SOZI drops debut EP ‘BLOOM’

Over the last few years, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter and producer SOZI has been making an impact in the pop sphere with a blend of vulnerability, self-assurance and cinematic flair. Coming from a music-loving family where dancing, singing and entertainment were everyday norms, SOZI’s creative path started early when she began classical piano training at the age of seven and was already penning original songs by ten.

SOZI has performed across some of Los Angeles’ most iconic venues including The Viper Room, Hotel Cafe and The Peppermint Club while also taking her sound on the road to New York, Chicago and Palm Springs, as well as a performance at Style Fashion Week and Sofar Sounds Chicago. These varied experiences have helped shape a musical vision that’s as confident as it is emotionally meaningful.

After turning heads with her debut single “Drinking For Two” back in 2019, an anthemic pop offering packed with energy and bite, she returned in 2022 with “Summer Views,” a sparkling electronic pop track capturing the restless desire to escape and explore. Each release has shown off a new facet of SOZI’s artistic output and now, with the arrival of her debut EP BLOOM, she presents her most immersive and ambitious work yet.

BLOOM is the first installment in her four-part Seasons project and serves as a sonic and emotional reset. Written, self-produced and co-mixed by SOZI herself, the EP is a carefully forged release that explores concepts of time, transformation and self-liberation. These are songs for anyone who’s felt the weight of expectations, who’s craved freedom, or who’s learned that blooming sometimes requires letting go.

The EP opens with “Seconds,” a meditation on the fleeting nature of time and the quiet panic that can accompany it. It’s delicate but gripping, building from the soft shimmer and hushed vocals of the intro to the energy brought by punchy drums and silky lead vocals spinning instantly catchy melodic hooks above. Flowing through moments of dreamy aesthetic and passages of lively indie pop vibes peppered with intricate guitar touches, it’s a stunning showcase of SOZI’s charming songwriting and performance talent.

Next up, “Fall Away” presents a track that thematically frames the release of emotional baggage and outdated versions of the self. Set up by the poignant first line of “There’s a darkness I see in you. There’s a darkness I see in you,” the gentle taps of clapped percussion and fluttering string plucks underpin SOZI’s elegant vocals as she casts a dazzling slice of ethereal pop that’s arresting and catchy in equal measure.

“Just For A Minute” brings muted guitar textures and lyrical escapism, searching for stillness in the noise; an idea brought to life by SOZI’s gracefully emotive vocals. Gliding with steady rhythmic sway, sweeping bass tones and airy vocal leads combine to deliver an enchanting soundscape brimming with melodic bliss and thoughtful lyrical songwriting.

Closing the EP with “Set Me Free,” SOZI lays down an empowering alternative pop anthem that declares an end to self-doubt and smallness, a triumphant finale that perfectly distils the growth SOZI chronicles across the project. Wrapped up in a subtly moody fabric, the shifting arrangement of bright instrumental flickers and pattering percussion forms an engrossing backdrop for SOZI’s overlapping vocal layers to shine above. From start to finish, with her BLOOM EP, SOZI serves up an utterly alluring and entirely original listening experience that’s at once moving and infectious, resulting in a spectacular debut EP that’s sure to win over fans around the world.

Listen to BLOOM below