Sophia Thakur: Balancing Rawness and Refinement
Image courtesy Royal Albert Hall
As the Royal Albert Hall unveiled its first Late Night Jazz programme for 2026, the moment felt very much about intention. Late-night jazz has always lived where emotion leads, structure loosens and truth arrives unannounced.
For Sophia Thakur — known to blur the lines between spoken word, music and reflection — jazz and poetry are not opposing forces, but partners in a shared dance. We caught up with her to gain some insight into the artist and her process.
A lot of jazz is rooted in improvisation — expressing what one feels in the moment. Poetry can feel like the opposite at times: reflective, refined and intentional. How do you balance these two elements so that they support each other within the ecosystem of your artistry, and how does this balance show up in your life in general?
That’s such a good question. Jazz for me, is what happens when you leave space for the music to become something else or evolve into its next state. I tend to go into my band rehearsals with a rough idea of what I want to say and the mood for each section, and then the jazz happens. I work with players who have such great poetry comprehension and an acute understanding of how to embody different pages of a story. So once the poetry is outlined, I leave them to play in each space and sure enough we stumble across gold in the jazz. We lock in what we love and depending on the stage, sometimes we find new ways of loving the poetry, whilst on stage. To which I welcome. But mostly, the balance is in the room. That probably speaks to the decisions I make for my breath too. I wander the world as a poet, I’m curious and open to wherever God and love leads me. The goals and dreams I have keep on getting closer and I do think that’s a product of being obedient to the spirit nudging me in certain directions, and being clear minded enough to hear and see the path before me. My team and I are also so aligned on how we want to do this dance, and it involves a peaceful pace over a rat race.
We love spoken word that holds honest ideas about existence, accompanied by jazz instrumentals. When you’re blending music and message, how do you balance these elements — so neither overpowers the other, and instead they move in symbiosis?
I see poetry and music as a dance. The magic of one is brought out and emphasised by the other. Sometimes my band has to remind me to come back to the mic and perform because I really do just love watching and listening to them on stage. We drop together, rise together. The message of the piece always comes first and once we understand that journey as a room, they play to that journey.
Improvisation is an honest expression of the moment — but editing can be too, just in a different way. Do you have a preference when expressing yourself and releasing your work: refined or raw?
Raw. I can get so into details, don’t get me wrong, my producers and I love the intricacies that you feel before you hear. But my preferred practise is definitely to create and let go quicker than I seem to be doing these days ahaha.
When you step onto stage to perform, especially on Valentine's evening at the Royal Albert Hall, what do you hope people leave feeling?
I hope they are encouraged to return to love. To remember and recognise the love that whispers all around them. To give that love the mic and live in remembrance of it’s presence.
Clearly Sophia Thakur wanders the earth with the soul of an artist expressing experience through poetry. In a late-night room, where listening is collective and stillness speaks as loudly as sound, Thakur’s offering seems simple and profound: freedom, love, and the courage to to evolve.
How to get tickets
Tickets for Late Night Jazz: Sophia Thakur are available now via the Royal Albert Hall website.
