Platan Mother Melancholia er fjórða breiðskífa Sóleyjar. Platan er eitt verk þar sem jörðin í einhverskonar kvengervi, gegnir aðalhlutverki.
Platan byrjar um morgun og endar um kvöld. Þegar feðraveldið hefur étið konurnar og mannfólkið hefur blóðmjólkað jörðina.
Feðraveldið lítur oft á konur sem óstöðugar, hysterískar og ófyrirsjáanlegar. Konur eru annaðhvort bjargvættir okkar eða eyðileggjendur. Líka jörðin.
„Það er svo auðvelt að misnota jörðina, eins og feðraveldið hefur beitt konur ofbeldi alltof lengi, biðja síðan um fyrirgefningu og lofa að gera það aldrei aftur“.
Og hvernig hljóma endalokin? Sóley byrjaði að gera tilraunir með að semja lög á harmonikku. Úr þeim tilraunum kom út smáskífan Harmóník I árið 2017. Með því að semja á sjálflært hljóðfæri gaf það henni meira frelsi til gera einfaldari hluti og aggressívari tilraunir.
Sóley fór að gera tilraunir með theremin, analog syntha, mellótron og selló þar sem hún var virkilega spennt yfir bjöguðu og ópitchuðu hljóði.
Öll þessi nýju hljóðfæri hentuðu svo vel fyrir þessi fagurfræðilegu óþægindi sem Sóley var að reyna að fanga.
Sóley fór að njóta þess að spila á hljóðfæri sem gáfu ekki fullkomið pitch og platan ber þess vel merkis. Hinn fullkomni hljómur fær ekki að njóta sín, samplaðar raddir og þungir taktar Jóns Óskar Jónssonar á trommur. Inná milli má svo heyra minni píanóverk og viðamiklar strengja útsetninga Kristínar Þóru Haraldsdóttur. Platan er samin og pródúseruð af Sóleyju með diggri aðstoð Alberts Finnbogasonar sem listrænt hljóðblandaði plötuna. Platan hefði ekki orðið til án aðstoðar, uppbyggilegrar gagnrýni og sjónrænnar sköpunar Héðins Finnsonar.
Á tónleikunum koma fram:
Sóley, píanó, synthar, mellotron, rödd ofl.
Albert Finnbogason: bassi, gítar, synthar
Jón Óskar Jónsson: Trommur
Kristín Þóra Haraldsdóttir: Víóla, synthar
Húsið opnar kl. 20:30 | Tónleikarnir hefjast kl. 21:00 | Miðaverð er 3.000 kr. og fást með því að smella hér. Athugið að engir miðar verða seldir við hurð og miðar eru afar takmarkaðir vegna smæðar Mengis.
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Known for her delicate compositions, soaked in dream-like surrealism, Icelandic musician Sóley has attracted a huge following since launching her solo career back in 2010. Her 2012 single ‘Pretty Face’ went on to generate an enormous amount of buzz, and quickly became a viral sensation. Now, with three solo LPs under her belt, Sóley is preparing to debut a completely new sound via the release of her new concept album, Mother Melancholia, on October 22nd.
Described by the artist as "Nosferatu meets Thelma and Louise in a vampire church under the watchful eye of David Lynch", Mother Melancholia is the soundtrack to the end of the world as we know it. Having surrounded herself with real-life stories of global warming and patriarchal politics Sóley, a self-confessed news addict, couldn’t shake the feeling that she was going to die. This feeling was so all encompassing that it sparked the idea for a new project. Could there be a soundtrack for the last days of humans on earth? How would that sound?
Whilst writing the album, which serves as a tongue-in-cheek eulogy to our planet, Sóley began reading about ecofeminism, a branch of feminism which uses the concept of gender to analyse the relationship between humans and the natural world. Ecofeminism emphasises that both women and nature must be respected but also separated. Since the beginning of time, the natural world has been synonymous with female identity, phrases like Mother Nature are commonplace. “The patriarchy views women as volatile and hysterical. Earth and women are either our saviours or our destroyers,” explains Sóley. “It’s so easy to abuse the earth, like the patriarchy has abused women since the dawn of time, then ask for forgiveness afterwards and promise they will never do it again”.
The new album sees Sóley move away from the indie-pop of her previous releases. She began by experimenting with writing songs on the accordion, allowing her a new sense of freedom in her writing. The process allowed her to broaden her horizons even further and experiment with a whole range of new and exciting sounds. “I bought myself a theremin as I was really excited about the unpitched sound and there is no perfect pitch during the end of days,” she laughs. “I also bought a mellotron, my first moog and a cello and taught myself how to play each of them. All of these new instruments are particularly suitable for the kinds of aesthetic inconveniences which I have learned to embrace.”
Mother Melancholia is the mark of an artist confidently striding into more experimental territory. With a lengthy and successful career behind her, Sóley felt compelled to try something new and express the real her. The music might be shrouded in darkness but it’s a move that fills her with joy and freedom. “I hope that people not only enjoy the new sound, but also that Mother Melancholia might raise some questions in people, particularly women,” she says. “I’m under no illusion that this album will change the world but I hope that people can connect with the idea”. Mother Melancholia is out on October 22nd on digital and limited edition vinyl via Lovitt Records.
Doors open at 8:30pm. Starts at 9pm. Tickets are 3.000 ISK and can ONLY be purchased here. No tickets will be sold at the door.