Talking with Sophie Du Ry Van Beestholle

Moving to New York, DIY Gig Venues, and Releasing Music into the Online Ether

Sophie and I had planned to meet in London last summer, but our plans became filled with last minute moments in London before Sophie moved to NYC in mid August. We said our goodbyes as friends and promised to catch up at some point when we were both settled into Autumn. Months later, on my Friday evening and her Friday afternoon in mid November, we finally caught up. We sat together, an Atlantic ocean apart, to talk about Sophie’s music, NY vs London, and what it's like to release music in the age of internet and Instagram.

Sophie du Ry is a Dutch English alternative pop artist, born and raised in London - Sophie makes music with her producer and musical partner Dan Scott-Warren. Sophie’s voice is soft, piercing, and eerily memorable and this interview has a focus on her single “And Then You Go” which she released in April 2025.

I got to know Sophie through mutual friends at University. Both of us with one foot in the UK and the other planted in the EU, we bonded over the feeling of never quite being British enough, our love of love and all the ways we can talk about it. Since this time, Sophie has released her music into the ether and played gigs in London, Bristol, and Brighton.

I start by asking how long it took the song to feel ready for release.

This song was an annoying one for us because it went through so many different iterations and Dan and I didn't want to let go of it. We started it when we knew less about music production so we made like a hundred different mixes of it over the span of two years, which is ridiculous, I think I did the vocal takes, at least 50 times over those two years. [...]
It is the most difficult song we've ever made. It's historical to our music in a way.

What is your creative process with Dan and how does that influence the way a song takes shape?

We both go off and write our own thing. He makes a beat or I write a song on the piano and then Dan adds things in logic and makes a beat around a song that I have written... I then I walk around, listen to it and come up with some melodies on top of his beat and slowly it becomes a song. 

We went to Pirate Studios to work on this song over two years ago now... We went on a walk as a break, and I was saying “oh, well, I don't know what to do [lyrically] for this bit. So I started taking the piss with him and I was just being like, I don't want this, this isn't it”. 
And sort of doing an impression of a pop song, and then those ended up being the words we used. 

I've never been someone who enjoys writing so I didn't make music for ages because I'm so bad at writing lyrics. 
They're mostly a stream of consciousness. I’ll start with singing a melody and using sounds, and then there are certain words that fit those sounds. So the voice and the melody indicate what word it should be sometimes. I do use rhymezone if I'm stuck, which is fun when there's one word that you need to fill in. It can give you a funny word that you would normally never use, which I like. 

I once said to Dan,

"You don't really care about lyrics, right?"

And his reply was, "Oh, my God, no, I really care."

I was so shocked because he'd never really commented on what I'd written before. So I assumed that, I don't know, I just didn't know that was actually something he cared about because he never flagged it. So it was nice to know that he likes what I write. 

What does releasing a song feel like?

Oh, God. I would say it causes me a lot of anxiety. With the digital world, you know, it's a blessing and a curse because you don't need to rely on so many other people to share your stuff now. We have the ability to release a whole album by ourselves. It might be crap, but we can still do it.

But it's very taxing, there's a lot of different jobs involved, making the artwork, doing the marketing, filming, editing for social media etc. A lot of these skills, I'm lucky that I semi know myself. At the same time, those are all skills that make whole jobs and careers, so it feels a bit like, I don't know, sometimes you're making art just for the sake of Instagram rather than real life  and I think that is the thing that I find sad. That's why I love live shows, because that's when you really get to see how the songs are received. 

I think it can be such a good tool but ultimately, those musicians who don't have to post, it's because they're playing live and they've built up a network through word of mouth and because they've made really good music… which will always feel more valid than shoving content down people's throats.

How did living in London shape your taste and journey in discovering and making music?

London is one of the best places to live for music.. the UK in general has had its history of pioneering music, you can't escape that history and that's how it feels in London. 

Whereas in Amsterdam, where I also lived for a bit, it's much more dance music, less gig culture. I think gig culture is such a British thing. Now in New York, it's the same here. I think I found that harder in Europe. I know it exists, but London is one of the best places to do music. Especially in the last five years, seeing so many different musicians, working with different musicians. I gained so much from being in a band before going off on my own thing. I think band culture is coming back, especially here in New York. There's a lot of house shows here, which is really cool. I think that happens less in London. But there is a special feeling now in New York, a lot of DIY stuff happening.

How is it getting gigs in London as a new artist?

It was really difficult. I mean, it still is difficult because it takes a long time for people to trust you. 
There was a period of time in London where it was frustrating, because when we would get a gig, the feedback was often positive, which was amazing and surprising, sometimes, but because you need so much time to build up a network and experience with venues. It is about clout, and I hate that because how do you start out? 

Places like The Windmill really allow people who literally have nothing and they're starting a new project, whereas other venues in London are less forgiving of that.

So there was a point where me and Lily Montague, and Dan, thought “okay, why don't we just make our own night and put all our friends on, who we think are amazing musicians?” And that was always the most fun. Last summer, we did some house shows, shows at studios, as well as venues.

So I think you really have to just be like, okay, well, if this venue doesn't want to put me on, for whatever reason, or they just never reply, or I don't have enough Instagram followers — if there's any way that you could just do it yourself, it's worth it, I would say. Just have the forwardness to just do it anyway. 

If you could choose any venue to play in London, which would it be?

I would love to play the ICA. 
I think that is such a cool location. I love it there, and I love their Negronis. I like the way the design works. I like the vibe. And the venue size is perfect.  And I think The Apollo in Hammersmith, which I used to love when I was a teenager. I've seen people like Caroline Polachek there. But that venue is way bigger, so a bigger dream.

Do you think that there's a resurgence of music venues and gigs of smaller sizes?

Live music and smaller gigs are definitely making a comeback since COVID in a slow but steady way, I would say, and I think it's testament to the fact that we all still love going to places physically. It's how music should be experienced. There have been some new venues opening in London like Spanners, which I love. And in New York, there seems to be even more of them. I have to say, I'm discovering them slowly. 

Do you hope people feel anything in particular when they hear your songs? 

Oh, my God... That's up to them, I think.  I don't know. I think that's not up to me, ultimately, because everyone has their own relationship. I don't really mind what they feel. I think that's for them themselves to feel.

Dream collaboration?

There's so many people I would say Ethan P Flynn, definitely Danny Hall, who I am obsessed with, for some reason and they're both amazing musicians in their own right and producers. I think for the stage I’m at and music I’m making right now, it would be them. 

Who and like, what is inspiring you right now? 

Amore, Jawnino, KeiyaA, Daniela pes, I did get addicted to the new geese, metachok and blood orange albums and then I started listening to the Cocteau twins again for the first time in ages recently. And Otta and Lily Montague of course.

Since this interview, Sophie has released two new singles, Oh My God, and Car. She continues to live in NYC, studying at Parsons. Reading through our interview I am reminded of a time when Sophie and I once sat in the rain at the Rosemary Branch in Islington and cursed London. We cursed its weather, and how unrewarding it can feel to exist in this city at times. Since that time Sophie has released her music, played gig after gig every time she comes back to the UK, and moved to the big apple across the pond.

Words: Tatty Tranaeus
Listen to Sophie’s music here <3