Sophie Hunger

Sophie Hunger, born Émilie Jeanne-Sophie Welti on March 31, 1983, in Bern, Switzerland, is a Swiss singer-songwriter, film composer, multi-instrumentalist, and bandleader currently residing in Berlin. She performs on guitar, blues harp, and piano, writing most of her music across multiple languages, including English, French, German, Swiss German, and Swiss Italian.

Hunger grew up as a diplomat's daughter with two older siblings, living in Bern, London, Bonn, and Zurich. During childhood, she took piano lessons for a time and became familiar with jazz through her father. As a teenager, she developed an interest in hip-hop and R&B, later listening to rock, and eventually discovering country, bluegrass, and folk as a young adult. She completed high school in 2002 and subsequently studied German and English.

From 2002 to 2006, Hunger was a guest singer for the project Superterz, featuring on their 2006 album Standards. She also served as the lead singer for the indie rock group Fisher from 2004 until their disbandment in 2007. In 2006, Hunger home-recorded her debut solo album, Sketches on Sea, in a few days. She released her third album, 1983, in early 2010 following Sketches At Sea and Monday's Ghost, showcasing a further evolution of her genre-blending style.

Hunger performed with her band at the Montreux Jazz Festival's Miles Davis Hall in July 2008 and closed out the second day of TEDGlobal in July 2009. In June 2010, she became the first Swiss artist to perform on the John Peel stage at the Glastonbury Festival. Later in 2010, she played London's 100 Club and The Roundhouse. In April 2011, she released her North American debut, Sophie Hunger: s/t, on Manimal Vinyl, combining tracks from 1983 and Monday's Ghost. That same year, her version of Noir Désir's "Le vent nous portera" was featured in Jean-Marc Vallée's film Café de Flore.

In 2012, Hunger released her fourth album, The Danger Of Light, incorporating elements of folk, rock, pop, jazz, and chansons. She represented Baden-Württemberg in the 2013 Bundesvision Song Contest alongside rapper Max Herre with the song "Fremde," placing eighth. She also contributed vocals and lyrics to "Berlin - Tel Aviv" on Herre's album Hallo Welt!. Hunger released her fifth album, Supermoon, in 2015, alluding to her early jazz roots. She later featured on Steven Wilson's 2017 single "Song of I."

Hunger released her Dan Carey-produced sixth album, Molecules, in August 2018, which made heavy use of electronic instruments and synthesizers. She collaborated again with Carey for her 2020 album, Halluzinationen, which was recorded over two days at Abbey Road Studios. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she formed the supergroup Brandão Faber Hunger with Swiss musicians Faber and Dino Brandão, releasing the Swiss German album Ich liebe Dich in December 2020.