Sophie Villy

Biography

Villy's mother, Mila, has both Ukrainian and Polish roots; she is a designer. He father, David, is a musician and communications engineer from Georgia. At the age of five, Sophie began studying piano at a music school associated with the Tbilisi State Conservatoire and spent the next four years of her life there. Ultimately, however, she turned to the guitar and began composing her own material at the age of ten. Between the ages of five and fifteen she traveled Europe,as a professional sports diver. Qualifying for a wide range of diving competitions, she won Euromeeting in Strasbourg (2002), but was forced to abandon the sport due to a knee injury. Music gradually became an alternative to sport and Villy started playing in Tbilisi clubs at the age of sixteen.

Following the Russo-Georgian War of 2008, Villy moved to Kiev, as she has both Georgian and Ukrainian ancestors. Here she finished studying tourism at university and formed her first group, Backstage. The band was a short-lived project and Villy began a solo career. She began playing in regional festivals, now as an independent singer-songwriter. Open-air performances included Koktebel Jazz Festival. Domestic billing then led to additional invitations from events in Florida, New York, and California. Once in America, Villy sang in English, as a result of which US periodicals noted––in several venues––the combined influences of Nina Simone, Jeff Buckley, and Nick Drake in her material.

A debut LP was published in 2012––"Mother Fish." Civic themes soon became evident in a politically charged single, entitled "Position" and dedicated to both private and political liberties in Georgia. The song was broadcast in heavy rotation on KCRW radio in California and simultaneously aired by Michael Sheen on BBC Radio Two in London. Britain's The Guardian newspaper listed Villy's 2014 song "Connected" among a global selection of new tracks––as airplay grew concurrently in both New York and Los Angeles. The following year a second album was published––"Dress"––while additional shows were announced across Europe. In Ukraine, "Dress" was declared Album of the Year by influential Ukrainian webzine Comma.Com.UA.

In 2015 Villy presented her side-project "Philosophie" in Europe and the United States, while opening for Mercury Prize and Brit Awards nominee Anna Calvi in Budapest. Also in 2015, she played at the SXSW festival in Texas. She has toured America on three occasions, including a show at New York's Brooklyn Bowl hosted by Chris Douridas and with onstage support in Los Angeles from Tom Waits' guitarist Omar Torrez. In April 2015 Villy collaborated with famous Georgian composers Dato Evgenidze and Nika Machaidze (Nikakoi). She also performed at the Shota Rustaveli Theatre with Dato Evgenidze. In June 2015 Sophie performed at the European Stadium of Culture in Poland and in July at the main stage of Tbilisi Open Air (with headliners Placebo, Archive, Beth Hart). In Autumn American record label Dado Records released "The Days" - her collaboration with the Georgian musician Sinoptik Music. In December she took a part at the big tribute show for the legendary Georgian musician and activist Irakli Charkviani, at the Tbilisi Concert Hall.

A third album from Sophie Villy was recently presaged by the song "Reveal" ––just before New Year's Day, 2016. As with interviews in the Ukrainian press, so the song struck a repeatedly political note. It was "dedicated to heroes internationally––who have shown a genuine love for their country." Since political tensions have worsened of late, Villy's catalog is increasingly seen in terms of a mediating role, between languages and conflicted cultures.

Albums

Singles

Video