Sophie Hunger (born Emilie Jeanne-Sophie Welti, March 31, 1983 in Bern) is a multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter based in Zürich, Switzerland. Her independently released second album Monday's Ghost (2008) stayed at the top of the swiss charts for several weeks and caught the attention of critics abroad. The Guardian described her as „Laura Marling, Beth Orton and Björk in one folk-rocking package“.
Hunger began her recording career as a member of the band Fisher, where she billed herself as Emilie Welti. The band released one album, Fisher (2005), before she embarked on a solo career as a singer/songwriter, changing her performance name to Sophie Hunger.
The swiss singer spent parts of her youth abroad, living in England and Germany. Her cosmopolitan biography is reflected in her multilingual songwriting. While most so
ngs are in english or german language, each album contains one song in a swiss german dialect. Her most recent album 1983 (2010) also includes a cover version of Noir Désir's Le Vent Nous Portera in french language.
Totally unknown a few years ago Sophie Hunger has been on the road ever since, sharing stages with some of the country’s most successful artists, like Erik Truffaz, The Young Gods, Kutti MC or Stephan Eicher and appearing at locations such as Olympia in Paris, Miles Davis Hall at the Montreux Jazz Festival or the John Peel Stage at Glastonbury Festival.
She recorded her debut album Sketches on Sea (2006) at home in just a few days, released it on her own label and very quickly became the scene and the critic’s darling. The record was a slow burner, slowly evolving from the underground cult hit it was at first to becoming a commercial success. After her performance at the Eurosonic 2008, French daily newspaper Liberation predicted Sophie "would not stay Switzerland's best kept secret for long".
The musical directions of Sophie Hunger are limitless, from traditional folk songwriting bathed in jazzy moods to soul balladry. Her musical universe is very flourished, nourished by an exceptionally fragile yet mature voice as well as an ability to cross genres. For Sketches On Sea, she collaborated with a great number of musicians, from a trombone player to a flamenco guitarist. Sophie’s technical prowesses can lead her anywhere and allow her to do things that nobody else could get away with.
Hunger has always worked in a collaborative spirit, and her many musical interests have led her to a fascinating geographic and personality mix. Recorded in Lausanne (studio du Flon) and Brussels (ICP), produced by Marcello Giuliani (already acclaimed for his work with Henri Salvador, Etienne Daho or Jane Birkin), her second album, which Sophie calls her "first studio album", is an illustration of that relentless quest for new ideas, new people and new sounds.
Sophie Hunger also contributed the soundtrack to the documentary "Zimmer 202" and the movie "Der Freund" by Micha Lewinsky.
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