ifitbeyourwill Podcast
“ifitbeyourwill" Podcasts is on a mission to talk to amazing indie artists from around the world! Join us for cozy, conversational episodes where you'll hear from talented and charismatic singer-songwriters, bands from all walks of life talk about their musical process & journey. Let's celebrate being music lovers!
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ifitbeyourwill Podcast
ifitbeyourwill S05E15 • Sophie Jamieson
What happens when music transforms from an obligation to a lifeline? UK singer-songwriter Sophie Jamieson takes us on her remarkable journey from classical training to authentic self-expression in this deeply moving conversation.
Growing up with piano lessons and orchestral bassoon playing, Sophie never truly connected with music until she discovered songwriting in university. During a period of mental health struggles, writing her own songs became what she calls "the kindest thing I could do for myself" – a radical act of self-compassion that changed everything.
Sophie shares the fascinating evolution of her creative process, revealing how she's become increasingly "lyric forward" over time. She's particularly drawn to the power of a song's first line, which often emerges quickly and without overthinking, guiding the rest of the composition naturally. "I find it really interesting how within a sentence there's a word that wants to be long, a couple of short words that are rhythmic, and somehow you can just hear chord changes within that," she explains.
The conversation explores the vulnerability inherent in sharing deeply personal work with the world. Rather than feeling exposed, Sophie finds that true songs tap into something universal: "When you've written something that feels like you want to share it, it's because you realize you've tapped into something that's a bit bigger than you." This perspective transforms vulnerability from a risk to a strength.
Sophie also reflects on the magical connection that happens during live performances – "the most alive kind of space to be in" – where songs take on their own life beyond both performer and audience. As she looks ahead to a year of shows across the UK and Europe while developing new material, her focus remains on putting creativity first and worrying less about industry expectations.
Listen now to this enlightening conversation about finding your authentic voice, the healing power of creativity, and the courage to share your truth with the world. If you've ever struggled with self-expression or wondered how artists transform personal pain into universal connection, this episode offers both inspiration and practical insights from an artist at the height of her powers.
Welcome, little world. Don't think too much, just come. There's room for you some more more. My arms goes this way. You can't miss me well people.
colleyc:Here we are another episode. If you're, if it be your little podcast, it's a mouthful sometimes. Um, we are into season five. I love reaching over to, uh, the uk. I mean, they have such amazing artists and, in particular, I find their singer-songwriters outstanding. And today I'm sparing no, uh, I'm sparing nothing. I'm bringing sophie james, who's just put out an outstanding record I still want to share, which has a lot of meaning to that little title and we'll get into a little bit of that. But this record came out January 17th 2025, so it's been out in the air for a while. So, sophie, thanks so much for taking some time and hopping on here with me.
Sophie Jamieson:It's my pleasure. Thanks for having me.
colleyc:Yeah, this has been really fun to kind of get into. Whenever I prepare for these episodes I really I listen to, but I have this. Coming back to your records, particularly choosing and your latest, I still want to share and kind of listening to the differences, because they really are their own little children, you know. You know how children are all like. We love them equally, but they're different. Well, I was getting that sense out of listening to two of them. But before we get into all that, tell me a little bit about how it all started for you. How did, how did music come into your life? Um, you know your earliest kind of or or important recollections of when, when music kind of started shifting a little bit of of your, your trajectory of where you might go in life?
Sophie Jamieson:um, well, I, I was forced to play music from a young age. Um and I've said forced like it's a horrible word, but you know I was I was planted in front of a piano and then a recorder and uh, and then put in some orchestras with a bassoon, of all things, as a teenager and um, I was brought up on, you know I was. I was brought up on um with some diet of classical music from my mum's side and come from a family of of who felt that music was an important part of an education. I guess remember particularly connecting on a on a very deep level with what I was doing then, and I think there was a strange kind of change when I went to university and like left um, home, home, um, when I, I just started to discover music for myself in in terms of songwriting and started to discover, um, the sort of new folk revival scene that was happening in the uk, um and in the us. That um, uh, like kind of switched, flicked a switch in my brain and um, to be really honest, I, uh, I was, I.
