10.09.2022 - FALL TOUR IN GERMANY
After all the cancellations and rescheduling of the 'Holding On/Letting Go' tour, we're happy to announce that coming October there will be a second run of shows in Germany. Tickets are on sale now.

17.10: Heimathafen, Berlin (DE)
18.10: Nochtspeicher, Hamburg (DE)
19.10: E-Werk, Erlangen (DE)
20.10: Café Central, Weinheim (DE)
21.10: Manufaktur, Schorndorf (DE)
22.10: Beatpol, Dresden (DE)
23.10: Kleine Freiheit, Osnabrück (DE)
24.10.2022: Muziekgieterij, Maastricht (NL) NEW!
24.10.2022: Musikzentrum, Hannover (DE) CANCELLED
25.10: ZAKK, Düsseldorf (DE)



07.12.2021 - TOUR EXPANDED AND MOVED TO MAY 2022
Alas it is with heavy heart that we have to announce yet another cancellation/rescheduling of our shows. But it is with great joy (perhaps with slight trepidation but joy none the less) that we can at least announce a few new shows for Spring 2022. (Will the fifth time be the charm?) We are also putting together a nice long run of shows for Fall 2022 so we’ll keep our thoughts positive and fingers crossed.

12/05: Frankfurt (DE) - Brotfabrik
13/05: Zurich (CH) - Rote Fabrik
14/05: Bologna (IT) - Locomotiv
15/05: Milan (IT) - Arci Bellezza
17/05: Munich (DE) - Kranhalle
18/05: Bielefeld (DE) - Forum
19:05: Cologne (DE) - Stadtgarten
21.05: Kortrijk (BE) - Wilde Westen
22.05: Leuven (BE) - Het Depot



22.10.2021 - GERMAN TOUR IN DECEMBER




05.08.2021 - FIRST FULL BAND HOLDING ON / LETTING GO GIGS
After all the cancelled and postponed gigs, we're happy to announce that Sophia will finally be able to present the new Holding On/Letting Go album in a full-band live setting (plus violin and saxophone). At the moment two gigs have been confirmed in Belgium. More will follow, so keep checking back.
11.09.2021: Les Nuits Botanique @ Botanique, Brussels (BE)
19.09.2021: Leffingeleuren festival, Leffinge (BE)





11.11.2020 - LIVE STREAM + RAFFLE
Since the pandemic also postponed the Fall tour and now it sadly looking more and more likely that some (or maybe all?) of the Spring 2021 shows might not happen as well, Robin's decided to hold a debut live-stream from his home/studio in Berlin on the 28th of November.
In Robin's own words: "We’re trying to do something really quite unique and inclusive with the audience on these live-streams and this is basically going to be the trial run in front of all of you to see how things test out. What it most certainly won’t be is me just sitting in front of my webcam singing into the microphone on my laptop. Living-room concerts are always really quite profound experiences for me and I really want to try and achieve something that has as much of that personal element, that intimacy, as possible especially given the renewed reality that touring is going to continue to be very very difficult for the foreseeable future."

Tickets for the live-stream automatically enter you into a raflle which has a bunch of exclusive prizes. The grand prize will b an extremely limited box-set including all 12 colours of the 'Holding On / Letting Go' limited-edition Twelve-Tone vinyl series. There will only ever be three copies of this box-set.
The runner-up prizes include:
1 x 'Holding On / Letting Go' album artwork printed on a framed canvas (50cm x 50cm)
3 x 'Holding On / Letting Go' Art-print
3 x 'Holding On / Letting Go' T-shirt
3 x 'Holding On / Letting Go' Cassette. (from a a new limited run of 50!)
10 x 'VIP' tickets to the debut “at home with Sophia” live-stream.
And a number of very rare test-pressings:
2 x Fixed Water
2 x The Infinite Circle
2 x De Nachten
2 x The Valentines Day Session
2 x As We Make Our Way (Unknown Harbours)
2 x As We Make Our Way (The Live Recordings)
2 x Holding On/Letting Go
More prizes might be added in the next few days.



