Latest / The Discussion Podcast / The Lunch Discussion - 12-Year-Old Songwriter Drops Stunning Debut Album 'Where Am I?'

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The Lunch Discussion - 12-Year-Old Songwriter Drops Stunning Debut Album 'Where Am I?' · The Discussion Podcast

• 0:00
  This is the Late Late Lunch Show, with Rod Maxwell, supported by Childbird Learning and
• 0:12
  Nature's Playground.
• 0:18
  It's Rod Maxwell and Radio Alty on the Late Late Lunch Show, supported by our friends
• 0:21
  from Back to the Garden Childcare, and today we're talking about a young artist based in
• 0:27
  the area who has released an album, has written the album, has performed on the album, and
• 0:35
  is a pupil of the music place in Altrincham, and as I said, she's just turned 12 years
• 0:40
  of age.
• 0:41
  If you listen to the album, you would not believe it.
• 0:44
  And today I'm speaking to Sophia Bacall.
• 0:46
  Hello, Sophia, how are you?
• 0:48
  Hi, I'm good, thanks.
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  Now, let's talk about you and music, first of all.
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  When did you discover that you had a musical talent or even that you had an interest in
• 1:00
  music?
• 1:01
  Well, it was, I started, like, really, I remember it was at my 10th birthday party and we did
• 1:07
  this really cool thing where we could go to a recording studio and we could, like, record
• 1:12
  our own versions of a song, but I started songwriting, I think, around, like, eight
• 1:17
  or nine.
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  And that was when I just got out my notebook and just started, like, because I love songs
• 1:23
  and I love singing to them and listening to them.
• 1:25
  So I kind of was like, what would happen if I made my own?
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  So I started just writing in my notebook drafts.
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  And then at my 10th birthday party, like, I didn't ever think, was I good at singing
• 1:35
  or anything?
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  Or would I want to, you know, maybe even do this for the rest of my life?
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  But in my 10th birthday party, we did a recording party and it was amazing.
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  And like, we had such a great time and I enjoyed it, like, so much so I was like, you know,
• 1:52
  I want to do this all the time.
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  It's amazing.
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  And if I can make my own tunes and my own songs, like, it would just be the most magical
• 2:00
  experience ever.
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  So I started writing songs, creating tunes for them and putting music to them.
• 2:09
  And then I started recording them and it was just an absolute, it felt magical and it felt
• 2:14
  like something that I really wanted to do because, like, all my friends had maybe something
• 2:19
  that they love to do, like maybe sports or, you know, different stuff like that.
• 2:23
  And maybe even like education that they really liked and specific subjects, but I didn't
• 2:29
  really have my proper thing.
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  And then when music came, I felt like I'd finally understood what was my place to shine.
• 2:38
  And I really just loved music.
• 2:40
  So yeah, just that's how I started.
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  And I mean, I think you play instruments, do you not?
• 2:48
  So what came first for you?
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  Was it your voice or was it playing an instrument?
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  And if it was the instrument, what instruments was it?
• 2:55
  Well, I started, it was kind of around the same period.
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  So I started singing and then my next door neighbor, it's a funny story, actually, she's
• 3:04
  a piano teacher.
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  So it's really useful.
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  And I was just like, you know, because I kind of wanted to learn an instrument to, you know,
• 3:11
  try something new.
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  I hadn't really had much experience with music.
• 3:15
  So I was like, maybe I could try piano, you know, what's the harm of it?
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  And I don't like it.
• 3:20
  I don't like it.
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  And at first, it's quite difficult because it's really new.
• 3:24
  But after a while, I started really liking it.
• 3:27
  And I started, we started playing chords in different songs.
• 3:31
  And I started being like, and I like specific chords, and I started putting them together
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  and kind of having a slow like process of picking out the picking out chords and putting
• 3:43
  them into my own songs.
• 3:44
  And it's, and then I learned guitar after that, I think a year later, or a year and
• 3:51
  a half, because I thought, you know, listening to songs, there was quite a lot of guitar
• 3:55
  in lots of them, especially ones that I liked.
• 3:58
  And I think guitar is really useful because piano for me is more, is for more kind of
• 4:03
  sad, slow ballads and guitar can be used for that.
• 4:06
  But I think it's great to like make an upbeat hit kind of thing.
• 4:10
  So yeah, those two are like the main, I think the main instruments to create a song like
• 4:16
  a variation.
• 4:17
  So,
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  Well, we'll talk more about your background in music.
• 4:21
  We'll talk more about your inspiration.
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  We'll obviously talk about your album, you can get it now across different, it's across
• 4:27
  all the major streaming platforms, is it not?
• 4:30
  Yeah, I think.
• 4:31
  Yeah, I think it's on most of them.