Sophie Jamieson:I struggled with some mental health stuff as a teenager, as like a lot, a lot of teenagers do, and um, and I spent, um, you know, the last few years of school like struggling with like a lot of obsessive, compulsive behavior and struggling with, like you know, self self punishment of various kinds, and once I started to find that I could write songs, um, it was just the most, it was just the kindest thing I could actually do for myself was um was write my own music. That was like completely far away from everything that I'd been taught, all the ways I'd been taught to play music and um, and that's when, and I think that's when um, you know, this sort of began. Uh was like very much a source of of solace and gentleness for myself, which I've always struggled to maintain. Um, that, but it's, it's, it's been that usually.
colleyc:That is that relationship with um, with the yeah, kind part of myself, yeah, yeah, it's interesting and and when you were growing up, like music was always kind of seen as something you had to do, rather than what you then you wanting to do it was it. Is that an accurate statement?
Sophie Jamieson:I mean, I I don't really remember, to be honest, it was just part of my childhood. Um, I, I went to a school that was, like, very well provided with music program and I, uh, and I played in a lot of chamber groups of various kinds and I was used to being around a lot of orchestral music and I enjoyed that. I loved being part of that.
Sophie Jamieson:But it was kind of habitual.
Sophie Jamieson:You know it was different. It comes with a lot of um. You know my mum could have opinions about the music that we were playing, um, or the way that I played my instruments and uh, but then I don't know when. When you start building your own project, you have to let go of everything you've learned, in a way, all of that particular kind of discipline, and create a new kind of discipline um, and it's.
colleyc:Do you remember, sophie, some of those, um, like what you had to do, or some of the things that you had to practice, more to create that separation, that to reclaim the ownership of your music or or your musicality um, to be honest, I don't I, I just listened to loads of folk music. That was kind of your door that opened to the possibility of I will do this or I would like to do this, on. You know, as, as a person.
Sophie Jamieson:I didn't think very hard about deciding to do it. I just found myself doing it because it became necessary myself doing it because it became necessary. Um and um, I just yeah, I just listened a lot. For me, that's always been the greatest educator has just been listening and soaking it in, going to gigs and um and yeah and like, yeah, learning other people's songs as well. I've not been very good at doing that, actually for most of my adult life. I've just started to try and make that a practice.
Sophie Jamieson:But, yeah, and just like, paying attention to the power of words as well, and I think it's important, I'm constantly learning the sheer importance of like allowing the most pure and childish, naive voice to come through during songwriting. I've actually been thinking about it a lot lately. Um, and I think that's kind of really goes against a lot of what you might be forced to do in high school. When you're um, you know, doing grades on the piano or whatever, you're, uh, very much like following somebody else's trajectory. But when you're writing songs, you, you, I don't know. I think the the best thing you can do is, um, like, listen really really closely to the quietest, most vulnerable voice.
colleyc:That's generally been forced really really deep down yeah do you remember the first song that you, that you wrote, where you started to feel like you were on to something that you know, in the process of finding your voice and finding the style that you wanted to? You know, look through, as you know, as, as as your creative lens. How did, how did that start to form? Like what were your, your, your moments or your songs that started to reveal themselves to you that? This is something that I would like to share with others.
Sophie Jamieson:This is something that I would like to share with others. It's a good question. To be honest, I don't remember ever thinking about it very hard and that was a theme in my in my early years of getting out publicly and and playing gigs and releasing music, cause I, you know, I started doing that when I was 21. Yeah and um or 22 and um did that for a few years before having a little a bit of a breakdown and having to stop. But during those first few years I didn't um, I just didn't think very far ahead and I just let happen what was happening without really noticing what I actually wanted.
Sophie Jamieson:I think that's something that young people do and have to do, um, but in terms of, yeah, like individual songs and I, I don't think I really thought about my style very much, but I, I remember noticing that my style was informed by my limitations, um, and I was never um very adept at the guitar, um, and I just kind of I wrote songs within the, the limited ability that I had, and and um, and I actually found that very creatively stimulating um, but I, you know, I think I had, I had a, I had sort of a kind of atmosphere that I was drawn to and I think I tried to emulate that and I was kind of fascinated with a certain balance or tension between intimacy and detachment, um uh, which I, which I'm less attracted to now, but there are a few songs from very early on that I think kind of became hallmarks of the style that um was sort of playing it.
