Sóley

Sóley Stefánsdóttir (born 20 October 1987), better known simply as Sóley, is an Icelandic multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter.

For other uses, see Soley.
This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Sóley.
Sóley
Sóley performing in Reykjavík
Background information
Birth nameSóley Stefánsdóttir
Born (1987-10-20) 20 October 1987
Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
GenresIndie folk, Indie pop
InstrumentsVocal, Guitar, Keyboards, Percussions
Years active2006 - present
LabelsMorr Music
Associated actsSeabear, Sin Fang
Websitehttp://soley-music.com/

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 8 May 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]

Sóley's third LP, Endless Summer, was released in May 2017, and a European tour was announced in support of the new material.[12] Throughout the same year, she is also taking part in a collaborative project with fellow Icelandic artists, Sin Fang and Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason (from the band Múm), which sees the trio release a new song each month, making twelve in total,[13] and released as Team Dreams in 2018

Personal life
Sóley performing in 2012

Sóley was born in Hafnarfjörður, a small town outside of Reykjavík.[14] She finds her writing inspiration mostly from poets[15] and comes from a musical family, with her father being a trombone player and music teacher. Her younger brother, Eiríkur, and younger sister are also musicians.[16]

She now lives in the capital with her husband, Héðinn Finnson. She took a brief break from recording and touring when she gave birth to her first daughter in March 2014. Sóley has been vegan since her daughter was born.[17]

Discography

Seabear
Studio albums
Extended plays
  • While the Fire Dies (2010, Sound of a Handshake)[20]
Singles
  • Teenage Kicks / Piano Hands 7" (2007, Morr Music)
  • Lion Face Boy / Cold Summer 7" (2009, A Number of Small Things)
  • Waterphone (2019, Morr Music)[21]

Solo
Studio Albums
Title Album details Notes
We Sink
No.TitleLength
1."I'll Drown"3:32
2."Smashed Birds"3:42
3."Pretty Face"4:40
4."Bad Dream"2:13
5."Dance"4:03
6."And Leave"3:29
7."Blue Leaves"2:49
8."Kill the Clown"3:43
9."Fight Them Soft"1:30
10."About Your Funeral"6:08
11."The Sun is Going Down I"2:11
12."The Sun is Going Down II"5:32
13."Theater Island"3:55
Total length:48:04
Ask The Deep
  • Released: 8 May 2015[23]
  • Label: Morr Music
  • Formats: LP, CD, digital download
No.TitleLength
1."Devil"4:17
2."Ævintýr"3:18
3."One Eyed Lady"3:57
4."Óhljóð"0:37
5."Halloween"4:18
6."Follow Me Down"3:42
7."Breath"3:15
8."I Will Never"4:07
9."Dreamers"4:21
10."Lost Ship"4:26
Total length:35:50
Endless Summer
  • Released: 5 May 2017[24]
  • Label: Morr Music
  • Formats: LP, CD, digital download
No.TitleLength
1."Úa"4:31
2."Sing Wood to Silence"5:03
3."Inbetween"1:05
4."Never Cry Moon"3:36
5."Grow"4:40
6."Before Falling"2:45
7."Traveler"5:24
8."Endless Summer"6:51
Total length:33:58
Team Dreams
(with Sin Fang and Örvar Smárason)
  • Released: 8 December 2017[25]
  • Label: Morr Music
  • Formats: LP, CD, digital download
No.TitleLength
1."Random Haiku Generator"4:27
2."Love Will Leave You Cold"5:09
3."Wasted"3:19
4."Black Screen"4:13
5."Slowly"4:21
6."Citrus Light"3:06
7."Tennis"3:49
8."Space"3:12
9."Used and Confused"3:11
10."Go To Sleep Boy"3:56
11."The Sun Will Go Out"3:42
12."Dream Team Party Kids"5:25
Total length:47:56
Extended Plays
Title Album details Notes
Theater Island
  • Released: 26 March 2010[26]
  • Label: Morr Music
  • Formats: LP, CD, digital download
No.TitleLength
1."Dutla"2:39
2."Kill The Clown"3:46
3."Theater Island"3:56
4."Blue Leaves"2:50
5."Read Your Book"3:34
6."We Will Put Her In Two Graves"4:59
Total length:21:47
Krómantík
(Recorded 2011)
  • Released: 18 July 2014[27]
  • Label: Morr Music
  • Formats: LP, CD, digital download
No.TitleLength
1."Stiklur"2:47
2."Fantasía"2:39
3."Falski píanótíminn"1:04
4."Kaósmúsík"0:35
5."Krómantík"2:40
6."Stofuvals"2:34
7."Eftirteiti"1:47
8."Swing"1:32
Total length:15:42
Don't Ever Listen
  • Released: 30 October 2015[28]
  • Label: Morr Music
  • Formats: LP, digital download
No.TitleLength
1."N.Y. Hotel" (The Knife Cover)2:44
2."Wedding"3:07
3."While I Sleep (Scary Adventures)"2:04
4."Don't Ever Listen"2:01
5."I Will Find You"3:06
Total length:13:04
Harmóník
  • Released: 4 September 2017[29]
  • Label: SMIT Records
  • Formats: LP, digital download
No.TitleLength
1."Untitled 1"2:01
2."Untitled 2"3:39
3."Untitled 3"2:53
4."Untitled 4"2:26
Total length:11:01
Seasick Songs
(Recorded 2007)
  • Released: 1 May 2020[30]
  • Re-Released: 2 October 2020[31]
  • Label: Independent
  • Formats: digital download
No.TitleLength
1."Sjóveikislagið"1:14
2."Purple Wall"4:32
3."Fang elsi"6:38
4."Fðilulagið"4:26
5."Spelt"2:00
6."Djaarfur"4:28
Total length:23:18
Harmóník II
  • Released: 20 October 2020[32]
  • Label: SMIT Records
  • Formats: LP, digital download
No.TitleLength
1."Solitary"3:43
2."She Felt Like Grieving Him"1:49
3."Improvisations"5:14
Total length:10:46
Compilations
Title Album details Notes
Harmóník I & II
  • Released: 13 November 2020[33]
  • Label: SMIT Records
  • Formats: LP, digital download
No.TitleLength
1."Untitled 1"2:01
2."Untitled 2"3:39
3."Untitled 3"2:53
4."Untitled 4"2:26
5."Solitary"3:43
6."She Felt Like Grieving Him"1:49
7."Improvisations"5:14
8."Never Change"3:40
Total length:25:27