02.10.2020 - NEW ALBUM OUT NOW & TOUR POSTPONED TO 2021
Well here it is.... 'Holding On / Letting Go' is finally out and available in your local shop and online.
Find your own copy through here: https://ffm.to/holding_on_letting_go
Maybe grab the limited edition “Twelve Tone” version of the vinyl, made from the 12 colours that constitute Gertrud Grunow's "twelve-tone circle of colour" and thus the album's artwork. There's only a 100 of each colour.


But alas with the good news also comes the bad and with that we have to confirm that the Spring 2020 tour which became the Fall 2020 tour has, yet again, been postponed and is now the Spring 2021 tour. You can all imagine why, I guess? But don't worry, more dates to come.

It is heartbreaking though especially as this new album was conceived, with an eye firmly on where Sophia, as a band, can (and will!) take this music “live” but that’s just going to have to wait a little longer now and we sincerely hope to see you all on a brighter side of 2021.
UPDATE: APRIL/MAY 2021 TOUR POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
28.04.2021: Forum, Bielefeld (DE)
29.04.2021: Botanique, Brussels (BE),
30.04,2021: Club Manufaktur, Schorndorf (DE)
01.05.2021: Kranhalle, München (DE)
02.05.2021: E-Werk, Erlangen (DE)
03.05.2021: Fluc, Vienna (DE)
05.05.2021: Futurm, Prague (CZ)
06.05.2021: Beatpol, Dresden (DE)
07.05.2021: Rote Fabrik, Zürich (CH)
09.05.2021: Heimathafen 44, Berlin (DE)
10.05.2021: Das Bett, Frankfurt (DE)
11.05.2021: Gebäude 9, Köln (DE)
12.05.2021: Gleis 22, Münster (DE)
13,05.2021: Bahnhof Pauli, Hamburg (DE)
14.05.2021: Wilde Westen, Kortrijk (BE)
15.05.2021: Reflektor, Liège (BE)
16.05.2021: Bitterzoet, Amsterdam (NL)



12.08.2020 - ALBUM POSTPONED ONE LAST TIME + NEW SINGLE
Public service announcement. To be able to give ‘Holding On / Letting Go’ the attention and distribution it deserves, we had no other choice than to push back the release date one final time. The new release date is now 25/09/2020. Hang in there just a little bit longer.

We do have some good news as well: there's a new single! We really hope u like the little melancholic pop juggernaut that is 'Undone. Again'. We hope this helps to lift the spirit while we wait for the release in September? Check out the new track over on Bandcamp.



23.04.2020 - NEW TRACK & NEW TOUR DATES
We want to share the rescheduled tour dates and another quick little number from the album before we go into Summer hibernation.

Firstly the song. Yes it’s about a million miles away from the smooth sexy sax-iness of ’Alive’ but I’m pretty sure you’ve come to expect that from Sophia anyway, right? It can be smooth and sexy, but also loud and dirty. Hasn’t it always been thus? But yes ‘We See You (Taking Aim)’ is bound to piss off the many sax-lovers out there just like the many sax-haters were pissed off by ‘Alive’, but what’s new?

As promised these are the updated/rescheduled tour dates. There are still a few to be added but we just have to wait and see what happens in the next few months and how much impact the social-distancing measures will have on the concert industry.
11/10/ Brussels (BE) / Les Nuits Botanique
18/11/ Tourcoing (FR) / The Grand Mix
19/11/ Bielefeld (DE) / Forum
20/11/ Schorndorf (DE) / Manufaktur
21/11/ Prague (CZ) / Venue TBC
23/11/ Wien (AT) / Fluc
24/11/ München (DE) / Folks! Club
25/11/ Frankfurt (DE) / Das Bett
26/11/ Dresden (DE) / Beatpol
28/11/ Erlangen (DE) / E-Werk
29/11/ Berlin (DE) / Hole
30/11/ Hamburg (DE) / Bhf. Pauli
01/12/ Münster (DE) / Gleis 22
02/12/ Köln (DE) / Gebäude 9
08/12/ Amsterdam (NL) / Bitterzoet
09/12/ Paris (FR) / Supersonic
10/12/ Zurich (CH) / Rote Fabrik
12/12/ Bologna (IT) / Covo
13/12/ Milan (IT) / Circolo Ohibò



27.03.2020 - ALBUM & TOUR POSTPONED
Dearest Sophianistas,
It is with heavy heart we have to announce that due to COVID-19 both the release of our new album ‘Holding On / Letting Go’ and the forthcoming European tour have been postponed. Don't worry we are now in the process of frantically rescheduling everything for the Fall so you will still see us soon. The album release has been postponed to 28/08/2020.
If you were one of the pre-orderers you will also have received a note from Robin and we promise to keep you fully updated here as more news/detail becomes available as well. Stay home, stay safe and stay positive, OK?