• 4:34
  Yeah.
• 4:35
  Yeah.
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  And I don't know too many other 12 year olds who've got albums on Spotify or Apple Music.
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  So it's a fantastic story today.
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  My guest is Sophia Bacall.
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  She's from the local area.
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  She's from Altrincham.
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  And she has released an album, Where Am I, you can get it now on wherever you stream
• 4:52
  your music from.
• 4:54
  We'll talk to her a little bit more in a couple of minutes time.
• 4:58
  You're listening to the Late Late Lunch Show with Back to the Garden Childcare, where little
• 5:02
  explorers grow naturally.
• 5:07
  You listen to Rod Maxwell on the Late Late Lunch Show on Radio Altyn, supported by our
• 5:10
  friends from Back to the Garden Childcare.
• 5:13
  And today I'm delighted to be talking about music and with Sophia Bacall, who is a 12
• 5:19
  year old.
• 5:20
  And I don't want to say school kid, because that doesn't sound like it right.
• 5:24
  But you're a 12 year old girl in the area who is into singing and written an album.
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  The album has 12 tracks on it, 10 songs, actually, doesn't it?
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  So from understanding that you have a voice and you can play an instrument, what led you
• 5:46
  to write your own song?
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  Because I think it's a massively personal thing to do.
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  And you're exposing a lot of yourself when you do it.
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  What was that process like for you?
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  Did you write down some words and think, I'll put this to music or did you have a tune
• 6:04
  in your head?
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  How did it work, Sophia?
• 6:06
  Well, I always in school loved creative writing, like writing stories and stuff was my thing.
• 6:12
  And before songwriting, I just loved writing stories.
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  But when I started slowly coming to the realisation that I did love music, I was like, I was thinking,
• 6:21
  you know, I love songs and stuff.
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  What if I try and make my own and maybe even create my own story and put my perspective
• 6:28
  into that?
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  I've not had many, you know, I've not had any experience like relationships or love.
• 6:34
  But after reading books and stuff and hearing other people's lives and their stories, I
• 6:42
  thought, you know, why don't I kind of create a story in my head about maybe love and a
• 6:47
  relationship and something that's happened?
• 6:49
  And I put how I would deal with it into a song.
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  I think it's amazing to think, you know, with artists, when they write songs, people from
• 6:59
  even different cultures can feel and understand what someone's saying and singing about, no
• 7:06
  matter how different their lives are.
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  And I just, yeah, over time, I slowly started writing, you know, converting my stories into
• 7:16
  songs and in like the first person and different perspectives.
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  And it just starts to build up because it was a habit that I kept doing.
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  And then over time, I maybe look back at some songs I wrote ages ago and depict them and
• 7:32
  like work at them and some of them I still use.
• 7:36
  And so I'm creating new parts that make the song as a whole finish.
• 7:41
  And when you are doing it, are you singing into your phone?
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  I mean, I often go around when I'm performing with the Music Place Choir or I had a we called
• 7:55
  it a man band for a while.
• 7:57
  I would find myself walking around with the dogs singing, you know, and my biggest issue
• 8:02
  is with no memory, I can never remember words.
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  But do you find yourself sometimes music's in your head and you think I've got to I've
• 8:09
  got to get the phone out to get that done?
• 8:11
  How does it work for you?
• 8:14
  Yeah, it's exactly like that.
• 8:16
  So sometimes I might be doing chores or just doing anything and maybe it's even in the
• 8:20
  classroom and I just kind of get a tune sometimes, but like someone said a good phrase and like,
• 8:25
  oh, that's that's a really interesting kind of sentence to say.
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  I could write that down.
• 8:30
  And it's sometimes lyrics first or it's sometimes tune first.
• 8:34
  But I mean, I think it's normally tune.
• 8:36
  And then I start maybe I might just sing maybe sing like three minutes worth of a song into
• 8:42
  my phone, maybe like record on voice memories or something, and then I'll listen to it and
• 8:48
  I'll write down the lyrics.
• 8:50
  And then maybe if some bits didn't make sense or I thought, oh, maybe I could use something
• 8:54
  else, then I'd rewrite that.
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  And over time, it becomes it becomes improved in it and ends up as a finished project with
• 9:02
  the music after a while.
• 9:04
  But yeah, it starts with something crazy.
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  I can start with something so small to, you know, hearing someone say something that's
• 9:10
  really cool to ending up having a whole like three, four minute song.
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  It's it's really cool.
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  And that that creative process and that ability to take an idea and build it into a song and
• 9:22
  it grows and it grows.
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  That's quite incredible, isn't it?
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  Yeah, I think it's so cool how you can come up, you know, someone can just say something
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  and you start to get a tune.
• 9:32
  And yes, it's I just felt really understood when I when I found out music and I felt that
• 9:39
  this was my place.
