Sophie de Quay Ask: Y?

Sophie de Quay are the Geneva-based electro-pop duo of singer/songwriter Sophie Loretan and multi-instrumentalist Simon Jaccard. They have been working together for five years, and “Y” is their second album. It was released by Big Lake Music/Rough Trade on 10 September 2021.

The daughter of a member of the Swiss diplomatic service, Sophie Loretan has lived in Geneva, Singapore, New York, Paris (where she studied at the conservatory), and Shanghai (as she relates in one of the songs on “Y”, “Rooftop”). All these places have left their imprint on her songs, albeit on a lyrical rather than a musical level. Lyrics written in English, French and Chinese certainly add a cosmopolitan flavour to a sumptuous-sounding album filled to the brim with big choruses and powerful chansons aimed straight at the world of glamourous bright lights and red carpets. The message of the album, says Sophie Loretan, is this: “Make the best of everything. Don’t let yourself be led astray from your path even when this path is stony and requires a lot of strength and dedication. Whatever it is, in the end, it will be worth the pain.”

Sophie de Quay
Big Lake Music
Rough Trade