Sophie Hunger
Country of origin:
Switzerland
Type of music generally:
Beautiful & fierce, jazzy, folky, alternative pop
Status:
Most recent release, Supermoon (2015)
See also:
Sophie Hunger's site
Comparisons:
Heather Nova, Feist
Covers/own material:
Own, occasional co-writing
General comments:
She's one of those artists I find difficult to describe and talk about. All I know is that I love listening to her. Her music, which I would mostly define as altpop, ranges in style, incorporating touches from a large number of genres, but it's always identifiably her music. Her strong songwriting and her gorgeous just slightly raspy vocals unite it all. I do hear the Feist comparisons, but that's the closest I can get to describing her sound. I love her range. She makes it all seem so effortless (the range, I mean—the emotions in her songs don't seem effortless at all!). (Neile)Seconding the love for Sophie Hunger...she's amazing. Not sure who she reminds me of. Mostly herself. (stjarnell@yahoo.com)
Recommended first album:
Monday's Ghost, or really whatever you can find.
Recordings:
- Sketches on Sea (2007)
- Monday's Ghost (2008)
- 1983 (2010)
- The Danger of Light (2012)
- The Rules of Fire (live and rarieties, 2013)
- Supermoon (2015)
Sketches on Sea
Release info:
2007
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Recommended
Group members:
Sophie Hunger—guitars, piano, harmonica
Guest artists:
Maria de la Cruz—violin (8, 100)
Josh Fury—trombone (3, 4, 8)
Madim El Guindi—flamenco guitar (2, 12)
Mika Heldingor—drums (3, 5, 10, 11)
Marcus de la Fleur—bass (3, 5, 10, 13)
Martin Frey—Schwiizerörgeli (14)
Comments:
A very stripped-down somewhat jazzy first release which showcases Sophie Hunger's emotive vocals. A strong beginning. (Neile)
Monday's Ghost
Release info:
2008—Two Gentlemen Records—twogtl 002-2
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Sophie Hunger—vocals, acoustic guitar, piano
Guest artists:
Michael Flury—trombone (1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 11, 12)
Christian Prader—acoustic guitar (1); flute (2, 11, 12); harmonica (5); piano (8, 11)
Alberto Malo—percussion (1, 9, 13); drums (2, 5, 7, 11, 13)
Marcello Giuliana—e-bow guitar (1); electric bass (1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 11, 13); electric guitar (2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 14); acoustic bass (3, 4, 5); acoustic guitar (8, 9, 13, 14); tenor guitar (8)
Evelinn Trouble—vocas (2)
John Dickinson—vibes (4, 10)
Benoît Corboz—B3 Hammond (9); additional piano (10)
Frank Heer—cello (10)
Patrik Shmid—drums (13)
Stefan Eicher—second voice (14)
Comments:
From the very first track here, Sophie Hunger takes charge and keeps up the power all the way through. This is a collection of impressive, catchy soongs—each individual and yet the album coheres, from the Dylanesque "Sophie Hunger Blues" to the yearning "Rise and Fall" to the epic "Drainpipes." These are songs that stick in your hearts and mind. Wholly delightful. So. Darn. Good. One of my favourite discs and discoveries of the year. (Neile)'d never heard of her, so I started listening to Monday's Ghost, on Grooveshark. Now I can't stop listening to it..she is SO talented! I think my fave so far is "Sophie Hunger's Blues". Wow, incredible stuff. This girl just exudes talent. At times she sounds like Heather Nova, other times she sounds like Feist. At all times she sounds awesome, a gem. (dbailey4117@gmail.com)
1983
Release info:
2010—Two Gentlemen Records—twogtl 0009-2
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Sophie Hunger—vocals, piano, electric gurar, acoustic guitar, harmonica
Guest artists:
Michael Flurry—trombone, vocals
Christian Prader—electric guitar, acoustic guitar, flute, vocals