• 9:41
  This is the Late Late Lunch Show with Rod Maxwell on Radio Alty.
• 9:46
  It's Rod Maxwell on Radio Alty today.
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  I'm delighted to be speaking with Sophia Bacall.
• 9:52
  She is a 12 year old singer, songwriter, and she's a member of the Pupils music base, an
• 9:58
  alternate and has released her debut album, which is Where I Am or Where Am I, I should
• 10:06
  say.
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  Let's talk about influences.
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  You know, are you somebody who is very influenced by artists today?
• 10:16
  Have you gone back into other artists?
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  Because I have to admit, when I was listening to the album and just just before we did the
• 10:22
  interview, I went back and refreshed my memory and I I was hearing a little bit of Patti
• 10:27
  Smith, Suzanne Vega, a little bit of Alanis Morissette, a little bit of Chrissie Hynde.
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  Right.
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  And then I could easily turn around and probably think about a number of contemporary artists
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  today who are also very similar.
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  And there's a drama and there's a there's a storytelling in it and there's a real maturity
• 10:46
  about it.
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  Who would you draw on when you're thinking about your sound?
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  My influences and the people I look up to, if you're thinking like artists and stuff,
• 10:57
  this is probably very expected, but I'm I really like Taylor Swift's music.
• 11:03
  I like her more sad kind of like, I think her lyrics are absolute genius and I think
• 11:10
  that the way she uses stories and and puts it all together, I think it's amazing.
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  And I think especially her album, The Torched Poets Department, or just her recent one,
• 11:22
  her most recent one, The Life of a Showgirl with The Fate of Ophelia, how she uses the
• 11:26
  story of Hamlet into a song and connects it to herself.
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  I mean, she started young at 16 and I think she's she's a really big influence for me.
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  And she was one of the reasons why I started songwriting and how it all started to come
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  to me.
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  And other people, maybe like Harry Styles, you know how he started in a band, but then
• 11:47
  when he was a solo artist and he really took off, you know, I like I really like recent
• 11:53
  artists like that.
• 11:54
  But I also really like maybe like Dolly Parton.
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  I think she's got some amazing inspirational songs or bands like The Beatles because they've
• 12:02
  got a really I find it really interesting, some of the lyrics and kind of finding out
• 12:06
  the meanings to like all the words.
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  And you know, this is what I find fascinating about today's world is that within your phone,
• 12:16
  within a Spotify account or an Apple Music account, you've got access to all this music.
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  I'm sure in your parents' day, it was like I was going into my sister's record collection
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  and whatever was there or taping off the top 40, which is something you will never know
• 12:31
  about.
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  But, you know, and therefore your access to music was more constrained today.
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  I do find that, you know, your generation has been open to so much music that you're
• 12:45
  drawing inspiration from so many places.
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  And the artists you mentioned are drawing theirs for so many places as well.
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  There doesn't seem to be the same boundaries to music anymore.
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  You know, you can't put your into rock, pop, indie, jazz.
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  It's sort of more fused than that.
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  Would you agree?
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  Yeah.
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  Yeah, I do agree.
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  Because I think I'm really glad that, you know, we I have such a big wide, you know,
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  I can just search it up and it's easy for me because I think especially I mean, I still
• 13:15
  collect vinyls because I just I really I just think it's so cool to be able to put
• 13:19
  it on a record player and play it.
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  But it's, you know, having to if you wanted if you had like loads of different artists,
• 13:27
  you know, it would cost a lot of money.
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  But with easy things like Spotify, you can just, you know, search up and it's there and
• 13:33
  you can play any song.
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  And it's, you know, it's really useful.
• 13:36
  Well, I want to come back and talk about how you recorded and that process, because it's
• 13:42
  today.
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  There are so many different options and you can DIY, but also publish from from bedroom
• 13:49
  studios, if you like.
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  So really interested in that.
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  So today we're talking to Sophia Bacall.
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  She has released Where Am I?
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  And there's 10 songs written all by yourself, aren't they?
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  Yeah.
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  Wow.
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  OK, well, we'll take a track and we'll be back with her in a couple of minutes time.
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  You're listening to the Late Late Lunch Show with Back to the Garden Childcare, where little
• 14:12
  explorers grow naturally.
• 14:14
  So, Sophia, I'm really interested in how you recorded these, because when I well, well
• 14:22
  before I well, well, after I was your age, as you say, the only way to do it was to go
• 14:26
  into a studio and you you finally one of those was quite difficult.
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  And then you spent all day and often only recorded one track.
• 14:36
  And it took about two hours to get the drummer's track right, which for a singer was always
• 14:42
  very infuriating.
• 14:43
  And then you got five minutes at the end to sing.
