Design by Ingrid Frahm
My phone buzzed relentlessly in the hours after Sophie Xeon’s death. Trans girls from Brooklyn to London, Stockholm to Los Angeles registering our collective shock that our very own Immaterial Girl had gotten free of her body too soon. As we traded earnest sorrows edged with the razor barbs that are the girls’ primary language, it wasn’t lost on any of us that our collective urge to mourn together was hampered not just by the stretch of geography but now by a global pandemic that prevents the world from marking the passing of Sophie, stylized as SOPHIE, in the only way appropriate. Trans theater maker Travis Alabanza
“It is with profound sadness that I have to inform you that musician and producer SOPHIE passed away this morning around 4am in Athens, where the artist had been living, following a sudden accident,” the statement read. “At this time respect and privacy for the family is our priority. We would also ask for respect for her fanbase, and to treat the private nature of this news with sensitivity. SOPHIE was a pioneer of a new sound, one of the most influential artists in the last decade. Not only for ingenious production and creativity but also for the message and visibility that was achieved. An icon of liberation.”
Sophie, on the other hand, had shared, The first thing Tzef said was, âWhy are you late?â I couldnât believe someone who didnât know me would talk to me like that.â She had then added, We were both really annoyed by each other, and it stayed like that for a long time.â It was Tzef who had tried to bury the hatchet and she had taken Sophie out for dinner. That turned out to be their first date and this date also inspired Sophie s song Sunscreen .
A still of Sophie from her single It s Okay to Cry (YouTube screenshot)