02 / BIOGRAPHY
About Sophya.
Sophya St. James began singing as a child. Her first project as a lead vocalist, Baby Fiend, began in 2001 and introduced her to writing partner and producer Ray Taylor-Smith. Taylor-Smith’s association with Sex Gang Children, one of her early musical influences, helped shape their collaboration.
She went on to front New Collapse for five years, building a reputation in the underground scene for cathartic performances and a deep, haunting voice. A near-fatal car accident changed the course of her life, and the band played its final show in December 2007.
After several years of grieving and soul-searching, Sophya sought out Taylor-Smith and the two began working together again. Joined by a band of multi-instrumentalists and saxophonist Adrián Terrazas-González, she developed her Gothic Soul sound: soulful arrangements with the hypnotic quality and vocal intensity of her earlier music.