• 14:45
  And how did you record this album?
• 14:49
  Well, I start with the album.
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  I have like two different places I do it.
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  So I have my mom's friend.
• 14:59
  She had a daughter and like loves music as well.
• 15:02
  And they have like a like a small kind of house recording set up.
• 15:07
  So we did songs there.
• 15:09
  But as an amazing, like the best Christmas gift ever I got, my parents gave me an opportunity
• 15:21
  to go to Airtight Studios, which is like a bit like of a bigger studio.
• 15:28
  And I got to record my first proper studio song, which was Tell Me That You Love Me.
• 15:34
  And then with the album, I did like quite a lot of it was, you know, I started going
• 15:39
  to start saving up and doing chores and stuff to save up and go to the studio more.
• 15:47
  And then I did quite a lot on the album for in that studio to make it, you know, sound
• 15:52
  even better.
• 15:53
  And then I did some in the home studio as well, because I think, you know, it's it's
• 15:58
  amazing how you can still create such an amazing track just from a house.
• 16:02
  Now, Airtight, it rings a bell to me and I'm thinking, was that where is who recorded there?
• 16:11
  Was it 10cc recorded there?
• 16:13
  No.
• 16:14
  Do you know?
• 16:15
  I'm not sure.
• 16:16
  I think some fame, some someone famous did did go there once because I think I asked
• 16:22
  and they said, yeah, but I'm not sure.
• 16:26
  And how did you find that studio process?
• 16:28
  Because you you're for me, you're writing the song as yourself, right?
• 16:33
  And you've got the idea in your head.
• 16:35
  You can hear it in your head.
• 16:36
  And then suddenly you go into the studio.
• 16:38
  There's more people there.
• 16:39
  You're possibly working with a producer.
• 16:41
  And I think a good producer brings something to it.
• 16:44
  They don't just technically record it, but you're starting to collaborate more.
• 16:49
  And how was that process for you?
• 16:51
  Was it was it confusing?
• 16:53
  Was it overwhelming or was it nice to share it with people?
• 16:57
  I mean, before, you know, for the first time before I went in, I was like getting quite
• 17:03
  nervous because I had no idea what would happen.
• 17:05
  I was like, you know, do I do I tell them what I want or do they tell me what to do
• 17:11
  and stuff?
• 17:12
  But it was great because I went in and I did, you know, the bass chords of the guitar.
• 17:18
  And then after it, you know, I kind of said what I kind of envisioned on the track and
• 17:23
  I had it all written down and we added all of it.
• 17:26
  And I maybe suggested some instruments, we put some more in, like maybe drums or something
• 17:32
  and then all kind of clicked together.
• 17:33
  And, you know, I added ideas here.
• 17:35
  And then the producer might have, you know, added, oh, maybe we could add some electric
• 17:40
  guitar and all kind of piece together.
• 17:42
  And, you know, it was it was a great atmosphere because, you know, if I felt that I didn't
• 17:47
  really like what was put on the track at the time, they could, you know, it was fine
• 17:52
  if I could just say, you know, could we take that off if that's OK?
• 17:55
  But it was, you know, I thought it was just such a nice and it was my favorite part was,
• 18:02
  you know, singing into the microphone because it felt real because I've always seen like
• 18:07
  on my phone or on television, you know, maybe like my favorite artist, you know, singing
• 18:12
  into a microphone.
• 18:13
  And I was like, how would that feel?
• 18:15
  And now being able to do that, it's really surreal.
• 18:19
  And did you sing to a click track?
• 18:21
  Did you sing to like a basic track, maybe a bass?
• 18:24
  Or did you sing to the whole production?
• 18:27
  So we would record the guitar first, then after that, straight after we got the bass
• 18:32
  chords done, I'd sing to it and then we'd add instruments afterwards.
• 18:36
  So I just sang to the guitar and stuff and because, you know, I at home went while practicing
• 18:42
  and making the song, I'd like play the chords and sing it at the same time.
• 18:46
  So it was great because I started to understand the song.
• 18:49
  And then when I got to the recording studio, I was like, oh, OK, so there's two bars break
• 18:53
  now and then I can go back in kind of thing.
• 18:55
  So it was, yeah, at first it was kind of nerve wracking.
• 18:59
  But once I'm in there, it's, you know, it's really fun.
• 19:03
  It's an amazing opportunity, I've got to say, and I think you I'm sure a lot of people much
• 19:10
  older than you would be quite overwhelmed going into a studio.
• 19:13
  And it's a great experience.
• 19:16
  And it's about collaboration as much as anything else, isn't it?
• 19:20
  Yeah, it's it's great to be able to work with people and see their view.
• 19:23
  And at all the times I've been to the studio, I've worked with the same person, which is
• 19:28
  great. So we've kind of I mean, we called the album recordings studio sessions, the
• 19:35
  March sessions, which is great.
