Sóley
Sóley Stefánsdóttir (born 20 October 1987), better known simply as Sóley, is an Icelandic multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter.
Also recorded as Sóley Stefánsdóttir · Soley Stefansdottir
Sóley

Henry W. Laurisch · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Sóley
- Birth Name
- Sóley Stefánsdóttir
- Birthplace
- Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
- Born
- 20 October 1987
- Nationality
- Iceland
- Occupation
- singer-songwriter · multi-instrumentalist · musician · composer · singer · writer
- Fields
- indie folk
- Languages
- Icelandic
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Sóley Stefánsdóttir (born 20 October 1987), better known simply as Sóley, is an Icelandic multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
Sóley (born 1987) is an author, composer and multi-instrumentalist, among other activities, of Icelandic nationality. The author was born in Hafnarfjörður. Sóley is a member of Seabear.
The work spans indie folk. Languages used include Icelandic.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Authority files
wikidata · Q1728004 · wikipedia · Sóley
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Sóley • Birth Name — Sóley Stefánsdóttir • Birthplace — Hafnarfjörður, Iceland • Born — 20 October 1987 • Genre — * Indie folk • indie pop • Years Active — 2006–present • Label — Morr Music • Instruments — * Vocals • guitar • keyboard • percussions • Website — soley-music.com
Career
Career
Sóley studied classical and jazz style piano as a child and later went to the Icelandic Art Academy to study composition to become a proficient pianist and guitarist. Although hailing from Iceland, she sings primarily in English both in her solo and group work. She became part of the seven-piece Icelandic indie-folk band, Seabear, in 2006. Signed to the record label, Morr Music, the band have so far released two albums and an EP, on which Sóley predominantly provides piano and backing vocals. Under the same label, Sóley released her first solo EP in 2010, titled Theater Island. The following year, she went on to release We Sink, her first full-length album. Critical response was largely positive, with praise often aimed at the "delightful and beautiful" piano play and the delicate vocal delivery. The songwriting was also celebrated for its "dream-like" quality and "dark surrealism". Sóley herself described her lyrics as "Dreamy, surrealistic and in their own world", expressing her hope that listeners will decipher their own meaning from the words. In 2013, a track from the album, Fight Them Soft, was used in the soundtrack to an episode of the E4 comedy-drama Misfits. A piano album composed and performed entirely by Sóley, entitled Krómantík, was released on 18 July 2014 along with sheet music and illustrations to accompany each of the pieces. About the album, Sóley elaborated, "I always wanted to do a piano album, ever since I was in the art academy," she explains. "Some of the pieces on Krómantík were written while studying – and the first track ‘Stiklur’, for example, was originally part of a bigger composition for piano that I wrote. However, in the end I didn't use that many pieces from school, just because I liked doing new songs, and so a lot of them were written for a bigger art project I worked on during the summer after I finished We Sink." She further described the mood of the album, stating, "In the night or when it’s cold and rainy outside, sit in a chair in your living room and listen. If you feel like it, move a little. Imagine a little out-of-tune piano in one corner, then imagine old hands. Those old hands have a story to tell. Those hands are almost unreal but it’s hard to tell only by listening. Those hands will play until Krómantík fades into silence and your closed eyes slowly start seeing something much deeper and darker." Her second LP, Ask the Deep, was released on 8 May 2015. To promote the new material, she made appearances at various festivals, including ATP Iceland, Rauðasandur Festival and Iceland Airwaves in 2014. Sóley then embarked on another extensive European tour and released a new EP, Don't Ever Listen. The 5 tracks were initially recorded as early demos for her second album and though dismissed by the singer at first because she wanted the album to have less guitar presence, she was convinced to compile and release them by her boyfriend. There are also plans for a further two EPs that will each focus on a different instrument - accordion and organ respectively - that together with the piano based Krómantík will form something of a trilogy. Sóley's third LP, Endless Summer, was released in May 2017, and a European tour was announced in support of the new material. Throughout the same year, she is also taking part in a collaborative project with fellow Icelandic artists, Sin Fang and Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason (from the band Múm), which sees the trio release a new song each month, making twelve in total, and released as Team Dreams in 2018
Personal life
Personal life
• Illustration — Sóley performing in 2012 Sóley was born in Hafnarfjörður, a small town outside of Reykjavík. She finds her writing inspiration mostly from poets and comes from a musical family, with her father being a trombone player and music teacher. Her younger brother, Eiríkur, and younger sister are also musicians. She now lives in the capital with her husband, Héðinn Finnsson. She took a brief break from recording and touring when she gave birth to her first daughter in March 2014. Sóley has been vegan since her daughter was born.
