Browse by Artist: SOLEY

Artist:	SOLEY
Title:	We Sink
Label:	MORR MUSIC (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.50
Catalog #:	MORR 107CD

This is the first full-length release from Iceland's Sóley Stefánsdóttir. The bespectacled multi-instrumentalist from Iceland had been around the world and back with her band, Seabear, when she finally discovered her own vocal skills. Even though Sóley sings non-stop in private, creating a musical backdrop to pretty much everything she does, it just took her a while to get used to the sound of her own voice. It's the sound of this voice that's at the very core of her intricate compositions, tracks that flare like a bunch of magic lanterns, taking shape, growing hazy, flaming up once again, then moving on. Sóley sans Seabear is basically a storyteller who has come up with her very own wonderland. Meet her on the street and she seems rather introverted; yet, she's far from shy in this self-created musical sphere, a sonic realm she freely expands, stakes out, reinvents, turns upside-down. Throughout the album, Sóley spins one yarn after the next; at one point, unfortunate "Smashed Birds" have to give their feathers for a new dress, while the guitar, making a special appearance, sets the tone. Elsewhere, she focuses on the moment when a dream is exposed as such, this time over a huge sonic expanse drowned in reverb. Song after song, the former student of composition manages to combine seemingly disparate elements with stunning ease -- a snap of her fingers and a click of the tongue. After Theater Island, 2010's 6-track EP, Sóley presents an album full of rhythmic, makeshift creatures, of handclaps hidden in the undergrowth, tempting us to join in. These tracks are sometimes incredibly catchy; amazingly quirky at other times: think cardigan-folk from the northern hemisphere, think Joanna Newsom minus her harp, or the CocoRosie sisters circa 2004, but clearly better-trained and less crooked. In other words: her voice, those loops moving around like wooden toys, and finally the piano -- that's the backbone, the essence of her compositions; at least until some unexpected element appears.

Artist:	SOLEY
Title:	We Sink
Label:	MORR MUSIC (GERMANY)
Format:	2LP
Price:	$22.00
Catalog #:	MORR 107LP

Gatefold 2LP version featuring a vinyl etching on side D. This is the first full-length release from Iceland's Sóley Stefánsdóttir. The bespectacled multi-instrumentalist from Iceland had been around the world and back with her band, Seabear, when she finally discovered her own vocal skills. Even though Sóley sings non-stop in private, creating a musical backdrop to pretty much everything she does, it just took her a while to get used to the sound of her own voice. It's the sound of this voice that's at the very core of her intricate compositions, tracks that flare like a bunch of magic lanterns, taking shape, growing hazy, flaming up once again, then moving on. Sóley sans Seabear is basically a storyteller who has come up with her very own wonderland. Meet her on the street and she seems rather introverted; yet, she's far from shy in this self-created musical sphere, a sonic realm she freely expands, stakes out, reinvents, turns upside-down. Throughout the album, Sóley spins one yarn after the next; at one point, unfortunate "Smashed Birds" have to give their feathers for a new dress, while the guitar, making a special appearance, sets the tone. Elsewhere, she focuses on the moment when a dream is exposed as such, this time over a huge sonic expanse drowned in reverb. Song after song, the former student of composition manages to combine seemingly disparate elements with stunning ease -- a snap of her fingers and a click of the tongue. After Theater Island, 2010's 6-track EP, Sóley presents an album full of rhythmic, makeshift creatures, of handclaps hidden in the undergrowth, tempting us to join in. These tracks are sometimes incredibly catchy; amazingly quirky at other times: think cardigan-folk from the northern hemisphere, think Joanna Newsom minus her harp, or the CocoRosie sisters circa 2004, but clearly better-trained and less crooked. In other words: her voice, those loops moving around like wooden toys, and finally the piano -- that's the backbone, the essence of her compositions; at least until some unexpected element appears. Includes mp3 download code.

Artist:	SOLEY
Title:	Theater Island
Label:	SOUND OF A HANDSHAKE (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SHAKE 008CD

This is the debut EP by Sóley Stefánsdóttir, a girl from Reykjavík, student of composition and a member of the highly-acclaimed Icelandic indie-collective Seabear. Theater Island is the debut of a singer and a dreamer: 6 songs held together by Sóley's piano and her voice -- because every one of her compositions comes into being while she is singing to the piano. She uses a lot of other instruments though: strings, guitars or just some electronic crackles and noises. The record opens with "Duttla," a dotty and strange song that is followed by the engrossed and nearly impressionistic "Kill The Clown." From now on, the songs become more and more catchy. The title-track is in keeping with Seabear's open-hearted indie-folk while "Blue Leaves" and "Read The Book" are touching pop ballads -- and the record's finale "We Will Put Her In Two Graves" is absolutely disarming in its simplicity. But there's something vague and unreal that sticks to all of these songs as well. This applies to the lyrics, too: Like Alice, Sóley walks through her very own wonderland where things happen that can only occur in the surreal logic of a dream.

Artist:	SOLEY
Title:	Theater Island
Label:	SOUND OF A HANDSHAKE (GERMANY)
Format:	10"
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	SHAKE 008EP

10" version. This is the debut EP by Sóley Stefánsdóttir, a girl from Reykjavík, student of composition and a member of the highly-acclaimed Icelandic indie-collective Seabear. Theater Island is the debut of a singer and a dreamer: 6 songs held together by Sóley's piano and her voice -- because every one of her compositions comes into being while she is singing to the piano. She uses a lot of other instruments though: strings, guitars or just some electronic crackles and noises. The record opens with "Duttla," a dotty and strange song that is followed by the engrossed and nearly impressionistic "Kill The Clown." From now on, the songs become more and more catchy. The title-track is in keeping with Seabear's open-hearted indie-folk while "Blue Leaves" and "Read The Book" are touching pop ballads -- and the record's finale "We Will Put Her In Two Graves" is absolutely disarming in its simplicity. But there's something vague and unreal that sticks to all of these songs as well. This applies to the lyrics, too: Like Alice, Sóley walks through her very own wonderland where things happen that can only occur in the surreal logic of a dream. Includes download coupon.

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