• 19:37
  It was it was a nice name for it.
• 19:39
  And, you know, over time, you know, we kind of both felt a bit more laid back and it was
• 19:44
  really good. We'll take a break and we're back with Sophia Bacal in a couple of minutes
• 19:50
  time. This is The Late Late Lunch Show with Rod Maxwell on Radio Alty.
• 19:58
  You listen to Radio Alty, it's Rod Maxwell on The Late Late Lunch Show and I'm delighted
• 20:02
  to be speaking to Alterygums, I guess you might well be one of the youngest performing
• 20:08
  artists that Alterygum has ever had.
• 20:10
  You know that. Well, I'm sure I don't think there's too many 12 year olds who have
• 20:17
  actually recorded a 10 track album and and performed.
• 20:21
  How many of the instruments did you perform on the recording?
• 20:27
  Well, all of them kind of I like played like the bass, like, you know, like the piano and
• 20:32
  the guitar. And so what happened, I did I only play those instruments and then all of
• 20:38
  them kind of have some different instruments in there.
• 20:40
  So the producer would kind of, you know, play like chords, but with different instruments
• 20:46
  and it all kind of tied together.
• 20:48
  So I've I played the, you know, the piano and the guitar bits and then they put they
• 20:54
  added it. And I think it is it's crazy to think, you know, how different and how much,
• 20:59
  you know, nicer it sounds, actually, not, you know, when you're at home and you're
• 21:04
  playing just the piano with it or when you can get the strings in and and get the full
• 21:09
  like amazing sound.
• 21:10
  I mean, even if it was just piano and my voice, it sounds so much more professional when
• 21:15
  it's recorded rather than just at home.
• 21:18
  What was it like the first time you sat down and listened to that body of work and
• 21:23
  listened to yourself?
• 21:24
  Well, how did that feel?
• 21:26
  I mean, it's you know, it's quite weird because if you hear someone playing or if
• 21:32
  you hear people also singing like my friends, if you hear them singing to, you know,
• 21:37
  songs and listening to them, it's kind of it feels a bit I almost cringe sometimes at
• 21:44
  hearing my own voice because I'm like, you know, I hear that I hear that, you know,
• 21:48
  playing and stuff, but other people choose to listen to it.
• 21:52
  And like my friends choose to listen to the songs.
• 21:55
  And it's, you know, it's quite like the problem with me is that I'm more like I'm
• 22:01
  more, you know, once I've shown friends and stuff, I'm like, what do you think about
• 22:05
  it? Because I just, you know, I I think my opinion is quite biased because I'm quite
• 22:10
  impartial myself. But, you know, if I get other people's opinions, you know, it kind
• 22:15
  of forms like my own, which is great.
• 22:18
  Well, it's I think it's you're you're you're becoming so transparent because it's
• 22:26
  not just your voice, but it's your thoughts, it's your emotions, it's your playing.
• 22:31
  I think it's amazing for anybody to be able to do that, never mind do it on a ten
• 22:36
  track album. And it's a very personal thing to do.
• 22:40
  I think it's incredibly mature to to to do it.
• 22:44
  What have you ever heard anybody sing one of your songs?
• 22:48
  Well, I sometimes, you know, I sometimes hear like sometimes my friends, you know, if
• 22:54
  they listen to it sometimes and they sing to it, you know, I'm quite shocked.
• 22:58
  I'm like, wow, you've taken your time to listen to one of my songs.
• 23:03
  And it's incredible how they can learn the lyrics and and, you know, give me their
• 23:08
  opinions. And, you know, I might hear maybe my mom or my dad sing to them in the car.
• 23:13
  And it's it's cool.
• 23:14
  It's it's really makes me feel really like happy and uplifted to hear, you know,
• 23:21
  people liking what I've made.
• 23:23
  Now, you're at your age, I'm sure performing is quite there's limited chances to
• 23:31
  perform. Maybe I'm wrong there.
• 23:33
  And have you had many chances to sing or to to perform any of your songs live?
• 23:41
  I mean, I before I like like started recording songs, I at the music place, they do
• 23:48
  like open mic nights and I just sang, you know, like Adele or, you know, one of those
• 23:53
  singers kind of songs.
• 23:54
  And then after and then I started being like, that was another time when it all clicked
• 23:59
  that I wanted to, you know, maybe start recording them and maybe even performing them
• 24:04
  because I was like, it's so magical to see, you know, people watching you and you being
• 24:08
  able to sing for them. And yeah.
• 24:11
  And then after that, I started, you know, seeing my own songs sometimes for the music
• 24:16
  place. So there was an anniversary, a family anniversary, and it was quite busy,
• 24:21
  actually. So it was really nerve wracking.
