SOKOS DREAMS DICTATE HER REALITY

The LA based French singer talks us through her hopeless romanticism, gothic sensibility and new album, My Dreams Dictate My Reality.

Three years ago French singer/songwriter Soko aka Stéphanie Sokolinski, unleashed her debut album, I Thought I Was An Alien and the music world collectively fell hard for the brunette from Bordeaux.

After touring the album worldwide and falling in and out of love with boys, girls and the music industry, Soko resettled in Los Angeles and took a hiatus to work through her crippling anxiety and develop a new musical direction.

Now she's blonde and back with a darker sophomore record, My Dreams Dictate My Reality. Produced by one of her heroes Ross Robinson, the man behind some of the later works of her favourite band The Cure, as well as nu metal megabands Korn, Slipknot and Sepultura. The resulting album is a Californian goth dream with an unapologetic lyrical openness that is both heartbreaking, joyous and a requiem for all of our past selves. 

Soko proved she is as candid in her art as IRL when she divulged to i-D some crucial things about herself.

1. Soko is a crazy workaholic…
"I barely get five hours sleep on good days, I have to deal with time difference while traveling and end up staying up, working all day and night. Also, I love the adrenaline and rush that goes into trying to make things happen, whether it's through giving birth to an album or directing music videos or making my artwork. I love deadlines and how crazy, insanely creative it makes me feel, I thrive on this and it's sort of twisted... the more I work, the happier I am.

2. She suffers from social anxiety…
"Most of the time, it's really hard for me to be around people and I don't really have a home so I crash with friends all the time, meaning I'm never alone. But I chose the people to surround myself with, it's different with strangers. I sometimes just vanish aka French exit out of places when I start feeling my heart beating too fast with anxiety and I retire in my safe bubble of aloneness."

3. Soko believes she is undateable…
"I always get dumped. I've never broke up with anyone ever, I think people are scared of me or something. Perhaps it's the case of - at first they like the idea of me, but then they get bored and abandon me... boo hoo. I'm a hopeless romantic, so I'm doomed to be sad and lonely forever I guess."

4. Her most prized possession is a Farfisa Organ…
"It resides at my place in Paris, it's from the late 70s and sounds goth as hell. Every single time I'm charged with a lot of emotions, I sit down to play it and write a song. The last one I wrote on it was Visions which is on my new album."

5. Soko is really tactile…
"I force my band members to give me massages, cuddles and kisses everyday when we tour and I equally give back the love! It really helps keep us close and in a good mood."