so many years of performing other people’s songs, it was really exciting for me to create and perform my own. I started putting up my songs on MySpace, and I got a lot of positive feedback so I kept writing and performing. The idea of making music that could potentially touch people the way music has touched my life was enough to make me keep pursuing it.

Official album art for Sochei’s self-titled album.

Kyla Pearson: In 2020, you released your debut album, which includes 9 love songs. Can you tell us a bit about each one of them?

Sochei: “Live Forever” is a song I wrote when I first became a parent. When my son was a newborn I struggled a lot with separation anxiety. I didn’t want to miss anything in his new life. I wrote the song trying to encompass both the joy of him being here and the fear of what life might bring us.

“Rebound”, as the title describes, is about my experience of being the rebound person of a relationship. I struggled a lot with feelings of jealousy and not being good enough. (It didn’t help that I knew her name and would look her up regularly online!)

“Only You” describes what it’s like to be in a romantic relationship that is no longer in its “honeymoon” stage. For me, it was a couple of years after I had gotten together with my significant other when I realized he no longer gave me “butterflies”. It was an unsettling feeling, and definitely raised some questions about our relationship. However as the song demonstrates, it draws a happy conclusion, that our relationship isn’t dead, we have just entered a new stage.

“Spend the Day” is definitely a nostalgic song. It is very romantic, painting the past like a perfect dream. And while knowing it’s impossible to actually go back to a day like this, you wish it anyway.

“When I Start To Fall” is a 50s inspired song I wrote about the complexity of love and more specifically monogamy. I remember asking myself how it could be possible to love someone while having feelings for another? True love should not work this way, and yet it seems to have no constraints.

“Night Dreamer” is another one of my nostalgic songs. I wrote it when I was feeling like a love-struck loner who would never fall in love again.

“Still Be Waiting” is sort of my version of “Hopelessly Devoted”, it’s about being with someone you know is not good for you and doesn’t care for you as much as you do him and yet you still have this unjustified need for him.

“Start Over” is a song I wrote when trying to deal with resentment in my relationship. Although it’s probably not what any relationship coach would advise, the song describes forgetting or just ignoring the bad memories in order to start fresh.

“Till Your Love Shines Through” is a song about having faith through difficult times. It’s about giving someone time and space, knowing their better side will emerge again.

Kyla Pearson: Can you tell us a bit about the songwriting/recording process that went into making it?

Sochei: I wrote all the songs over the course of a few years. After bringing my songs to Rusty Matyas, the album’s producer, we reworked them a bit, making them more “radio-friendly”. Some songs were changed slightly, others a lot (“Only You” used to not have a chorus). Other than recording vocals (never been truly satisfied with my voice), I had a lot of fun in the studio! Rusty plays all kinds of instruments so I got to experiment a bit with which sounds would go with which tracks. The process took almost two years to complete and because we both had a lot on our plates, sometimes we’d only meet once every couple of months to record. Though I wish I had finished the songs sooner, I’m glad they’re finally out there and out of me!

Kyla Pearson: The songs are also acoustic. What made you want to pursue this stylistic direction for the album?

Sochei: It just seemed the most natural. I write and perform acoustically most of the time. 

Kyla Pearson: Your musical sound leans more towards alt-pop. Who/which artists would you say, have influenced your sound (If any)? If you could collaborate with one of them, who would it be?

Sochei: For me, it’s the first artists that I’ve studied and listened to that influence me the most. Some I most admire are Kate Bush, Ella Fitzgerald, Roberta Flack, and Feist.

Kyla Pearson:  When it comes to writing songs, do you find it easier to come up with the melody or the lyrics? What do you think makes a “hit” pop song?

Sochei: I find it harder to come up with lyrics if I come up with the melody first, however, this happens most of the time I write! I come up with a melody and then I have to figure out which words fit, rhyme, and make the most sense! I think what makes a hit pop song is definitely something unique. It’s something that you can’t really predict and you can’t really put your finger on. I think it can be a great challenge to try and write a hit song, but I try not to focus on that too much. I find when I focus on writing a hit, I end up writing something less genuine.

Kyla Pearson: In August 2020, you also participated in the Sākihiwē Festival alongside artists such as Melody McKiver, Shanley Spence w/ Darryl Buck, Rhonda Head, Brandi Vezina, Kenneth Henderson, Wyatt C. Louis. What was that experience like for you?

Sochei: It was awesome, however, I didn’t really get to chat with most of them as Covid regulations were still very strict. But I still had a great time! And the video of me performing in the same line-up as these artists is still up online which is a pretty cool keepsake.

Kyla Pearson: Moving forward in 2021, what is one goal you hope to achieve with your music by the end of the year? Do you plan on releasing new music other than your previous two singles?

Sochei:  I’d love to release new music by the end of the year! I’ve been coming out of kind of a dry spell with songwriting but slowly getting back into it. Definitely lookout for something from me by the end of this year!

Listen to “Sochei’s Self-Titled Album now:

 

Stay up to Date With Sochei:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/sochei_music/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/socheimusic

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3gB2S4N

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2S83YM6

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/sochei/1496695016

Website: https://sochei.com/home

 

Works Cited:

Sochei. Interview. Conducted by Kyla Pearson, Mar 20 2021.

Sochei.“Featured: Singer-songwriter Sochei.” Photo courtesy of Sochei. Accessed Jun 17 2021.

Sochei.“Official album art for Sochei’s self-titled album.” Photo courtesy of Sochei. Accessed Jun 17 2021.

Sochei.“Featured: Singer-songwriter Sochei.” Photo courtesy of Sochei. Accessed Jun 17 2021.

Sochei. “About.” Sochei, sochei.com/about. Accessed 17 June 2021.

 

 

 

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