Born in Victoria, B.C., and shaped by formative years in Vancouver, artist and producer Sophia Stel found a rapt cult fanbase with her 2024 debut EP Object Permanence, a fiercely vulnerable collection of genre-agnostic earworms fueled by her full-bodied, affecting alto. By following her intuition (and avoiding the sway of social media), Stel is setting trends — not chasing them. Forgoing an iPhone for a “dumb phone” with no social media capabilities, she goes against the grain of online fads and trend styles, always creating from a place of true originality. Her self-directed, sometimes spur-of-the-moment digicam visuals for tracks like "I'll Take It" and “You Could Hate Me” have the fuzzy realism of vintage photos or cherished memories — effortlessly cool without ever trying to be. She’s recently earned a co-sign from Troye Sivan, provided direct support for A.G. Cook, EKKSTACY, and Loukeman, and just this year, was selected for a place on The NME 100. Continuing to push the boundaries of today’s music landscape while honing in on a truly singular, post-genre sound that’s all her own, Stel is currently working on her debut album.