Julian Satorius—drums, percussion
Manuel Troller—electric guitar
Sion Gerber—bass, vocals
Linda Vogel—harp
Produced by:
Sophie Hunger; co-produced by Stéphane «Alf» Briat
Comments:
Another undefinable but terrific disc from Sophie Hunger. She's stuch a strong songwriter and vocalist! One of my favourite discs of the year. (Neile)One of my best of 2010. (stjarnell@yahoo.com)
The Danger of Light
Release info:
2012—Two Gentlemen—TWOGTL 033-2
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Sophie Hunger—vocals, piano, acoustic guitar, saxophone, harmonica
Guest artists:
Josh Klinghoffer—guitar (1, 5, 6, 7, 9); modular synth (2, 5, 6)
Nathaniel Walcott—piano (1, 2, 5, 6, 9); B3 organ (5);trumpet (6, 9)
Steven Nistor—drums (1, 2, 5, 6, 9); percussion (1, 2, 9)
Michael Flury—backing vocals (1, 3, 5, 8); trombone (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10); krumar organ (5); glockenspiel (9)
Simon Gerber—backing vocals (1, 3, 5, 8); bass (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
Jonathan Hischke—bass (1, 2, 6)
Christian Prader—flute (1, 9); guitar (3, 8, 10); backing vocals (3, 8)
Alberto Malo—drums (3, 8, 10); backing vocals (3, 8)
Mark Berube—piano (4)
Kristina Koropecki—cello (4)
David Payant—drums (4)
Nicolas Caloia—bass (4)
Brad Barr—electric guitars (4)
Sarah Page—harp (4)
Sara Oswald—cello (5)
Benoit Corbox—organ (8)
Produced by:
Adam Samuels (1-3, 5-10); Howard Bilerman (11)
Comments:
Another wide-ranging album of songs from Sophie Hunger. Much of it is very soulful, but there's also the playful "LikeLikeLike," the anguished tunes like "Das Neue" and "Can You See Me?", the powerful "Holy Hells"...Sophie Hunger makes it all fit together. Her work is always impressive.(Neile)
Supermoon
Release info:
2015—Two Gentlemen
Availability:
Europe
Ecto priority:
Recommended
Group members:
Sophie Hunger—vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, guitr affects, rhythm guitar, whistle
Guest artists:
James Ritto—bass (1); string arrangements (6, 8)
Andrew Maguire—vibraphone (1, 12)
Jason Siolta—percussion (1, 12); drums (12)
Geoffrey Burton—guitar (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 2:1, 2:2, 2:3, 2:4, 2:5)
Alexis Anérilles—keys (2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12 2:1, 2:2, 2:3, 2:4, 2:5, 2:6); piano (2, 6); backing vocals (4); keys (4, 5, 10); trumpet (4, 7, 10 2:1, 2:2); string arrangements (8)
Alberto Malo—drums (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11 2:1, 2:2, 2:3, 2:4, 2:5, 2:6); percussion (2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 2:3, 2:5, 2:6), 2:2; pad sample (5)
SImon Gerber—bass (3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 2:1, 2:2, 2:3, 2:4, 2:5, 2:6); backing vocals (4); contrebass (10, 12)
Jean-Paul Estiévenart—trumpet (4)
Frédéric Becker—saxophone (4)
David De Vrieze—trombone (4, 2:6)
Stephanie Bibbo—violin (6)
Jeremy Preston—violin (6)
Jory Fankuchen—viola (6)
Lucas Chen—cello (6)
John Vanderslice—guitar e-bow (7)
Éric Cantona—vocals (8)
Véronique Gills, Mark Steylaerts, Karel Steyfaerts, Marc Tooten—string quartet
Olsen Involtini—synthesizer (2:2)
Mark Lawson—beat machine (2:6)
Produced by:
Sophie Hunger; and James Riotto (1), Stéphane "Alf" Briat (2, 8, 2:2), and Band (3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 2:1, 2:4, 2:5); John Vanderslice (10, 12, 2:3, 2:6)
Comments:
The version I have has two discs (the second is 6 tracks). Like all of her albums, this one has many flavours but always united by Sophia Hunger's strong songwriting and urgent vocals. It's edgy and catchy and always intriguing. She's one of a kind. One of my favourite discs of 2015. (Neile)
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