SOPHIE KOH

Nine years after being 'Unearthed' and growing up as a self-made musician in Australia has seen Sophie Koh at the receiving end of TV appearances (Neighbours, Spicks & Specks, RockWiz), awards (Best Female Artist, The Age), and supporting tours (Eels, The Go-Betweens, Paul Kelly) across the country. But when she hasn't been tirelessly working as a self-funded musician she's been working as an optometrist, having only recently finished working as a part of a Fred Hollows team helping train eye care workers in remote villages of Papua New Guinea. Koh discusses her love for three-and-a-half-minute pop songs, working in third world countries, and producing her latest album, Oh My Garden, with Brad Wood (Placebo, Ben Lee, Veruca Salt) in LA.

How would you describe your relationship with pop music?

I feel like I’ve come full circle with ‘pop’. The first pop music I discovered was Madonna. We had moved from Singapore to New Zealand when I was 10 - it coincided with the time where I was discovering the Western world. Before that, the only music I was really aware of was classical piano. I was obsessed with Express Yourself and remember scrap-booking any Madonna images I could find.

Since then I went through a stage when I thought ‘pop’ was a dirty word. I wanted to be alternative folky and wanted to be respected for my music, for something other than pop. I don’t know why. But now I realise I was in denial - it’s always been at my roots so embrace it. I love polished three-and-a-half minute pop songs with glossy compressed production and clear lines. From Beck to Robyn. I love sexy, grooveable pop songs whether it’s coming from an acoustic base or an 80’s synth base. It’s all good.

Being an independent pop artist in Australia can be tricky at times. If feel that there isn’t a lot of us around because there isn’t the right radio airplay to support it. One of my dreams in life is to set up a national radio station devoted entirely to pop music, but not ‘commercial’ pop if you know what I mean. Australia NEEDS it.

You released your third album, Oh My Garden, late last year, which you recorded in LA over 18 months. How was the experience of having the producer hands of Brad Wood (Pete Yorn, Smashing Pumpkins) on side to craft your four-years-in-the-making album songwriting?

Brad is a genius. It was a breath of fresh air from the first day I met him. I quickly realised that the production sound I had always imagined for my records was in a U.S. studio like Brad’s.

We recorded Oh My Garden in his backyard studio (Seagrass Studio) behind his house in Studio City. He wasn’t afraid to make things sound big, glossy and non-apologetic. He turned my demo sessions that I had recorded in Australia into something amazing. He had a natural gearing towards 80’s synth and studio pop but had been busy working with alternative rock/folk bands for the last little while, so he was quite excited to work with me. My albums have always been studio albums where I work very closely with the producer as a duo to craft the production together. We also try to play all the instruments between us and Brad is an amazing multi-instrumentalist who understands pop, so he plays for the ‘song’ and doesn’t try to overdo things. I was very lucky to have him onside all the way, and I learnt a hell of a lot. 

He’s also a super nice guy. I call him a producer Dad. Lots of coffee, sushi, chats, picking up his kids from school, playing with his dog between takes…that kind of stuff. He would even drive me to the train station every day. Not the rock 'n' roll environment you normally imagine.

You first met Ben Lee on the set of Neighbours in 2010 while you were playing a cameo role. How did this chance meeting shape your musical path?

I handed him my older album All Shook Up, thinking nothing would come out of it, but to my surprise, I got a nice email from him the following week, saying that he’d like to collaborate if I ever stopped by LA. He gave me some feedback on what he liked and didn’t like about my works so far, which I found very refreshing, coming from a fellow artist. He introduced me to U.S. producer Brad Wood and the rest was history. One trip over to LA then became four trips.

I Understand is a very unsettling clip, yet it does vividly evoke the sentiment behind a waiving relationship. How was the behind the scenes experience of being submerged under water?

The video shoot was physically and mentally demanding. It looks so deceivingly simple but for most of the filming (10 hour shoot) I was actually hanging - gaffer taped - to a rotating device. I had to get my back corrected at the physio a few days later. The directors wanted my face to go through gravitational changes and stress, without me acting, so they turned me upside down. The hardest part was being underwater, upside down, hands and feet tied, with plugs up my nose, no eyesight and with no muscle reflexes left. I nearly choked the first take. I could hear the directors yelling, “Get her out, get her up NOW!”. Yikes, still can’t believe we did it. We have a behind the scenes video of how we did it.

What some of your fans may not realise is that when you’re not songwriting, touring and producing, you work as an optometrist. A recent visit to Papua New Guinea saw you being a part of the Fred Hollows team, helping train eye care workers in remote villages. How does this type of work compare to being live on stage?

Well, it’s totally polar opposites. It’s my Clark Kent vs. Superman scenario maybe. It is totally isolating and humbling…and sweaty and dirty at times. It makes me feel remarkably privileged when I’m amongst these third world environments. I’ve thought about this before, the funny juxtaposition between my love for music and working in eyes. Perhaps it’s an innate pull to sensory things. Sound and sight, maybe? When I’m on stage the most amazing part is being able to share my inner thoughts and moods in a song (sonically) with a live audience, to feel that they get it. When working in remote and third world communities in eyes, you are also giving a lot of yourself to others by helping them the best you can. It’s amazing how education and knowledge can change these people’s lives.

How much closer are you to fulfilling your lifelong dream of becoming a Playschool presenter?

Well, no-one’s called up yet. But just putting it out there: I can sing, play guitar, craft, draw, dance and play a mean xylophone. Why wouldn’t they have me?

Which band or artist is your (secret) guilty pleasure?

I recently piano jammed Peter Gabriel’s Best Of from start to finish. Sledgehammer makes me feel sexy walking down the street. Yeah, you gotta try it. I get out Alanis’ All I Really Want about once a year, LOUD and dance around in my room. Brings me back to the age of 13. I still know every single word. Love it.

Famous last words from Sophie Koh?

Life is short. Just do it.