Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.01.2018, Side 25

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———— 2016 ————
BLACK FLOWERS
BLOSSOM
Sólveig Matthildur emerges as
a solo artist and entrepreneur
Words: Jessica Peng
While many 23-year-olds are ei-
ther still in school or settling into
the routine of a regular job, Berlin-
based Sólveig Matthildur is creat-
ing her own innovative path as
both a musician and entrepreneur.
And it’s already paying off: her de-
but solo album ‘Unexplained Mis-
eries & Acceptance of Sorrow’ wins
this year’s You Should Have Heard
This Award.
MISERIES AND
SORROW
Layered with dark synth melodies,
Sólveig’s vocals blossom like flow-
ers amidst the piercing darkness
of her music. Released in Decem-
ber 2016, the album’s first pressing
of 100 CDs quickly sold out. “I’m
surprised, because I didn’t really
expect this album to be anything,”
says Sólveig, humbly. “Now there
will be 100 more copies just for Ja-
pan, and a record label in Peru will
also release it on cassette.”
Regarding the name of the al-
bum, Sólveig says, “I’m always
checking out unexplained myster-
ies and stories, and then I mis-
spelled the word and wrote ‘miser-
ies,’ and I thought it was so great.”
She wrote and self-produced
the songs over a period of eight
months. “I was kind of miserable
at that time,” she says. “After a
month, when I was making more
songs, I was kind of just accepting
the sorrow.”
SONGWRITING
AND SYNTHS
Having been a member of synth-
punk band Kælan Mikla for the
past five years, Sólveig has plenty
of experience with synthesizers
and production techniques. Her
solo album is a combination of im-
provisation and practice. “Maybe
one track is made only with syn-
thetic techniques,” she explains.
“And some songs were made be-
cause I was trying to learn how to
make beats.”
As a synth expert, Sólveig owns
various drum machines, samplers
and analogue synths. With help
and encouragement from friends,
she started experimenting with
music when she was 19. “I was al-
ways interested, but I didn’t feel
like I had an opportunity to do it,”
she says. “Maybe because I felt stu-
pid, maybe because I’m a woman
and everyone playing synthesizers
around me was male.”
FEAR OF DARKNESS
Besides writing and producing her
music, Sólveig also books tours
around the world. “I can stop
whenever I want, and if I want to
stay in a little cabin in the woods
for two nights, I can just do that,”
she laughs. Having made many
connections through Kælan Mikla,
she’s acing the networking game
without even knowing it.
Sólveig and her friend Kinnat
Sóley also run a music magazine
called Myrkfælni, or “Fear of dark-
ness” in English. Started in Janu-
ary 2017, Myrkfælni covers Icelan-
dic underground music, and has
a cult readership that’s spread all
over the world. “We’re trying to
make it a platform for musicians
to join the underground scene,”
she explains.
As if that weren’t enough,
Sólveig also runs a record label
called Hið Myrka Man which has
released six albums to date, and
hosted a festival called MYRKRA-
MAKT. With so many projects to
run, Sólveig does feel the pressure,
finishing: “I hope that soon I can
separate me as a musician from
me as a businesswoman.”
You Should Have Heard This:
Sólveig Matthildur
'Unexplained Miseries & The Acceptance Of Sorrow'
After rising to prominence for her work with synth-
punk band Kælan Mikla, Sólveig Matthildur moved
to Berlin, where she started her own solo project.
She self-released her debut solo album ‘Unex-
plained Miseries and the Acceptance of Sorrow’ on
Bandcamp, in accordance with her staunchly in-
dependent punk-DIY style, and since then it’s also
come out on cassette and CD, selling out quickly
and becoming something of a cult hit.
The album is a thrilling listen, with Sólveig’s rich
singing voice woven into a deep, resonant sound-
scape of dreamy electronic beats. But even so,
it’s powerful enough to give you goosebumps as
she sings her melancholic tales of heartbreak and
recovery. Sólveig experiments right at the border
of her electro-gothic vernacular, resulting in an al-
bum that’s at once heartbreaking and revitalising,
following unpredictable waves of sound that spiral
up and plunge down with tidal strength. Fall down
with Sólveig and you’ll rise a new person.
25The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 01 — 2018