Sophie Alexandra Jessica Barker (born 5 November 1971) is a British singer and songwriter from London, best known for her work with the British

downtempo Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may ...

group

Zero 7 Zero 7 is an English musical duo consisting of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker. Both of them began as studio engineers and in 1997 formed the group Zero 7. Their debut album, '' Simple Things'', was released in 2001; their song "Destiny" stayed in ...

Biography

Barker left

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

after two years to become a full-time singer, signing to

Sony Records Sony Records was a record label founded by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1963. It was not affiliated with Sony Group Corporation. Ike Turner produced singles by members of the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes on Sony Records. Records on the la ...

in 1996 with fellow singer Kate Holmes under the name “Sirenes”. They released three singles, ''Blind, Deep End,'' and ''Sun Don't Shine,'' before splitting up at the end of 1997. Barker appeared on the final two tracks of English house band

Groove Armada Groove Armada are an English electronic music duo, composed of Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They achieved chart success with their singles " At the River", " I See You Baby" and " Superstylin'". The duo have released nine studio albums, four of ...

's second album ''

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...

'' (1999). Barker contributed to three songs on the Zero 7 album '' Simple Things'' (2001), including their biggest hit, ''

Destiny Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words ''fate'' and ''destiny'' ...

,'' accompanied by fellow vocalist Sia. Barker also co-wrote and sang on ''In the Waiting Line'' – which appeared on the popular ''Garden State'' soundtrack – and ''Spinning.'' She also contributed to the follow-up 2004 Zero 7 album ''

When It Falls ''When It Falls'' is the second album by Zero 7, released on 1 March 2004. The album features vocals by Sia (on tracks "Somersault" and "Speed Dial No.2"), Mozez Osmond Wright, professionally known as Mozez, is a Jamaican-born and London ...

,'' co-writing the songs ''Passing By'' and ''In Time.'' Barker collaborated with musician KK in 2004 to release ''

Lullaby A lullaby (), or a cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies, they are used to pass down cultural knowl ...

'', an album of night-time songs for children. That same year, she appeared as a backing vocalist on Sia's album '' Colour the Small One'', appearing on the track ''Natale's Song.'' She followed this with a solo album entitled ''Earthbound'', released in 2005. Barker has also worked with The Egg ("Walking Away"), electronica artists Grooverider ''(Time, Space),''

''(Inside My Mind (Blue Skies), Your Song)'' and the acid-jazz duo Muki ("I Don't Want to Know"). Barker was featured in a 2006

British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...

UK television campaign, singing a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...

's ''

Leaving on a Jet Plane "Leaving on a Jet Plane" is a song written and recorded by American singer John Denver in 1966, originally included on his debut demo recording ''John Denver Sings''. Its original title was "Babe I Hate to Go". He made several copies and gave t ...

.'' Barker also featured as a guest singer on ''Quiet Letters'' by

Bliss BLISS is a system programming language developed at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) by W. A. Wulf, D. B. Russell, and A. N. Habermann around 1970. It was perhaps the best known system language until C debuted a few years later. Since then, C ...

, and then collaborated and provided vocals for their album entitled '' No One Built This Moment''. In 2010, she signed with the

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

, Ho Hum Records. According to the label's website, Barker has recorded a new album, ''

Seagull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed ...

'', which was released on 6 May 2011. ''Seagull'' spawned two singles, ''Say Goodbye'' and ''Bluebell.'' On 13 January 2017 she released her third solo album, ''Break the Habit'' on Disco Gecko Recordings. She also appeared on CeCe X’s all female synth pop EP ‘Synthgirl Squad’, duetting and co-writing on the track, ‘Take Me Away’, released in 2017.

Discography

* ''

'' (2004) * ''Earthbound'' (2005) * ''Seagull'' (2011) * ''Snowflake (The Rainbow Collection)'' (2011) * ''A Forest'' / ''Say Goodbye'' (2011) * ''I Do it to Myself'' (2016) * ''Break the Habit'' (2017) * ''LSA'' (2017) * ''Neon Lines'' (2019)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Sophie 1971 births Living people British women singer-songwriters Alumni of University College London 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers English women in electronic music British trip hop musicians British ballad musicians 21st-century English women