Scottish producer-artist SOPHIE may have had a typically ’90s introduction to music—stealing dance tapes from family cars and DJing local Glasgow weddings—but that distinctive sound was beamed straight from a neon-drenched future. Abrasive, clustered percussion. Hyperkinetic, blown-out basslines. Candy-bright synth lines like the double-speed soundtrack of a lost utopian arcade game. From the moment SOPHIE emerged as an affiliate of influential alt-pop label PC Music, there was a sense of personal mystery allied with a style that couldn’t be more direct, full-throated or visceral. Charli XCX, very much a sonic mind twin, was a frequent, and perhaps the most fruitful, collaborator. But even as other acts enlisted SOPHIE’s services (Vince Staples, MØ, Madonna during the club-ready Rebel Heart era), this fearless pioneer held true to both a mistrust of hard musical borders and the immersive power of a dark, ecstatic vision.