Sofia Kourtesis announces new EP ‘Volver’
SOFIA KOURTESIS ANNOUNCES NEW EP VOLVER, OUT 1 AUGUST VIA NINJA TUNE
SHARES COLLABORATION WITH DAPHNI ‘UNIDOS’
Listen to ‘Unidos’ here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RBCEtlxs5M
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Sofia Kourtesis has today announced that she will release her new EP Volver on 1 August via Ninja Tune. Along with the announcement she has shared lead single ‘Unidos’ which is made in collaboration with Daphni (aka Dan Snaith aka Caribou), the first ever Daphni collaboration track.
Speaking of the single Sofia says:
“Unidos is about the power and beauty of how much stronger we are together. I always admire the light and the beautiful shine of Dan, he is a hero and he is so generous without making a big bas about it”
While Daphni says:
“Sofia sent me a demo of this track that she’d been working on and it was immediately evident that it was a massive track. To be clear, all the good ideas in this track are Sofia’s I just added some drums and pumped up the arrangement”
The Volver EP is Sofia’s first new music since Madres, her debut album released in October 2023. Having already broken through with a string of singles and EPs Madres took that success and ran with it marking a huge moment for Sofia that has continued to build ever since. The album was described in their interview features as “one of the year’s best dance albums” by The Guardian and “the kind of music that thaws any and all frigidity and reminds you of your aliveness” by Pitchfork and ranked highly in ‘End of Year’ lists from NME, Pitchfork, The Guardian, Resident Advisor and more. It also led to sold out shows at London’s Islington Assembly Hall and highlight sets at Glastonbury’s West Holts, Green Man and more.
At the heart of Madres was a touching story about Sofia’s mother and the surgeon who saved her life but the record also contained within it a fierce dedication to the activism and championing of the queer community that has always been a huge part of why Sofia does what she does, partly inspired by her parents own work in similar areas. With the Volver EP Sofia continues this as her involvement in recent years has shifted towards working against the continued vilification of the trans community within so many political and social spaces.
Speaking of the Volver EP Sofia says:
“In the Volver EP I am paying tribute to all the LGBTQ+ community and all the amazing trans women that I was lucky to meet through the course of the last few years. Their bravery and existence in a world full of hate and danger, they find a way to bring the lights to the most vulnerable communities, specifically those that are behind the walls of terrible corruption in the Latino America Security and Health System.”
The EP recording itself she describes – in keeping with its title – as like a Pedro Almodóvar movie: a chaotic, painful but ultimately joyful experience, as she worked across her twin homes in Germany and Peru with dramatic changes occurring all the time. Across this process Sofia was touring the world, playing bigger and bigger shows, working with local communities in Germany and South America, navigating the continued care of her mother, and even decided to throw beginning to study medicine into the mix.
This has always been what makes Sofia such a special artist – there is so much living crammed into every inch of her music. Here she builds on that, her intoxicating spirit more present than ever.
In the build up to the EP Sofia will be a number of festival and headline shows across Europe and the US. This includes sets at Crystal Palace Bowl and Junction2 in London as well as a very special launch show at Funkhaus in Berlin with special guests to be announced and a performance at the end of summer at End of the Road Festival. Full dates and tickets can be found below.
Pre-order Volver here:
https://sofiakourtesis.lnk.to/volver
High-res images can be found here
Volver EP tracklist:
1. Corazón
2. Sofia Kourtesis & Daphni – Unidos
3. Canela Pura
4. Ballumbrosio (feat. Miguel Ballumbrosio)
5. Nitzan and Aminaa
6. Sisters
Tour dates:
16 May – Bologna, IT @ Gemini (DJ)
23 May – Bakersfield, CA @ Lightning in a Bottle Festival (DJ)
24 May – Houston, TX @ Art Club (DJ)
31 May – Paris, FR @ Cercle Odyssey (DJ)
5 Jun- Berlin, DE @ Funkhaus Berlin Live (Live)
7 Jun – Dhërmi, AL @ Kala (Live)
14 Jun – Glendalough Estate @ Beyond The Pale Festival (Live)
20 Jun – Madrid, ES @ DEMM (DJ)
27 Jun – New York, NY @ Ladyland Festival (DJ)
30 Jun – Ibiza, ES @ Circoloco (DJ)
5 Jul – London @ Crystal Palace Bowl (w/ RÜFÜS DU SOL) (Live)
6 Jul – Edinburgh @ Kelburn Garden Party (DJ)
11 Jul – Athens, GR @ 260 Playground (Hybrid Live)
16 Jul – Cluj, RO @ Electric Castle (DJ)
27 Jul – London @ Junction2 (Live)
8 Aug- Barcelona, ES @ Brunch Electronik (DJ)
30 Aug – Larmer Tree Gardens @ End of the Road Festival
31 Aug – Ibiza, ES @ J2 at Amnesia (DJ)
Tickets are available here:
https://sofiakourtesis.com/#tour
Praise for Madres:
“There is a remarkable spirit lifting this beyond genre and into classic album territory”
5/5 The Times
“It takes a special kind of force to get so many different voices in one place to coalesce”
8.5 ‘Best New Music’ Pitchfork
“One of the year’s best dance albums”
The Guardian
“Tugs at the heartstrings with its mix of dance floor rapture and personal liberation”
RA ‘Recommends’
“A masterclass in emotive electronic production”
4/5 The Observer
“A true love letter to the varied, invigorating sounds that have shaped Kourtesis”
4/5 NME
“Skewed, intimate, modern house music that pulses with vitality”
4/5 Mojo
“Organic and electronic elements seem as one”
4/5 The FT
“Sofia Kourtesis has given us the instruction manual for living our best days ever”
85% ‘Recommended’ Beats Per Minute
“The future is bright indeed for this star in the making”
5/5 The Wee Review
“Richly textured and meticulously crafted”
4/5 Our Culture
“Her deceptively simple music’s fusion of banging beats, woozy textures and the sound of her homeland wraps itself around you like a hug”
Sunday Times ‘Breaking Act’
“Sofia Kourtesis’s music has a way of feeling like it’s seeping into your very being and uplifting your soul”
Mixmag
“Kourtesis has brought out the ecstasy to be found in adversity and Madres is its celebratory soundtrack”
The Vinyl Factory
“Her colourful, emotional and beautiful ride”
Disco Pogo
“Leans into the uplifting energy of her production style, enveloping you in subtle layers of sound”
Clash
“The melody is brilliantly inevitable and the production nebulous and sublime”
Line Noise
“One to watch”
Monocle
“By turns euphoric, wistful and reflective”
The New Cue
“An upbeat house classic. Can’t get enough”
Dance Wax