Sophie Jamieson:I mean, there's a song called diner which I is um was probably that the one that um that got noticed early on. I've always found it fascinating because I didn't I don't think I tried to do anything in particular with that, but I think it's a strange little song. I don't know, I don't really remember how it came to be.
colleyc:Was that on your first release 2013, where that was your first release that you ever put out?
Sophie Jamieson:Yes.
colleyc:And those were some of the first songs that you had penned as well.
Sophie Jamieson:I mean I wrote songs from the age of 11, 10 or 11. Like you know, I probably wrote dozens of awful, awful songs, and then there was like one or two that were a little better when I was in my later years at school. But when I went to university I was writing some of these songs, okay.
colleyc:And when you first started, what was your process for songwriting like, and has it evolved over time?
Sophie Jamieson:I think to be honest, I I don't particularly remember how I wrote like 12 or 13 years ago, I think maybe I I was I would often start with a guitar part. Nowadays, um, um, I'm really very lyric forward. Um, I think words have just become more and more powerful to me. I'm so much more aware of what they can do and I'm more and more fascinated by by them and what you can do with um, um, oh, I don't know, it's just yeah, maybe as I've got older and I've, I've accumulated, you know, reading and listening and just um, I'm I'm ever fascinated by the power of the first line of a song, and that's nowadays. I, I mostly probably start with one line that feels that comes quickly and that feels true and un overthought and that usually leads the rest of the song. But I think that's become habit.
Sophie Jamieson:To be honest, I think I used to do a bit more of sometimes guitar first, sometimes words, but um, um, yeah, I find that the most stimulating thing, because the the guitar chords usually fit around um, the phrasing, the lyrical phrasing, and I find that really interesting as well, how, I don't know, you can kind of come up with a sentence and within that sentence there's, you know, a word that wants to be long, there's a word that is, there's a couple of short words that are rhythmic, and somehow you can just hear chord change within that. I love that. I love songs that feel incredibly natural.
colleyc:It's so well described, Sophie, that's really I like how you put words to that Very interesting. And we were talking too, before we hopped on, about just your two latest releases in 2022 and then 2025. And as you were talking, I told you I was obsessively listening to these two records and I really started to notice, too, in the latest, how much more room you've given the lyrics to to grow within um. I don't know if it was, but you you mentioned that, so it struck me like yes, like that's. I find the musicality in the latest release allows your words to feel them more to, to connect with them, because you're giving them so much room to to grow within Um. Do you notice, like what? What are your biggest notices from choosing to your latest in 2025 that just came out? I still want to share. Did you change how you built those two records differently, or are they pretty much built similarly?
Sophie Jamieson:That's a good question. Well, they were made with two really different people. Question well, they were made with two really different people. Um, and I think that generally is just has an enormous impact in in so many ways on on how things are done. Um and I, I was aware I felt like going into the studio with this latest record I felt like this was my best songwriting and that the songs were like they were strong and I wanted to um, really um, l, elevate them or like just give them.
Sophie Jamieson:I just I wanted um as as as, as best as possible. But then once I went into the studio you know the way I worked with Guy, my producer, we didn't really have to talk that much about those kind of choices. It just kind of felt very natural. And I feel like between the two, I feel like choosing is maybe a bit more of a sort of watery record where it kind of goes from blurry to distinct, from blurry to distinct a bit through it.
Sophie Jamieson:Um, and and and that was like not necessarily intentional, but I think like a byproduct of the nature of the record and what it was about. And this one feels to me like a kind of like I don't know, I kind of see it a bit like a ribbon or like, oh, like a wave, that kind of like does the big movements and everything kind of moves with it. Um, I think there's a bit more of things feeling tied together and unified and that they're being a bit more focused, um, where I wanted the focus to be, um, but I don't know. I think that also what was, uh, I think happened because I think the songs were stronger, um, and the songs were able to lead a bit more, um, but you know, I didn't think about it too much, right.
colleyc:But in retrospect now. So you've had, like, this record out in the world for you know, a couple months now, a few months almost. How do you feel that, the reaction that you're getting for it? How are you receiving that? Are you like, what's it like for an artist when you release a record and you kind of have all this anticipation of the date of the release and then like, what do you, what do you look for after a record's been released to have a sense that that it accomplished what you wanted to?
