Sophie Auster: "Now I know that success is not always a bed of roses"

The singer, actress and model Sophie Auster – who has performed on a few occasions in Barcelona venues – returns to the Spanish stage with a single performance tomorrow Friday in Ibiza, specifically at the ContrastIbiza music and visual arts festival in Sant Antoni.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
25 May 2022 Wednesday 22:12
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Sophie Auster: "Now I know that success is not always a bed of roses"

The singer, actress and model Sophie Auster – who has performed on a few occasions in Barcelona venues – returns to the Spanish stage with a single performance tomorrow Friday in Ibiza, specifically at the ContrastIbiza music and visual arts festival in Sant Antoni.

The also daughter of the writers Paul Auster and Siri Hustvedt will come in a trio format and will offer a varied repertoire, including the three songs from her recent Dancing with stranger's ep. She spoke to this newspaper a few days ago from her home in Brooklyn, and she did not want to comment on the recent death of her brother Paul from an overdose.

How many times have you been to Ibiza?

I have to confess that never. Through a mutual friend, the director of the ContrastIbiza festival contacted me three years ago, but the pandemic has caused the idea to be delayed until now. We will be a trio with drums and keyboards, we will play the three songs that we just released on the Dancing with strangers ep, also pieces from my latest album History happens at night, some older ones and a few versions.

How has the pandemic affected you?

We've had a really hard time with covid. Now we return to activity but for now at a very low rate, although I hope it won't take long to tour again. Because now I remember that when I was touring in 2019 I had very nice and hopeful moments, seeing that it was getting more and more. And suddenly everything stopped abruptly. In 2020 I suddenly found myself alone and without any help from anyone, not even the record company. And right now everything is up in the air, I don't even have a record label. The plan is, when this little tour is over, to make a conventional length album. It is something that only depends on me, but the issue is whether it will be financed by me or by someone else.

And at the cinematographic level, something in hand?

No film project; now I'm just focused on music and how I can settle in this new world.

Does your income come only from music on a regular basis?

Now it's a combination of music and us renting a house. In addition, my husband is a photographer and has not stopped working, in commercial advertising. The truth is that right now I am looking at how to get ahead, with hope.

His voice sounds optimistic.

What am I going to do otherwise? I feel that this year is very difficult, everything has changed very quickly and you have time to think

A few days ago he published the aforementioned ep, with three new songs. He composed them during the pandemic?

Yes, during covid. We moved apartments several times, and we stayed at my parents' house for three months while we looked for another place. And curiously, the last song of the ep I wrote in my bedroom when I was a child in my parents' house.

And how was that time at your parents' house?

Surprisingly, we all feel comfortable. It was good, and we are very lucky that we all like each other, because in such short distances relationships are not easy for anyone. We finally found our own dwelling from where I speak to you.

By the way, you have always avoided pigeonholing yourself, but how would you define your music?

The American songbook shakes hands with contemporary alt pop.

After this pandemic period, do you consider yourself a different person?

You do things you know yourself best for. And right now I feel very good because I know what situation I am in. On the other hand, in the period between 2020 and last year, everything was very strange, insecure, and the return to normality was not clear at all.

In these circumstances, success looks different. How do you live it?

For me, success means doing what I like and being able to live from it. To be able to dedicate myself fully to my passion and not have to do other jobs to make ends meet, as is what I have to do now. It is not always a path of roses, as I have now verified. But it is how I understand a life decided by myself and put into practice.