Q: I love the smooth, nostalgic dreamscape of Butterfly, can you tell us
more about the influence of this track?
SERENA SOPHIA: Butterfly was written to be dreamy and floaty and all showcasing the thoughts that are going on inside Serena’s head. It is meant to be calm and soothing and the music had to support this. Butterfly is a song sung to herself, dealing with strength, self love and acceptance of her life. It is about allowing yourself to feel what you feel in the moment, being lost about everything but accepting this and finding out ways to turn this around. Butterfly shows Serena singing to herself provoking the emotions she feels within her to encourage her to change her life and see how special she is. The Butterflies represent various things whether that be the people who care about her, an energy, all which lead her to see the beauty in life. At the end we hear Serena singing ‘I’ll make my new life, Ill choose my own path’ and we truly know that the song is ending on a high and Serena is beginning to soar into her new found freedom.
Q: What inspired you to write it in the first place?
SOPHIA: There was a time a number of years ago Serena felt extremely alone despite the presence of loving friends and family. It did not help that there was also someone present in her life that sucked every ounce of energy she had. Butterfly was written in order to prove that there is light at the end of the tunnel and you can overcome the dark thoughts you may have thought and you are worthy of support love and kindness..
Q: Is there a special moment during the creative process of Butterfly?
SOPHIA: Butterfly was actually composed very differently to how Serena would normally do things. The song began with Serena posting a reel on instagram improvising over a guitar loop she found on Youtube. She was then contacted by a producer on instagram called Say Hello to Rufus (Ben Lobban), whom she is now very close friends with. Ben wanted to develop the song as he saw great potential in it and then simply Butterfly was born, with Ben arranging the music to Serena’s melody and lyrics.The song itself is rough around the edges and this was done on purpose as she wanted it to be as real as possible. The vocals were recorded in the UK’s third lockdown in her music room in her house, something Serena does not normally do, however the vocals that were produced from this recording seemed to special to replicate and herself and Ben decided to keep these for the recording, despite some of the jingling from her many bracelets she wears on her wrists in some of the recordings. The way it has been recorded is truly authentic.
Q: Can you tell us about your musical background?
SOPHIA: Serena Sophia has lived and breathed music most of her life. She has a degree in Music from the University of Glasgow and a Masters in Musical Theatre from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She started dancing at the age of 7, then joined theatre school until the age of 17 until she went to university. She also plays piano and saxophone and worked as a singer/dancer/musician in Ibiza, New York, Dominican Republic, Miami, London performing on cruise ships and so forth.
Serena is known for her dark soulful vocals and also truthful lyrics about love and life. Her debut single ‘Diary of thoughts’ was released in December of 2020, with a video released in February 2021. Her second single ‘Hold On’ was released in May of 2021 and has featured on various dance tracks since with the most recent one ‘Anthem’ soaring its way through playlists, radio stations and articles throughout the UK and Europe. her most exciting inclusion as a fan of dance music was to be placed on Tiesto’s dance anthems on Spotify.
Q: Who are you currently listen to heavily?
SOPHIA: I love such different genres of music it is always constantly changing but just now I cannot stop listening to Snoh Alegra, Jorja Smith, Kanye’s new album, a band i recently discovered called The Midnight – they have these INSANE saxophone solo’s in them that I am just HERE FOR.
Q: What is the next exciting thing for your fans to look forward to?
SOPHIA: I have another single and music video coming out very soon called ‘GIVING ME’. This one is different to this one but in such a nice way. I AM VERY EXCITED!! I am also currently working as a performer on Celebrity Cruises at this very moment as i type this! I have been waiting MONTHS to do this job so I am so glad to be back doing what I love!!!
Interviewed by Katrina Yang
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