Words by Andrea Gombalová

Music tip: Sophie Woodhouse and the Shaping of Inner Worlds

Sophie Woodhouse makes music that feels like it exists somewhere between memory and imagination. Built from hazy melodies, intimate vocals, and a strong sense of atmosphere, her songs don’t just tell stories, they create spaces. Places shaped by longing and the desire to turn everyday life into something slightly more cinematic. Raised in a home filled with music, Woodhouse grew up surrounded by records and a natural pull toward creating her own inner worlds. That instinct has carried into her work today, from early releases like Rosewater and Coquette Habit to her recent F/W 2026 RUNWAY SOUNDTRACK for Petra Stellam, where her sound expands into more conceptual settings while still remaining personal at its core. Across the conversation, she reflects on the comfort and risk of romanticizing life, and what it means to build a creative identity.

A. Rapson

Tell us about your upbringing and the first time you experienced a moment of calling when it became clear: I have a vision and I will follow it.

I was raised around music from the second I entered the world. My dad being a DJ and a drummer for various experimental-indie rock groups; my mom being a vinyl DJ, herself… It was truly never a question that I’d fall in love with songwriting, in being raised around amazing music at all times! I loved Blondie when I was little, and wanted to be Debbie Harry so very much. When it came to my later vision, I’d like to say it began with a designed aesthetic based around things I’ve always loved. Ghosts, fairies, eeriness, my embrace of femininity… When ‘Sophie Woodhouse’ was born and became my chosen title for the music I’d soon write (for myself, really!) and then decide to release, I felt that the softness of my voice was akin to a ghostly sort of universe.

It felt like I could totally create a secret world with both my voice and the melodies that have always been present in my heart.

Your music feels very tied to longing and romanticization, almost like turning emotions into places people can disappear into for a few minutes. What draws you to that kind of atmosphere when you write?

Definitely my adoration for movies! I was a lonely little girl and a lonely teenager. I’d create worlds of my own to visit, but also watched so many movies in the time spent lounging around in my bedroom. I still do, of course! To escape through re-watching my favorite films has always been a source of comfort.

When people listen to my songs, I want them to feel like they’re in a film, like that they’re the Main Character… Dreaming, longing, breathing.

People often describe your sound as “fairy music,” which somehow really fits. Do you feel connected to that description, or does it feel strange seeing your music turned into its own little world online?

It makes my heart so full to know that my music maintains its ‘fairy music’ status! Who wouldn’t want to be liked to seek an ethreal, powerful little thing? It is definitely always jarring to me, even to this day, to see my songs used in reels, on posts, all of that; for sure… I’ve never used TikTok and don’t have an account, but I do know that my music has a very large audience there.

 

From my heart, I just write songs and put them out without any expectation. So it definitely feels strangely cult-like to see them manifest into a very stylish realm on our screens! At the same time, I guess that’s what I’m aiming for, right? Both can be true: It’s strange to see your own art garner an audience, and beautiful to witness it take on such an aesthetically pleasing, lovely little form.

S. Mia

Do you think romanticizing life is something that helps you, or something that can also become dangerous?

There is a definite fine line. I feel that I have romanticized most instances of my life for so long, mainly as a way to cope and make life’s “mundane” moments more interesting. Normal things can become beautiful when you take a moment to notice. Those are the more lovely instances of romanticization.

 

On the flip side, I admittedly possess a certain “need” to romanticize my own pain sometimes.

I think in viewing my internal aches as symbolic, I have a tendency to feel like even moments of me just alone and crying my eyes out need some sort of invisible “audience.”

But there doesn’t always have to be an audience to perform for. Sometimes we should just feel messy without writing a script in our heads about it. We can cry and hold that moment, alone, for what it is.

What does song writing mean to you and what is the process of building a song like?

It means so much to me, because it feels like a language that’s easy to speak. For me, melodies have always lived deeply in my heart! I think I’ve always had a certain knack for them. I’ll usually write a song around either a vocal melody or a guitar line, and then the lyrics and the concept flow naturally from there. It’s one of my favorite ways to express the wild, untamed, colorful world within me.

The excitement of unfolding a new song into existence is really an incomparable feeling for me, it’s a beautiful kind of high.

Before your music started reaching people online, you were working at a crystal store. Looking back now, does that version of your life feel far away, or still very connected to who you are creatively?

It definitely feels connected. I met my best friend through that job and also learned very much about myself and about my strengths socially. Crystals, magick, divination… These are things rooted in my being and which exist in my every day life still! I’d totally love to work around those energies in a shop-setting again. After the crystal store, I was also a barista; and that feels just as close to my heart in a special way. I think I just really like giving people things they can enjoy? A coffee; a stone — Things that add a boost to our souls if even for a minute. Being a conduit for sweetness feels strangely important to me. I can’t explain it, but I’ve always felt that way.

S. Mia

What has your relationship with visibility and attention been like as your audience has grown?

It’s been a unique experience that still doesn’t feel quite real, at least within the physical nature of things. I think because I intentionally adhere so greatly to an “anonymous” aesthetic with faceless selfies and such, plus I’m still working on building a band to play live shows with… It feels like I’m not truly famous, at least not yet! I am still just a girl trying to get through each day. I do get compliments on even my speaking voice in every day life, though – That’s really sweet!

Your latest release is an EP called F/W 2026 RUNWAY SOUNDTRACK for Petra Stellam, did making music for a runway show feel different from writing personal songs?

It did! It was a challenge to have to adhere to a lyric-free world. But I feel quite confident in my ability to come up with melodies, and to have them exist purely within vocal-structures! Creating a soundtrack is a lot of fun in terms of building a world and a theme, which I suppose is much like any regular album with a cohesive energy. I think one of the biggest challenges was trying to make lengthier tracks. My songs are normally quite short!

What has shaped your world creatively in a drastic way?

My ability to immerse myself in literally everything. Every energy, every thought, every sight or vision I experience… Memories, dreams, moments, movie scenes.

I’ll become so inspired by the simplest things, and it’ll haunt me until I put it into a song, a photograph, a painting, a video montage, a diary entry… It’s a blessing and a curse to feel and notice everything on such a profound level. But it does wonders creatively!

S. Mia

What's something small or ordinary that you find beautiful enough to write about?

Oh, how perfect for the energy I was just rambling about! Anything and everything. The feeling of waking up and noticing the way the morning shadows like the walls. The way my lace stockings leave pretty little imprints on my skin. Strangers on the train, all going someplace different.

Do you think the younger version of yourself would recognize the world you've created now?

I think yes. Little Me is so attuned to each part of me; I still feel like her in many ways. How she sees the universe, how she gets excited about random little things. She was very good at manifesting beautiful worlds to create her own sanctuaries, and the me that I know now… I feel she’s quite good at it, too.

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