References
  1. "An Interview with Soley". Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  2. "Sóley : Home : Sóley from Iceland is a member of the indie-collective Seabear". Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  3. "e Sink". Archived from the original on March 19, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  4. "Dreamy Landscape: Sóley – We Sink". Icelandreview.com. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  5. Sóley. "Sóley: Lo-Fi Quaintness And Dark Surrealism". Npr.org. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  6. "Soley - "Smashed Birds" Music Video (w/ Soley Interview) - music art film review - REDEFINE magazine". Redefinemag.com. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  7. "Krómantík". Archived from the original on June 29, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  8. "Morr Music". Morrmusic.com. 2014-07-18. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  9. "sóley - playing two festivals this summer Rauðasandur..." Facebook.com. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  10. "Premiere: Stream Sóley's 'Don't Ever Listen' EP". Nylon. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  11. "Sóley". Morr Music. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  12. "Spring Tour 2017". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2017-05-08.
  13. "Sin Fang, Sóley & Örvar Smárason: Random Haiku Generator". Morr Music via YouTube.com. Retrieved 2017-05-08.
  14. "SÓLEY: I'll drown when I see you, interview in Reykjavik". Reykjavikboulevard.com. 2012-11-07. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  15. Robert Helbig (2012-06-01). "interview: Sóley". Nbhap.com. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  16. "The Rumpus Interview With Sóley Stefánsdóttir". Therumpus.net. 2012-02-28. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  17. "sóley - YES, I am alive! And the reason why i haven't..." Facebook.com. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  18. "The Ghost That Carries Us Away by Seabear on Apple Music". Music.apple.com. 2007-08-17. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  19. "We Built a Fire by Seabear on Apple Music". Music.apple.com. 2010-03-05. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  20. "While The Fire Dies by Seabear on Apple Music". Music.apple.com. 2010-03-05. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  21. "Waterphone by Seabear on Apple Music". Music.apple.com. 2019-10-25. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  22. "We Sink Bandcamp Page". Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  23. "Ask the Deep Bandcamp Page". Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  24. "Endless Summer Bandcamp Page". Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  25. "Team Dreams Bandcamp Page". Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  26. "Theater Island Bandcamp Page". Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  27. "Krómantík Bandcamp Page". Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  28. "Don't Ever Listen Bandcamp Page". Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  29. "Harmóník Bandcamp Page". Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  30. "Sóley on Instagram, 1 May 2020". Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  31. "Seasick Songs Bandcamp Page". Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  32. "Harmóník II Bandcamp Page". Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  33. "Harmóník I & II by Sóley on Bandcamp". bandcamp.com. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
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