Producer/DJ Anomie AKA Sofie Loizou has just released her debut album Permanent revelation, including the single Rise Up, featuring Canadian beatboxer, MC Shamik. Tomatrax caught up with Anomie to talk about her music.
What made you want to become a musician?
Music found me, I don’t think I had much choice in the matter. Music is the essence of humanity. It expresses our connection with the intangible.
Where did the name Anomie come from?
In Greek it means lawless, defining anything or anyone against or outside the law.
You make music both as Anomie and as Sofie Loizou, what made you choose to put out music under two names?
Anomie is essentially a side project, that explores the bass music and hip hop oriented side of my musical personality, and exploring the spirit of resistance. It came about as a name originally in 2006 because I wanted to put out music anonymously as an experiment to see how people would react differently without knowing it was me. It was a very revealing experiment!
When writing music do you know which name it will be released under or do you work that out once it’s finished?
It’s generally pretty obvious from the outset. I hope to have many pseudonyms in the future, as I explore other aspects of my musical interests.
Where did the album title Permanent revelation come from?
It perfectly describes a spiritual and political awakening that had overcome me during the writing of the album, which took place during the height of the Arab Spring and Occupy Movements.
What made you pick Rise Up as the album’s single?
Rise Up was the second single, it’s got a stomping beat, heavy synths and an important message that Shamik and I felt we wanted to communicate, that in light of current events, make it also a very pertinent message.
What was it like working with MC Shamik?
Great, we hung out at my studio in Sydney during his tour. I had come back from Berlin with an armful of new tracks and lots of ideas how to finish them. I played him a few instrumentals and asked him to pick one. He chose the one I hoped he would pick, a fortuitous coincidence! We discussed the concept of Rise Up and the message about people standing up against injustice and tyranny.
Your songs have some confronting lyrics, where did you get the inspiration for the lyrics?
I didn’t write the lyrics, but discussed with both Billie Rose and Shamik about the themes we wanted to explore together, and what I was thinking about when I wrote the music. I don’t see any of the content as confronting, more, realistic and honest.
You’ve released the album as a double vinyl, do you think vinyl will continue to be a relevant medium for music in the future?
It has held out this long, I don’t see it going away any time soon. Vinyl is forever :)
Do you ever listen to your own music?
I do listen to & revisit my work regularly, particularly the work that I haven’t released yet. Listening to older tracks is like putting on an old dress you loved so much that its got holes and and a bit threadbare, but you still love it.
What other music do you listen to?
Hip hop, beats, jazz, house, funk, soul, classical, techno, experimental, psychedelic, dub, reggae and everything in between.
Now that the album is out what do you plan on doing next?
I’m heading back to the mecca of music making, Berlin, until October, working on some new projects, in between picnics in the park and dancing like crazy in the clubs. Tschüss
Check out Anomie’s Facebook page to find out more!