ACM-Sophie-and-the-giants

Featured Alumni – Sophie and the Giants

10 Aug 2018

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It’s been a whirlwind year so far for Sophie and the Giants…

Sophie and the Giants are making waves in the music industry. The four band members all met during their time at ACM and have gone from strength-to-strength, recently signing to Universal Music Germany. We caught up with the guys to listen to their track ‘Monsters’ and see what else 2018 has in store…

Introduce yourselves!

Sophie: “Myself and Toby were doing a degree together on songwriting and artist development and that’s how we met. When I did a vocal diploma the year before that, that’s when I first met Chris and if I hadn’t have moved in with Bailey our paths probably wouldn’t have really crossed as he was the year bellow doing a drum course. Chris and Bailey joined the band first and then when we needed a new guitarist, Toby was a close friend of ours already and admired the music so he was perfect for it.”

Bailey: “I met Sophie because I ended up moving in with her and once she found out how cool I was she practically begged me to be in her band! I’m also originally a drummer but learnt bass to be in the band.”

Chris: “I am the drummer of the band, I left ACM early but I did the technical drum degree.”

Releasing new music, signing a deal with Universal Germany, going on tour with Tom Grennan… its been a mad year so far. What’s coming next?

Sophie: “We’ve been working really hard behind the scenes on our next couple of releases, the first of which will be coming out at the beginning of September. Also, after our first European tour with Tom we will be going on two more tours supporting Reverend and The Makers and Findlay, both bands that we have luckily had the opportunity to write and work with over the past year.”

Toby: “We also have our debut headline show in London on the 17th October, which is gonna be a big one for us so it’s not one to miss.”

Tell us the story of Monsters. What’s the song all about?

Sophie: “Monsters is directed at myself when I was younger, explaining how you don’t have to fight everything all the time. It’s very reflective for me and represents growth, overcoming and confronting fears.”

How do you guys approach song writing? Individually or collectively as a band?

Sophie: “Most of our songs so far have been written by myself and with other songwriters and producers I’ve collaboratively worked with. I love working with different people because you’re learning every time and can always take inspiration from each other with your different ways of writing and experiences. We also all write as a band and individually, there’s no real strategy, whatever gets the music out. Any and every way!”

Toby: “I usually lock myself away and make a racket writing in our home studio in the attic. It’s always good to play some old and new songs from artists you love to get a varied influence and inspiration before writing. For us, for example; from Siouxsie and the Banshees to Everything Everything.”

We see you’ve just played to a massive crowd at Tramlines. That must’ve been a great experience?

Sophie: “It was a huge shock for all of us, it was mad enough being asked to play the stage curated by Jon McClure from Reverend and The Makers (a Sheffield legend and band that we admire so much) but we couldn’t have imagined how many people would come to watch us. Definitely the best gig we’ve played to date. It was incredible.”

Chris: “Literally was overwhelmed with the amount of people there, everyone walked off stage and I stayed on and just filmed the crowd cheering for a second, never felt so overwhelmed with the amount of people cheering us on!”

Bailey: “Was a crazy experience, even seeing our name on the back of the festivals jumpers and on the big screens. Would 10/10 do it again.”

My reaction to our crowd on Sunday. Complete madness. 📸: @__bethb

A post shared by Soph (@sophie.notsogiant) on

What’s the one piece of advice you have for our current ACM students?

Sophie: “Put everything into what you want to do, take risks and work hard. Never go into anything half hearted and always have an open mind for music cos you’re always learning, all the time.”

Chris: “Never just stick to one specific genre, expand your musical vocabulary and understand other genres, you never know you might start to enjoy playing. It helps you become a better artist and it helps you understand what’s right for certain songs.”

Toby: “Don’t be too overly critical on your own material, having a truthful outside perspective and faith in what you’re doing can make all the difference.”

Bailey: “Never turn an opportunity down, you never know where it can lead!”

Find Sophie and the Giants : Website // Facebook // Instagram // Twitter // YouTube // Spotify

*Hero Image : Will Ireland Photography, ThisFeeling TV, 2018*


If you’d like to study at ACM and follow in the footsteps of our alumni like Sophie and the Giants, please call our Admissions Team on 01483 500 841 or visit www.acm.ac.uk/open-days to book a place on an ACM Open Day today.

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