Biography
Recognized for her intensely felt work across music and film, Soko has earned acclaim as both a recording artist and a prizewinning actor. The 2007 track “I’ll Kill Her,” initially shared only with close acquaintances yet quickly spreading throughout Europe, first showcased her raw, confessional delivery alongside lyrics that balanced poetic imagery with everyday resonance. Although she issued material only intermittently while balancing dual careers, each release carried significant weight. Her unguarded, spontaneous approach deepened on the 2012 album I Thought I Was an Alien, where themes of romance, grief, and shifting sexuality unfolded over understated arrangements that masked their assured core. Subsequent projects grew bolder: the 2015 album My Dreams Dictate My Reality introduced a goth-pop gloss and pointed hooks, while Feel Feelings returned in 2020 to her French heritage, conjuring the atmosphere of Air and Serge Gainsbourg as it championed the value of embracing every feeling.
Born Stephanie Sokolinski in Bordeaux in 1985, she relocated to Paris at sixteen intent on acting. During classes she also began composing songs and sharing them online; one of these, the 2007 single “I’ll Kill Her,” reached audiences in Denmark, Austria, Belgium, and Australia. Despite label offers she chose independence, establishing Babycat Records and issuing the debut EP Not Sokute that April. The song’s momentum brought placements in Stella McCartney’s Paris Fashion Week presentation that October and a support slot on M.I.A.’s U.K. tour by year’s end. Acting commitments soon intervened, prompting a temporary hiatus. Her role in Xavier Giannoli’s 2009 feature A l’Origine earned a César Award nomination for Most Promising Actress, and in 2011 she appeared in Virginie Despentes’ Bye Bye Blondie alongside Béatrice Dalle.
By 2011 Soko had settled in Los Angeles, collaborating with Cornershop on the single “Something Makes You Feel Like” and with the Go! Team on Rolling Blackouts. Another notable project was Mourir Auprès de Toi, the 2011 animated short co-written and directed by Spike Jonze that included both her performance and the theme song she sang; the track later surfaced on her February 2012 debut album I Thought I Was an Alien, a collection of intimate alt-pop pieces that registered on charts in France, Belgium, and Switzerland. That May, Alice Winocour’s Augustine premiered at Cannes, and Soko’s lead portrayal drew critical praise plus the Best Actress prize at the 2013 Women Film Critics Circle Awards. After the album’s broader June 2013 rollout it appeared on U.K. and U.S. charts. Further success arrived in 2014 via Tatia Pileva’s short First Kiss: the featured song “We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow” climbed to a Top Ten U.S. position and topped the Billboard Streaming Songs chart once the film circulated widely.
Following her work with Ariel Pink on the 2014 album Pom Pom, Soko extended the partnership to her own second album. Produced by Ross Robinson—whose earlier recordings with the Cure shaped her vision—My Dreams Dictate My Reality surfaced in March 2015 and drew from ’80s pop, new wave, and post-punk. She also contributed to the Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Musique de Film Imaginé, issued that April. After earning a second César nomination for her performance in Stéphanie Di Giusto’s La Danseuse, she began sessions for a third album. Recording took place in New York City during 2016 and 2017 alongside Chairlift’s Patrick Wimberly, Sean Lennon, and members of Beach Fossils, MGMT, and DIIV. After pausing to become a mother, she returned with the sensual, free-flowing Feel Feelings in 2020.
Born Stephanie Sokolinski in Bordeaux in 1985, she relocated to Paris at sixteen intent on acting. During classes she also began composing songs and sharing them online; one of these, the 2007 single “I’ll Kill Her,” reached audiences in Denmark, Austria, Belgium, and Australia. Despite label offers she chose independence, establishing Babycat Records and issuing the debut EP Not Sokute that April. The song’s momentum brought placements in Stella McCartney’s Paris Fashion Week presentation that October and a support slot on M.I.A.’s U.K. tour by year’s end. Acting commitments soon intervened, prompting a temporary hiatus. Her role in Xavier Giannoli’s 2009 feature A l’Origine earned a César Award nomination for Most Promising Actress, and in 2011 she appeared in Virginie Despentes’ Bye Bye Blondie alongside Béatrice Dalle.
By 2011 Soko had settled in Los Angeles, collaborating with Cornershop on the single “Something Makes You Feel Like” and with the Go! Team on Rolling Blackouts. Another notable project was Mourir Auprès de Toi, the 2011 animated short co-written and directed by Spike Jonze that included both her performance and the theme song she sang; the track later surfaced on her February 2012 debut album I Thought I Was an Alien, a collection of intimate alt-pop pieces that registered on charts in France, Belgium, and Switzerland. That May, Alice Winocour’s Augustine premiered at Cannes, and Soko’s lead portrayal drew critical praise plus the Best Actress prize at the 2013 Women Film Critics Circle Awards. After the album’s broader June 2013 rollout it appeared on U.K. and U.S. charts. Further success arrived in 2014 via Tatia Pileva’s short First Kiss: the featured song “We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow” climbed to a Top Ten U.S. position and topped the Billboard Streaming Songs chart once the film circulated widely.
Following her work with Ariel Pink on the 2014 album Pom Pom, Soko extended the partnership to her own second album. Produced by Ross Robinson—whose earlier recordings with the Cure shaped her vision—My Dreams Dictate My Reality surfaced in March 2015 and drew from ’80s pop, new wave, and post-punk. She also contributed to the Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Musique de Film Imaginé, issued that April. After earning a second César nomination for her performance in Stéphanie Di Giusto’s La Danseuse, she began sessions for a third album. Recording took place in New York City during 2016 and 2017 alongside Chairlift’s Patrick Wimberly, Sean Lennon, and members of Beach Fossils, MGMT, and DIIV. After pausing to become a mother, she returned with the sensual, free-flowing Feel Feelings in 2020.
Albums
Singles
