Sóley

Sóley
Sóley performing in Reykjavík
Background information
Birth name	Sóley Stefánsdóttir
Born	1987 (age 29)
Origin	Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
Genres	Indie folk, Indie pop
Instruments	Vocal, Guitar, Keyboards, Percussions
Years active	2006 - present
Labels	Morr Music
Associated acts	Seabear, Sin Fang
Website	http://soleysoley.is/

Sóley Stefánsdóttir, better known simply as Sóley, is an Icelandic multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter.

Career

Sóley studied classical and jazz style piano as a child and later went to the Icelandic Art Academy to study composition^[1] to become a proficient pianist and guitarist.^[2] Although hailing from Iceland, she sings primarily in English both in her solo and group work. She became part of the seven-piece Icelandic indie-folk band, Seabear, in 2006. Signed to the record label, Morr Music, the band have so far released two albums and an EP, on which Sóley predominantly provides piano and backing vocals.

Under the same label, Sóley released her first solo EP in 2010, titled Theater Island. The following year, she went on to release We Sink, her first full-length album.^[3] Critical response was largely positive, with praise often aimed at the "delightful and beautiful" piano play^[4] and the delicate vocal delivery. The songwriting was also celebrated for its "dream-like" quality and "dark surrealism".^[5] Sóley herself described her lyrics as "Dreamy, surrealistic and in their own world", expressing her hope that listeners will decipher their own meaning from the words.^[6] In 2013, a track from the album, Fight Them Soft, was used in the soundtrack to an episode of the E4 comedy-drama Misfits.

A piano album composed and performed entirely by Sóley, entitled Krómantík, was released on 18 July 2014 along with sheet music and illustrations to accompany each of the pieces.^[7] About the album, Sóley elaborated, “I always wanted to do a piano album, ever since I was in the art academy,” she explains. “Some of the pieces on Krómantík were written while studying – and the first track ‘Stiklur’, for example, was originally part of a bigger composition for piano that I wrote. However, in the end I didn’t use that many pieces from school, just because I liked doing new songs, and so a lot of them were written for a bigger art project I worked on during the summer after I finished We Sink.” She further described the mood of the album, stating, "In the night or when it’s cold and rainy outside, sit in a chair in your living room and listen. If you feel like it, move a little. Imagine a little out-of-tune piano in one corner, then imagine old hands. Those old hands have a story to tell. Those hands are almost unreal but it’s hard to tell only by listening. Those hands will play until Krómantík fades into silence and your closed eyes slowly start seeing something much deeper and darker.” ^[8]

Her second LP, Ask the Deep, was released on May 8, 2015. To promote the new material, she made appearances at various festivals, including ATP Iceland, Rauðasandur Festival and Iceland Airwaves in 2014.^[9] Sóley then embarked on another extensive European tour and released a new EP, Don't Ever Listen. The 5 tracks were initially recorded as early demos for her second album and though dismissed by the singer at first because she wanted the album to have less guitar presence, she was convinced to compile and release them by her boyfriend.^[10] There are also plans for a further two EPs that will each focus on a different instrument - accordion and organ respectively - that together with the piano based Krómantík will form something of a trilogy.^[11]

Personal life

Sóley performing in 2012

Sóley was born in Hafnarfjörður, a small town outside of Reykjavík.^[12] She finds her writing inspiration mostly from poets^[13] and comes from a musical family, with her father being a trombone player and music teacher. Her younger brother, Eiríkur, and younger sister both play instruments too.^[14]

Lately she moved to the capital, and lives with her boyfriend, Héðinn. She took a brief break from recording and touring when she gave birth to her first daughter in March 2014.^[15]

Discography

Seabear

Studio albums

• The Ghost That Carried Us Away (2007, Morr Music)
• We Built a Fire (2010, Morr Music)

Extended plays

• While the Fire Dies (2010, Sound of a Handshake)

Solo

Studio Albums

• We Sink (2011, Morr Music)^[16]

1. I'll Drown
2. Smashed Birds
3. Pretty Face
4. Bad Dream
5. Dance
6. And Leave
7. Blue Leaves
8. Kill the Clown
9. Fight Them Soft
10. About Your Funeral
11. The Sun Is Going Down I
12. The Sun Is Going Down II
13. Theater Island

• Ask the Deep (2015, Morr Music)^[17]

1. Devil
2. Ævintýr
3. One Eyed Lady
4. Óhljóð
5. Halloween
6. Follow Me Down
7. Breath
8. I Will Never
9. Dreamers
10. Lost Ship

Extended plays

• Theater Island (2010, Morr Music)^[18]

1. Dutla
2. Kill the Clown
3. Theater Island
4. Blue Leaves
5. Read Your Book
6. We Will Put Her in Two Graves

• Krómantík (2014, Morr Music)^[19]

1. Stiklur
2. Fantasía
3. Falski Píanótíminn
4. Kaósmúsik
5. Krómantík
6. Stofuvals
7. Eftirteiti
8. Swing

• Don't Ever Listen (2015, Morr Music)^[20]

1. N.Y. Hotel
2. Wedding
3. While I Sleep (Scary Adventures)
4. Don't Ever Listen
5. I Will Find You

References