Vera Sokolov
Vera Sokolov is a music critic with a focus on independent records made by working artists across disciplines. She writes long-form reviews and listening-diary profiles. Her work tends toward the patient end of contemporary singer-songwriter, ambient, and indie production.
She is based in Eastern Europe and contributes to Founders & Frequencies on a rolling basis. She holds the publication's flagship album coverage and most of the listicle reporting in the launch issue.
She prefers records that reward repeated listening, distrusts press cycles, and refuses to review anything she has not lived with for at least two weeks.
Covers
Published pieces
4 pieces
Wendy Carlos and the First Synthesizer Album That Sold a Company
*Switched-On Bach* sold a million copies in 1968 and turned the Moog synthesizer from a research curiosity into a working musician's instrument. It is the canonical example of an album as commercial vehicle for a piece of hardware.
By Vera Sokolov
The Imogen Heap Equation — Where Music Tech Becomes Music
Two decades into her career, Imogen Heap is the cleanest single example of the founder-artist model. The Mi.Mu gloves, the Endel collaboration, and *Sparks* are the same project asked from three different angles.
By Vera Sokolov
The Suno × Warner Settlement: Music's Spotify Moment
Warner Music's November 2025 settlement with Suno is a hinge in the AI-music story. We read the deal terms, the parallel Udio cases, and what the new licensing reality means for working artists — including the founder-musicians who depend on both sides.
By Vera Sokolov
Ten Founders Who Are Also Touring or Releasing Musicians
The overlap between people running companies and people making records has stopped being a curiosity and started being a movement. Here are ten founder-artists whose music is genuinely worth your time.
By Vera Sokolov