By Courtney Grimes One writer has described La Grande Sophie’s music as “kitchen music,” likening her to a chef who puts together a delicious meal from minimal ingredients. Her tasteful blend of English pop and French folk “chanson” has made her one of the hottest new artists in France and Germany. She’s nominated for a French Music Award for Best New Artist, and she’ll perform on the awards show (Mar. 5). The woman with the unusual name – which translates to Tall Sophie – began her musical career when she was petite Sophie. “I began to play classic guitar when I was nine years old,” she remembered. “My first guitar teacher was very academic, so I tried to teach myself to play the music I listened to on the radio. I formed my first band was when I was 13 years old, with my brother and a neighbor.” Sophie worked hard to establish herself in the musical world. “I played so many gigs, just one after the other, and finally one day my song was on the radio,” Sophie recalled. “My first Gibson was a Gibson Marauder, now a 335 cherry and also this beautiful SG Epiphone Emily the Strange! My favorite is the 335, like Chuck Berry!”

Sophie with her Strange SG during the rehearsal of the French Music Awards, Les Victoires de la Musique

Spending much of her time on the road promoting her image and her music, Sophie remembered one of the funnier incidents. “I was playing near the city of Lyon. A young girl came to the front of the stage. She knew all the songs’ lyrics and was miming every single lyric. Seeing that, the whole band started giggling and we couldn’t see anyone else except her. We really had to fight with ourselves to be in control again! But it turned out to be an incredible stage performance.” La Grande Sophie is in the process of putting together her new album, which she will begin recording in April. In the meantime, she remains true to her first love – performing. Next year, Sophie would love to be “on stage for a long tour,” and five years down the road she would love to be “on stage – in the studio - recording and then again on stage – in the studio - recording and once in a while be at home!”