Hugs!
Robin



06.03.2020 - NEW ALBUM PRESALES / FIRST TRACK 'ALIVE' / EUROPEAN TOUR
So it’s finally here! The new Sophia album 'Holding On / Letting Go'.
The album artwork by John Hobbs is this gorgeous interpretation of the original chart devised by the Bauhaus school's music teacher Gertrud Grunow and her visualisation of the correlation between colour and sound.

This the track list. Listen to the new song 'Alive' by clicking on the track name below.

1. Strange Attractor
2. Undone. Again.
3. Wait
4. Alive
5. Gathering The Pieces
6. Avalon
7. Days
8. Road Song
9. We See You (Taking Aim)
10. Prog Rock Arp (I Know)

Album presales start right now over on the Sophia Bandcamp.
The limited edition “Twelve Tone” version of the vinyl will be made using the 12 colours that constitute Gertrud Grunow's "twelve-tone circle of colour" and thus the album's artwork. There will only be 100 of each colour...
We're working with the amazing Dunk!Pressing on this and they will literally have to hand-match each and every colour as they are pressing the vinyl: "It’s going to be a process where we hold the cover in one hand and fresh vinyl in the other, adjusting the color mix until we have a match suitable for production."
You can do the maths yourself but there will be 1200 in total so there will be 1/3 for pre-order, 1/3 for the upcoming Sophia tour and 1/3 for the various European and worldwide distributors.

And...WE'RE GOING ON TOUR (update: the tour has been postponed to the Fall)
28/04: Maastricht (NL) - Muziekgieterij
29/04: Brussels (BE) - Les Nuits Botanique SOLD OUT
30/04: Frankfurt (DE) - Das Bett Facebook
01/05: Bielefeld (DE) - Forum
02/05: Brandenbourg (LU) - ARCE NOCTU Night Festival
12/05: Amsterdam (NL) - Bitterzoet
14/05: Tourcoing (FR) - Le Grand Mix
15/05: Münster (DE) - Gleis 22
16/05: Köln (DE) - Helios37
17/05: Berlin (DE) - Privatclub
19/05: Hamburg (DE) - Nochtspeicher
20/05: Trier (DE) - Mergener Hof
21/05: Münich (DE) - Folks Club
22/05: Zurich (CH) - Rote Fabrik
23/05: Milan (IT) - Circolo Ohibò



05.02.2020 - NEW ALBUM ANNOUNCEMENT / FIRST GIG IN BRUSSELS
Robin Proper-Sheppard and his Sophia Collective (now frequently referred to as Sophia 2.0) are set to release their latest album 'Holding On / Letting Go' (The Flower Shop Recordings/PIAS) on 24/04/2020 21/08/2020 and are very excited to announce that they will be kicking off the release at Belgium’s very own Les Nuits Botanique Festival (Brussels) on 29/04/2020.

The recording of the new album has continued along the now much lauded path of somber, yet at the same time increasingly frenetic and heavy, live shows that highlighted the return of Sophia’s 2016 album As We Make Our Way (Unknown Harbours) and showcases all of the Sophia 2.0 live entourage (including Belgians Sander Verstraete, Jesse Maes and Bert Vliegen) as well Sophia long-time drummer/percussionist extraordinaire Jeff Townsin.

This new line up, and it's mastery of their quietest of quiet and loundest of loud dynamics, received resoundingly positive acclaim from fans both old and new and saw the band make no less than four full tours throughout Europe during the As We Make Our Way (Unknown Harbours) campaign and we are certain that Les Nuits Botanique will soon be the beginning of yet another very successful return to the fans of Sophia.




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