Seabear
Seabear
• Studio albums • The Ghost That Carried Us Away (2007, Morr Music) • We Built a Fire (2010, Morr Music) • Extended plays • While the Fire Dies (2010, Sound of a Handshake) • Singles • Teenage Kicks / Piano Hands 7" (2007, Morr Music) • Lion Face Boy / Cold Summer 7" (2009, A Number of Small Things) • Waterphone (2019, Morr Music)
Solo Studio albums
Solo Studio albums
• Title — Album details • We Sink — *Released: 2 November 2011 *Label: Morr Music *Formats: LP, CD, digital download • Ask the Deep — *Released: 8 May 2015 *Label: Morr Music *Formats: LP, CD, digital download • Endless Summer — *Released: 5 May 2017 *Label: Morr Music *Formats: LP, CD, digital download • Mother Melancholia — * Released: 22 October 2021 *Label: Lovitt Records (Vinyl Version), SMIT (CD Version) * Formats: LP, CD, Digital Download
Collaborative Studio albums
Collaborative Studio albums
• Title — Album details • Team Dreams (with Sin Fang and Örvar Smárason) — *Released: 8 December 2017 *Label: Morr Music *Formats: LP, CD, digital download • Dream Is Murder (with Sin Fang and Örvar Smárason) — * Released: 17 December 2021 * Label: Morr Music * Formats: LP, Digital Download
Soundtrack albums
Soundtrack albums
• Title — Album details • HEX — *Released: 2 February 2024 *Formats: Digital download
Extended Plays
Extended Plays
• Title — Album details • Theater Island — *Released: 26 March 2010 *Label: Morr Music *Formats: LP, CD, digital download • Krómantík — *Released: 18 July 2014 *Label: Morr Music *Formats: LP, CD, digital download • Don't Ever Listen — *Released: 30 October 2015 *Label: Morr Music *Formats: LP, digital download • Harmóník — *Released: 4 September 2017 *Label: SMIT Records *Formats: LP, digital download • Seasick Songs (Recorded 2007) — *Released: 1 May 2020 *Re-Released: 2 October 2020 *Label: Independent *Formats: digital download • Harmóník II — *Released: 20 October 2020 *Label: SMIT Records *Formats: LP, digital download
Compilations
Compilations
• Title — Album details • Harmóník I & II — *Released: 13 November 2020 *Label: SMIT Records *Formats: LP, digital download
Singles
Singles
• "Pretty Face" (2012) • "Ævintýr" (2015) • "Follow Me Down" (2015) • "Halloween" (2015) • "Don't Ever Listen" (2015) • "Never Cry Moon" (2017) • "Grow" (2017) • "Sunrise Skulls" (2021) • "Circles" (Accordion Version) (2021, recorded 2018) • "Parasite" (Extended Version) (2022)
Singles (with Sin Fang and Örvar Smárason)
Singles (with Sin Fang and Örvar Smárason)
• "Randon Haiku Generator" (2017) • "Love Will Leave You Cold" (2017) • "Wasted" (2017) • "Black Screen" (2017) • "Slowly" (2017) • "Citrus Light" (2017) • "Tennis" (2017) • "Space" (2017) • "Used & Confused" (2017) • "Go To Sleep Boy" (2017) • "The Sun Will Go Out" (2017) • "Dream Team Party Kids" (2017) • "Imaginary Love" (2021) • "Calling for Your Touch" (2021) • "Shame" (2021) • "Mandatory Love Story" (2021) • "Where the Maps Run Out" (2021) • "Tell Your New Lovers" (2021) • "Today I Wrote Nothing" (2021) • "Lake with No Name" (2021) • "I Run Deep" (2021) • "Mothership" (2021) • "Dream is Murder" (2021) • "Afterparty" (2021)