• 24:23
  But I sang some of my songs for that.
• 24:26
  And that was great. And everyone showed really great support.
• 24:29
  And yeah, I've sung a few places in this.
• 24:32
  It's really I get I realize I get really nervous before, but when I'm up there, it's
• 24:37
  you know, it's like I'm here and if I make a mistake, it's not the end of the world.
• 24:42
  Well, I want to come and talk a little bit more about the music place and how they've
• 24:45
  helped you, inspired you, guided you as well.
• 24:49
  And so we're very lucky in Altrincham to have such a place.
• 24:51
  So today I'm speaking to Sophia Bacal.
• 24:54
  She is a recording artist and her first album is out.
• 24:58
  It's called Where Am I?
• 25:00
  And ten tracks on the album.
• 25:02
  And it's now available on Spotify, Apple and the likes of Amazon, for example.
• 25:07
  Sophia. Yeah, yeah.
• 25:08
  Like those kind of things.
• 25:09
  It's on like most things.
• 25:11
  OK, there you go.
• 25:12
  Wherever you get your music from and give it a play.
• 25:15
  I will be back with her in a couple of minutes time.
• 25:18
  You're listening to the late, late lunch show with Back to the Garden Child Care,
• 25:22
  where little explorers grow naturally.
• 25:27
  It's Rod Maxwell on Radio Alti today.
• 25:29
  I'm delighted to be talking to Sophia Bacal, who's a recording artist
• 25:33
  who has written her first album and recorded it all at the age of 11
• 25:38
  because you've just turned 12.
• 25:40
  So it's quite, quite incredible.
• 25:43
  Now, the music place, I I'm I've been a member of their choir
• 25:47
  for about six, seven years now, ever since I came out of hospital, actually.
• 25:51
  And I, I find that we are so lucky to have
• 25:56
  the richness of the resource,
• 25:59
  the skills of the people there and how they inspire you.
• 26:03
  Just talk to me.
• 26:04
  When did you first go to the music place and was it for instrument or for voice?
• 26:09
  And I think there was that maybe like two years ago
• 26:13
  because I started singing lessons.
• 26:15
  So it was around, yeah, probably two years ago.
• 26:18
  And I was just I wanted to maybe do some singing lessons
• 26:21
  because I started finding that I really liked singing.
• 26:24
  So I started that.
• 26:25
  And, you know, we started, you know, practicing more.
• 26:29
  And that's when another thing that really, you know,
• 26:32
  like helped me, you know, with my singing and my music just to.
• 26:36
  And then after that, I when I realized I wanted to learn guitar.
• 26:40
  So that would have been like maybe a year ago or a bit less than that.
• 26:44
  And then I took guitar lessons there.
• 26:46
  And my piano teacher who's next door actually also works in the music place.
• 26:51
  So it's a very, very central to your musical ability.
• 26:56
  And one of the things I like about it is that the concerts they put on
• 27:00
  gives you the chance to actually perform, because I think it's one thing
• 27:05
  going and taking a lesson.
• 27:07
  It's a totally different thing to perform.
• 27:09
  And it almost completes the cycle.
• 27:11
  And I sometimes I think you need the you need the
• 27:16
  I don't know what would you call it?
• 27:17
  You need the drama of the performance to make sure that you're you're ready.
• 27:22
  I feel very different when I'm performing versus when I'm rehearsing.
• 27:27
  The concerts they put on are really important for you to get that experience.
• 27:31
  So they're not.
• 27:32
  And I think, you know, it's it's good because it's it's slow.
• 27:36
  It's not like, you know, I'm the first time I performed.
• 27:39
  I had to do it in front of a really big, really big, you know, audience.
• 27:43
  I mean, I mean, before before the music place,
• 27:46
  I think I did.
• 27:48
  I was in a choir actually called the Hallé Choir for two years.
• 27:53
  And then and then I you know, I had I was moving in secondary school,
• 27:57
  so I needed to focus a bit more on like schoolwork and stuff.
• 28:00
  But yes, that was that was a help as well, because it was it was.
• 28:04
  Yeah, like maybe like a hundred people more watching.
• 28:09
  But that was, you know, I was with other people.
• 28:11
  And it was and then and then when I started to realize, oh, I like
• 28:15
  I like maybe, you know, solo singing solo
• 28:19
  in front of, you know, those audiences, it was it was, you know,
• 28:23
  it's I think it's really useful because it's not it's not like,
• 28:26
  you know, for your first time, really scary.
• 28:29
  But it's you know, it's it's a good way to build it up.
• 28:33
  I don't know about you, but sometimes it can feel very nerve wracking.
• 28:38
  So my my issue is that I
• 28:42
  I have no short term memory, so I can I never I can't remember chords.