Sophie Jamieson:to have a sense that that it accomplished what you wanted to. Um, I think I've learned to, uh, not look for anything. Um, I've generally found having now done this twice and I learned a lesson from the first time. But, um, you're always going to be surprised by what people hear and how they interpret, and, um, and that you know, I think it's a cliche. You know, everyone says on release day you know, this record is yours, now it's not mine anymore, and every time I read that I'm like yeah, oh, oh my.
Sophie Jamieson:God, it's normal, but it really is. It's a cliche for a reason. You really do have to. You do actually have to let go.
Sophie Jamieson:I have had to detach myself from the record somewhat since it came out, because I'm just exhausted by it I've heard that many times like just because of the intimacy that you have with that, before it's released, like you know every second of every millisecond of what that sounded and and the lyrics and the, I'm sure it's kind of like yeah, let's shelve it, it's good, I don't need to hear it anymore.
Sophie Jamieson:Like I think. I think because, because it's this and the last record are both, in in their own slightly different ways, very vulnerable and very revealing um of of of me and I I I haven't done a lot to hide much generally and, um, and that can be very jarring when something is released, because to some extent, you know well, I'm not, I'm not putting music out in order to be understood. I write the songs so that I can understand myself and then when it comes out like, well, I've actually I happen to have put forward this most, um, like the, the best, they've done the best job I possibly could have, um of painting this important picture to me, yet still, um, a lot of people are just not gonna see it, see it for what I see it as. And, um, my, my first record.
Sophie Jamieson:I found that really um, really difficult um, because I thought I'd actually been very, uh, careful as to what I said and what I didn't say and still I felt like a lot was still assumed or gaps were filled in that I didn't realize someone would think they had the right to fill in with stuff that really didn't feel like it sat right. So you know this one, I was aware that that was a, that was a possibility, but overall I, I it's felt, it's actually felt really much better than I thought it would. That's good. Yeah, I knew a little bit more what to expect and I'm a bit tougher, you know.
colleyc:I was going to ask you that too. The vulnerability it's such a like you're laying things out there for anybody to take, interpret, put their thoughts into it. How did you first get that almost confidence to be like I will put this out here and anybody can have access to it? These are super revealing and personal thoughts that I have here. You go, like I always, I'm always curious about what it is in a musician that that that can, that can make that jump over to, of of penning them, writing them, building them, feeling them and then letting it free, almost like you know a bird leaving its nest writing them, building them, feeling them and then letting it free, almost like you know a bird leaving its nest. You know, once it's big enough to fly, off it goes. How did you get that confidence to fly as a musician with the music that you put out?
colleyc:that is you, you know, I mean it's you in lyrical play and in musicality, um, but you know some pretty interesting, interesting and tough topics that you, that you navigate um, I think what just popped into my head was that, yeah, you say that it's me, but I think when it feels good to put out, it doesn't actually feel like necessarily like me. It feels like like that's. Those are, when you've written something that feels like you want to share it, it's because you, you realize you've tapped into something that's a bit bigger than you and um, um, yeah, I, I like some kind of universal feeling, that that you felt you captured and that most people will feel these things.
Sophie Jamieson:You know, people feel these things. It's not just me that feels them like yeah like kind of putting a mirror up for sometimes for people to kind of look at themselves and reflect upon who they are as well exactly, and maybe even in a slightly more woo-woo kind of way I I think, um, there's, there's like a mysterious sort of realm that you enter into when you perform a song live.
Sophie Jamieson:That feels very true and it's like the most alive kind of space to be in. When you're delivering something. That feels like it's not just yours and it's not just the audiences, but it like I don't know like belongs in the world somewhere that has its own space and it's just, it's, um, it's, it's like the best, it's my favorite thing to do and it's, it's a thing that makes me feel most, um, um, part of this world and connected in general, um, uh, and that's why that's why I write like that's what I'm seeking out, apart from just also like trying to figure myself out. Figuring myself out is it was also me just figuring out um, this, this, this world and its mystery and tapping into it as much as possible. And you know, I feel so lucky that I have a way of doing that and and even most of the time, I feel like I don't.
Sophie Jamieson:I'm like I did that. How do I do that? Again, I can't remember. It feels so impossible today, but in that sense, you know the vulnerability. I don't. I don't really bat an eyelid about it anymore and it's a question that has come up um during this album release a few times and every time I I answer you know how? How are you okay with being so vulnerable in your uh songs? I I do wonder if I'm um, if, like, maybe I've, is it a bit weird that I that I'm so fine with it?
