SOPHIA STEL SHARES NEW SINGLE 'TASTE' + ANNOUNCES NEW EP 'HOW TO WIN AT SOLITAIRE'

Watch the visual below!

Image: Angela Donna.

On her latest single Taste, Sophia Stel proves once again that she isn’t just participating in the musical zeitgeist - she’s redefining it. The second offering from her freshly-announced sophomore EP How To Win At Solitaire (out September 5), Taste is a luminous, emotionally-saturated ballad crafted within the walls of a sanctuary foe the singer: the makeshift basement studio beneath the bar where Stel worked, while enduring the slow collapse of a long-term relationship. That backdrop - raw, real, and unvarnished - permeates the song’s every note.

Driven by cascading synths and anchored by Stel’s signature full-bodied alto tones, with an unflinching and intimate performance. The song captures heartbreak in its most mundane and cutting form, fuelled by sardonic and sincere lyricism. The emotional specificity of Stel’s songwriting speaks not only to pain, but to the disorienting quiet that follows it; the kind of silence that resonates far louder than screams.

Like much of her recent work, Taste reflects Stel’s post-genre, post-digital approach to creation. She produced and recorded the track herself, resisting the polish of mainstream trends in favour of something more emotionally granular. Here, we find an artist who shuns the algorithmic in favour of the intuitive - a philosophy embodied not just in her sound, but in her creative process. Stel famously ditched her iPhone for a “dumb phone,” curates her own lo-fi visuals, and lets her music videos unfold in bursts that capture the moment.

The release of Taste follows Everyone Falls Asleep In Their Own Time a slow-burning fan-favourite. With co-signs from Troye Sivan, A.G. Cook, and a coveted spot on The NME 100, Stel is gearing up for her first-ever European headlining tour, kicking off November 7th at Pitchfork Festival in Paris.

Born in Victoria, B.C., and raised in Vancouver’s underground, she made her mark in 2024 with her debut EP Object Permanence, a genre-defying mosaic that stitched blue-collar storytelling with dreamy Y2K aesthetics. Her forthcoming EP,  How To Win At Solitaire, is set to expand her singular voice. If Taste is any indication, the complete collection of songs promises a richly textured emotional palette, grounded in solitude but crackling with life. 

How To Win At Solitaire is out September 5. Watch the visual to Taste below.