Singer Sophie Villy tours US, Europe with new album

Georgian singer and songwriter Sophie Villy will become the first artist from the country to perform at a New York show of Sofar Sounds global live music community, as she continues to promote her newly released album Planet A.

The young artist will appear at a Sofar Sounds location to be revealed by organisers prior to the show on Friday.

The singer will be part of a lineup for the show organised within the Sofar Sounds series, launched in 2009 to "[bring] the magic back to live music" by finding venues for intimate musical performances.

The emerging artist will be featured at the event fresh from her most recent show at New York’s Pianos venue, where she appeared on Sunday with John Merritt on bass, Joe Spinelli on drums and Eli Wallance on keyboard.

While being the first artist to represent Georgia at the New York edition of the global series, Sophie has already featured at a Sofar Sound show in her own country this year.

She performed at the Tbilisi event in March, after Georgia’s capital joined the global community of live performances in January.

She is also a familiar face for many audiences in the US, with the upcoming gig at Sofar Sounds set to mark her 37th show throughout the country.

Sophie's most recent performance was hosted by New York's Pianos venue last Sunday. Photo: Sophie Villy Instagram page.

She has appeared at US venues within five tours so far, performing alongside acclaimed artists including Omar Torrez, the guitarist for celebrated American singer and songwriter Tom Waits, and Ryan Voughn, former drummer for singer Lana Del Rey.

Sophie’s past US performances also include her appearance at the popular South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Texas, as the only artist from Georgia in the roster of performers.

The singer’s upcoming performance at Sofar Sounds will be part of her ongoing Planet A Tour, launched last month to promote her third and most recent album.

The release is promoted as a "mixture of alternative rock and trip hop, covered by transparent voile of electronica”.

It features 11 tracks including Swim On, made in collaboration with popular Georgian electronic composer and producer Nikakoi. Sophie has also collaborated with Georgian artist sTia for the track I Wanna See You Clear, produced at the Tbilisi-based Creative Education Studio.

The Georgian artist has received praise for her songwriting and film scoring work. Photo: sophievilly.com.

Planet A follows the artist’s second album Dress, released in 2014.

Tracks from Dress were featured on air by US National Public Radio (NPR) member station KCRW and BBC2 public radio in the United Kingdom. In addition, the song Connected was picked by The Guardian among "six must-listen new tracks from around the world”.

Sophie burst into the music scene with her debut album Mother Fish, released in 2012 in Ukraine’s capital Kiev. She is scheduled to perform in the city again within Planet A Tour on July 2.

Beside songwriting she has also composed original soundtracks for feature films including Lost in Escapade, selected for the 2015 Cannes Festival Short Film section.

Sophie’s score for the short received Best Original Music Award at 2015 Euro Film Festival in Spain.