Music videos
Music videos
List of music videos, showing year released and directors • Title — Year — Director(s) — Ref. Reference • "We Will Put Her in Two Graves" — 2010 — Sóley • "Blue Leaves" — Máni M. Sigfusson • "Smashed Birds" — 2011 — Inga Birgisdóttir • "Pretty Face" — 2012 — ManiSigfússon • "I'll Drown" — Anne Peeters • "Krómantik" — 2014 — Bruno Granato • "Falski Píanótíminn" — Héðinn Finnsson • "Halloween" — 2015 — Máni Sigfússon • "Dreamers" — Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir • "Grow" — 2017 — Samantha Shay • "Úa" — Máni M. Sigfússon • "Never Change" — 2020 — Derrick Belcham • "Sunrise Skulls" — 2021 — Samantha Shay
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Sóley”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1728004: Sóley
Unverified · Wikidata
Awards and nominations
• Year — Organisation — Category — Work — Result — Ref. • 2010 — Kraumur — Kraumur Award — Theater Island • 2011 — Kraumur — Kraumur Award — We Sink • Icelandic Music Awards — Pop & Rock – Album of the Year • Pop & Rock – Songwriter of the Year — Sóley • 2015 — Kraumur — Kraumur Award — Ask the Deep • 2020 — Kristján Eldjárn Memorial Fund — Incentive Prize — Herself • 2021 — Icelandic Music Awards — Open Class – Album — Mother Melancholia • Open Class – Song — "Sunrise Skulls" • The Reykjavík Grapevine — Album of the Year — Mother Melancholia • 2022 — Nordic Council — Nordic Council Music Prize
Literature
Literature
Sin Fang, Sóley und Örvarsmárason, Kursbuch, 2021
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.An Interview with Soley.
- 2.Sóley : Home : Sóley from Iceland is a member of the indie-collective Seabear.
- 3.e Sink.
- 4.Icelandreview.com. Dreamy Landscape: Sóley – We Sink.
- 5.Sóley. Sóley: Lo-Fi Quaintness And Dark Surrealism. Npr.org.
- 6.Redefinemag.com. Soley - "Smashed Birds" Music Video (w/ Soley Interview) - music art film review - REDEFINE magazine.
- 7.Krómantík.
- 8.Morrmusic.com. Morr Music. 2014-07-18.
- 9.Facebook.com. sóley - playing two festivals this summer Rauðasandur.
- 10.Nylon. Premiere: Stream Sóley's 'Don't Ever Listen' EP.
- 11.Morr Music. Sóley.
- 12.Facebook.com. Spring Tour 2017.
- 13.Morr Music via YouTube.com. Sin Fang, Sóley & Örvar Smárason: Random Haiku Generator.
- 14.Reykjavikboulevard.com. SÓLEY: I'll drown when I see you, interview in Reykjavik. 2012-11-07.
- 15.Robert Helbig. interview: Sóley. Nbhap.com. 2012-06-01.
- 16.Therumpus.net. The Rumpus Interview With Sóley Stefánsdóttir. 2012-02-28.
- 17.Facebook.com. sóley - YES, I am alive! And the reason why i haven't.
- 18.The Ghost That Carries Us Away by Seabear on Apple Music. Music.apple.com. 2007-08-17.
- 19.We Built a Fire by Seabear on Apple Music. Music.apple.com. 2010-03-05.
- 20.While The Fire Dies by Seabear on Apple Music. Music.apple.com. 2010-03-05.
- 21.Waterphone by Seabear on Apple Music. Music.apple.com. 2019-10-25.
- 22.We Sink Bandcamp Page.
- 23.Ask the Deep Bandcamp Page.
- 24.Endless Summer Bandcamp Page.
