Anna Sóley – Modern Age Ophelia

Modern Age Ophelia is the debut album by the Icelandic songwriter and vocalist Anna Sóley.
She combines words and music seeking inspiration from literature and life. The album
includes 11 songs written by Anna, except for Tíminn líður. The song’s original name is Kind
Folk, composed by Kenny Wheeler but Anna wrote lyrics to the melody in Icelandic. The
album is released via Smekkleysa (Bad Taste) and will be available on cd and streaming
platforms on 9 September 2022.

The album explores different styles, modern jazz, folk, pop, and groove styles mixed with
impressionistic lyrics, spoken word poetry, and improvisation. The line between reality and
fiction, sanity and insanity, can sometimes be blurry, and this work explores the beautiful
landscape of characters with the hope they have the freedom to grow and flourish on their
terms. The peculiar power of superstition and dreamlike reality is also a theme throughout
the songs.

The musicians who perform on the album are a collection of Iceland’s finest from the jazz
and pop scenes. Mikael Máni Ásmundsson on guitar, Magnús Jóhann Ragnarsson on piano
and Rhodes, Magnús Trygvason Eliassen on drums, Birgir Steinn Theodórsson on double
bass, Tumi Árnason on tenor saxophone, Lilja María Ásmundsdóttir on her own instrument
the Soundsculpture Hulda, Rakel Sigurðardóttir and Salóme Katrín Magnúsdóttir sing
backings and Siggi String Quartet plays on two of the tunes. The album was recorded at
Sundlaugin Studio. Birgir Jón Birgisson engineered, mixed, and mastered the album. The
artwork was created by Lilja María Ásmundsdóttir, layout by Ágúst Ævar Gunnarsson and
Kinnat Sóley. Valdís Thor took polaroid pictures of the band members, visible on the album
and in the booklet. The image on the album was inspired by a sketch Lilja made of Anna
while composing the first notes for the album, Modern Age Ophelia.