Sofia Steel on the Pressure of Writing the Greatest Album of All Time: 'Girls Aren't Supposed to Be Arrogant'

This vancouver artist (and model), one of 11 children, is now signed to A24. She talks about her hyper-religious childhood and how, despite her album's title, she still suffers from imposter syndrome. The first time Sofia Steel came to London, she slept outside in the cold. The Vancouver songwriter had finished a live set last autumn, then went out until 3 a.m., but when she got to Ai

The first time Sophia Estelle came to London, she slept outside in the cold. The Vancouver songwriter had finished a live set last fall, then stayed out until 3 a.m., only to find manager Estelle had closed the door and fallen asleep when they returned to their Airbnb. Stel plus crush was looking for a hotel but finally had no choice but to walk on the doorstep. "We hadn't spent much time together and I could tell he was in a stressful situation," Estelle says, smiling at the memory. "He kept his mood and tried to work it out - I knew I was in love then."

Over the course of a year, many things have changed in Estelle's life. He opened his own business bank account as an artist, and that lover is now his girlfriend. "It's a lot of change, but maybe because of my Sagittarius moon, I'm okay with it to a certain extent," she only jokes when we meet the 27-year-old Estelle in her old hoodie and Adidas tracksuit in her south London advertising office.

Stell blew up on TikTok last summer when her unique voice blasted the dance floor, and has since honed her sound — AutoTuned vocals merging with hazy electropop — with two EPs. He recorded the second, How to Win at Solitaire, in the basement of the Vancouver club where he worked, seeming to absorb the bittersweet after-party energy from the walls. He soon signed with the hip film production company A24, and Lorde invited him to support him. He lives

So having achieved so much so quickly, why not call your first album the greatest album of all time? The title comes from an interview in which Estelle joked that he, like everyone else, wanted to make the greatest album of all time. "They put it on the cover of the Instagram carousel and I was like, 'I didn't mean that,'" he says. "That's the kind of pressure I'm trying to avoid!" So the title is mostly linguistic but not entirely. "I think the universe rewards confidence, and sometimes as a girl, you're not allowed to be so cocky. It's good to try to be louder. That's what I'm working on in my life."

Becoming a pop star has been a lesson in overcoming impostor syndrome. In the past year, Estelle has balanced performing with odd jobs painting houses and bartending. "I was very broke, but I'd never been so crazy rich at that time," he says. "Sometimes I struggle with overextending myself financially because I want to feel rich...who doesn't?"

His nearly entirely self-produced debut deals with all of this with casual humor. On the raucous anthem Bitches Talk Shit, she protests: "'Cause you're a rock star, you gotta have a lot of money / Of course I'm a pop star, but I'm still comin'", while the rousing On My Dick reflected on her whiplash experience, telling me: "Not all her friends want.

Unsurprisingly, Estelle keeps her ring closed. She lives with her two younger brothers and her best friend in an apartment in Vancouver, paying CAD$650 (£300) each. "They all come in and out of my room while I'm making music, and I can tell if something's fun because they stay for a while," he smiles.

Estelle has lived with many people for most of her life. He grew up as one of 11 in a super-religious household and describes his upbringing as "too provocative" and "very extreme." He considered organized religion "really harmful" and has long distanced himself from it. "When you're being indoctrinated growing up, you have to be aware of what you believe," he says. "You learn a lot about listening to yourself and your body."

Oddly enough, it seems like an experience that could help him on his new career path. "It's helped industry decisions, because if I'm told it's all one-way, I'm skeptical," he admits. "It's proven to be really helpful for my sanity."

Modeling for girl brands like Gimaguas is in stark contrast to how Estelle presents herself. For the cover of Greatest, he chose a poetic image of himself at seven years old cradling a dead baby goat - on the family farm. "In the weeks leading up to the birth, I slept in the barn with my best friend every night," she says. When he came, “one of the children was on his side and was split in half and the other was suffocated inside. This is who I am. Hold on.”

And despite the record's initial reception, Estelle doesn't put much stock in others' eyes. "I had a day at the park with my brother last year where we smoked a joint and played football," he says. "I was very happy and felt like it was a lot like playing my biggest show ever. It made me really aware of what I was doing — if it's going to feel like a really good day doing anything else, I'm not going for an emotion."