Stanisland Magazine

New music from the Austrian indie-pop singer-songwriter lets us into the soundtrack of her life

Sophie Royer has explored the scene for a long time, but for some reason, she’s evaded our ears. This time, she drops a new single, Auto, a track with an 1980s-style musical motif, bringing a floating composition with a freeing execution.

Chasing Elation within a Sea of Indie Pop

With a route of intriguing sound, Sofie’s road to becoming an artist has been one intertwined with her previous life. Having worked at Stone’s Throw Records, she then catapulted into the scene through the same label.

Auto‘s delivery offers something of a retrospective glance at her previous album, Young Girl Forever, the Austrian singer’s noted 2024 release. This time, she sums up the fleeting moments of elation we all pine for, bottled in a fun-loving, happy pop way.

Speaking on the track, she said: “a song about dreams of ‘driving away and leaving it all behind for just one second’.”

Behind the scenes, she showcases how versatile making music can be. In a statement, she said: “…thank you for listening to Auto!!! I made it on my iPhone this summer (Bandlab is my new favourite DAW now) while playing festivals around Europe, took it to my bassist, Markus’ new studio on a day as hot as the Dominican Republic when Falco crashed his Mitsubishi.”

The song was written while the singer was travelling through music festivals, something that reflects on this experience through its mood and vocal artistry.

Verdict

Its music video is the perfect partner — one that explodes onto the screen with the rich warmth of a VHS palette. It’s a vivid throwback tempered by a disarming production, one produced with Markus Windisch. Regarding the visuals, she said they “…shot the music video on the périphérique in Paris with my favourite girls Taika & Camille, styled by brilliant Lamia in her own designs, with my dear friend Grégoire behind the camera — much love to everyone involved!”

It retrieves a sense of transient emotion; it evokes a sense of nostalgic augmentation that recommends her audience to live their life and power onwards and upwards.