British Latina musician Sophie Castillo has found the perfect balance between Indie and Pop, ethereal and emotive. Her music is as lively as it is timeless, and Latinitas got to hear all about it when we spoke at SXSW. We touched on Castillo’s upbringing, the ways she fuses her cultura with her British identity, and some true highlights in her career. Enjoy!
We are here at South by Southwest. Is this your first time at the festival and what are your thoughts on Texas so far?
Yes, so this is my first time at the festival, which is very exciting. I’ve always wanted to do this festival ’cause I know how important it is in the industry and how it’s really instrumental in an artist’s career. So I’m so excited to be here! [It’s] also my first time in Texas. We first went to Dallas and did a show there. And now we’re here in Austin and I love Texas and I was saying earlier, I love the fashion in Texas. I love the vibe, the Southern hospitality.
It’s very real.
It’s very real! Like it’s no joke. Everyone’s very nice, very polite, really great service. We went to a really cool barbecue place in Dallas and the chef would come out every time we would bring the food out and he’d explain everything and be so sweet and welcoming. So yeah, I love Texas!
Oh my gosh, well cool! I very much agree with that! Could you explain your sound to someone who’s never heard your music before?
Yes. I would say it’s a fusion of Latin, indie, and pop music with a cinematic, dreamy, and ethereal kind of energy.
That’s a lovely description! Okay, so you are British Latina, I am just so curious, is there a big Hispanic population in the UK?
There’s a decent amount of us, especially in London. There are a lot of Colombians, Ecuadorians, and people from all over Latin America. I think most of us are populated in London.
And is that where you were growing up in, London?
Yes! I was born and raised in London. There are definitely pockets and areas where there are more of us, like in South London and a couple different places around London. But we’re definitely over there. There’s businesses, there’s music, there’s culture, there’s food. So it is nice there.
What was it like growing up?
It was interesting. I grew up in the West London area so there were a few less Latinos but we were always going to the Latino spots or our local Colombian restaurant as well. And growing up in a Latino household, you grew up very immersed in the culture because I mean Latinos are generally quite patriotic and quite connected to their roots in their culture. So it’s not something that parents would ever, from my experience, generally really forget or push to one side. You grew up in a Spanish-speaking household, playing the music, eating the food, communicating with your family back home as well. So that was my experience and I think I’m first-generation Latina and I think that most of the Latinos in the UK are because we don’t have generations of Latinos that have lived in the UK. It’s more like they came in the wave of immigration in the seventies and eighties. So most of us will be first generation.
That’s amazing. So as a British Latino artist, how did both cultures shape your music and artistic perspective?
You know, growing up as a classic British teen in London, I was definitely shaped by all of the kind of music I grew up listening to. We were all listening to the indie bands and the rock bands and the alternative bands. In my day we all loved Arctic Monkeys, The Cougs, The Vaccines. I loved The Pretty Reckless as well. We have really cool bands in the UK. I feel like indie music is really good there. And then also at home, it was only salsa in my house, as the primary genre. Even over reggaeton [and] bachata, it was mainly salsa. So I grew up listening to that all the time. In the car, at home, whenever I was with my parents. So that really shaped my music as well. And I kind of put together all of these different influences. My favorite artist since I was 13 has been Lana Del Rey. So we adapted I guess the dreaminess and the vulnerability in her lyrics and just her kind of very dreamy and ethereal and raw energy and kind of paired that with the Latin sounds and genres that I grew up listening to and always feel like so inspired by.
That’s brilliant! And like also so unique. Have you ever felt pressure to fit in a particular image as a Latina artist? And have you ever pushed back against that?
I guess not, and I think that has to do with the time that we’re creating music in. ‘Cause I do think that things have changed and now every artist you speak to in any genre or from any background, if you ask them what kind of music you make, no one will give you one answer. Right? I really love that and I feel that for myself as well. I think we are being boxed in less.
Obviously, I have been told by people, ‘Oh you should just make music in Spanish’ or ‘You should just make music in English’. But it’s not really something that weighs down on me…I’m gonna always make music in English and Spanish depending on how I feel on the day or what I feel like writing and I’m not gonna box myself into one. I would say maybe that’s the only pressure that I may have received, but nothing extreme to the point where I felt like, oh, everyone’s trying to box me in.
That’s great!
I’ve been fortunate…Perhaps also because I’m all the way in the UK, I’m not necessarily in the environment where I’m getting that feedback of, oh you need to be like this or you need to be like that. And, ’cause I’m an independent artist and I’ve released everything independently myself and I’ve done all of the writing up to this point by myself. I’ve only just started working with writers so I’ve had the complete freedom to do everything how I want to and just let the music speak for itself.
I love that you say that because different languages evoke different things, right? Like you might use Spanish for a more emotional song, and a more upbeat one in English or something like that. What has it been like being in those writer’s rooms–has that been difficult to finally let people in in that way? Or is that a relief?
I really like it to be honest. I wasn’t sure how it was gonna be but I’ve been working with really great writers, I’ve been working with young women who speak English and Spanish and they are very professional and also very open-minded. There’s one in particular who I’ve been working with a lot in London, she’s Spanish and she speaks English and Spanish. She’s been amazing at really helping me bring my ideas to life and word them in an eloquent and captivating and interesting way, especially in Spanish. And it’s been really fun actually.
That’s awesome! And then last year you opened up for J Balvin in the O2 Arena. What was that like?
That was one of the most incredible experiences. I was just so in awe of the whole experience, seeing everything that goes on behind the scenes, just being backstage and looking through all these big corridors. I was like wow, I didn’t know this is what the O2 was like, because I’ve been to the O2 Arena to watch shows. It was really a dream come true ’cause I hadn’t expected to perform to so many people at this stage or so soon. So I was very, very grateful for the opportunity, very grateful to the promoter, to J Balvin and his team they were also a pleasure to me and a pleasure to work with. I was just very honored to have been given the opportunity because, and I think it’s so J Balvin of him to give someone a chance. He’s so known for uplifting up-and-coming artists and helping others and I definitely had seen that in him watching his career and to be a part of that felt really special.
That’s awesome! And then last question, what is next for you? Are there any upcoming projects, albums, collabs?
So I have just released a single a few weeks ago. I’ve got another one coming out the 21st of March. Then another one after that as well. These are all part of an upcoming EP that I’ll be releasing in the very near future, which I’m super excited about because we put a lot of love and effort and a lot of thought into all of the details. It’s a very conceptual EP, which I like all of my projects, and all of my songs really, to have a very clear concept. I really got to run wild and run free with the creative direction for this. I can’t wait to share it! Other than that, just like the US tour that we’re on now.
We started in Miami. We did Dallas, we’re here at South by Southwest and then we are doing LA as well, San Francisco and I’m gonna be in America until the end of April. So I’m just really excited to be here and explore! I’m excited to be here meeting all of the fans who have shown me so much love and support for the past few years because the US is one of my biggest audiences and they’ve been really, really welcoming and supportive. So it’s so nice to meet them in person and sing to them and share these experiences!
That’s amazing. Well, thank you so much for talking with us!
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You can find out more about Sophie here, and be sure to follow her to be the first to know when her new album releases!