Sophie Jamieson:but I think what you mentioned about the the live performing yeah, it says it all like when you're performing these songs. You see how it's affecting people. I imagine like you can feel that in the crowd.
Sophie Jamieson:No, well, I can, I, yes. I mean, crowds are weird, sometimes you can't tell, okay, but some but. But it doesn't matter a lot of the time, it just doesn't matter as long as you're feeling it. Is that hard for you to get into when you're performing live.
Sophie Jamieson:Is it hard to get into that flow or does it come pre? You said your first line are really important, so I imagine you feel it pretty quickly.
Sophie Jamieson:It really depends. So I imagine you feel it pretty quickly it really depends, it depends. I'm a sensitive person, very sensitive to environment, and there are so many factors that can affect how easy it is to sink into a performance and often it takes a couple of songs, sometimes if the if everything is just right, um, it can happen straight away. Or you know, there are so many gigs where like, well, I think I played two songs out of six. Well, but but then you get good feedback afterwards all the same, you know we're always our harshest critics, right, like I'm.
colleyc:I'm sure people come up after and, like you, change, you, transform me, or you, you know like you've been, you know that was meant. Everything to me, um, that's, that's pretty cool. Well, sophie, to kind of bring things to a close again, just I thank you again. I think your insights and your vulnerability, we'll say, is really I think artists out there listening to this will be able to identify and be like I'm not the only one. Oftentimes, when we're in our brain, we think it's you know, I'm the only one that feels this. In reality we don't, and I think that your songs put that forth, that we all struggle and it's okay, we will figure it out and we will find the light at the end of the tunnel, and I think a lot of your music brings the vulnerability, the difficulty, but also there's there's. There's a light, and when a lot of small lights come together, it gets pretty bright out there.
Sophie Jamieson:So oh, that's beautiful, Chris.
colleyc:I thank you. I was inspired by your Twinkie lights.
Sophie Jamieson:Oh yeah, that can't stand bright light. It's just very light from here.
Sophie Jamieson:No.
colleyc:I love it.
colleyc:I love it. So, to just kind of wrap things up, so if you were, what's 2025? Hold for you with your music that you can, that you can share with us, are you going to be doing some, some shows and other such things, and are you continually writing for your next record? Are you taking a break? What? What can you reveal to us that is public?
Sophie Jamieson:Well, I'm playing some shows. I'm sort of playing little chunks of shows throughout the year in the UK and Europe and I'm working on my writing practice. I'm working on my writing practice and I'm writing, but I'm also I'm really trying to open up my writing a bit and allow myself to do things in some new ways. So that's like a big thing for me this year and I'm just trying to um thing for me this year and I'm just, I'm just trying to um, I'm just trying to, like, put creativity first this year and try to worry less about, um, the industry and how things look from the outside and um, yeah, and somewhere, somewhere this year, I'll be recording something, I hope.
Sophie Jamieson:And, yeah, it's a year of creative stuff and cooking, I think what have you been cooking these days?
Sophie Jamieson:just as a quick closure, what are some of the fun things you like to cook?
colleyc:oh well, I mean in terms of like songs, oh okay.
colleyc:I'm a big cook too, so I was like, oh cooking.
Sophie Jamieson:But I'm gonna go and cook some, uh some noodle soup in a minute, so nice well, so this has been a really really great conversation.
Sophie Jamieson:I really appreciate it um thanks for taking some time. Yeah, it was really cool and thank you for putting these records out. Um. I hope that you don't stop um because like you said at the start of this like I think it is much for the listener, it is for you, um, because it is like we can help figure stuff out on ourselves through the work that you've done for us. So thank, thank you, thank you for that.
Sophie Jamieson:Thank you so much. This has been a really lovely chat. I really appreciate it.
Sophie Jamieson:Cool. Well, you have a good evening.
Sophie Jamieson:You too. I broke it into half there in my hand. The camera Couldn't get the focus To let it head to go. We come to it here, you know. Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh. With urges, you touch and lose the land. Ooh, ooh, ooh, widening the short Like curtains rising, letting go of all. You've got to find it. You levitate an age above the blur, drawing out the mark of a life that's still in the view. No, I'm not here to look at you. Ooh, ooh, ooh, Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, Ooh, ooh you.
