Sophie And Lauren have just released their first album together, ‘Chasing rainbows’ which you can now stream. Sophie and Lauren spoke to music promotions about the making of the album, working together, choosing the songs, live streaming and much more, see both interviews right here at Music Promotions and see the links to watch them live later this month from Zedel or via a live streaming link.
You both met on the BBC show Over The Rainbow, did you ever think then you’d end up recording this album together?Until this year we never really thought about it but as soon as we started recording we thought why haven’t we done this sooner.
How long have you had it planned? How long did you spend recording it? We originally had a Judy Garland idea as just a concert but after doing the Zedel gig Lauren said wouldn’t this be great as an album?
How did you decide which Judy Garland songs to record? We did a lot of research for the concert and went through Judy Garlands massive catalogue of songs. We wanted a mixture of her younger songs but also her later torch songs. So we think there is a lovely blend of all of Judy‘s best
Are there any songs that you didn’t try to record you wish you had?
When we performed the concert at Zedel we had more medleys of other Judy songs that sadly didn’t make it onto the album. I would say one of the more haunting songs was me and my Shadow, which really highlighted the tragic last few years of Judy‘s life. This was a beautiful song to perform and it’s probably the one I’m sad we didn’t get a chance to put on the album.
Was was it like working with Grammy winning producer “James McMillan”? James was great to work with, his ideas and work ethic were amazing. He worked with us and our ideas and blended them with his to create what we think is a more modern take on Judy songs
How did you find your time during lockdown? I quite enjoy the first few months of lockdown and the slower pace of life. I enjoyed that I had the chance to spend more time with my partner and enjoy the smaller things in life. But after about four months I started to get impatient and slightly worried about the industry. I’m so pleased to see things are starting to open up again and life returning to normal.
What did you miss the most? I missed performing live on a stage, that’s where I feel my most comfortable and I truly believe I felt like I had lost my purpose when I wasn’t able to do this.
Have you any plans to record a new album together as you release this one? We haven’t really spoken about this as myself and Lauren have our own solo careers that we need to focus on also but maybe in the future if this one does well we could revisit some of the songs that we weren’t able to record and release singles rather than another album.
Will you do any more live concerts around the U.K. together or is the Zedel a one off? Zedel will potentially be a one off because we both have things that make it hard to be together. But if any opportunities arise and any promoters want to put on shows with us we are all ears.
This will be live streamed as well? The gig will be live streamed yes and I think that’s nice for people who are not quite sure about coming into London yet.
Back at the west end what shows do you both have coming up? I am currently in an audition process for a few shows hoping one of them will be a positive outcome.
Where do you see your careers taking you in the next few years? I have a few roles that I’d like to do, I would say we both just need to continue auditioning and getting our names out there and remaining relevant to the fantastic West End fans.
Final messages?
We really hope people enjoy the album it means a lot to us and we feel like we have put a lot of passion and energy into the project.
https://www.brasseriezedel.com/events/lauren-samuels-sophie-evans-celebrate-judy-garland/
https://music.apple.com/nz/album/chasing-rainbows-finding-judy/1565091729
