Harlequin

Harlequin is the new album by the Viennese artist and singer-songwriter Sofie Royer. The album showcases the musician’s passion for her native city’s opera and ballet traditions as well as the baroque lyricism of cabaret, medieval performances and the court jester. Blended with nostalgia for early aughts reality television and American mall punk subculture, Harlequin presents a montage of peculiar characters, vernacular settings and mysterious chronologies that are as theatrical as they are musical. After the release of her debut album Cult Survivor in 2020, Sofie started to experiment with her own identity through the act of dress-up. From Harlequin’s artwork through to Sofie’s live performances, she adopts the visual aesthetic and gestures of the court jester, clown and cabaret artist.

The Vienna-based singer and musician’s second album turns to high-concept cabaret pop, exuding a cool melancholy that complements its textured production.