Spindle Radar: Singer-Songwriter Sonia Stein Enters A New Chapter With Heartfelt Single ‘Eyes’

London-based singer-songwriter Sonia Stein is gearing up for the release of her latest single, ‘Eyes’. The single stands as the first single of her upcoming EP, and sets the scene as she continues to explore the multifaceted theme of love. 

The Polish artist found her passion for music through an early rooted love for the piano. As she continues her artistic journey, her passions have extended to a commitment to sustainability, recycling, and creatively repurposing runs through both her work and her day-to-day choices. And, now, as she enters motherhood and navigating pregnancy, Sonia is documenting how her changing body, voice, and diaphragm are redefining her relationship with music. With her Polish heritage and a career that has taken her across the world – touring with Dido and joining major UK runs with Lucy Spraggan and James Arthur – Sonia has shaped a story that blends global experience with deeply personal evolution. Now, ahead of her upcoming release, she enters a new chapter that feels both expansive and inward-looking.

In this conversation, Sonia opens up about the inspirations behind her new release, the sustainable values guiding her life and work, and how impending motherhood is redefining the way she creates.

Your sound has always been introspective, but your new release, ‘Eyes’ feels even more textured. What new emotional or sonic spaces were you exploring this time around?

For this single and project in general, I wanted to continue moving into more organic, live-sounding instrumentation still mixed in with my beloved 80s synths. In the past, I have consciously stayed away from something that sounds too “live”, even though I loved that sound on other artists and other voices, it never felt right for my project. But recently, it just feels like it is aligning with where I am in my personal life, too. I am all about simplifying and stripping things down to what makes the most impact. I want to lean into vocal layering, warm electric guitars and paddy synths to create something that you can get lost in. 

Your story began with playing piano, but your music is ever-evolving. How do you go about blending structure with intuition and storytelling when you write?

I think songwriting has always been quite an intuitive process for me, and actually, the structure of a pop song feels like it goes hand in hand with what I am naturally inclined to when I sit down to write. I always want to make sure that what I’m singing about makes sense, even when sometimes I move into lighter subjects, I want it to feel like a journey with a beginning, middle and end. 

Between world tours and long stretches at home in London, your life seems pretty intense! How does that sense of contrast between your life shape the way you create and reconnect with yourself creatively?

I love having contrast in my life to help me appreciate what is happening. After an intense time touring, I love returning to the calm and predictability of life at home. And after a while, it feels natural and exciting to start thinking about the next big intense thing. Without that,  I don’t think I would be able to keep going.

You’ve spoken about how pregnancy has reshaped your voice and diaphragm. Has that changed the way you listen to yourself, both physically and emotionally?

So far, it’s just something I am observing. Some of the changes feel gradual while others happen overnight. I have been quite out of breath since very early on in the pregnancy, which changes where and how I am able to breathe in between lyrics, which has been interesting to navigate. And there is also the beloved acid reflux, which completely destroys my throat some days, and that feels a little more concerning long-term. Emotionally, singing has been such a beautiful way to try and connect with my baby, exploring singing existing songs and writing new ones to give her early associations that she might be able to remember when she’s born has been so cool.

We don’t always talk about how much music-making is about the body. Have you felt more in tune with yours during this chapter? 

That is true, both creating and performing is such an embodied process when you’re doing it right. Yes and no. In one way, I have felt so in tune with all the micro sensations and changes happening, and there are some days where those same things get me so far into my head that I completely forget to just be with them in my body, instead, I start spiralling about what they mean instead of how I feel. Being in the body is a constant and conscious practice. 

Sustainability is clearly part of how you live and create, but it never feels performative. How do you navigate having values while still making space for fluidity and imperfection?

I think, contrary to what angry comment sections might lead me to believe, imperfection and fluidity are very much the main ingredients of trying to live in a sustainable way. Specifically, when it comes to the sustainability of staying creative and healthy in mind and spirit. I am always trying to look at the parts of me that feel the pressure of having to be rigid, structured, and relentlessly perfect and asking myself where those thoughts are actually coming from. Who taught them to me, and what would be the consequences of not giving into them. 

There’s a real softness to your work – a quiet strength. Is that something you consciously emphasise when producing or performing?

Thank you so much, that feels like such a beautiful compliment, especially because I don’t know if I do consciously emphasise those qualities. I do feel connected to them so it might just be a natural side effect of valuing them in my daily life that the music comes out sounding that way, too.

How do you know when a song is finished? When is it ready to be shared, rather than just lived with?

I am a perfectionist when it comes to vocals and storytelling, but not always when it comes to production. This means I am often ready to release a song in its demo stage because I can already hear the essence of it before it gets all polished and perfected. Lucky for me, I work with producers who are perfectionists at the aspects I sometimes want to rush through to share my work with the world. So to me, a song is ready when the story it tells with the voice and lyrics is complete. And then I work with my trusted collaborators to make sure it feels finished when it comes to production, mixing and mastering to make sure I don’t jump the gun.

Zooming out – what do you hope this project says about where you are right now, and where you’re headed next?

In my head, I have been referring to this project as my last “maiden” project. So the last songs I have written and released before I go from maiden to mother (from the Jungian triad Maiden/Mother/Crone.) I wanted to give myself space to express emotions that I am aware might not feel relevant in the chapter I’m stepping into, aware that I will come back to the studio completely transformed as a person. Letting myself be concerned with writing sweet, short, light-hearted pop songs that are meant to be enjoyed rather than dissected feels like a wonderful way to say goodbye to that chapter, even though it took me years to get here in the first place. 

You can listen to Sonia Stein’s latest track ‘Eyes’ here or below