Event info

Composer Sóley Stefánsdóttir commenced the project Harmóník in 2015. The accordion plays unaccompanied, and accompanied in disharmony with voices and other sound effects. The project Harmóník has released two 7” on the label SMIT records and the 10” Harmóník I & II in 2020. Sóley’s newest LP Mother Melancholia draws inspiration from a similar soundscape.

Performers
Sóley Stefánsdóttir, accordion
Hekla Magnúsdóttir, theramin
Kristín Þóra Haraldsdóttir, viola

About the composer
Born in Hafnarfjörður Iceland, Sóley Stefánsdóttir has attracted a huge following with her fairytale song-craft since launching her solo career in 2010 with the release of her EP Theater Island. Sóley’s fantastical sepia-toned alt-pop tunes continued with the release of her debut full-length album We Sink in 2011. Receiving acclaim through her delicate compositions, soaked in dream-like qualities and dark surrealism, her song Pretty Face went on to generate an enormous amount of buzz, and legions of converts. Among works that Sóley has written and released is Krómantík (2014) - a collection of short and peculiar piano works and Harmóník I & II (2020) which contains experimental and dystopian compositions for accordion and voice. Sóley wrote a quintet piece Ills viti, for Elektra Ensemble which premiered in the Music Festival of Rás 1, (one of Iceland’s national radio stations), in 2020. She is currently working on her first piece for string orchestra. Sóley has worked on music for theatre, most recently for the play The Tree (2020), which received a nomination for the Icelandic Theatre Award as the best children’s play, in addition to films, dance works, and short films. Sóley's fourth album Mother Melancholia was released October 22, 2021, followed by a three week tour around Europe. For the past ten years, Sóley has traveled the world almost non-stop to perform her music. She has been nominated for, and received a number of awards including: nomination for the Icelandic Music Awards as the brightest hope, songwriter of the year, and album of the year for her album We Sink, nomination for the Gríman for her music at the puppet theatre Nýjustu Fréttir, the Nordic Music Prize, recipient of the Kraumur Prize in 2012, and in 2020 Sóley was the recipient of an incentive prize from the Kristján Eldjárn Memorial Fund. Other albums: Ask the Deep (2015), Endless summer (2017), Don’t ever listen (2015)