INTERVIEW: 5 Facts You Need To Know About Sophia Bastian

Singer/Songwriter Sophia Bastian has been involved in music her whole life, and knew from an early age that a career in music is what she wanted. Sophia, who has had music education attending jazz school, has a new soulful R&B/pop single out called "Blind Ambition," and recently stopped by iHeartRadio HQ in New York City where she told us about her musical upbringing, songwriting, musical heroes, and more during an exclusive interview.

[Buy "Blind Ambition" on iTunes]

Sophia on Her Music Background

Sophia grew up in New York, in Manhattan and Sag Harbor, Long Island. She went to music school for a while, starting off in classical ballet, then moving on to jazz school. "I knew wanted to be a singer, in my early teens, and I really felt like I needed to be in another structured environment. I really liked being in school for dance, so I went to jazz school for a little bit." She adds, "I knew that I loved jazz, but I didn’t want to be a straight jazz singer. So I left school early, which I don’t recommend! Stay in school [and] finish!"

All of Sophia's hard work has now brought her to writing/releasing her own, soulful, jazzy, yet modern music, blending together several different genres to create a very unique sound of her own, which you can hear on her single "Blind Ambition." Get to know more about Sophia below with these five facts you need to know below!

Five Facts You Need To Know About Sophia Bastian

1. Her songs started off as poems, and really got into the song-writing process when she learned how to play guitar.

"I would say, around 14/15. I think it was first poems, actually, it wasn’t really songs yet, but it started coming together at some point. I can’t really remember when, but suddenly, it was like, 'Okay, I feel like this might be a song now.' Actually, it was when I started playing guitar, that’s when I started really getting into the songwriting process of it."

2. She taught herself how to play guitar.

"I taught myself; I started, also, around 14, 15. I just got my uncle’s guitar, and I started playing. I had a little bit of piano training, when I was six, but I mostly write on guitar. I’m also not an amazing guitarist; I just use it as my writing instrument. Then, being at jazz school, I also had a background in jazz harmony, and I think that’s really where I was then able to navigate my songwriting through that, just from being in school and having [the knowledge]. Chords I like, and chord progressions like, and getting more an idea of 'Oh, okay, the thing that feels sad is a minor key,' and having basics in music theory. I think that really is helpful, especially when you’re a singer, and you want to be part of the band. I think singers sometimes have that issue of being kind of isolated, the isolated member. And when you’re really a musician as well, everything just becomes a lot more equal and productive."

3. Her musical heroes include some of the most iconic jazz musicians.

"I feel like I’m born in the wrong era, or maybe I’m just a 90-year-old woman in this body, because I really always loved the old ones. I’ve always loved Ray Charles, James Brown, Nina Simone. Out of the big jazz giants, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. I really kind of started listening to that, and then I got into, in my teens, more into current artists as well, like Lauryn Hill, obviously, and Amy Winehouse. Mostly, in terms of female singers, those are the ones that I absolutely adore. There’s really a lot, I love. In terms of songwriting, I love Fiona Apple. I think her and Notorious B.I.G., I feel are in my playlist, for the angry songs. Those are my two 'Go-To' people when I need to listen to something and let steam off. It’s really Fiona Apple and Notorious B.I.G. for some reason. I wish that they would have been able to do a collab together, I think it would have been on fire, a little crazy!"

4. She calls her music "Gangsta Gospel" as a funny term to describe the unique sound.

"It just really was a joke, to be honest. I think I have to be careful with that, because people are going to be like, 'Who does she think she is?' It was really just more of a roll off my tongue, and I think that, when people ask you, 'What’s your music like?' usually, whenever I hear another musician start to explain, it’s always super-complicated and awkward, and it’s never just one thing. Just my starting to say it has just been really funny. It’s a funny term. It’s been more fun for me to say that, than a description for the person that asks. But it always brings out a really interesting reaction, because then, some people, their body just moves in a way where I feel totally understood. They’re like, 'Oh, yeah!' They are just light-hearted, in the way that the term is. And then, other people are confused and shocked. And then, some people are like, 'Are you really religious? I listen to Christian Music!' I get all kinds of reactions, it brings all kinds of stuff out of people, which is really, really interesting."

5. Her single "Blind Ambition" is inspired by an angry moment about a friend.

"'Blind Ambition' came about when I was a bit flustered, maybe, and sort of hurt, and then angry with a friend. Whenever I’m really upset with something, I really absolutely cannot tell the person, I can’t talk about it, or address it. I just started taking it out on my guitar, and just sitting there, strumming a few chords, and just in that manner, just coming up with lines as I was singing over it, and I was still slightly … That Autotune video of Sweet Brown. Sometimes there’s this funny thing, just something comes up in my brain while I write a song, and then it works itself in. There’s no one to stop me, [and to say] 'This is absolutely insane! Why are you doing this?' It just kind of ended up being the chorus, the reference to that. I was just in a feisty mood, I guess. I primarily imagined that this is the way I want to let her know, and this is kind of the way I imagined myself bringing myself back to feeling equal, and having the guts. That’s where it came from, just an angry moment about a friend."

Watch Sophia's "Blind Ambition" music video below.

Photos: Rachel Kaplan for iHeartRadio