• 28:48
  I play a bit of guitar.
• 28:49
  I can never remember the chords.
• 28:50
  And sometimes I forget the lyrics.
• 28:52
  And I'm standing up there and I go, oh, and then it clicks and I'm OK.
• 28:59
  And it's it's getting used to that type of thing, isn't it?
• 29:02
  That's the big difference between writing and recording and then performing.
• 29:07
  It's it's it's it's another level, really, isn't it, Sophia?
• 29:11
  Yeah, I mean, like when I have performed, sometimes that's happened.
• 29:16
  But I kind of just think about what I've just done
• 29:19
  and kind of just, you know, go to that or maybe even just hum a bit
• 29:23
  and and maybe even come up with something else
• 29:27
  that would fit in that time and then what and then after it's click,
• 29:31
  then I can jump back in.
• 29:32
  So it's just all about I mean, it's a tiny sort of like
• 29:37
  tiny bit of time that you can try, come up with something.
• 29:40
  But you just kind of got to become it or just you've just got to sell it.
• 29:43
  Like they don't you know, the thing with my songs is that the audience
• 29:47
  realistically won't really know the lyrics.
• 29:49
  So if I if I go wrong and maybe even just say like a small wrong thing,
• 29:54
  they're not going to notice if I just confidently look and sing.
• 29:58
  It's all about smiling and being confident.
• 30:01
  And the good thing is if you're doing one of your own songs,
• 30:05
  some of them may not have known and know the song.
• 30:07
  So you can get away with a little bit of ad-libbing, basically.
• 30:11
  I want to take a break and come back and talk about the reaction
• 30:17
  that you've had to the album and also talk about what's next and your aspiration.
• 30:22
  So today, delighted to be speaking to Sophia Bacall.
• 30:26
  She had 12 years of age and I 11 when she recorded the album.
• 30:30
  How long did it take to record it, actually, Sophia?
• 30:33
  I mean, it took a while, but because, you know, we're saving up.
• 30:36
  But my birthday, we released it on my birthday.
• 30:39
  So it was very useful because I could say like sometimes that's my mom,
• 30:43
  you know, for my birthday, it's like some of my birthday presents
• 30:48
  were recording studios.
• 30:49
  So I just got, you know, got given this early so I could do the album.
• 30:54
  So we did that and I also saved up a bit.
• 30:56
  So it took maybe two months to do the album.
• 31:00
  Well, well done to you.
• 31:01
  And it's nice to have a gift that becomes a gift as well.
• 31:04
  We'll take a break and we'll talk a little bit about the reaction
• 31:08
  and the aspiration to the album.
• 31:10
  Just sorry.
• 31:11
  The album is Where Am I?
• 31:15
  And the artist is Sophia Bacall.
• 31:17
  I will be back with her and wrapping up next.
• 31:21
  This is the late, late lunch show with Rob Maxwell on Radio Allty.
• 31:26
  You listen to Radio Allty, it's Rob Maxwell on the late, late lunch show.
• 31:29
  And I love talking about music and I specifically love talking about people
• 31:33
  who make their own music.
• 31:35
  And I think the story is is very inspirational because, I mean, you're 12.
• 31:40
  I mean, it's quite amazing.
• 31:43
  And you were 11 when you did this.
• 31:45
  What's been the reaction that you've had from people to the album?
• 31:51
  Well, what have people said to you?
• 31:53
  You know, I think it's really interesting to see how everyone has different opinions
• 31:58
  because what I thought might be maybe like the main single,
• 32:01
  what everyone would like.
• 32:02
  It's kind of taking a turn because everyone likes really different.
• 32:06
  Like there's a big kind of range of people who like different stuff on the album.
• 32:12
  And I mean, I think lots of them.
• 32:15
  I had a funny conversation with my friends and one of my songs actually
• 32:18
  coincidentally really actually works to someone from a TV show.
• 32:25
  And, you know, it was not intentional, but we were we were like, wait, what?
• 32:31
  So that was a cool realization.
• 32:33
  And yeah, I think lots of people, well, like my friends and family,
• 32:39
  you know, they it's really cool to like we were saying before to see them
• 32:44
  slowly like learn the lyrics, which is really cool and and say what they
• 32:48
  they their opinion on it is.
• 32:49
  And some of them are based off of, you know, friends or family.
• 32:53
  So, you know, some of them find it or I'd mention them and they find it quite,
• 32:57
  you know, it's quite be quite special to hear.
• 32:59
  And of course, the the writing recording is, I don't know, 50, 60 percent of it.
• 33:06
  But then there's the publishing is getting artwork and and that type of thing.
• 33:10
  You must have learned a lot through that process.
