Sophia Stel

Sophia Stel's to-the-point synthpop is a breath of fresh air in alternative circles, with EPs Object Permanence (2024) and How to Win At Solitaire (2025) well-poised to propel her into a new tier of recognition. The mesh of chipper, thoughtful electronica and the Canadian-born Stel's low but not disaffected voice have drawn comparisons to Ethel Cain and 070 Shake, eventually capturing the attention of well-known artists and producers who've dabbled in the same avant-pop spaces. Stel was born in 1998 in Saanich, British Columbia - one of 11 children in a religious family. Before pursuing music full-time, Stel lived a life of blue-collar jobs (from bartending to house painting) and free time spent with skateboarders. No doubt compounded by an at-times stark generational outlook, the weary self-determination is evident in her early work: raw, confessional vocal missives wrapped around motoric beats and hypnotic synths. After a pair of non-album singles in 2022, Stel made her mark with 2024's Object Permanence EP, which smartly integrated chiming guitars into the synthpop mix. The EP made the radar of PC Music founder A. G. Cook, a longtime collaborator of Charli XCX who helped codify the sound of hyperpop; he recruited Stel to open for him for several gigs that same year. 2025 found Stel making even more of a breakthrough with "I'll Take It," a pulse-quickening track added to a reissue of Object Permanence. The tune amassed millions of streams from use on social media, with acts like Troye Sivan and members of KATSEYE singing its praises. This primed the release of How to Win At Solitaire, her second EP, also released in 2025. Getting closer to hyperpop's inner circle did little to dull the edges of Solitaire, featuring standouts like "Everyone Falls Asleep in Their Own Time" and "All My Friends Are Models" (the latter coinciding with her eventual participation in Belgian designer Anna Demeulemeester's show at Paris Fashion Week). A new single, "Bitches Talk Shit," was released in the spring of 2026, about a month before Stel supported Lorde on some of the final dates of her Ultrasound World Tour. ~ Mike Duquette