Sophie McMinn Visits Section 36 Music!

Section 36 Music has another visitor! Sophie McMinn is the lead singer and guitarist for the incredible post-punk quartet Sophie's Body. With their new single on the way, I was so thrilled that she wanted to visit with us and discuss their music, future goals, and more. I’m sure you’ll enjoy everything she has to say.

So, let's see what happens when Sophie McMinn visits Section 36 Music!

You’re the singer/guitarist for the group Sophie’s Body. How did that quartet come together?

Sophie’s Body was formed at Berklee College of Music in the fall of 2022. Sophie McMinn (vox, guitar) was content with writing songs alone in her dorm room, and that's exactly what happened for her first semester of school. After working up the courage to play in front of friend and classmate Dylan Hughes (drums), she was shocked when he expressed interest in her music. From there, the two would get together and practice Sophie's songs as a two piece. As far as the rest of the members, there were a series of very fortunate coincidences that solidified Sophie’s Body as a band. It was right as Dylan and Sophie were packing up their instruments following an unremarkable rehearsal, that Harry Van Der Meer (bass) waltzed into their practice room, which was supposed to be locked, and unabashedly asked to jam with them. It was immediately clear that Harry was a perfect fit, and from there, James Fall (lead guitar) volunteered to play after hearing about the band. Sophie's Body embarked on a successful summer tour down the West Coast following the release of their debut EP “Things I Want”. After the tour, James moved back to his hometown of LA. After a few auditions of varying success, Sophie’s Body took on guitarist Adam Hurt in the fall of 2023.

What can you tell me about Sophie’s Body’s upcoming single, “SENKO”?

SENKO is the culmination of all the spite, longing, anger, and grief in my relationships that I’ve been too afraid to voice. I constantly battle with reading the room, taking things too personally, and being kind of a nervous wreck all the time-- but most of all, I struggle so much with "being ok with someone not being ok". It’s a complicated emotion, and it feels bad! I should be loving and supportive and completely accepting of the people in my life when they’re struggling, but I shut people out. I take their struggles and compare them to mine. I do all the wrong things, and I feel terrible about it! Writing SENKO has not only been an exercise in release and emotional catharsis, but it’s helped me understand myself more, and be a better person to the people around me.

SENKO was recorded at The Record Co in Boston, MA.

Credits:

 Sophie McMinn - vocals, guitar, lyrics, arrangement, and production

 Dylan Hughes - drums, drum part

 Adam Hurt - guitar, lead guitar line

 Harry Van Der Meer - bass, bassline

 Christian Dekantel - studio engineer, co-producer, mixing engineer

 Adam Gonsalves - mastering

You’re currently attending Berklee College of Music. What makes Berklee the right choice for you?

Everything in my life so far has led up to my attendance at Berklee. I grew up playing classical violin and piano, later transitioning to guitar and vocals. After moving to Manhattan, I enrolled at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts as a vocalist, and classically trained in opera. In high school, I didn’t see any other path than enrolling in a conservatory, or going to Berklee. However, I was pretty sick of classical music by the end of my high school career. I was absolutely elated when I received my acceptance to Berklee. Since I’ve been a student at Berklee, everything I thought would happen kind of turned upside down. For whatever reason, I was convinced that I was going to be a jazz vocalist and a songwriting major. I currently play in a heavy hitting rock band, and major in Contemporary Writing and Production. Honestly though, the only thing that really matters to me right now is reaching people with my music. Berklee is an amazing school, and I’m learning so much, but meeting people after shows, or reading messages from folks that resonate with my sound teaches me things about myself, and things about the real world that I just can't learn in a classroom. 

Who or what would you consider your biggest musical influences?

I’m a huge fan of the 80s post-punk scene- bands like Mission of Burma, The Replacements, Hüsker Dü. I definitely wouldn’t be anywhere I am today without the influence of women in rock- Heart, PJ Harvey, Veruca Salt, (this isn’t rock, but the Bulgarian State Television Female Choir performs some of the most badass music out there). I’m also really into progressive music, from older bands like Rush and Yes to hyper-modern bands like Polyphia and Covet.

What would you say is your biggest challenge with your music career?

Social media is 100% my biggest enemy. I feel so awkward in photos- don’t even get me started on the music video for SENKO that we filmed… All of the self-promotion kind of makes me sick. It’s been a real challenge to try and express authenticity through the narrow lens of instagram. I refuse to play to the algorithm, the music has to speak for itself. I also can’t understate how difficult it is to really DIY it out here. The Boston music scene is so saturated with bands that nobody really pays attention when someone new shows up. Trying to get heard feels almost impossible sometimes, but we keep on pushing, because the music is worth it.

What are your immediate music goals?

Some things that are happening in the immediate future:

Sophie’s Body has the release of SENKO and its music video set for April 6th.  We’re nearly done planning a Northeast tour for May.  We have another single we plan to release before the May tour(shh it’s a secret) We have another tour in the planning stages for August. Further down the line, we have enough material for a full length LP, so that’s definitely on the horizon. 

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I am definitely excited for all the new music on the way! 

As always, I want to thank Sophie for visiting with us, and for sending along the pictures to accompany the interview.

I'm sure you’ll all want to follow Sophie's Body and see what they has going on. I would follow them on Instagram and Spotify to make sure you don't miss a thing. 

Thanks again Sophie, and good luck reaching your goals!