Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.06.2015, Síða 42

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She’s just finished two months of tour-
ing Australia, Japan, and Europe to pro-
mote her new album ‘Ask The Deep’,
which has received an overwhelmingly
positive response from audiences. “Oh,
it’s been awesome,” she says. “It was the
first time I’ve been to Australia. It was
really sunny and nice, especially for
March! We were playing festivals—these
kinds of family festivals, so there were
all kinds of people in the audience.”
How it began
Success has been a long time in the mak-
ing for Sóley. A member of Seabear, she
had no real plans or intentions of being
a pop musician until 2011, when she
received an e-mail from Thomas Morr
of Morr Records (Seabear’s label at the
time) about the idea of releasing some of
her own material. Three months later,
her debut EP ‘Theater Island’ was re-
leased, followed shortly by her debut
album ‘We Sink’. “Oh yes, I sometimes
think that I am an accidental pop mu-
sician in a way,” she says. “Like many
other musicians, I guess I wasn’t really
planning on going anywhere. I’m just
really happy that it turned out the way
it did.”
Despite not having any such plans,
sóley’s blend of piano-driven melodies,
underpinned by low-key rhythms, and
dark gothic themes have become in-
credibly popular online—in particularly
her single, “Pretty Face,” which has re-
ceived over 18 million hits on YouTube.
But the idea of being a singer with a hit
song didn’t sit well with Sóley at first.
“For a few years I hated playing it!”
she laughs. “It was really funny at con-
certs when I played that song and all of
a sudden all these phones would come
out and they start taking pictures or use
the lights. And for a while I was going
‘Noooo!’ when [everyone else] was going
‘Woooo!’ But still, it gets more people
MUSIC
RELEASE CONCERT
MADE IN ICELAND www.jswatch.com
With his legendary concentration and 45 years of experience our Master
Watchmaker ensures that we take our waterproofing rather seriously.
Gilbert O. Gudjonsson, our Master Watchmaker and renowned craftsman,
inspects every single timepiece before it leaves our workshop.
June 11, at 20:00 Fríkirkjan 2,500 ISKsóley release concert
When I first meet Sóley Stefánsdóttir (aka Icelandic songstress sóley) at KEX Hostel, she’s
flustered. “I just arrived in Iceland a few hours ago so I’ve only had the time to deal with my
daughter and jump in the shower before coming here!” Suddenly I feel a bit guilty for asking
her to come and meet me.
Words Bob Cluness
Photo provided by Iceland Dance Company
6
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 7 — 2015
The Accidental Pop Star
In the run-up to the release concert for her new album, the Grapevine has a
friendly chat with sóley about touring, viral hits, having kids, and the existential
horror of being. All over coffee, of course!