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SOPHIE, Boundary-Breaking Trans Pioneer, Has Died at Age 34

OUT100: SOPHIE, Artist of the Year

The electronic music pioneer had a fatal accident Saturday morning.

MikelleStreet

Music and queer communities are mourning the death of SOPHIE, an electronic music pioneer after news broke that she died in a fatal accident. The Grammy-nominated Scottish producer was 34.

"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," management said in a release. "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."

"True to her spirituality she had climbed up to watch the full moon and accidentally slipped and fell," SOPHIE's U.K. record label, Transgressive, said in a statement. "She will always be here with us."

"SOPHIE was a pioneer of a new sound, one of the most influential artists in the last decade," the management continued. "Not only for ingenious production and creativity but also for the message and visibility that was achieved. An icon of liberation."

In 2018 Out named SOPHIE our Artist of the Year and she was one of four covers for our much celebrated Out100 issue. In it, Coco Romack told SOPHIE's story, of how initially she produced work while not presenting a public face. Her music video for her instantly iconic track "It's Okay to Cry" changed that.

"This, clearly, was the moment that SOPHIE was ready to bare herself -- visually, emotionally, sonically -- and to fully embody her art as a singular entity," Romack wrote. SOPHIE told her that it was a time when 'everything aligned."

"My music is political, but talking about politics is boring," she said at the time. "I'd rather have a more emotional conversation through the music. You can say something more multidimensional. Pop music is the most relevant format we have to discuss anything. A song can have meaning to people anywhere, without any context."

Many have posted of the much-lauded performer's passing. Munroe Bergdorf, MNEK, Christine of Christine and The Queens, Rina Sawayama, and more.

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Mikelle Street

Mikelle is the former editorial director of digital for PrideMedia, guiding digital editorial and social across Out, The Advocate, Pride.com, Out Traveler, and Plus. After starting as a freelancer for Out in 2013, he joined the staff as Senior Editor working across print and digital in 2018. In early 2021 he became Out's digital director, marking a pivot to content that centered queer and trans stories and figures, exclusively. In September 2021, he was promoted to editorial director of PrideMedia. He has written cover stories on Ricky Martin, Miss Fame, Nyle DiMarco, Jeremy O. Harris, Law Roach, and Symone.

Mikelle is the former editorial director of digital for PrideMedia, guiding digital editorial and social across Out, The Advocate, Pride.com, Out Traveler, and Plus. After starting as a freelancer for Out in 2013, he joined the staff as Senior Editor working across print and digital in 2018. In early 2021 he became Out's digital director, marking a pivot to content that centered queer and trans stories and figures, exclusively. In September 2021, he was promoted to editorial director of PrideMedia. He has written cover stories on Ricky Martin, Miss Fame, Nyle DiMarco, Jeremy O. Harris, Law Roach, and Symone.