# Sophia Stel
**Sophia Johanna Stel** is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and producer whose self-produced electronic pop has made her one of the most prominent new artists of Vancouver's independent scene. Born in 1998 in [Saanich](https://www.edgepedia.org/saanich), British Columbia[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sophia-stel-mn0004748218), she released the EPs *Object Permanence* (2024) and *How to Win at Solitaire* (2025), signed with A24's music label, and issued her debut album *the greatest album of all time* on October 16, 2026[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-greatest-album-of-all-time/6808639680).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1998, Saanich, British Columbia, Canada; grew up in Victoria[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sophia-stel-mn0004748218) • [3](https://ca.rollingstone.com/music/sophia-stel-greatest-album-interview/) |
| Style | Synth pop and alt-pop built from a synthesizer, digital drums, and guitar, with Auto-Tuned vocals[4](https://www.thefader.com/2025/07/10/sophia-stel-taste-how-to-win-at-solitaire-interview) |
| EPs | *Object Permanence* (September 13, 2024)[5](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/1119907-sophia-stel-object-permanence.php); *How to Win at Solitaire* (September 5, 2025)[4](https://www.thefader.com/2025/07/10/sophia-stel-taste-how-to-win-at-solitaire-interview) |
| Label | A24 Music, which she joined as its second artist signing[6](https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2026/07/30/sophia-stel/) |
| Debut album | *the greatest album of all time*, October 16, 2026, 12 songs, 46 minutes, A24 Music[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-greatest-album-of-all-time/6808639680) |
| Breakout song | "I'll Take It", a 2025 TikTok hit with reposts from Troye Sivan and KATSEYE's Megan Skiendiel[4](https://www.thefader.com/2025/07/10/sophia-stel-taste-how-to-win-at-solitaire-interview) |
| Family | Raised as the third of 11 children in a religious household she has described as very extreme[3](https://ca.rollingstone.com/music/sophia-stel-greatest-album-interview/) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/oct/13/sophia-stel-interview-greatest-album-of-all-time) |
## Background and early work
Stel grew up in [Victoria, British Columbia](https://www.edgepedia.org/victoria-british-columbia), the third of 11 children in a religious household[3](https://ca.rollingstone.com/music/sophia-stel-greatest-album-interview/). She has described the upbringing as overstimulating and very extreme, and says she has since parted ways with organized religion[7](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/oct/13/sophia-stel-interview-greatest-album-of-all-time). She has said she has made music since she was seven, and in her early teens she began making beats on [GarageBand](https://www.edgepedia.org/garageband)[3](https://ca.rollingstone.com/music/sophia-stel-greatest-album-interview/) • [8](https://i-d.co/article/sophia-stel-debut-interview-greatest-album-of-all-time/).
**Minimal equipment and day jobs.** For years she supported herself with gardening, bartending, and house painting while making music in her bedroom, dropping each job only as shows began to pay[9](https://www.nme.com/the-cover/sophia-stel-06-10-2025-3897393) • [3](https://ca.rollingstone.com/music/sophia-stel-greatest-album-interview/). She has described her gear as deliberately modest: a 2013 MacBook she used until the year before her album, a $300 microphone, a $100 interface, and GarageBand before that[10](https://www.musicmusingsandsuch.com/musicmusingsandsuch/2026/3/9/feature-spotlight-sophia-stel).
## EPs and breakout
Her debut EP Object Permanence was released on September 13, 2024, through the label Pack, with Stel credited as producer[5](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/1119907-sophia-stel-object-permanence.php). It found a devoted audience, and songs such as "You Could Hate Me" showed a blend of hyperactive electro-pop and melodic curiosity[3](https://ca.rollingstone.com/music/sophia-stel-greatest-album-interview/).
In September 2024 the hyperpop pioneer **A. G. Cook**, founder of [PC Music](https://www.edgepedia.org/pc-music), saw footage of one of her first shows and messaged her to suggest she open for him later that year; she accepted[9](https://www.nme.com/the-cover/sophia-stel-06-10-2025-3897393). Her song "I'll Take It", added to a 2025 reissue of *Object Permanence*, then went viral on TikTok, drawing reposts from [Troye Sivan](https://www.edgepedia.org/troye-sivan) and Megan Skiendiel of KATSEYE[4](https://www.thefader.com/2025/07/10/sophia-stel-taste-how-to-win-at-solitaire-interview) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sophia-stel-mn0004748218).
**Recording in a nightclub.** Her second EP, *How to Win at Solitaire*, was written and recorded largely in the basement of Paradise, a small after-hours club in Vancouver where she had worked for nearly five years. Paradise was closed on weekdays, and the owners let her record there free of charge; she built a makeshift studio and dismantled it before each weekend, rebuilding it afterward[11](https://musictech.com/features/interviews/sophia-stel-interview-how-to-win-at-solitaire/) • [9](https://www.nme.com/the-cover/sophia-stel-06-10-2025-3897393). She has said she needed somewhere she could be loud[11](https://musictech.com/features/interviews/sophia-stel-interview-how-to-win-at-solitaire/). The EP, released September 5, 2025, mixes drowsy shoegaze, electronic pop, and rave-style beats[4](https://www.thefader.com/2025/07/10/sophia-stel-taste-how-to-win-at-solitaire-interview) • [11](https://musictech.com/features/interviews/sophia-stel-interview-how-to-win-at-solitaire/), and the club's closing night is captured in the video for its single "Taste"[9](https://www.nme.com/the-cover/sophia-stel-06-10-2025-3897393).
