Q&A: Sophia Anne Caruso talk debut album ‘ON ECSTATIC,’ Touring and what’s next in her journey
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY CITLALLI ESQUIVEL ☆
THEATRE TENDS TO GIVE A NEW PERSPECTIVE OF MUSIC AND JOY TO THOSE AROUND, AND IN THIS CASE A NEW STAR—You might know Sophia Anne Causso from her hit track “like I like u” or you might have seen her on stage through the iconic Broadway musical Beetlejuice, or the critically acclaimed fff-Broadway show, Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen.
Caruso is now stepping into a new chapter of her artistic career with ON ECSTATIC, her debut full-length album.
Blending vulnerability, love and human connection, ON ECSTATIC offers a deeper look into Caruso’s artistic world, inviting listeners to connect with her beyond her work on stage. While in rehearsal, Caruso spoke with Luna about the making of the album, the tracks that resonate with her most and what lies ahead. Read the full conversation with Luna below.
LUNA: Among the tracks coming out on ON ECSTATIC, what’s your favorite one?
SOPHIA: My favorite changes every day! "love thru it" is the main thesis song of the record. It’s a resistance to the instinct to numb ourselves in a world that rewards detachment. For me, the only way out of suffering is to feel your way through it, to choose love through it, dance through it, let yourself be changed by it. I think that vulnerability is also where life becomes most vivid. The record is focused on that choice: whether we protect ourselves by feeling less, or accept the full scope of what comes with being fully alive.
LUNA: Your upcoming album marks a new milestone in your career! How does it feel to share new music with the world? What was the thought process behind creating this new vision?
SOPHIA: It feels incredibly vulnerable. I’ve spent a lot of my life interpreting other people’s work, and there’s a certain safety in that. With my own music, there’s nowhere/no character to hide in. I don’t have an artist name that is separate from my own. I’ve fully opened myself up to being perceived in it. I’ve been writing songs and making art for a long time, so I don’t really think of this as a new vision, just opening the door for my fans to meet me there.
The record began with a phrase that you hear in the opening track: “ecstatic! I’m in love!” I felt unusually alive, and at first this phrase was completely instinctive. As I kept writing, though, I became interested in “ecstatic” as a concept beyond happiness or euphoria, more like a heightened receptivity to being alive: to love, memory, beauty, connection, even pain.
SOPHIA: ON ECSTATIC came from wanting to name and explore that state. There’s a little mischief in the title, obviously, the suggestion of being “on” something, which felt apt for a record rooted in electronic and dance music. I liked borrowing that language and redirecting it toward something more philosophical. The record became interested in feeling itself as a kind of intoxication, and in the idea that perhaps the more radical choice in a culture of detachment is simply to remain permeable to life. To be fully present in your own experience, to feel deeply, love deeply, dance, connect—these are the ways we truly live.
LUNA: How did “Higher State” come to be? What were some of the inspirations behind it?
SOPHIA: This came from thinking about love as a form of transcendence, but also as a verb. I wanted the production to make that idea physical, beginning intimately, tenderly, and expanding into euphoric urgent dance music, where this feeling becomes movement/action. I am deeply inspired by the people closest to me, so writing this to sing with Sky [Lakota-Lynch]made it extra special.
LUNA: Within the hyperpop genre, what’s a subgenre you’d like to incorporate into your music in the future?
SOPHIA: I’m actually most interested in choosing whatever sonic language best serves the feeling or message of a record than working within one genre or its subgenres. To me, this feels a little like giving a painter a palette of black and white and asking which shade of grey they want to use next. Hyperpop is one color on a much larger palette, I'm seeking the freedom to reach for whatever sound most vividly expresses what I’m trying to say and I think that electronic pop is and its many shades are my current medium.
LUNA: On that note, what’s a genre you’d like to explore in your next project?
SOPHIA: I have an unlaunched punk/funk side project...
LUNA: Your journey in music began at a young age through Broadway. Has your journey played a role in inspiring this album?
SOPHIA: Though the record is a departure from what I’m known for, there are certainly traces of my history in it. Donny McCaslin, who played on Bowie’s Blackstar, plays saxophone on “love thru it.” After working with David [last name?] on his theater piece Lazarus, having Donny on my own record felt like a beautiful full-circle moment.
Prior to mainstream success with Beetlejuice I was known for my more experimental theater work downtown, which I’m returning to this fall. Theater and the art of performance will always be deeply my passion, and it absolutely informs my music choices creatively.
LUNA: Is touring part of the future? And what’s one city you’d really love to perform in?
SOPHIA: Yes. And everywhere. To sing and perform, especially such a hopeful record would be such a gift.
I would love to perform in unique venues, I would love to open or perform with/for some of my favorite electronic pop divas like Ninajirachi, Slayyyter, Oklou, Björk , underscores, Tiffany Day, etc…
LUNA: Your artistry has evolved throughout the years, from “Toys” back in 2020 to your recent singles. What’s one message or piece of advice you’ve carried with you throughout the years?
SOPHIA: Never play to the gallery. To always be in a bit too deep, where my feet aren’t quite touching the bottom. That’s where the sweet spot of my creativity is. I can trust myself to swim, but I need to plunge into the unknown a bit with curiosity.
LUNA: Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans? Any sneak peeks of what’s to come?
SOPHIA: I’d say thank you! I’m usually in some state of reinvention, and I’m grateful to have people who are curious enough to follow me through it. Some found me through theater, some through film, some through music or my visual work. Seeing those different paths converge around this record deeply moves me.