- 25.Mother Melancholia Bandcamp Page.
- 26.Team Dreams Bandcamp Page.
- 27.Dream Is Murder Bandcamp Page.
- 28.HEX (original soundtrack album).
- 29.Theater Island Bandcamp Page.
- 30.Krómantík Bandcamp Page.
- 31.Don't Ever Listen Bandcamp Page.
- 32.Harmóník Bandcamp Page.
- 33.Sóley on Instagram, 1 May 2020.
- 34.Seasick Songs Bandcamp Page.
- 35.Harmóník II Bandcamp Page.
- 36.Harmóník I & II by Sóley on Bandcamp. bandcamp.com.
- 37.moormusic.com. Sóley - Pretty Face (single version).
- 38.bandcamp.com. Sóley - Ævintýr.
- 39.music.apple.com. Sóley - Follow Me Down.
- 40.music.apple.com. Sóley - Halloween.
- 41.bandcamp.com. Sóley - Don't Ever Listen (single).
- 42.moormusic.com. Sóley - Never Cry Moon (single).
- 43.moormusic.com. Sóley - Grow (single).
- 44.music.apple.com. Sóley - Sunrise Skulls.
- 45.Sóley - CIRCLES ACCORDION VERSION (2018). bandcamp.com.
- 46.Sóley - Parasite (extended version). bandcamp.com.
- 47.moormusic.com. Sin Fang, Sóley & Örvar Smárason - Random Haiku Generator.
- 48.moormusic.com. Sin Fang, Sóley & Örvar Smárason - Love Will Leave You Cold.
- 49.moormusic.com. Sin Fang, Sóley & Örvar Smárason - Wasted.
- 50.moormusic.com. Sin Fang, Sóley & Örvar Smárason - Black Screen.
- 51.moormusic.com. Sin Fang, Sóley & Örvar Smárason - Slowly.
- 52.moormusic.com. Sin Fang, Sóley & Örvar Smárason - Citrus Light.
- 53.moormusic.com. Sin Fang, Sóley & Örvar Smárason - Tennis.
- 54.moormusic.com. Sin Fang, Sóley & Örvar Smárason - Space.
- 55.moormusic.com. Sin Fang, Sóley & Örvar Smárason - Used & Confused.
- 56.moormusic.com. Sin Fang, Sóley & Örvar Smárason - Go To Sleep Boy.
- 57.moormusic.com. Sin Fang, Sóley & Örvar Smárason - The Sun Will Go Out.
- 58.moormusic.com. Sin Fang, Sóley & Örvar Smárason - Dream Team Party Kids.
- 59.YouTube. Sóley: "We will put her in two graves".
- 60.YouTube. Sóley: "Blue Leaves".
- 61.YouTube. Sóley: "Smashed Birds".
- 62.YouTube. Sóley: "Pretty Face".
- 63.YouTube. Sóley: "I'll drown".
- 64.YouTube. Sóley: "Krómantik".
- 65.YouTube. Sóley: "Falski Píanótíminn".
- 66.YouTube. Sóley: "Halloween".
- 67.YouTube. Sóley : Dreamers.
- 68.YouTube. Sóley: Grow.
- 69.YouTube. Sóley: Úa.
- 70.YouTube. 'Never Change' by sóley.
- 71.YouTube. Sunrise Skulls.
- 72.Kraumur» Blog Archive » Kraumslistinn 2010. kraumur.is.
- 73.Kraumslistinn 2011 – Verðlaunaplötur. 16 December 2011.
- 74.Verðlaunahafar.
- 75.Verðlaunahafar.
- 76.Kraumsverðlaunin.
- 77.Dark Music Days. Sóley Stefánsdóttir.
- 78.Verðlaunahafar.
- 79.Verðlaunahafar.
- 80.Fontaine, Andie Sophia. Album of the Year: Sóley & kef LAVÍK. The Reykjavík Grapevine. 7 January 2022.
- 81.Nordic Council Music Prize. Sóley Stefánsdóttir.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedauthority record
Unverified
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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