• 33:13
  Yeah. So with the artwork and the album covers and stuff,
• 33:18
  it's quite funny because I kind of, you know, I write the album first
• 33:23
  and then I I might even just like from a holiday just find, oh, gosh,
• 33:27
  that's actually a really good pitch to this album or this, you know, single song.
• 33:33
  And I use that all like like for where am I?
• 33:37
  The album. And I went to a walk with with
• 33:43
  I went on a walk with my dog and we and we took pictures.
• 33:48
  And that was just it was perfect.
• 33:50
  And there was this like line of trees that was like a wood.
• 33:53
  And I was like, wait, this is absolutely perfect.
• 33:56
  This is exactly what I wanted.
• 33:57
  And I don't show my face on on the on the pictures just for safety reasons.
• 34:03
  And I took, you know, we took it from my back and and it and we were like, wait,
• 34:07
  this looks really cool.
• 34:08
  And we got a bit of ivy off of a tree and put it on my back.
• 34:11
  And we were like, you know, and, you know, it's quite cool.
• 34:15
  I think all of them, all of my album, like album and song covers
• 34:19
  are quite like nature because, you know, at the moment,
• 34:23
  I don't can't have photo shoots and stuff.
• 34:26
  So so, yes, it's cool how I can try,
• 34:31
  you know, make what there is work.
• 34:33
  I think I recognize I recognize those trees.
• 34:36
  I'm not saying I know exactly where that is, but I do a lot of dog walks in the area.
• 34:40
  And I said a beech tree somewhere.
• 34:44
  So it's it's it's lovely.
• 34:46
  I think I think that is there's something about that because it's more natural.
• 34:50
  You know, I think sometimes music today can be too much about the look.
• 34:55
  I'm absolutely convinced that somebody is going to take somebody
• 35:00
  like a producer or labels can say something who cannot sing, cannot write,
• 35:04
  cannot play any musical instruments, but just on social media alone.
• 35:09
  They will get them to number one, not on talent.
• 35:13
  And and sometimes I get rather annoyed at the music industry
• 35:19
  because it can be sometimes so much about look.
• 35:22
  This is as a 12 year old.
• 35:23
  You can't use your look and you're not using your look.
• 35:26
  You're using your talent.
• 35:27
  And I think that is so much better and is so much more
• 35:33
  authentic and organic.
• 35:35
  So there you go.
• 35:36
  Can I ask now that you've done this?
• 35:39
  Clearly, you've got you've got school, you've got exams, you've got all the things.
• 35:43
  But what do you what has it inspired you to do next?
• 35:48
  And I mean, it's it's I mean, after my album,
• 35:53
  I'm going to be working back on singles because I think they're definitely easier.
• 35:57
  But I mean, further on, I mean, it's, you know, it's it's a really big aspiration.
• 36:03
  But, you know, if in my dreams, if I could, you know,
• 36:06
  my dream job would probably be a singer, a performer, that kind of thing.
• 36:11
  So I just think it's magical how people, you know,
• 36:15
  singers can go into stadiums and have, you know, do concerts, which is,
• 36:19
  you know, I if someone asked me, what is your like favorite thing to do?
• 36:23
  Go to a concert because it's just it's such a magical experience to learn
• 36:28
  someone's lyrics and then be able to sing with them.
• 36:30
  And it would be the most, you know, amazing, like incredible feeling
• 36:36
  to have written it yourself and have people singing back to you.
• 36:40
  And, you know, it's, you know, hearing crowds and all of that.
• 36:44
  It's just, you know, amazing.
• 36:46
  But that would be that would be my dream.
• 36:48
  But it's all about working up to it, which is very difficult.
• 36:52
  And I guess it's also balancing school and and all the other things as well.
• 36:57
  Well, look, I wish you an awful lot of good luck.
• 37:01
  I think it's an amazing story.
• 37:02
  And, you know, the thing about it is that somebody, you know,
• 37:07
  somebody from a studio somewhere might pick that up and put it into a TV program.
• 37:12
  You know, that's the lovely thing.
• 37:14
  It's out there now.
• 37:15
  You don't know where it might go.
• 37:17
  And I think keep on doing the singles.
• 37:20
  You're right. Singles, as much as albums are great bodies of work,
• 37:23
  it seems that singles are the thing that that sort of can help really.
• 37:29
  But I wish you all the very best of luck.
• 37:32
  Thank you for your time.
• 37:33
  It's amazing, I have to say.
• 37:35
  And I mean, totally sincerely.
• 37:37
  So my guest today has been Sophia Bacal and the album is Where Am I?
• 37:46
  And is now available wherever you get your music from.
• 37:49
  Sophia, thank you very much.
• 37:52
  This is the late, late lunch show with back to the garden
• 37:56
  childcare, where little explorers grow naturally.