We wrote about Finnish group White Balance on Wednesday, one of the first bands we featured in Nordic Music Review when we launched with our ’New Bands / Artist of the Day’. So its nice to update you on the progress of Icelandic songwriter Soffia Björg, as she was No 6 in that list, and we’ve been keeping an eye on what shes been up to ever since. In February she released a track which we featured, and in preparation for her Icelandic Airwaves appearance and new album she’s released a single and video called ‘Back & Back Again’ - the track should be available on all digital platforms tomorrrow 2nd November.
One of the things that I love about Soffia Björg music is that she has such versatility – she’s classically trained, but with a background playing in the excellent Nordic folk blues band Brother Grass, and with an adaptable voice that would suit almost any song. And her new single demonstrates use all those wide ranging influences and skills - it opens completely stripped back with just Soffia’s soft but commanding vocals, but then builds gradually into a powerful ballad, but not like any normal ballad you’ve heard before. The lyrics are completely convincing, and watching the video has me transfixed, she makes everything seem so effortless.
Anyway, here is 'Back & Back Again':
I’ve no doubt Soffia Björg will be a real success at this years Airwaves Festival, and then we’re all looking forward to her album which is now due in 2016. There’s no reason why her music can't make a big impression on a UK audience too, and we’ll definitely be writing about the album when it finally comes out.