Further Information

The name of my album is "Söngur vonar" (Song of hope) and will be published on my 50th birthday, September 29th. The name and the title song's lyrics has its roots in my fathers last words the night before he died, when he lay in his hospital bed and assured me that he had not given up hope. Knowing that was a great comfort to me in the grieving process after his death. My mother, who was one of my biggest supporters in becoming a musician, passed away this spring. I had intended to give her the album on her 85th birthday in September. So in a way it can be said that this album is dedicated to my parents but also to my family and friends, all those people who have had the biggest influence on me through the years.

Söngur vonar is my first solo album and contains 11 songs written by me - of which 2 are instrumental. The songs are mostly written in the last decade with one exception, a little song written around 1980. The music is easy listening, I leave interpretation to others, but it is influenced by the music I have played and listened to in my life, e.g. pop, rock, country and blues. The lyrics are personal, the subject mostly my thoughts and experiences of life in as honest and open way as I can. On the album I am fortunate to have good musicians who connect with me in some way, such as good coworkers, close friends or family. The front man is David Sigurgeirsson, who controls the arrangements, recordings and editing, and is also the main guitar player.

But who is Solmundur? I am from the Eastfjords in Iceland, born and raised in Stödvarfjord but left there after high school and have lived in various places in Iceland and Norway. Today I live in Keflavik. I am a singing bass blayer with long experience of playing in dance and rock bands. I am also an educated music teacher, have studied classical singing and sung in choirs. I have also performed as a solo singer, mostly in church ceremonies, but also in the bands I have played in through the years.

I was always the guy who envied those who could write songs, with huge desire to do the same but always felt my efforts were for nothing. It was not until I found love again after been having separated that I felt I could make songs. One of the songs on the album is written for my wife Hafdis and has the name "Lagið okkar" (Our song). Another thing that has been my drive in this process is allowing myself to like what I write instead of tearing it down in the garbage can of self critism. I know several geniuses who have the gift of songwriting but never publish their work. It is a shame when good art does not get to flourish and people won't get a chance to enjoy it. It also holds the artist back and prevents him to develop himself and his skills. I don't want that to happen to me and my work and believe I am starting a new period in my artistic development, by releasing these 11 birds and set them free. It is also exciting to see what will happen in the future.

As stated before I dedicate this album the memory of my parents. Therefore I chose the publication date of the first single, the title song, in between the date of my fathers death and my mothers birthday. That day is August 28th, which turned out to be one of the biggest day of hope in human history. On that day Martin Luther King stood in front of 250 thousand people and spoke these famous words: " I have a dream!" And here you can listen to the song, Söngur vonar (Song of hope), sung by my firstborn daughter, Hildur:

It is heavy on the budget for one to publish a full album all by himself, with everything that comes with it, and especially when the process is as professional as in this project. I cover all the costs by myself with all available methods of funding. Therefore the goal of this funding is only to make things bit easier and maybe cover the production costs. But also this funding gives people who live far away from the albums selling points in Iceland (Penninn/Eymundsson), opportunity to order the cd and have it shipped to their home.

I thank you for taking your time to read this text, for your interest and hopefully support, and wish you all the best. I hope sincerely that you always will have hope by your side in your life. I sincerely hope a sufficient number of people will show interest in my project and I will achieve the goal of this funding. And in that spirit I keep on going - with hope on my side.