New Release Q&A - Sonja Sofya answers some questions for "Patterns We Know"

The buzz has been all about Sonja Sofya and her new album The Patterns We Know.  Tonight Sonja Sofya and band take to the stage at Boot & Saddle in South Philly along with a great line-up featuring Arc Divers and the dove and the wolf.

Right off the top we have some great reasons to expect great things from this album, such as produced by Ross Bellenoit at Turtle Studios and excellent musicianship by guitarist/producer Ross Bellenoit, bassist Jonathan Colman, and drummers Matt Scarano and Jonas Oesterle. But we at Root Down In The Shadow wanted to dig further and see what Sonja had to say about the album.

Here's 3 questions we had for the songstress Sonja Sofya:

RDITS: What was the impetus to make a full length record and why did you pick the people you worked with?

At a certain point, playing and writing as much as I was, it felt like the logical next step, but I waited for a while, trying to find the "perfect" time to go into the studio, and then one evening I had a conversation with Pete Donnelly -- he probably doesn't remember this -- about recording. We were both at Johnny Brenda's for a show, and he graciously asked how my music was going. I lamented that I was having trouble pulling the trigger on making a record, even though I pretty much knew the material and the people I wanted to work with, and he essentially told me to quit waiting, to capture the moment my collaborators & I were having before it slipped away. A few months later we were in the studio.

As far as people are concerned, well, I couldn't have imagined recording with anyone else! Ross and I have been musical collaborators and friends for about six years, so we know each other really well. I trust Ross musically, artistically, and personally, and since he's been playing with me since I started doing shows with the full band, it all felt natural. Jonas Oesterle (drums) has also been playing with me since the beginning, so between him and Matt Scarano we couldn't go wrong, and Jon Colman -- well, what's not to love there? I'm honored to play with these guys. They're phenomenal musicians.

RDITS: People can get a a lot of misconceptions about a singer/band's sound just by the association of who they play with. Tell us something unexpected about your album?

I cut all the vocals naked.

Just kidding.

Well, I guess maybe first is despite the fact that two-thirds of my bandmates are also two-thirds of Muscle Tough, it is not a particularly jammy kind of album. Everything is through-composed and deliberate. Probably most unexpected, especially for people who have known me for a while, is that if you've heard me at solo shows, on Kettle Pot Tracks, or on my previous EP of 2011, you'll be surprised by the guitar-heavy indie-pop sound. This is not a "girl at the piano with feelings" kind of record. This is meant to be played loudly.

RDITS: 20 years from now when the magazines are ranking this album among your career catalog.. what are they going to say is the shining moment for Patterns We Know?

It's hard for me to grab one thing because there is so much to love (in my humble opinion). I think Ross's horn arrangement & Scott Stallone's mixing of "Devil Dancing" is absolutely dangerous fun. I love the shimmery harmonic changes of "Eastern Gardens" and the brooding guitar line of "You Are Who"...But if I had to pick one favorite moment, it might be the final track, "Small Satellite" -- for the lyrical content, the easy accessibility with just a bit of quirk, the intimate yet expansive scene we were able to paint. It's probably the most uplifting song on the album, and one that kind of sets out an artist's manifesto, I think, about the beauty of things barely noticed and the peace that can come from relaxing into the world around you. I hope when you get to the end of it, and the final sparkles of guitar loop fade away, you take a deep breath, and start the album over again.

Click here for tickets tonight at Boot & Saddle