Interview with French singer Soko
By Camille Callazo
The Austin Times Staff
Soko started out as an actress, appearing in many French films such as Ma Place au Soleil, Dans les Cordes and In the Beginning (French: À l’origine) in 2009, for which she was nominated for a Cesar Award for best actress. She picked up singing in 2006 and, by 2007, her single “I’ll kill her” had become a hit on a Denmark radio station. I first came across Soko’s music while browsing through MySpace’s indie music charts. I immediately fell in love with the songs “I will never love you more” and “The dandy cowboys”. Her lyrics felt genuine and relatable, in a cutesy humorous way.
This year for SXSW I had the amazing opportunity to see her perform for the very first time at the France Rocks Austin showcase. I also had the chance to ask her a few questions.
The Austin Times: How did you get started in music?
SOKO: I couldn’t talk and I couldn’t express myself so I started writing songs because I was with a musician and I felt that if I was writing him songs, then I would be in the same level of communication with him.
TAT: How did you hear about SXSW?
SOKO: I heard about it for a long time and I wanted to play for a long time. last year I was scheduled to play but then I decided to die and I retired from music and I cancelled it. I am really happy to play this year
TAT: What do you think about Austin?
SOKO: I think Austin is awesome, but is not really vegan-friendly, and there is too much taxidermy everywhere and it freaks me out.
I was a bit shocked to hear her say that Austin is not very vegan-friendly. Austin has consistently been in the top ten vegan-friendly cities across the U.S. for the past few years. Most places that are not exclusively vegetarian definitely offer a good selection of vegetarian dishes.
I would love to extend Miss Soko an invitation. Next time you are in Austin, let’s go on a vegan bike tour across the city and enjoy some of the great vegan choices Austin has to offer. We’ll start at Mother’s Café and try their delicious Spicy Tempeh Enchiladas, which come drenched in a to-die-for creamy chipotle sauce, and finish off at Bouldin Creek Café to indulge in their delightful vegan chocolate triangles-a variation of chocolate cake drizzled in chocolate sauce. As far as the taxidermy goes, I have no clue. I can’t say that I have or have not noticed. I wonder what places she’s been visiting around Austin.
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