## A24 and the debut album
Stel became the second artist signed to A24's music label, after the British singer-songwriter mark william lewis[6](https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2026/07/30/sophia-stel/). In the period around that signing she walked for Ann Demeulemeester at [Paris Fashion Week](https://www.edgepedia.org/paris-fashion-week), modeled for Palace Skateboards, and opened for Lorde at the [Kia Forum](https://www.edgepedia.org/kia-forum) in Los Angeles[6](https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2026/07/30/sophia-stel/) • [8](https://i-d.co/article/sophia-stel-debut-interview-greatest-album-of-all-time/).
Her debut album, **the greatest album of all time**, was released on October 16, 2026: 12 songs and 46 minutes on A24 Music, almost all of it self-produced[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-greatest-album-of-all-time/6808639680) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/oct/13/sophia-stel-interview-greatest-album-of-all-time). The title came from an interview remark, made as a joke after the success of *How to Win at Solitaire*, that like everyone else she wanted to make the greatest album of all time; when the quote was promoted, she decided to adopt it as the title[3](https://ca.rollingstone.com/music/sophia-stel-greatest-album-interview/) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/oct/13/sophia-stel-interview-greatest-album-of-all-time). The album opens with "On My Dick" and "Molly in the Club", and includes "Bitches Talk Shit", whose lyrics contrast stardom with being "still very up-and-coming"[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-greatest-album-of-all-time/6808639680). Tracks including "Wedding Song" and "Now I've Got a Lot You Know" have drawn critical attention, and a Pitchfork Selects playlist in October 2026 highlighted the album cut "Better Believe It"[3](https://ca.rollingstone.com/music/sophia-stel-greatest-album-interview/) • [12](https://www.stilllisteningmagazine.com/reviews/sophia-stel-the-greatest-album-of-all-time-review) • [13](https://pitchfork.com/story/sophia-stel-worldpeace-dmt-weed-420-this-weeks-pitchfork-selects-playlist/).
## Style and creative control
Stel writes, records, and produces her music herself, and shoots and edits her own videos, often with her friends[6](https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2026/07/30/sophia-stel/). Her stated production method is to layer simple parts, building a song's keys first, then adding drums when she gets stuck; she describes the results as "simple things made to sound more complex"[4](https://www.thefader.com/2025/07/10/sophia-stel-taste-how-to-win-at-solitaire-interview). She uses [Auto-Tune](https://www.edgepedia.org/auto-tune) as a creative tool, saying it lets her write melodies she would not otherwise have written, after first adopting it out of discomfort hearing her own voice played back[4](https://www.thefader.com/2025/07/10/sophia-stel-taste-how-to-win-at-solitaire-interview). Critics have compared her low, Auto-Tuned voice to [Ethel Cain](https://www.edgepedia.org/ethel-cain) and 070 Shake[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sophia-stel-mn0004748218).
She has also worked as a model, despite disliking being photographed, and cites Future's melodic phrasing as an influence on how she fits many words into songs[7](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/oct/13/sophia-stel-interview-greatest-album-of-all-time) • [3](https://ca.rollingstone.com/music/sophia-stel-greatest-album-interview/).
## References
1. [Sophia Stel — Biography, Discography, Albums & Expert Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sophia-stel-mn0004748218)
2. [the greatest album of all time — Album by Sophia Stel, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-greatest-album-of-all-time/6808639680)
3. [Sophia Stel's Pop Ambitions Are Stronger Than Her Nerves, Rolling Stone Canada](https://ca.rollingstone.com/music/sophia-stel-greatest-album-interview/)
4. [Sophia Stel's simple, complex electronic pop ballads, The FADER](https://www.thefader.com/2025/07/10/sophia-stel-taste-how-to-win-at-solitaire-interview)
5. [Sophia Stel - Object Permanence (EP), Album of The Year](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/1119907-sophia-stel-object-permanence.php)
6. [Sophia Stel Features In Wonderland's Summer 26 Issue, Wonderland](https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2026/07/30/sophia-stel/)
7. ['Girls aren't supposed to be cocky': Sophia Stel on the pressure of writing The Greatest Album Of All Time, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/oct/13/sophia-stel-interview-greatest-album-of-all-time)
8. [Sophia Stel Is Taking in Her Newfound Power, i-D](https://i-d.co/article/sophia-stel-debut-interview-greatest-album-of-all-time/)
9. [Sophia Stel's alt-pop finds beauty in the messy and the momentary, NME](https://www.nme.com/the-cover/sophia-stel-06-10-2025-3897393)
10. [FEATURE: Spotlight: Sophia Stel, Music Musings & Such](https://www.musicmusingsandsuch.com/musicmusingsandsuch/2026/3/9/feature-spotlight-sophia-stel)
11. [Sophia Stel turned a nightclub basement into a music studio, MusicTech](https://musictech.com/features/interviews/sophia-stel-interview-how-to-win-at-solitaire/)
12. [Sophia Stel – the greatest album of all time Review, Still Listening](https://www.stilllisteningmagazine.com/reviews/sophia-stel-the-greatest-album-of-all-time-review)
13. [Sophia Stel, Worldpeace DMT, Weed420, and More: This Week's Pitchfork Selects Playlist, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/story/sophia-stel-worldpeace-dmt-weed-420-this-weeks-pitchfork-selects-playlist/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Pop and R&B singer-songwriters › Indie and alternative pop, 2010s to present › Bedroom pop and lo-fi artists*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license